Member Reviews
This was a great ending to the series, I enjoyed where the story went and reading where it took the characters. I would recommend this book for those who have read the rest, if not just to see where the characters go (physically, mentally, emotionally) in this story.
"Darkness holds secrets few see or seek. But when one spends as much time as I do studying the shadows, they reveal unique textures that brush over my skin."
4 Stars.
After liking books two less than book one and liking book three less than book two, I aticipated to like this one, but not as much as the first one. I believed that this series did not need a fourth book and man was I wrong. This conclusion was everything I could have wished for and I think this is my favourite out of the four, together with the first one. I loved how the plot developped and shifted between the characters, it showed not only a romance, but also political intrige and deviance and I really liked that. The ending made me feel bittersweet, but I really enjoyed it. All in all a great ending to a good series and I am excited for what Emily R. King will do next!
A beautiful conclusion to a wonderful series. Throughout the entire series, Kalinda has grown and changed and come into her own. But now is the real test. Now, even after all she's lost, she's willing to risk it to save the one she loves. I loved Kalinda's fierce strength--it really carried the entire book.
The beginning was a little slow, and there are so many characters now that I had a little trouble keeping them straight, but I think if you read the whole series straight through then it will be fine! A wonderful series that I would definitely recommend!
I really enjoyed the first book in this series, which had some really inventive world-building. I like a book set in a harem, with concubines and wives jostling for prime position, and The Hundredth Queen made that way more literal, by having the women physically battle for rank. This was really clever and led to some really exciting politics within the harem. However, with the death of the rajah at the end of the first book, I feel that this series lost what made it so entertaining to me. It would have worked really well as a standalone story.
The Warrior Queen is the fourth book in the series, and by this point Kalinda has come so far from being the scrawny weak girl she was at the beginning of the first book. She's discovered that she has Burner powers (control over fire), and embraced her relationship with her former guard, Deven. Unfortunately, Deven has been trapped in the Underworld, so Kalinda must fight to get him back. Katabasis myths are very interesting to play with, and like the rest of this series, this book does an interesting job of reworking real-world mythology into something new.
The trouble with this is that for me, the characters aren't interesting enough to compel me through the very long-winded plot. In the first book, the plot was exciting enough that it didn't matter that I found Kalinda very cliche - she's the quintessential YA heroine with a special talent, a ton of pluck and a whole lot of self-esteem issues. I also don't care at all about Deven, who is your standard stoic-soldier-with-a-troubled-past-and-a-kind-heart, or Ashwin, the prince-who-is-so-different-to-his-tyrannical-father. So the introduction of the other viewpoint chapters was not my favourite thing (I also didn't think their voices were differentiated enough, and often got confused as to whose chapter I was in).
It's a strong finish, if you enjoyed the second and third books - personally, I didn't love it, but I think those who love Kalinda will be thrilled with this.
Rating 5/5
What an AMAZING finale to an extremely well-designed series! I cannot imagine how hard the task must have been to develop such a world with strong characters over the course of 4 books and still keep the story so entertaining! This finale was so much more than I could have asked for!
I received an ARC of this from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
This was such a cool conclusion to a great series. We learn more about the gods, their roles, bhutas, demons, ghosts, and we get to the bottom of the question that has always been in the back of my mind. I've always wondered what Kali's true background was because there seemed to be more to it. The answer was way better than I could have anticipated (I'm not going to spoil it here).
All of the characters and their story lines are resolved nicely. We learn more about the characters and their family history and there's a greater understanding of why they are the way they are. It also leaves room for a spin off series if the author was interested. I think a book about the deities would be cool to read as well.
Great conclusion. I'd recommend the series for sure
This was a fantastic finish to the series! I was wondering how the story was going to continue after The Rogue Queen but it was a great spin. I really enjoyed how we are able to see the culture a little more. I found the culture created for this world beautiful. In The Warrior Queen, we get a deeper story of the religion which enriches the story greatly. I found the beginning to be a little slower than the previous books but still held my interest. A lot of the action did not take place until the end of the novel which could explain the change of pace in this book. However, the action scenes we're something you would have seen in Avatar: The Last Airbender. It was fantastically done!
