The Hundredth Queen

I really enjoyed this book. The story was great, taking turns where I thought I knew what would happen, and with enough romance to get me through. One thing I will say is the at times the language is a little clunky and doesn’t flow as well as it could, contractions are your friend, but that’s probably the only gripe I have. Excited to read the rest of the series!

What?? That's how this ends?

Was this book quick and entertaining? Yes. But did King pull it off well? Well...erm...not quite, in my opinion... The Hundredth Queen was certainly jam packed full of action and romance, but kind of lacked in technical substance. I have two main complaints, one fairly minor and the other one pretty major. Complaint #1: Oh my god. The insta-love. I mean...wow. Kali quite literally falls in love with the first man she ever sees--not meets, SEES!!! And she and Devon only have, like, three barely substantial conversations before they're making out and claiming they love each other! Just...argh!! Now, on to the more pressing issue, which is Complain #2: Now there are three very important things I need to say before I launch into my final complaint. 1) I am fully aware that this books is a fantasy. That being said, The Hundredth Queen is so based on Indian culture that King (the author) felt it necessary to include an author's note at the beginning saying that all apparent similarities to real historic figures is coincidental and not intended to offend. 2) I am NOT Indian. I have NO right to really speak on what is good representation of Indian culture. 3) You must understand that, as a person of color myself, I am not one to cry "cultural appropriation!" anytime a White person even gets near another culture. I fully support White people exploring and appreciating and sharing in the richness of other cultures. THAT BEING SAID! This book? It honestly reeks of poorly veiled cultural appropriation and exoticism. So. Now that we've gotten that out of the way. This book made me really uneasy, representation wise. I understand that this is not a direct representation of India. But it is merely a step sideways, a thin and tattered veil over Indian culture. And I'm not quite sold on the fact that King did a good job handling Indian culture. Why? It just felt like King had chosen Indian culture not because she appreciated and respected it, but rather because she felt it was "exotic." I can't fully describe what exact passages made me feel this way, it was just a general...feeling... But it was also the old, tired tropes that King chose to use in portraying an Eastern culture. They were tropes we've seen a lot of and not only could you claim they were lazy tropes, but they were also slightly offensive. In The Hundredth Queen we get more than our fill of the Tyranical Sultan/King/Leader™ trope, in addition to the Sultan With A Harem Of Literally Hundreds Of Women™ trope and the Patriarchal Eastern Society™ trope. *Cue infinite eye rolls and head-desks from me* Must we really with these tropes about Easterners? Especially in 2017 America where those of us who are Middle Eastern and/or South Central Asian continue to be stereotyped so negatively?! So...yeah. This book gets a 2.75 stars (rounded up to 3 stars) from me. IT was fun, yes, but it also had me shaking my head at many points. I'll probably read the second book, just for fun, but i'm not fully committed to it yet...

See this FULL review on my blog along with others at: shesgoingbookcrazy.com Every mortal man and woman was created in the likeness of the gods---sky in their lungs, land beneath their feet, fire in their soul, and water in their blood. Kalinda, an orphan and ward, has lived in the Sisterhood's temple since she could remember. Struggling with her training in combat, she prefers the quiet devoted life to her faith rather than being chosen by one of the suitors who frequent the temple---That was until the Rajah visits to claim his hundredth bride. Through a series of unexpected events, Kalinda finds herself as the chosen contender for the title of the hundredth queen. Not wanting the opportunity, but not having a say in the matter either, Kalinda is thrown into a precarious position where everyone is waiting for an opportunity to pounce, and take the position for themselves. Not only is her life on the line, she finds that the court has many secrets; and so does she. -------------------------------------------- For some reason, I went into this story apprehensive. I haven't heard much about this book, but the few reviews I stumbled upon were mixed. To my surprise, this story swept me away. Despite a few minor details, I really enjoyed the overall premise. I couldn't help but remember the story of Esther in the Bible. A Jew herself, she is chosen by King Xerxes to become his next wife after he banished Queen Vashti. In this story, Kalinda is Esther, but in a far away, fantasy world. After she is taken from her home (view spoiler)[and finds out that she is a bhuta herself (hide spoiler)], she finds out that she represents the very people that are being oppressed. But that is where the similarities end. The world is centered around the Parijana religion of the Tarachand Empire (which is derived from Sumerian deities.) The gender gap between men and women is massive, as it models a pattern of power exemplified by how many wives and courtesans a man's court holds, and is often found in ancient times. Women simply have no say in their future, and are forced into unions of servitude and, in Kalinda's case, brutality since she has to fight to the death---several times over. Skill trials are a rite of passage---proof of womanhood and the exercise of moral maturity, proof that we deserve our inherited birthright from Ki. A true sister warrior is well trained and physically strong, but she is also dedicated to practicing the five godly virtues---obedience, service, sisterhood, humility, and tolerance. Sounds fair, right? Hmm...no. Kalinda's was always a sickly girl, prone to fevers, and the bottom of the totem pole in the temple which she was raised. However much I didn't like the world itself, because of its polygamous relational structure and overall lack-of-respect for women in general, I still liked how well it was developed. I believe the world building, understanding of the religion, and bhuta powers were well done. The characters however, could have used a bit more depth. I felt that I was swept along with Kalinda's story, rather than walking beside her through fate's door. She did develop, and became rather courageous, I just wanted to see more steps towards that change in character rather than jumping over cavernous depths to get there. Three hundred years ago, the demon Kur bestowed upon four mortals his most potent powers, the elements that make up our world. Half-human and half-demon, these bhutas were formidable but not immortal. They bassed their powers on to their offspring to wield as weapons against mankind. I really liked the formula that made up this story. Combining the Parijana religion, ancient settings, and elementals definitely threw me curve balls that I didn't expect. I think that the Tarachand Empire itself could have used more description, but then again, it wasn't the main focus, so I think it was OK as is. Note: there is a potential love-triangle, but I didn't consider it so. Kalinda only reciprocates one male's advances, and not the other's. So I don't consider it to be one at all. Overall, I really enjoyed this story. Perhaps to some it may be predictable, but I found myself taken aback more times than not with the twists and turns throughout. I'm curious to see where it will go in The Fire Queen. Sexual content: Some. There wasn't anything explicit, but when you have a Rajah who has 100 wives and consorts...you can tell he has some sexual...issues. Vulgarity: None that I remember. Violence: Moderate. Tournaments are held for women to fight to the death, and some stonings are carried out. My Rating: ★★★★

This book was really predictable. I couldn't get behind much of the romance and pretty much guessed everything a quarter of the way through.

Finished this in two days - it was so good! Very excited to read the other three books.

** spoiler alert ** Oh it was not good. Women were treated as less than cattle. Only worth something if you marry a rich man. So much dislike but I finished it.

I should have read the “comparable to The Wrath and the Dawn” and realized this book wouldn’t have been for me. Don’t get me wrong, the writing was good enough and the world is pretty interesting, but the story and the characters were just not hitting the spot for me. Kali is our main girl here and she Rajah (Tarek) comes and claims her as his hundredth wife after seeing her fight (because that’s all you need to know in a wife. And also, why do you have 100 wives?). Then he expects her to fight the other wives for the spot of first wife? I mean, I guess if it’s super important to you to get your offspring to the thrown this would be important, but like... why are there so many wives and why aren’t they going after him for dreaming this whole thing out? And, let us not forget the whole “instalove” that happens with not-the-Rajah. Since I got the ARC for the second book, I’ll go ahead and read it but I am not going into it with a hopeful spirit.