DNF

Just not competitive with similar titles in young adult ficiton, it’s a saturated market and this book just lacks anything to set it apart or pull me in as a reader.

This book has a great premise and story line, but I couldn't follow the story to the end. It was a bit boring ...

I started this book a few times and got a part of the way through. I really didn't enjoy the writing style, and had to put it down.

The book was enjoyable, but also very sloppy. I felt like the characterizations were too two dimensional, and plot points happened because it was convenient for what the author wanted to happen, not because it made sense with the story. The way the book ends doesn't really feel like a conclusion, and I really didn't like the main character for the majority of the book. She's a terrible friend, and I get that she's supposed to be a "strong independent heroine" but the author did that by having her smell of manure and dress terribly (and like a boy) and was ugly and got angry any time anything was said about a woman in general, plus always being derogatory toward males. The character has no control or idea of her feelings. A lot of things she did for the plot didn't make sense for her personality. I feel like I have no idea who she is because she was always different. There's a good way to write a strong female MC and this wasn't it. Despite all of this, I love the idea of kings throwing out quests instead of wars. I wish there was more world building so we could understand how and why this came to be and how it worked. We know literally nothing about the world other than the fact that they don't care about women. We don't really know anything about the characters. It was very tell rather than show.

sadly this book wasn't for me. I don't mind a bit of sexism in fantasy books -i prefer it not to be present since i am a strong believer that if you write a fantasy world, make it one that makes ours seem laking - aka include things that our world is dragging its feet on. But this book just points directly at all the things i personally prefer not to read about so this book was not one for me.

This just wasn't for me I just couldn't get sucked into this one I had a very hard time finishing this book.

Sad to say, this book wasn't for me. It's been sat on my shelf for so long because I really liked the way the plot sounded but I couldn't get past the first dozen pages or so. The plot sounded interesting but the writing style wasn't gripping. However, for the right person, I'm sure this would be incredible.

I received a free copy of this book for review through NetGalley**

While this wasn't the best or most unique thing I've ever read, and I don't agree that it should be marketed for fans of Sara J Maas (but I see why a YA writer would use that as an appealing factor for their book) I still found the book an enjoyable fantasy quest tale. A lot of issues I've seen other people have with this book is the way the main character is berated for not being feminine enough and people have an issue with how the male character and the other come off as misogynistic; I personally don't care about those things in books and am tired of books being torn down because of it. It's a time piece, in a fictional world and women used to be treated like that. I found the main character held her ground the way a regular girl her age would against her 2 best friends who tell her to be more girly. However, all in all the book was a fun adventjre quest and that's what I'm rating it as. I enjoyed it, I would continue with the trilogy.

Quests of the Kings thrilled me after I read the synopsis and decided to request it. However, it did not live the description. It disappoints me most of the time. I tried my best to read it but I’m starting to hate it. I have high hopes but this book is full of sexist attitude and it made me angry. So instead, I decided to DNF this.

This just wasn't for me and a lot of other people as well apparently.

Bit slow around the middle. Thank you to the Publisher for review copy!

This was such a promising fantasy novel and had a wonderful start, but it ended up being a sexist and triggering mess of things. There were a ton of cliches and unfair representations written into this. I wish I could have enjoyed it because it had so much potential!

This story has SO much potential. I liked how Natalie fights against the barriers imposed on her by society and shows that she can be just as tough and clever—more so even—than any man. I liked the idea of a quest for treasure!

However, the writing failed to draw me in. The dialogue felt stilted, the characters more caricatures of types rather than fully realized people. Natalie was so naive and a brat. I felt like there was no growth on her part. Other secondary characters just felt like floating heads that popped up when needed but otherwise didn’t exist outside that purpose. Thus when deaths happened, it had zero emotional impact. Brago was the Bad Guy. The reason he was so bad? Because he’s bad! Ugh!

Plot-wise, I was expecting an adventurous quest, but even that fell flat. We got some hints and riddles but it was more like a scavenger hunt than a quest for treasure.

The world was based on real-world western Europe during medieval/renaissance times, I think? Cliché at best, and not done well. Plus, what an overly sexist society! It felt like every page is filled with women being belitted and talked down to and beaten and being threatened with rape and men leering at their breasts. I understand that it’s a sexist society and Natalie is fighting to overcome the expectations placed on her as a women, but it was just too much.

All in all, this book was not for me.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, Robert Evert, and the publisher, Diversion books, for this opportunity.

