Oh. My. Goodness!
Where do I even begin to start talking about this book? Ok, so anyone who knows me knows how much I love young adult novels, specially if they come with a touch of fantasy which makes them the perfect mix. I came across this book, "The Hundredth Queen" by Emily R. King on Pinterest as I was scrolling through book boards. What first caught my attention was the beautiful cover, and then I decided to read what this story was all about. As soon as I did, I decided to go purchase it, and let me tell you it was far from a disappointment.
I read it in two days for the story is just so captivating from the first page. I simply could not put it down and after I was done with it, I went off and bought all remaining three books of the saga (which I will do a review of separately).
So what is this story about?
As an orphan ward of the Sisterhood, eighteen-year-old Kalinda is destined for nothing more than a life of seclusion and prayer. Plagued by fevers, she’s an unlikely candidate for even a servant’s position, let alone a courtesan or wife. Her sole dream is to continue living in peace in the Sisterhood’s mountain temple.
But a visit from the tyrant Rajah Tarek disrupts Kalinda’s life. Within hours, she is ripped from the comfort of her home, set on a desert trek, and ordered to fight for her place among the rajah’s ninety-nine wives and numerous courtesans. Her only solace comes in the company of her guard, the stoic but kind Captain Deven Naik.
Faced with the danger of a tournament to the death—and her growing affection for Deven—Kalinda has only one hope for escape, and it lies in an arcane, forbidden power buried within her.
RATING - ★★★★.5
I give this book a 4.5 star rating. I was hooked on it from chapter one and loved the way the story and the characters developed throughout this first installment and as the book is ending, it leaves the readers with a thirst for wanting to know more. The main character Kalinda was everything you could look for in a female lead: strong, determined, loyal to those she loves and passionate. On the other hand, Deven, the male lead character was to swoon over and their chemistry is spot on.
There is a lot of action and battles in the story that just help add to the suspense making it impossible to stop reading. Many questioned the idea of the main characters falling in love so quickly, but as someone who has read all four book, there is a reason why this happened and the explanation is there, but as always, my reviews are spoiler free so if you want to know, you must read the remaining books.
But all in all, this was a wonderful story which was beautifully written, would most definitely recommended it to any YA novel lovers out there and it's a book I would read again for I loved getting lost in this magical world the author has created.
You can get this book at any book store or online stores like KOBO, KINDLE and IBOOKS.
Happy Reading!
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