Four Dead Queens by Astrid Scholte had a lot of hype surrounding it in the year leading to its release. Look at it! It has such a pretty cover! I pre-ordered it and read it as soon as I could get my hands on it. It was well worth the wait, and I named it my favorite book of February in that Fangirling on Friday post.
The queendom of Quadara is divided into four sections, each known for one trait, and each quadrant ruled by one queen. You would think it would be cool to be a queen, but no. Every queen has to live by very strict rules in order to supposedly help them govern better.
But then, something happens. Keralie, a thief, discovers that the queens have been killed, and she has been betrayed. She ends up partnering with a boy named Varin in order to find out who did it. Things are not as they seem though. As I read this book, there were several points where I wasn’t sure what was going on, but there is a logical explanation for everything that occurs and it ended nicely.
What I Liked
I really liked Four Dead Queens. The worldbuilding was quite unique. I thought I was going to be confused by the different quadrants and different queens, but I was able to follow everything just fine.
The characters had different stories. They all wanted something, and sometimes what they wanted was conflicting. Even the queens had things they were hiding. The book was light on romance, but that’s to be expected: the book takes place over a very short span of time, and you can’t expect people to fall in love that quickly.
As I read the book, I kept asking “how is this going to be resolved?” As I started approaching the end and the answers still hadn’t arrived, I was worried that things would end badly, but fortunately, the book ends on a satisfactory note.
Downsides?
The very first page of the book, where all the rules that queens have to follow are listed, was not all that exciting. I didn’t have any context at that point and didn’t really get it. If I reread this book, it will make more sense, but on your first read-through, it’s a little confusing.
Conclusion
If you’re looking for an exciting young adult book fantasy mystery, you might like Four Dead Queens. I would definitely read another book by this author.