The Orphan Queen by Jodi Meadows
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I first got a hold of THE ORPHAN QUEEN as an excerpt, maybe a third or so of the book, but the premise looked interesting so I gave it a shot anyway. I was happy to read the excerpt, full of politics and pretty dresses and the hint of something awful and magical lurking in the mists. I wanted to know how it ended, so luckily I didn’t have to wait too long for it to come to the library. Once I got back into it, the book’s pace seemed to pick up, and the plot began to unwind. Our heroine, Wilhelmina, wants to take back her invaded kingdom, but she must contend with stubborn rulers and a magical menace that is a threat to more than just her land. I liked the interaction between Wil and Black Knife better than any other character relationship, and there’s not that much of it. Some of the plot is formulaic, and if you read a lot of this type of YA you’ll probably figure out the big reveal early on. The wraith, the trouble-causing magic, is not fully realized–I still have a lot of questions about it–but it’s interesting, and it seems to have a mind of its own, and it wants Wil.
I liked the book enough to keep an eye out for it when it came to the library, but I didn’t have a lot of trouble waiting (there’s always another book to read). I’m curious to see what happens to our protagonists after the events of the cliffhanger ending (which is just continuing the trend of books ending wherever the hell they feel like it), because there was a lot of buildup that will obviously fall very flat if things go in the indicated direction. The story really got going in the second part, so I’m hoping for more in the next book. This seemed like epic fantasy lite–an easy read that doesn’t demand much of the reader with lots of familiar tropes and just a hint of romance that could blossom into something more.
Received as a free digital ARC via Edelweiss and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Excerpt read Feb 24-Mar 5 2015, full book read Apr 9-16 2015