The characters were flawless as always. Kalinda really exceeded my expectations this book. She had so much soul searching to do. I love how she overcomes every problem that she encounters without ever compromising her beliefs. This book we get to read from Ashwin's point of view which I really enjoyed! I already loved his character and this just proved he belonged in this world. We also got more Tinley and Gemi which was great! The only thing I was a little disappointed in was the amount of sister warriors. After The Rogue Queen I thought we would see more from them than what we did. However, I love their new role at the end of the book. I was very impressed with the development of each character.
Final Thoughts
Overall, The Warrior Queen by Emily R. King was a great end to this beloved series. The final book was a little different than the others but was beautifully done. I really enjoyed the different direction the book took while still maintaining the world that was created. Kalinda’s character has been through so much that I am happy to see her journey come to an end. The depth of the other characters made this story unique. If you enjoyed the series so far, you will not be disappointed. It’s a shame to see the sister warriors come to an end but I was happy to be along for the journey.
This was the perfect conclusion to the Hundreth Queen series. It was so atmospheric and I loved the world. It was swoon worthy along with nail biting. It was a satisfying conclusion that tied up all of the loose ends. I highly recommend if you want to read about a kickass queen.
Many thanks to Emily Griffin and Netgalley for the free copy of this book in exchange for my unbiased review. Great way to end this series! This may have been my favorite of the four. A trip to the underworld, an impossible rescue, a coup, and kickass women warriors! Three points of view too. I read it in one day. Especially loved the fairy tale the Rani’s journey was based on. And the demons are quite original. Of course I never get enough of Bhuta powers. Excellent creation. King discovered a magical kingdom inside her mind and brought to life in The Hundreth Queen series. I’m fortunate I have all four books. I’m sure I’ll find myself rereading this in the future.
This is a perfect ending to a beautiful series. I was really excited to see where the story line would go after the last book, and I was definitely not disappointed, it was full of interesting points and twists, and I absolutely adored the way the plot went. Definitely a book series I'm going to be picking up again and again.
I’m so sad this series ended. It has been such a magical ride. I was slightly worried in this book with the Kalinda, Deven, and Enlil, and what would happen. I could see Kalinda sacrificing herself for the greater good again, when all I wanted was for her to End up with Deven. It all worked out for the best and this was a great ending to a fanfic series
It was amazing, set in a very beautiful and well-written world. However, I do realise that this book is the most recent in a series that I haven't read yet, so there were places where I was utterly lost and I think I might be able to provide a better review once I've read the series and reread this one. But I loved it.
I loved this! I am so sad it's over and yet I am so happy with how it ended! I was just an amazing book and just an awesome battle and wow! I am just so happy with everything in this book! I can't! I just loved this and thought it was a great novel and a great ending to this series! I feel like no one really knows much about this series and I think people just need to read it because it's so awesome! It's fun and beautiful and filled with a AMAZING romance! I want more of that love! I need it! I'm so sad I won't be getting more! Highly recommend! The magic is awesome! I liked the magic in this novel and thought that we got more of it and I was happy to see it!
❝ “Inanna was a cherished young woman, beloved by everyone in her village. Some said she had the loyalty of an elephant and the bravery of a tiger. Men tried to woo her, but Inanna ignored them. She was waiting for one man–the same soul she had loved in all her lifetimes, right from the beginning when Anu plucked the stars from the heavens and named them mortals.” ❞
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own!
It’s been an exciting journey following this series from beginning to end. I’m really glad that I was able to support this series from the very beginning, so it made reading this last book a bit bittersweet. I was ready to reach the end of the journey but sad to know it would be the last book in the series. Still, I was excited for this book and it did not let me down ❤
As always, I felt like King did a fantastic job of summarizing the previous books without it feeling too overdone. It was perfect for those of us who have been waiting since the last book. It covered major events from all the past books which was really helpful in refreshing my memory before I really dove into The Warrior Queen.
