I actually enjoyed this book a lot--totally here for all the Aladdin feels! The romance was sweet and I liked the characters and the world-building was wonderful. Also, the fire dancers element was gorgeous.

While the book was very enjoyable, I think it missed that little extra *something* to take it over the top. Honestly, a solid YA fantasy read though, with a very unique "fairytale" basis. 

I will note that I went into this book thinking it was from a Christian publisher, so I was a bit off-put by the fact that they essentially worship the desert.

This title has adventure with a splash of romance. Kateri is worried about pleasing her father and rising to the status of queen despite tradition. Her journey to the truth is aided by first vengeance and then friendship with a group called the Desert Boys. Tigers are in the story, but are not center stage. The story has action, fight scenes, and a message about prejudice and corrupting power. Recommended for older preteens to young adults. I mainly listened to the finished audiobook of this title. 

Thank you to Blink and NetGalley for the e-galley. My reviews and opinions are my own.

Kateri is the crown princess of a desert kingdom that is ravaged by a severe drought, worsened by the Desert Boys who steal what little water there is for themselves. Before being forced to wed her worst nightmare, Kateri runs off to the desert to seek out the Desert Boys' leader, Cion, who is her only hope to escape this union.

The plot is pretty standard: the princess runs away from home to meet a rebel leader and learns the truth behind her people's suffering before coming back to reclaim her throne and become a better leader. Oh, and of course she falls in love with the rebel leader, who also happens to be the first cute boy she's ever met. The secret lies in the execution of this plot. Sullivan did a good job in creating a sense of camaraderie within the Desert Boys, and I appreciate the fact that the romance wasn't entirely instalove (even if it was rather quick nevertheless). Kateri's personal journey was interesting to follow as she learned to un-repress her emotions and open up to people. I thought it was sweet that she was able to discover the true meaning of family outside of the lonely existence that she had under her father's thumb. That being said, I was never at all worried about any stakes, because every plot point was predictable. I also dislike the little red herring thrown in at the end; unnecessary misunderstandings are the bane of my existence.

Another thing I noticed was that this book is certainly not OwnVoices. I don't mean to gatekeep writers, but a lot of the naming conventions and worldbuilding felt dissonant as a result. For instance, the heroine is the descendant of a hero named Tamlin (Yes, the same Tamlin from ACOTAR and from the Scottish ballad Tam Lin), the main love interest's name is Cion, the big bad's name is Rodric, etc. When I think about other books that are set in a fantasy desert kingdom, they are able to pepper the worldbuilding with an added element of richness. In this book, the characters live in a desert kingdom but wear strappy gladiator sandals (that's how you get sand in your toes and sunburns on your legs). That being said, I did appreciate that there was still a fair amount of thought put into the worldbuilding, like having beetle dye (aka carmine) that went out of style because water became scarce and how intricate sand dancing was.

No tea no shade, but god, I hate sand now. This book is all about sand, and it made my eyes itch every time someone had sand thrown in their face. Kudos to the author, in that sense! The imagery certainly translated.

This book was a very average, predictable YA story. The main character is a princess with the sole goal to train to be a strong warrior worthy of ruling her kingdom, which is a desert empire plagued with drought and the "Desert Boys" who steal more than their share of the scarce water. 

Weirdly, despite life-long training,  she doesn't fare very well  with her combat and is basically forced into marriage by her uncaring father (who she inexplicably cares for deeply), since she is unworthy. Then, she runs off for help from the hated "Desert Boys", who, of course, are not so bad after all. 

Unfortunately, I DNF'd at 45%. The characters just seemed to be acting out roles, and I could not connect or really care about any of them.  And the plot felt so predictable, I just found myself uninterested in finding out what happens next.

I received a copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review
This just did not tickle my fancy at all. I felt like the main character was kind of emotionally empty and any attempt to show proper emotions was a big miss..

FEEDBACK
I loved the desert scene for this book. It’s not too often a book provides a desert for it’s scenery. This was perfect for this story though. Since there was a drought and little water to go around, living in a desert definitely provides a harsh environment. This is the basis for the whole story. Sullivan described it in such a good way also. I really loved how they used lizards, snakes, and scorpions as their delicacies. While using this scenario as her backgrounds, the story itself was very predictable. Princess runs away to complete a task to save her people. Princess runs to who she thinks are bad guys for help. Learns they aren’t bad guys. Falls in love with the leader and then saves the day. While it is a little more than that the events happened exactly how I thought they would. Even with it being very predictable, it was still very well done. The pacing was fantastic and I wanted to keep going. But I just wouldn’t expect any surprises.

