Piper is a teenage girl living in a STEM centric dystopia, where people do not have emotions or indulge in what feels like any of the seven deadly sins. As someone that got both STEM and humanities degrees, I was enticed by this premise. Finally, a world that makes the connection between the two "opposites." I felt a little disappointed that I did not see more of Piper showing this background outside of using "big words" and being able to do some basic arithmetic. It feels like every time she does something outside of what she grew up with, it's in a negative light. While her life was terrible in Capalon, I wish she showed her intelligence in different ways.
Which leads me to my next point: the characters. The side characters truly made this novel. Layla, Reese, Gen, and the others were enjoyable and with a lot of depth. Layla has to be my absolute favorite, especially later in the novel. Reese and Darden were enjoyable additions, and I loved Piper's interactions with them. I wished I had liked the protagonist more, as her relationships with others were great.
Some of the twists were great. Without getting into spoilers, I liked Piper the most when she realizes an important piece of information and the steps she takes to really get that. However, the final twist threw me for a loop, with not much details to hint at it.
I would love to learn more about the world that they live in, and I think that world building would have helped in the beginning. In particular, while I don't expect fantasy fiction to be realistic by any means, I am confused as to why a STEM centric world would even have a kingdom, given the need for logic. Additionally, having the King's 100 with magicians, drummers, and singers could have been more detailed outside of a flyer. I wish this was elaborated a little more, but it could be great for a sequel!
Overall, I enjoyed this book and the characters within it, but I was left a little confused and wanting more out of the world building than I got.

This is a good YA (young adult) read. For those interested in Sci-Fi/fantasy/romance.  Story was well told and would definitely appeal to a teenage audience.

A book with a premise like this has already won half the battle for me. I love books like this. However, the writing is a bit juvenile and aimed probably more towards the younger side of YA. In any case, it was fun and I would reccomend it.

The writing style in this book was jarring to say the least. It came across quite juvenile and while the plot was appealing to me, the execution was lacking. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys sci-fi and simpler language in terms of writing. However, it is not for me.

I'm torn on this one. I did like it, but wasn't a fan of parts at the same time. Still a fun read and enjoyable.

This was a book made for me. I loved it! 
The writing is great, the characters are well-written and the worldbuilding was beautiful!
I just wished for more!

i really enjoyed reading this book, the characters were great and I really enjoyed the plot. I would hope that there was more in the series.

Unfortunately, this book was not made for me. I am beyond disapointed because I really had high hopes for this one. But it was too slow for me, I did not enjoy the writing style of the author and I ended up not liking how the story went.

I hadn’t read such a lovely and romantic young adult story for a while! I’m so glad I got this ARC! It was a feelgood read for me!

Capalon is a high tech kingdom, where intelligence and innovation are highly appreciated. Piper Parish is the sixteen year old princess of Capalon who appreciates emotions and feelings more than everything else has more value in Capalon. Her older sister, the Queen, views Piper’s tears during their parents’ funeral as a weakness,  not to mention her strange affinity for singing. This is not only the Queen’s view, but also the view of the citizens of Capalon. The princes is a disappointment to all of them. She still misses her parents. She is no role model, like her older sister. But when she receives an anonymous note, stating that her mother is alive and is living at the enemy kingdom of Mondaria, she risks everything to find her and bring her back to their lives.

She uses a Mondarian ID that she had found some time ago and as Paris Marigold she heads to her adventure. On her arrival in Mondaria she bumps into a cute boy named Ari, get’s herself soaked in hot chocolate and finds the opportunity she needed to get closer to where her mother is believed to be living. She auditions for the King’s 100, an esteemed performance court of singers, magicians, and drummers. Thanks to her love for singing, that was disapproved in Apalon, she makes it to the court as a singer and she convinces everyone she was home schooled and that’s why she is unaware of so many things. She finds herself amidst a group of young girls and boys she soon becomes friends with, living at an academy like environment and learning life from a different angle.

The story is a mix of sci-fi and fairy tale. It starts with the technological advanced Capalon, where logic prevails and emotions are nowhere to be found. Everything is based on calculations, from the daily meal to the match of a pair. Love is not considered something important in human relationships. What is important, most of all, is to make the perfect matches so as to have the perfect offspring, one that can continue the legacy and evolve technology. Capalon doesn’t care about colors and how to make things more beautiful. Capalon cares about technology.

Modaria on the other hand is very much like our world, without television or radio, but with a King and a court of performers. The performers are young men and women and they can be members of the court for four seasons, should the King chooses to give them this opportunity. Which means, Mondaria is the place any young person would be able to have a good time spent with friends, finding love and wearing a pair of jeans. A member of the King’s 100 though get’s to perform for the King and his guests, wearing beautiful clothes like ball gowns and beautiful black suites!