This book was one that I was (yes) excited about, but I was also really worried about it too. From the very beginning, I have always stood by the fact that I did not enjoy the romance in this series. It seemed too instalove-like to me and I just never felt that connection to Kalinda and Deven as a couple. And really, I didn’t like Deven as a character too much for a while either because of how he took so long to accept Kalinda’s bhuta side. Knowing that this book was mainly going to be about Deven and Kalinda’s love and her quest to save him made me hesitant about reading this book. I mean, if it’s a book about my least favorite aspect of the story… kinda seems like I wouldn’t like it right? Well, that wasn’t the case.
I think the fact that King wove so much of the bits and pieces of lore and mythology from the series into this one book really helped to pull me in and invent more in Kalinda and Deven’s romance. Although I can’t really go into detail without giving spoilers, I will say that I loved seeing those stories from earlier in the series make a comeback and become such important parts of their history in this book. It made it feel tragic and doomed, but in a way that made me really wish for them to succeed. Not to mention, getting to flesh out more of the lore and Kalinda’s past was just so enjoyable ❤
❝ “This journey will lead you into great darkness. When you finish, you won’t be as you are now.”
“I understand.”
“You don’t yet, but you will.” ❞
The only thing that I think bothered me with this book was how long it took for Kalinda to make progress in her quest to get Deven back. It felt really slow and repetitive for the first few chapters when Kalinda and Ashwin were still researching and trying to find a solution to getting Deven back alive. It just felt like everyone was at a bit of a standstill for a while as a way to build up tension at the palace.
And speaking of the palace: it’s time to talk about Ashwin and Gemi, because they are the other side of this book. It was such a relief to have Ashwin move on from Kalinda in this book (that was another romance I wasn’t too crazy about for the obvious reason being he wasn’t really in love with her so much as the idea of her). I liked that we got to spend more time getting to know him even if I didn’t always agree with his decisions as ruler. I felt he was a little naive and (I’ll just say it) stupid in the beginning when it came to dealing with Lokesh.
The Warrior Queen was basically telling two stories in a way: one was Kalinda’s quest to save Deven, and the other was Ashwin and Gemi’s struggle to lead the empire and incorporate bhutas into society. It definitely kept the story interesting once Kalinda’s journey into the void began because there was so much at stake for both sides. The back and forth of it made the book more intense because you had to wait to find out what happened to one pair and it just built up that tension. I really enjoyed it.
Finally, I think the ending was just what we needed. I liked the way that things ended with Ashwin and Gemi especially because it didn’t resort to some instalove and it felt… promising. I liked that it was written as them taking things slow and trying to build an actual relationship rather than rushing into things. I also liked how things ended with Kalinda and Deven, especially with the way that the people of the empire turned things around. Plus, I was really happy with Ashwin’s solution to the ranis. Overall, this was a fantastic and thrilling conclusion to the series that really showed me why I’ll be keeping an eye out for King’s next great series.
The Warrior Queen was released on August 14th, it’s a book that’s sure to pull you in!
This series is AMAZING. I haven't been able to put down any of the books in this series since the beginning and The Warrior Queen was just as fantastic as the rest. Emily R. King has magic in her, the way her books never fall flat!
