Four Dead Queens follows a few perspectives, we have the four queens who preside over different quadrants in the nation. Each quadrant has different rules and regulations and is strictly separated from each other. Keralie is a thief who steals a valuable item off a messenger to sell in her quadrant’s black market and is swept into a conspiracy to kill the four queens.
Keralie’s character was a little stale. I found she isn’t the most likeable of characters out there. She has many flaws and doesn’t really learn from her mistakes a whole lot. I just wasn’t that big a fan of hers I guess. Varin I did really enjoy. I like that we are given a lot more background and context about his quadrant and the way they live. I thought it was really interested how he contrasts with Keralie. She is very outspoken, tenacious and a little impulsive, whereas he is quite focused and quiet and rigid. I like that we see him thaw out and become a little more conformative over the course of the plot line and I found him a lot more interesting than Keralie.
I thought the Queens were all very distinctive and diverse. I wish we got a little more time to get to know them individually before they died. In the short amount of time we are given we do learn a lot about each of them and how they are all kind of leading their own lives despite how controlled they are by the laws.
The way the book was structured was quite unique. The dual timelines and the flashbacks were all very engaging. I was very much invested in the plot and I had multiple predictions in my mind about who the assassin was. When the identity of the killer came out I was definitely a little confused. Like I said I had my theories and she was one of them but I didn’t know how it would be possible. The way it was explained I guess made sense but I thought it was a little too predictable. There were some good twists thrown in and in the end I was satisfied.
I liked the world, I could of used a little more context and explanations regarding the history. Overall I was thoroughly entertained, the pacing was quite fast, I haven’t read anything like this before, I just kind of wish this was a duology and was spread out a bit more and went a little more in depth.
⭐️3.5/5 A pretty decent YA fantasy
Amy Leigh Reads 