The True Queen

Book Title: The True Queen

Author: Zen Cho

Date Started: June 2nd  2024

Date Completed: June 15th 2024

Genres: Historical, Fantasy, Adventure

Quality Rating: Three Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Two Star

Final Rating: Two Stars

Review:

◆ Thank you to NetGalley for this ebook for review ◆

I suspected I was going to fins The True Queen challenging; I didn't like the first book despite its popularity, but in my quest to finish as many series as I can this year I decided to try again. Unfortunately, no luck.

It's been a while since I decided not to finish a book - but three sittings and 20% through was enough for me on this one. While the narrative is happy doing its own thing, it's the tone that is all over the place. Are these supposed to be children's books? They have the token 'charm' and confusingly dramatic but unthreatening stakes that I'm familiar with in stories with that audience - but there are lots of things that make me think it's probably intended for an older audience. I can see a lot of similarities with the writing of Diana Wynne Jones, but this just doesn't have that sparkle for me.

With all that being said, these vein of stories show we're clearly fascinated with updating and imaginatively evolving this setting. From Carnival Row to Bridgerton to The Paper Magician, regency (ish) England has become a popular backdrop to introduce diversity and a worldview beyond Europe into old fashioned modes of storytelling. It's an exciting opportunity to see through new eyes that I'm enjoying in some other forms, but this one just feels childish to me.