The thrilling final book in the Hundredth Queen series. This story starts three months after the third book left off. The story has chapters told in first person by Kali, Ashwin and Deven. Deven has been trapped in the Void and Kali is searching for a way to get him out while also helping Ashwin start his new reign. Ashwin is making changes to how Tarek ruled Tarachand including opening trade with the other countries, ending the claiming ceremony, and taking a Bhuta, Princess Gemi, as his viraji. Having been under Tarek’s rule for so long, some of the people are not happy with the changes. A former member of Tarek’s army, Commander Lokesh, is leading the protests and encouraging riots against Bhutas and Ashwin. Brac, Tinely, Indah, Pons, Yatin, and Natesa are there to help Ashwin take over as Rajah. Kali learns of way to save Deven and travels with Tinley to Paljor in the north. In Paljor, Kali meets Tinley’s family and her grandmother knows of a way to locate the gods’ temple in the Alpana mountains. Kali finds the gods’ temple and meets the fire god, Enlil. He agrees to take Kali to the Void to rescue Deven, but seems to have other intentions. The longer Kali is with Enlil, memories of her past lives surface and Kali learns that she actually is Enlil’s 100th rani reincarnated. Though some of her past lives loved Enlil, Kali stays focused on her feelings for Deven. Meanwhile, in Vanhi, Gemi arrives and Ashwin gets to know her. Ashwin has trouble stepping into the role of Rajah, which Lokesh takes advantage of. Ashwin and his friends have to deal with stopping the potential revolt. In the Void, Deven tries to keep his memories and figure out the suspicious activity of the demons. Can Kali save Deven? Can Ashwin get his people to accept him and the positive changes he wants to make?
This fourth book keeps with the action and adventure of the series, but is different from the other books including more Tarachland lore. The story is fast paced and keeps you reading. The different narratives give you Kali’s, Ashwin’s, and Deven’s perspectives. Since Kali, Ashwin, and Deven spend most of the book apart the chapters do not repeat events. All sides of the story are exciting and pull you in. The characters are still well written and the new characters are excellent. In this story Kali travels to Paljor and we learn more about Tinley and her family. We also learn more about Princess Gemi when she arrives in Vanhi. The settings are very well described. You can feel the creepiness of the Void, the heat of the desert, and the cold in the mountains. This story has some violent scenes, but nothing too gory. The story has romance scenes, none are too racy. No love triangle either. This story resolves the conflicts and does not have a cliffhanger ending. I really liked this final book in the series. Readers of the other books in the series will be happy with this ending. Fans of Red Queen, Throne of Glass, Frostblood, and Rebel of the Sands would really enjoy this series. I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
In this one I liked Ashwin's story more than Kalinda's. Yes, we learned more about Kalinda's past and she was on her way to save Deven but I was just disconnected from her. Gemi and Ashwin's story at trying to get the city organized and at peace was more interesting to me. Kalinda's story also didn't have any of her friends with her for the most part and that may be why.
Even with the disappointment of the previous installment not being the finale, I was too invested in the series and characters not read the conclusion. Thankfully, there is indeed a proper ending to the story arc. This could have easily been a two or three book series, much of the last two books felt unnecessary. I enjoyed the story, but it was overshadowed by too many endless plots.
I would not discourage anyone from trying this series, but it isn't one I recommend either. Overall, the subsequent books never captured the magic and adventure of the first.
Thank you to NetGalley and Skyscape for my advanced review copy.
Kalinda must embark on yet another dangerous journey to save the soul of the man she loves. Maybe it is just me, but she seems to lack a bit of the spark of the previous books. This feeling is due in part to her unrest regarding Deven's fate; however, Kalinda has changed since the end of the last book--losing Deven despite helping to bring a tepid peace to the Tarachand Empire. Part of the trouble is her finding a new balance with her powers since losing a hand.
Nonetheless, Kalinda braves perils to save Deven from the Void while also coming to terms with her past lives. Overall, I enjoyed this final story but felt the ending was too wrapped up in some ways--a bit too happily ever after considering what we learned of Kalinda's past lives and connections. **SPOILER** For me, I was pleased Deven was saved, but I wanted more growth for their relationship.
I enjoyed the duel plot following Prince Ashwin as he learns to rule on his own.
Bottom line, a good series conclusion with plenty of action, adventure and romance. Plus a gorgeous cover!
Final rating: 4 out of 5 stars
So many adventures! Finishing this book was bittersweet as it marks the end of a beautiful series of Sisterhood, Love, and finding your way through the darkness. I hope to revisit this world again in a future re-read of the series. It is one of my favorite YA Fantasy reads!