Seventeen-year-old Keralie Corrington may seem harmless, but in fact, she’s one of Quadara’s most skilled thieves and a liar. Varin, on the other hand, is an honest, upstanding citizen of Quadara’s most enlightened region, Eonia. Varin runs afoul of Keralie when she steals a package from him, putting his life in danger. When Varin attempts to retrieve the package, he and Keralie find themselves entangled in a conspiracy that leaves all four of Quadara’s queens dead.
With no other choices and on the run from Keralie’s former employer, the two decide to join forces, endeavoring to discover who has killed the queens and save their own lives in the process. When their reluctant partnership blooms into a tenuous romance, they must overcome their own dark secrets in hopes of a future together that seemed impossible just days before. But first they have to stay alive and untangle the secrets behind the nation’s four dead queens.
An enthralling fast-paced murder mystery where competing agendas collide with deadly consequences, Four Dead Queens heralds the arrival of an exciting new YA talent.
Review
I recieved a free sample from Netgalley for review but I ended up buying it to review the whole book.
In the beginning I was not sure what to make of it. I loved Kerilie and her story, it immediately grabbed me. But the queens side of the story was a little flat for me, at first. As it got going I fell in love and wanted to know all their secrets. I liked how we got to know the queens although the time line confused me a little. It was never explained the difference in the timeline, I did work it as I got to the end but it was a little confused, a little more organisation in that respect would have been better for me.
Keralie was an amazing character, she was strong and fun and I loved how she looked at the world. The setting was great and I loved the different perspectives. It reminded me a little of Divergent but without the choices. We only got to see a few of the quadrents it would have been nice to see more but I don’t think it detracted from the book at all.
The mystery, that had me guessing and gasping at reveals right up to the end. It’s not something I feel that could have been guessed at, but since it’s fantasy I can forgive it, it was so clever and a really interesting idea.
I will be reading more of this author especially if she delves back into this world.
4 out of 5 stars