This started off as a promising fantasy adventure, which sadly didn't follow through. My problem with this is that it seemed to try to hard to showcase the sexism prevalent in the fictional society. This is not, of course, a bad thing. It was the way in which it was showcased that I found completely and utterly infuriating. So, apologies for the rant that is to follow!

The females in this fictional land are expected to adhere to a set of standards, set by the patriarchy, that basically disallow females to think and act for themselves. Their function is to breed, clean and look pretty. No more.

Our protagonist is very independent and does not fit into this allotted role. After the death of her father she works in a stables to provide for her family. She is largely shunned for these 'masculine' pursuits. Time and time again she is told to just marry and allow herself to be provided for. I got it the first time. The first quarter of the book is just each and every member of society judging her and bemoaning her unmarried state. It became tedious and I wondered what point this was continuing to make, after the first few times it was mentioned.

Some of the biggest advocates for Natalie's immediate marriage were her supposed two best friends. They constantly suggested that she try harder to please men and seem to think of nothing but wealth, looks, and the male sex. Natalie played right into the 'I'm not like other girls' stereotype, and her friends preoccupation with marriage was constantly used to showcase how opposite to the norm she was. Aside from this, they seemed to form no other function.

The females other activities included focusing on their appearance. This obsession, again, served no purpose other than to demean all females apart from Natalie. I understand that generations of women have been led to believe in their worthlessness and only appreciated for their physical appearance, but it seems unrealistic to me that each of them would whole-heartedly only think of this as being their only appeal. Really? Not one of them apart from our special little snowflake of a main character values themselves as more than just an ornament? There is absolutely nothing wrong with caring for and valuing your appearance. There is something wrong with demeaning characters who do so, to promote other who do not.

It seemed to build one character up, the author had to tear other female down. It seemed unnecessary that other females had to be her binary. Why does she have to be described as 'plain' in the synopsis if this book then goes on to look down on those that think only of the physical? Also, we are told of the trio as being the best of friends and yet are given no evidence of that. I certainly wouldn't want friends that promoted marriage as the end to all my woes!

It wasn't just the female sex that was treated unfairly, in this. Natalie has massive trust issues, which is understandable, but her treatment of men is certainly not. Art has a very clear infatuation with her, which she does not share. She allows him to play the role of the knight in shining armour, which allows his feelings to intensify at the point when hers do not. This is just one of many flawed male/female relationships portrayed.

I'm sorry for this negative review and I wish I could end on a positive note, but there were just too many triggering topics and unfair representations for me to see past and enjoy any aspect of this book.

I liked the idea/ premise behind this book and I'm excited to see where the series leads!!

Disclaimer: I received an e-ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Any quotes may have changed in the final version.

DNF at 32%. Can't stomach this anymore due to the massive heap of sexism. Natalie was all over the place. Never got a grasp of who she really was

The thing about this book is it wasn't a totally bad book. I can see some people reading it and actually enjoying it. For me that wasn't the case. The book was really slow and dull. 30% through the book, I had to put it down and walk away because I stopped being interested and I didn't like Natalie. I didn't like how she treated her friends, I didn't like her know it all, I need to constantly prove myself attitude and she lacked full growth for me. It got so bad that I couldn't move past it to fully enjoy the novel. I also did not understand her motive for initially doing what she did. I was just like why? She didn't listen to people. I don't mind not settling and accepting less but she had no regard for others and would snap at them for trying to help. I didn't like her and on top of her the book was slow and it was a struggle to deal with it.

I also thought the ending of the book was sub-par and there could have been a better way to lead into a book two. But despite my concerns about this book, something about it makes me curious enough to check out book 2 when it comes out and to recommend it as a starter to the fantasy life to a few of my friends. But I am concerned about the pace and characters in book two.

[Note: this will not be posted on the site]

I thought the plot idea was appealing.

It was an okay adventure story. However it wasn't as exciting (adventure wise) as I was hoping it would be.

I wasn't very happy with how the book ended. Nearing the end of the book, I didn't expect for it to end the way it did. I thought the actual ending was a bit boring

Robert Evert’s first book in The Quest of the Kings Trilogy is an interesting read. If usually adventure stories are written about men/boys then this story is about a girl, an usual girl, who just happens to be in wrong place at a wrong time. Usually girls get romantic stories but in this book Nataly gets beaten up, forced to flee from home to keep her family safe, search protection from an adventuring knight and she learns to be strong, no matter what life throws at her. In a way it’s an unusual story, but it’s an fascinating story that is full of surprises and secrets to let you hunger for more. Can’t wait to read the next book.