Firstly, thank you to NetGalley and Capes for sending me an eARC of this phenomenal book. I was excited from the get-go because that cover is stunning and the synopsis seemed so intriguing. Hi, here to let you know...it was that and more.

Just going to list off the things I loved, in no particular order: the premise, the stakes, Slugs, Kala, the writing, Peter's deep introspective drunkenness, Loon's forever unkempt hair, Nomor and Loon's friendship, deaf representation, how this book left me feeling briefly hollowed out but then filled me with such cute and bittersweet hope, Nomor's braid, the dragon, the genie, the concept of magic fueling an island and how that happens, the concept of loving and listening to the land, pollen on Kala's face, slime on Tetra's, Tetra, KALAAAAAAAAAA, Kala doing things and thinking things and stepping up for people and just Kala breathing.

This book comes out October 23, 2021 and I HIGHLY recommend it.

The Unburied Queen by Capes

Full feature for this title will be posted at: @cattleboobooks on Instagram!

The Unburried Queen is very unique, and I mean that in a very good way. It took me a bit to get into, but once I did, it wouldn’t leave my mind. I didn’t have time to binge read it like I would have wanted to and whenever I set it down to go do something else, I constantly wanted to dive back in and find out what was happening with Lune, Kala, Peter, Nomar, Slugs(and yes her name is slugs, I loved her and I think you will as well), and all the other amazing characters. I couldn’t stop speculating about the plot and what was going to happen next.

The whole book, you were like where is this going, how is this going to end, and then once you read the ending, it was a big wow factor. It ended in a way you wouldn’t expect, but you’d expect at the same time. I know that probably doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, but if you read this book you will understand. And I hope, that makes you want to read this book and understand what I’m talking about because I loved this novel and enjoyed reading it.

I’m not normally a fan of time jumps, but in this book I really liked it. They were written well and you could tell it was necessary for the story. In a lot of fantasy books, it takes place in weeks or months, but The Unburried Queen took place over many years and it felt a lot more realistic.

Honestly, the whole book felt a lot more realistic than the average fantasy book They has fantasy problems and lived in a fantasy world with fantasy creatures, but it felt realistic. Their thoughts, feelings, how they reacted to problems, and just overall how they acted, interacted, and spoke with one another felt so much like the real world. It was refreshing to see in a fantasy novel because a lot of times it can be hard to connect to the characters, but theses were so easy to because they didn’t act like the typical fantasy character. There was mentions of body hair, disability rep, and love that wasn’t the average fairytale love, but love that would be more likely to happen in our world.

The imagery and world building were astounding. It felt as if you were actually there, that you could smell everything, see everything in vivid colors, and touch and feel what the characters were.

I thinks fans of the Night Circus will like this book because of how it is written, but I also think that this is a book for all lovers of any fantasy. There is an adorable, yet sometimes, annoying bat, a magical island, fickle, but fun creatures. There is an amazingly well written antagonist that you will want to hate. You also get to see multiple sides of the story and why a person did what they did. This is yet another example of something realistic. Im our world, not everything is usually cut and dry and in some cases there are more than one side to the story. Not in all cases, as you can see in the Unburried Queen, but in some. I for sure recommend this book! Go preorder, if you’re seeing this before it’s published, and go buy if you’re seeing after publication!

Thank you to NetGallery for sending me an earc for an honest review!

I would like to thank NetGalley and Capes for providing me with an ARC of ‘The Unburied Queen’ in exchange for an honest review.

When I first requested this title, I didn’t really understand what Capes meant by a metaphysical fantasy, all I knew was that the blurb was intriguing and that I wanted to read it!

Whilst, admittedly, it took me a few chapters to really get in to it, once I had, I couldn’t stop reading. The reader is fully immersed into the beautiful yet dangerous world that Capes has created. From the Forest of Gems (that are enticing to look at but dangerous to touch) to Loon’s lemon orchard, the reader is transported and gets to fully experience the world of the characters’ through each character’s own unique perspective.

Told from the point of view of several crucial characters, this book is certainly well-written when it comes to character building. From Loon, to Kala, Peter, Nomor, Slugs, and even Moses, each character is unique in their own right and thoroughly developed. With each time jump, the reader begins to feel like they truly know the characters - their allegiances and motivations - which is crucial when it comes to the dangerous and deadly climax of the book.

I think what stands out about this book is that not everything is clear cut - everyone is flawed in some way and every story has more than one side to it and you truly get to experience that.

I finished this in a day!

It's a unique story, unlike anything I've ever read before, and that made it even more enjoyable - a breath of fresh air.

I'm usually really good at seeing plot twists coming, but I couldn't figure this book out - it was a mystery. I loved the characters, I loved the world, I loved the feel this book has. I loved knowing why the characters did what they did, I loved how realistic it felt, I loved how I could actually relate to fantasy characters for once, rather than it all being too surreal. I wish I could read it again for the first time.

I went into this one with low expectations and was completely blown away. The Unburied Queen centers around Loon, a hidden royal who’s in the running with the rest of her siblings to become the next Heart of the island. The Heart is responsible for maintaining the magic and the balance of the island, submerged in the middle of a pond. The premise of the book is incredibly unique, the pace is pretty well grounded, and the world building is fantastic! There were some aspects I would have liked to see explained or expanded upon (like why it was necessary for the royals to remain hidden) but overall the writing style, plot and characters all pulled me in and captivated me! The deaf representation also made my heart very happy!

Firstly, thank you so much @simonschusterca for this ARC!!
If you love fantasy and world building with tons of magic and magically beings, go get this book on October 23rd!!
This book was super interesting because it takes a very decolonized look at fantasy and magic and it has some really great diverse characters!
There’s characters of colour, queer characters, deaf and hard of hearing characters… it was amazing seeing so many groups represented in this fantasy world!
It is super world building heavy so the book was a little slow for my personal liking but the middle and end were action packed and really mysterious.
I could hardly put the book down after the first couple hundred pages because I just wanted to know what was happening!
I definitely recommend if that sounds at all interesting to you because I think it’s something that a lot of the fantasy genre is missing!

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley based on a description that piqued my interest. Partway through the book, I was so involved in the plot and characters, I started to panic that it might end on a cliffhanger, but it didn’t. This is a complete story, and what a story it is! I don’t even know what to compare it to (although there were certain aspects that made me think of Cloud Atlas—the book, not the movie).

The characters in this book are basically human, with some supernatural qualities, primarily related to their connection with the Earth, which, in this case, is the Island. The Island is a world all its own, essentially its own universe, complete with supernatural monsters and a deep connection to the land and their ancestors. The Queen descends from a long line of royals in which one royal from each generation is called to the Pond to sacrifice themselves and become one with the Island. From here, they feed the Island, and consequently all of the inhabitants of the Island. When the Queen is unexpectedly “unburied” or pulled from the Pond, it is something that has never before happened and the mages have all kinds of hypotheses as to why it occurred. They are not in agreement, and one, in particular, decides to lead a revolution to eliminate all remaining royals, making them into scapegoats. Everything is thrown into disarray and the Island comes close to complete devastation as easily fooled people hunt down the remaining royals to kill them all. Meanwhile, Loon is the last royal and needs to avoid capture while waiting for the Pond to call her.

The places in this story are so well described, I could clearly envision them. The characters were so relatable that I was sad when some died and anxious for the success of others. The plot kept me guessing until the very end, and although it wasn’t a completely happy ending, it was a hopeful one. This book is a masterpiece of fantasy fiction and one I highly recommend. I am excited to read more from this author. I even signed up for her mailing list.