I loved Kateri. She was exactly what I wanted her to be. I loved that she was a fierce warrior but at the same time she knew when she couldn’t win. She also had compassion for her people which is always a great attribute, even if she was a little misguided at the beginning. One of the things I really like that Sullivan did was how fast Kateri realized she was wrong. It didn’t take her long to realize the Desert Boys weren’t actually the bad ones. This saved a lot of unnecessary fighting and more getting straight to the plot. I thought this was a fantastic thing to do for this book. Kateri’s development was so well done with this book and I couldn’t imagine a better Tiger Queen.

FINAL THOUGHTS
Overall, Tiger Queen by Annie Sullivan was a good book. I absolutely loved the desert setting and was so happy this is what she used. It really brought a new environment to the book and was set up perfectly. Even with a fantastic setting, this book was definitely predictable and easy to anticipate what was going to happen. Kateri was a great character to follow. I loved watching her grow into a better leader for her people and how she learned to trust the Desert Boys. I would definitely recommend this book if you’re looking for a quick, easy, fun fantasy read that you can easily get lost in without much concentration.

3.5 stars

I did not enjoy this book as much as I enjoyed Touch of Gold. 
The MC was a bit off putting to me, as characters who try so very hard to be cold emotionless don't create a connection with me. 
Looking forward to trying future books from this author.

Loved loved loved this! Annie is quickly becoming one of my favorite YA authors. This is a very interesting take on the Lady or the Tiger!

Kateria has seen how the accused have a choice and a chance for fate to intervene but she does not. The pricness who must fight in the arena to not be shackled to a would be king from a barrae of warrior suitors all in order to preserve her right to rule and to earn the admiration and respect of her father. Or so she thought. Forced to make a choice between the threat within her kingdom or the threat outsdie of its walls, Kateri finds so much more in the desert than she thought possible as she searches for an elusive warrior thief to train her. This is an excellant story showing once again that one has a choice even when it looks like there is no choice. This story pulls in classism and sexism and shows how there is always more than one side to any story and that we are in fact the author of our own tale be it of tragedy, survival, love, or hope.

Sadly, this one just didn't work out for me and ended up being a DNF. Overall, I just didn't feel strongly enough about the book to really warrant adding an in-depth review to the blog.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book!

Tiger Queen is a story set in a small desert kingdom in the middle of a very long drought. For sixteen year old Kateri, the drought started before she was born and is made worse by a group of outlaw boys who are responsible for her mother’s death and steal what little water is available. Kateri must win a series of battles against eligible men in her kingdom so that she can take her place as queen. If she loses, she will be forced into marriage with the man who beats her. 

Eventually an opponent is announced that Kateri knows she cannot beat, so she goes to the only person who might be willing to train her and give her a chance. The legendary leader of the desert boys, Cion. 

Once in their company, she starts realizing that the things she had been told about this group of boys were may not all be true. And the things she thought she knew about her father the king may not all be true. Kateri works hard to train so she can win her throne, but it may very well be an impossible task. And in the process, she may lose her closely guarded heart as well as her throne. 

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Giving this one four stars because while I LOVED it, it was also kinda predictable. Sometimes that’s just what I need so I never really mind it. 

Setting and plot: It was great to have something different (desert setting isn’t used quite as much in YA), and I love the idea of using an old lesser known story such as the lady or the tiger. Don’t think anyone has really used that story for a modern rewrite!

Characters: As I already said, a bit predictable. Per usual I love the enemies to romance type story, so it definitely has that in its favor. But I could pretty much guess what was gonna happen a couple of pages before it actually did. Sometimes it’s nice to know. Sometimes it’s nice to be surprised. 

Ending: For once, I sort liked that this was a stand-alone. I don’t typically say that, but it was nice that this one ended with tidy bow on top and no questions. Could it have been expanded into a series? Yes. And I would wholeheartedly read more. Can we get a story from Dimic’s perspective? Cause that would be fantastic!

Overall: I would recommend this book, I would read more from this author, and I would read the book again. A quick and easy read with just the right amount of romance and suspense!

A fun YA adventure based on the old story of The Lady and the Tiger, Tiger Queen by Annie Sullivan takes the reader to an exotic kingdom  where princesses are expected to be warriors and the threat of drought blights the land. Princess Kateri has been training for years , determined to prove her right to inherit her father's throne by defeating any and all challengers in the fighting arena , knowing that any man who defeats her will become her husband and King. If she remains undefeated until her seventeenth birthday she will be safe, but as that day draws closer the announcement of her final challenger throws her into despair. She will never be able to defeat the man who has been training her, he knows her every flaw and weakness. Her only option is to flee the city and seek assistance from a most unlikely source, the band of Desert Boys who regularly raid the city wells for precious and rationed water, the same people who killed her mother and baby brother when she was just a girl. What can she do when it seems like there is no good choice? 
I really enjoyed the world building in this book, I felt very quickly like I had a good understanding of the kingdom, its class system and history and I found the author's descriptive powers to be exceptional. Her descriptions of the suffering caused by the drought brought a tear to my eye, something that is not easy to do. I loved the concept of the warrior princess, and I am glad that Kateri had a little more agency by the end of the book , as I thought her character was a little weak in the beginning. I think my favourite thing about the book was the Desert Boys, they were such an interesting and fun group of characters and I loved the dynamics between them. 
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own,

Kateri trains all her life for the one big fight that will make or break her future as a princess. Fueled by loyalty and revenge, she blindly obeys her father and patiently waits for the day she will get her revenge on the Desert Boys - whom she blames for the death of her mother. After an astonishing betrayal leaves her with little options, she seeks help from the one person that she hates the most.

