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March 08, 2015

Review: The Orphan Queen by Jodi Meadows


Title: The Orphan Queen
Author: Jodi Meadows
Publisher: Harper Collins
Publication date: March 10, 2015
Genre(s): High Fantasy
Source: Publisher
Format: ARC
Pages: 400
Wilhelmina has a hundred identities.

She is a princess. When the Indigo Kingdom conquered her homeland, Wilhelmina and other orphaned children of nobility were taken to Skyvale, the Indigo Kingdom’s capital. Ten years later, they are the Ospreys, experts at stealth and theft. With them, Wilhelmina means to take back her throne.

She is a spy. Wil and her best friend, Melanie, infiltrate Skyvale Palace to study their foes. They assume the identities of nobles from a wraith-fallen kingdom, but enemies fill the palace, and Melanie’s behavior grows suspicious. With Osprey missions becoming increasingly dangerous and their leader more unstable, Wil can’t trust anyone.

She is a threat. Wraith is the toxic by-product of magic, and for a century using magic has been forbidden. Still the wraith pours across the continent, reshaping the land and animals into fresh horrors. Soon it will reach the Indigo Kingdom. Wilhelmina’s magic might be the key to stopping the wraith, but if the vigilante Black Knife discovers Wil’s magic, she will vanish like all the others.
The Orphan Queen is a high fantasy book about a girl named Wilhelmina who's home was ambushed and destroyed by the Indigo Kingdom. After staying in hiding for ten years, she's ready to do whatever it takes to take back her home. Throw in some magic and a mysterious vigilant named Black Knife and you have The Orphan Queen.
 
I was quite hesitant with this book because of how confusing it was in the beginning. There was a lot to take and some things weren't fully explained until later on. I actually wanted to put it away but I kept reading and I'm glad that I did because it definitely did not disappoint. Once you understand who the characters are in this world and how the use of magic is connected with the story, you will really start to enjoy it. 
 
The book is divided into two sections; The Ospreys and The Wraithland. In the first part of the book, we are introduced to all the characters. Wil, the princess, and the rest of the orphaned children of Aecor have all been together from the beginning and now go by the name The Ospreys. They plan on infiltrating the Indigo Kingdom in order to learn how to best take back their land. As it turns out, there's much more to it than what they know. This is where the second part of the book comes in. As Wil heads into the Wraithland (land that is covered in a toxic by-product of magic called the wraith- almost comparable to a radiation soaked place in real life) she discovers not only secrets the Kingdom has been keeping but possibly a solution to solve all her problems. This was my favourite part of the book as we really get to see how magic and the wraith have affected the rest of the world. Lastly, a vigilant named Black Knife also appears throughout the story. He is almost the anti-superhero of the kingdom, he stops those who use magic and will turn them into the military if necessary. I enjoyed the little bit of romance that was added throughout the book but wish it was developed a bit earlier.
As you can tell by now, there is a lot to take in. A lot happens in this 400 page book but it really does wrap up in a nice way. I definitely will be picking up the second book when it comes out next year! 


6 comments:

  1. Yay :D Gorgeous review Lobna. <3 I'm so happy that you loved this book :D I shall be reading it this week, when my copy arrives. <3 I cannot wait. Sigh. Thank you for sharing your amazing thoughts about it. <3

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  2. well written article about this book, IPL8 live 2015 , i would like to thank for this valuable information share with us.

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  3. I've read many great things about this book, the title & cover are so catchy x beautiful review. Benish| Feminist Reflections

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  4. Sounds amazing, a princess and a spy! BTW, I love your photos :)

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  5. Sounds so great! can't wait to read it.

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  6. I really enjoyed this book as well! Apparently there are two novellas coming out this summer for it =)

    Also, I love that you use your Instagram photos!

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