The Hundredth Queen Review

The Hundredth Queen by Emily R. King

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This book was so good.

I really didn't expect to love this as much as I did. But yay for random picks!

Kalinda is an orphan ward of the temple of the sisterhood. During one of the temple's Claiming ceremonies, she is picked by the rajah to be his one hundredth wife. No one had seen that coming, least of all Kalinda herself, who had always been a sickly child, prone to constant fevers. Before she could take her place as the one hundredth queen, she is informed she is to fight her challengers to the death. If she is deemed worthy, she will wed the tyrant. If not, it will be a burial ceremony.

As you can imagine, Kalinda was not happy.

One of my book pet peeves is insta love. So when the main characters first met and started making eyes at each other, I rolled my eyes and yelled "oh, come on" at the book. Based on this, and my general annoyance with insta love in other books, I was ready to write this one off. To my utter shock, the author managed to make me side with the characters and their love. Yes, it was bit insta love-y, but it was done in such a way that it was believable. I found myself rooting for Kalinda and the Captain, not mumbling to myself that they should get over themselves (which is my usual reaction to situations like this. Can't you just tell I'm a pure romantic at heart? *rolls eyes*).

I really loved Kalinda's character. She had more on her mind than her doomed love life. She actually wanted to better, not only her life, but the lives of the other women around her. She was not meek or submissive, despite her fear of the despicable rajah. She proved time and again that she was truly made to be queen. I loved how cunning she ended up being, using the rajah's obsession with her to ensure his own destruction, in spite of the sabotage the other women tried to inflict on her and her position.

Loved it. Loved it. Loved it.

I'm so excited that I already have the second book in this series, so I can start it right away!!!




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