Review: Four Dead Queens by Astrid Scholte

Title: Four Dead Queens

Author: Astrid Scholte

Genre: YA, high fantasy, mystery

Publication date: February 2019

Published by: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers

Source: Borrowed from library

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Synopsis: Seventeen-year-old Keralie Corrington may seem harmless, but in fact, she's one of Quadara's most skilled thieves and a liar. Varin, on the other hand, is an honest, upstanding citizen of Quadara's most enlightened region, Eonia. Varin runs afoul of Keralie when she steals a package from him, putting his life in danger. When Varin attempts to retrieve the package, he and Keralie find themselves entangled in a conspiracy that leaves all four of Quadara's queens dead.

With no other choices and on the run from Keralie's former employer, the two decide to join forces, endeavoring to discover who has killed the queens and save their own lives in the process. When their reluctant partnership blooms into a tenuous romance, they must overcome their own dark secrets in hopes of a future together that seemed impossible just days before. But first they have to stay alive and untangle the secrets behind the nation's four dead queens.

An enthralling fast-paced murder mystery where competing agendas collide with deadly consequences, Four Dead Queens heralds the arrival of an exciting new YA talent.

My rating: ★★★★☆

Lately, I have been on a high fantasy kick and honestly, I think I have this book to blame 😆 It was just so good!

The thing that caught my attention about this book was the premise. The main character, Keralie, is a skilled thief, and one day she steals memory chips from a messenger. Little does she know that these chips contain memories of the deaths of all four queens, hence the title of the book, Four Dead Queens. Lol. Keralie then finds herself working with the messenger she stole from, Varin, to unravel the mystery and stay one step ahead of the bad guys who want these chips. And it was SO well done! The plot was intricate and engaging, and I was definitely invested all the way through, especially with the crazy twists and turns the book threw in.

The story was great and action-packed, but I was not expecting to also like the world as much as I did. I enjoyed the world-building and how creative this world was. The story is set in a place that is divided into quadrants, each with its own unique characteristics and level of technology. Archia, for example, has no electricity and is the only quadrant to be able to produce crops. Eonia, on the other hand, sounded straight-up dystopian. The place was highly technologically advanced with holograms and a crime rate of zero, BUT it was so sterile with everything in its place and it had all these rules regarding procreation, life, and even death. It was crazy! But that’s what I liked about the world—how starkly different one quadrant was from another.

I just really enjoyed this. I liked the characters, especially the growing relationship between Keralie and Varin. And I especially loved the world! The blend of sci-fi and fantasy and the difference between the quadrants was cool. The story itself was a wild rollercoaster of a ride, especially the plot twist of who the killer was... INSANE! But the mystery was great and I enjoyed all the political intrigue. I’m gonna miss this world, but at the same time, I like that this is a standalone. It’s so rare for fantasy! I am definitely looking forward to reading more books by this author!

Have you read this book? If so, what did you think about it? If not, what do you think? Does it sound like something you might want to read? Leave me a link to your review or comment below! 😊