Thank you NetGalley and Tantor Audio for the ARC of this audiobook for my honest review

Very enjoyable book, the politics are relatable and hilarious and the Queen learning to live in a different era was so fun. The only thing I would say would make it better is they said Dakota couldn’t find love but then she still didn’t at the end. I thought they’d match her up with that doctor or something, I also would’ve loved to see the queen becoming the president for longer. The start was so long and then it rushed up towards the end.

Would be nice if this was reality right? What happens in this book is happening now in this country and we are sadly living it. Funny parts where I lol’d in the narration. It took me from reality. Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.

As the real world slides into the abyss, it's hard to fault anyone for writing or reading whatever gives them comfort. I'm frankly surprised that there haven't been more counterhistorical novels in recent years by the supermajority of creatives who fall on the left side of the political spectrum. While the earnestness can sometimes be a bit much, there is certainly a receptive audience out there.

The premise of this book, while not well presented or developed, is an understandable addition to that genre - what if there was a billionaire on the side of good? However, that's where the understandability ends. Rather than funding her own campaign or that of one of the many qualified individuals in our world, the founder of a tech security company...randomly meets a professor at a conference and spends decades funding his research into time travel, which he achieves through poorly defined means, travels back to briefly meet with her late mother, and decides that the solution is to convince Queen Elizabeth I of England to come forward in time to run against the Trump stand-in currently in office. There is never a clear answer as to why, of everyone who has ever lived on this planet, Queen Elizabeth I would be the best choice for the modern American presidency - in fact, we don't even get to witness anyone explaining the idea to her - but Her Majesty agrees and appears in 2027. That's when the real agony begins as we enter hours of nonsensical confusion about modern technology, language, and customs. I'm really not sure why some authors assume that people who lived in the past were stupid. This is a highly educated woman who ran a country, survived political intrigue, supported the arts - she presumably was pretty good at picking up context clues and using logic. In a different book, if they'd really leaned into the ridiculousness by bringing in Sohla to prepare ancient recipes, having her watch Outlander on TV, etc., there could have been at least some humor - but this is just a mess. And that's before she starts talking.

I get that to many modern ears, particularly those attached to heads containing only one language, early modern English can sound "funny," foreign," etc. - but let me shout so the people in the back, apparently including everyone involved in the production of this audiobook, can hear - ITS GRAMMATICAL STRUCTURE FOLLOWED ESSENTIALLY THE SAME RULES AS MODERN ENGLISH. Anyone who has ever read or seen a Shakespeare play, read the King James bible, or otherwise read or heard language from this era should be familiar with the (relatively few) changes in usage - the -th verbs, the formal vs familiar pronouns...hell, if you've heard modern Germanic languages spoken the structure should be second nature. So how an entire book made it through with -th used as...a plural suffix? Or just randomly at the end of various nouns but never verbs? And "thee" used in EVERY type of construction with nary a "thou," "thine," "ye," or, more appropriately "you" (it's unlikely that Her Majesty was accustomed to hanging at the pub with her homies addressing each other informally) is enough to make anyone wonder if there was proofreading involved at any point in this process.

I have to give props to the narrator for somehow making it through all of that word salad somewhat intelligibly - although you will not be prepared for her multiple attempts at "Positano" in an early chapter discussion of Italy, which is surprising in light of what follows.

So while I hope that the writing process was cathartic for everyone involved, I can't say that the reading process will do much except make you wish there were an American branch of the Chronicles of St. Mary's gang to do this kind of story better.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

As fun as a premise can be, "Queen Bess" is long-winded and boring. Why does it take so long to get to the actual plot? Maybe for some people this can be therapeutic for after the current election but it did not work for me. There was more dialogue than actual plot and I wish there was more showing than telling.

Thanks to NetGalley and Tantor Audio for the Audio ARC!

Queen Bess is based on an interesting premise, and if you're a fan of cheesy sci-fi, or cozy fiction, or James Patterson, this book might be right up your alley. It just wasn't quite my alley.

Not happy with the election results? Want something that takes on that reality, but doesn't make you feel worse? And is funny? And hopeful? And has time travel? And really fun call outs to women's tech culture?

Have I got a recommendation for you! Needless to say, I loved this.



Review copy provided by publisher.