Quadara has been living in harmony for years due to their four queens; they rule over each of their quadrants, ensuring the safety of their subjects and their kingdoms. Keralie lives where all the quadrants meet; after all, that’s the best place to pull off theft, which is what she’s best at. But Keralie’s latest job has darker consequences than all the others. She steals a comm chip from a messenger where she sees the death of all four queens. In order to save the queens, and the kingdom, Keralie must team up with the messenger that she stole the communication from, Varin. But by the time they get to the palace, they might be too late.
I traded to receive this book on Twitter, and man, am I so glad I got to read it early! Astrid Scholte has created such a vivid world that you don’t want to leave it. And though I’ve been reading a lot of fantasy lately, this one felt wonderfully refreshing. The concept of the Quadara was original, and this is Scholte’s debut novel? I think we’ll see a lot more great things from her.
The aspect that I think I loved the most about this was the way that the novel was constructed. With alternating chapters between Keralie and the queens, we’re shrouded in a sense of mystery until the very end of the novel. Who did kill the queens? You probably won’t see the answer coming. And that, my friends, is the mark of a successful mystery.
Not only will you be hooked through the mystery that Scholte has crafted, the little details she includes will transport you to Quadara without feeling like you’ve been bogged down with an information dump. We learn about Quadara mostly through Keralie’s interactions with Varin, a relationship that transforms as the story does. The supporting characters here are just as strong as the main characters as well; we only get snippets of each queen, but they feel as fleshed out as Keralie and Varin. With a cast and a world this strong, I wouldn’t be surprised if Scholte decided to return to this world in the future.
I flew through this book, and I almost want to go back and re-read it to see if I catch anything the second time around. I have a feeling the clues were there, and now I know enough to pick up on them.
Fast-paced and suspenseful, Scholte will bring you along to her fantastical world of Quadara this February.
4.5/5 stars