So today I have an exciting review… FOUR DEAD QUEENS.
I was beyond excited to review this book. The premise since I first heard about it a few years about appealed to me, so when Edelweiss approved me… Ya girl was stoked.
Anyway, onto the review.
FOUR DEAD QUEENS is a truly unique story. It is multi-POV, alternating between Keralie and the Queens who, *spoiler alert though its pretty clear from the title* die. It was very well laid out and a pleasure to read. I was never bored despite the many POVs, as I was always surprised by all of them!
My rating: 5/5.
Summary from Goodreads:
A divided nation. Four Queens. A ruthless pickpocket. A noble messenger. And the murders that unite them.
Get in quick, get out quicker.
These are the words Keralie Corrington lives by as the preeminent dipper in the Concord, the central area uniting the four quadrants of Quadara. She steals under the guidance of her mentor Mackiel, who runs a black market selling their bounty to buyers desperate for what they can’t get in their own quarter. For in the nation of Quadara, each quarter is strictly divided from the other. Four queens rule together, one from each region:
Toria: the intellectual quarter that values education and ambition
Ludia: the pleasure quarter that values celebration, passion, and entertainment
Archia: the agricultural quarter that values simplicity and nature
Eonia: the futurist quarter that values technology, stoicism and harmonious community
When Keralie intercepts a comm disk coming from the House of Concord, what seems like a standard job goes horribly wrong. Upon watching the comm disks, Keralie sees all four queens murdered in four brutal ways. Hoping that discovering the intended recipient will reveal the culprit – information that is bound to be valuable bartering material with the palace – Keralie teams up with Varin Bollt, the Eonist messenger she stole from, to complete Varin’s original job and see where it takes them.
OKAY. SO first off everything I loved: I loved Keralie. She is a very relatable protagonist and her character arc was really relatable. Her past is filled with a lot of pain and hurt, which explains how she gets to where she is, but at the end of it all, she learns to accept that she means to do good. I really liked the theme in the and a lot of the conflict came from within Keralie herself as she learned to accept who she was. Plus she can defend herself, and I like that in a woman.
NEXT. Let me talk about Varin. Oh Varin, my sweet lil cinnamon roll with his perfect Eonist lips. You snuck up on me, and I liked it. His story is very pure, and honestly, if there was ever a competition for top cinnamon rolls, he would win in my books hands down. I don’t want to spoil things BUT MY POOR LITTLE SOFT BOI LET ME HOLD YOU.
Also the relationship that develops between him and Keralie is just…so…SWEET AHHH. Like she is out here being badass, and Varin is the voice of reason that sees the good in her when she fails to see it in herself. There were a lot of scenes that made me lol. Like when Keralie steals some clothes and Varin Does Not Approve.
Kera to Varin pretty much the whole book:
Next let me talk about the Queens. Every one of them has their own story, and though that don’t exactly make it to the end of the book (See: TITLE OF BOOK) Scholte manages to make us care about every one of them so we are hoping the inevitable Does Not Come.
But alas it does, leaving the main question of the book: Who killed the Queens?
Let me tell you. I didn’t see it coming. The suspense throughout, combined with the timeline keep you on your toes, so you don’t know what will happen next. It was a very fun read.
Lastly, let me talk about my other love, or well, the boy I loved to hate throughout this book: Mackiel. This sly little sleeze ball loves to be in control and has some ambition. Though he is more of an antagonist within Keralie’s personal journey, he was very well done. I could hear his drawl in my head, and he made for a very compelling villain. However, I will say no more on this.
Now as for my one critique: the end of the book was a little too neatly tied up. The conflict between Varin and Keralie near the end resolves a little too easily (though it does fit with his character) and certain characters seemed a little *too* forgiving. But I love all things dark and morbid, so that’s probably a bit of a personal opinion. Overall, it was a great read!
GO PREORDER IT NOW, OUT FEBRUARY 26th:
Indigo: https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/four-dead-queens/9780525513926-item.html
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Four-Dead-Queens-Astrid-Scholte/dp/0525513922
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/four-dead-queens-astrid-scholte/1128801997#/
Thank you for reading!
kdcampbellwrites.ca 