When Kateri realizes that everything that she believed about her life is false, she takes command of her like and writes her own story. This story plenty of action and an engrossing plot that will keep you engaged.

This is the first book I've read by this author and based on this book I don't know if I'll pick up anything else by her unfortunately. I just really struggled to connect with these characters and the world they live in. There were a lot of predictable moments and honestly this just really didnt bring anything new to the table for me.

I have to admit, I only know the Story of The Lady and the Tiger from online reading. I know this short Story is a Standard in english-language based Schools, but I never grew up with it, so I went into this Story with a different perception than most. It was still a fun read.

Kateri has to fight to prove her right to rule, and from the beginning on she´s a confident character, sure in her love and devotion for her Father, her city, their way of doing Things and her hate for the desert Boys, whom she blames both for the death of her mother and bayb brother and for the lack of water in the city. Her surety takes few hits over the Story as her believes shatter bit by bit, adn watching her grow and rebuild herself, while still holding onto her strength was a delight.

The twists were nicely hidden, thought you can quess a few things if you know the genre well, thought that is not meant as critique.  But what makes this book stand out among the genre are the charatcer Relations, mostly the one between Kateri and her Father. It´s interestingly build, and I think also Pretty realistic, and the amount of emotional Manipulation which runs as an undercurrent throough this hole relationship is both noticable and subtle at the same time.

I also liked the love Story and how Kateri finds herself a new Family in the desert, finds herself in the desert. Growing beyond preconcived notions, about yourself your family, your whoel world ist one of the most prominent teams of the novel, just like recognising that there are diffrent kinds of strength.

Just like in my last ARC review, the weak parts of this novel are diversity and reperesentation. Because despite there being a desert setting there´s just Nothing there. The Setting provides the dagner (thirst, lack of water, scorprions) and the traing grounds (the desert itself), but nothing else. Again, it´s not a must, and I didn´t notice any obvious clishes, but it should be noted.

Overall it´s a fun, interesting, well crafted Fantasy read. I enjoyed reading it and I really liekd the characters.

As an English teacher, I have had students read "The Lady and the Tiger" in the past, so when I saw this book was based on the short story, I was so excited to read. I find loose relations. There are many things I enjoyed about this book, namely the protagonist. Princess Kateri is not willing to go down without a fight... and maybe a little necessary back-up. The main issue I had with this book was that it was too predictable at times. There were many tropes used and not all were executed well. That being said, I am still hoping to offer this to students in the future who fall in love with the short story.

A lush and beautiful fairy tale retelling.  This books grips you right from the start and is a spectacular YA fantasy. The characters make you sit up and take notice. And the sandy, water starved atmosphere brings the struggles to life. I would recommend this to readers of YA fantasy.

Polished but couldn’t quite get into it. It was predictable and the story seemed to have more strong male voices than the female lead, who wasn’t my fav.

Thank you to Netgalley for the free arc in exchange for an honest review.

The overall preemies of the book wasn't bad, however I feel like we have been down this road before with other stories, or maybe its just me?

So I think that I am daydreaming because there is NO way that the hardcover of the book is worth $5. Seriously, this is a top notch book that I received as an advanced reader's copy. I had patted myself on the back for being the lucky person who received a free copy because I am broke, and I thought that the quality of the writing meant that at the very least, the hardcover would be worth $19.

There is so much that I loved about this book. As I read the book, I could imagine the scenes unfolding before me. I almost felt like I was watching TV.  Tiger Queen takes place in a desert. The king claimed that Desert Boys killed his wife, and newborn son. After this, he takes interest in training his daughter into the role of a warrior queen because in their society, the female heir of the King must either kill, or maim the chosen potential suitors. If the suitors live, they are banished to the desert- basically left to die. 

Its a harsh community. And the King isn't a loving father--though the main character loves, and respects him. The main character is pushed into a situation where she has to fight the one man that she cannot beat (and when she looses she will have to marry him, but the thing is that he is cruel and he'd definitely be the sort to kill his wife if things aren't to his liking.) So the main character thinks outside of the box, gets help from the Desert Boys, and her eyes are opened to the atrocities that are committed in her Father's name.