I really enjoyed the relationships between the characters of the book. Piper’s friendship with Darden and Layla was my favorite. It was so easy for her to make friends as she was so open to everything new. She put everything through logic, as she was always used to do and she came out so innocent and lovable. Piper and the rest of the characters are a bunch of teens and this is how the act on each and every situation. It would be strange to read something different. The dialogues and actions fit to that age group.

One thing I would like to see more is the world building. Capalon is not very clear to me. I would appreciate a bit more information of that so interesting place. Another part that I don’t know enough is the history between Capalon and Mondaria. How they became enemies and why would a Capalon citizen be sentenced to death if found in Mondaria.

The ending was a big question mark. There are hidden messages and a back story that points to a sequel. I would gladly read one. The King’s 100 was a quick read for me. I enjoyed Karin Biggs writing style and I would love to read more of her work.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. The views expressed are my personal and honest opinion.

I’m not the target demographic for this book but it sounded intriguing so I had to request it. I think I would have loved this book as a youngster so it’s difficult for me to know how to rate it. I think younger me would have given it 4 stars but today me would say 3 stars so I’ll give it 3.5

When I read the description of this book, I knew I had to read it and to begin with, I was right. A mix of sci-fi and fantasy which is right up my street however, the more I read, slower I felt the plot got. 

The book is centred around the princess entering her enemies land in search of her mother who died 3 years before after receiving a letter stating that she was still alive. I would recommend this book to lovers of angsty YA books. 

Overall, this book was a good read. The characters did have a development throughout and my favourite character was Ari over everyone! I won’t be picking up the sequel that I think will be coming in the future after the cliffhanged.

Sadly, this book was not for me. I think it was mainly the writing style but it could also be purely a me thing - reading it at the wrong time. 

I hope others enjoy it.

Unfortunately this book was not for me and I have not been able to finish it. I could not get on with the writing style, I really struggled to get into it which means that I could not continue with the book.

I think this is a great book that I would have enjoyed in middle school/junior high! I thought the story was very cute and the characters definitely conveyed more of that younger YA feeling in their speech and actions. I think if this doesn’t bother you, you would love this book!

*I was given a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. 

This book makes you feel everything. There’s romantic tension, intrigue, parties and even a little sci-fi (one of my favorite genres)! 

The story of Piper and her journey through a foreign land was magical! I really enjoyed how the story unfolded and certain things came to light that the reader was left in the dark about for quite some time. 
Most all of the characters were enjoyable and each had their own personality traits — that is so refreshing and I found myself skipping a chore or two to continue reading. 

This story was delightful and I’m so happy for this author and her debut!

I would have loved this book in junior high. A YA story where teenager characters act, talk, and think like teenagers, The King’s 100 includes action and intrigue but overall offers a lighter tone with teen drama and romance. Readers in junior high or early high school would enjoy this book, and I can honestly imagine it as a successful Disney Channel Original movie. If you’re in the mood for a lighter YA read with a unique premise, I would recommend picking up this book.

From the beginning, Piper’s world immediately had me hooked. She is a princess in the STEM Kingdom of Capalon, where logic is valued over emotion and all decisions are based on research and calculations. Throughout the first few chapters we meet Piper’s sister, Queen Evelyn, and explore Piper’s kingdom while getting to know her through 1st person POV. I really enjoyed the set up and think author Karin Biggs did some excellent worldbuilding presenting Capalon in a compelling manner without too many boring info dumps or explanations via character dialogue. When Piper discovers her late mother might still be alive in the enemy kingdom of Mondaria, she devises a plan to infiltrate the Mondarian king’s mansion to find her.

Since Capalon was so riveting, I was expecting something equally unique for Mondaria. While Mondaria is the opposite of Capalon in that emotions and self-expression are allowed, I was a bit disappointed to find it’s pretty comparable to our world today, minus the monarchy and a few futuristic touches. We learn that the these kingdoms are actually future versions of what I’m guessing is the USA, but ties to “ancient” cities such as Paris have been long forgotten.

In Mondaria, teenagers wear jeans and plaid shirts, obsess over their hair and makeup, and frequent coffee shops and clothing boutiques. To get into the king’s mansion, Piper auditions for The King’s 100, a group of musicians and magicians who perform exclusively for the king and his court. The 100 mainly consists of teenagers who reside in dorm-style living and spend their days rehearsing for upcoming shows. See where I’m getting Disney Channel vibes?

Since Piper has always relied on logic to make decisions, it was quite funny seeing her in this new environment where self-expression is allowed. For example, she points out when auditioning for the King’s 100 that her appearance shouldn’t matter if selections are based on talent. This train of thought follows her throughout the book and made for some laugh out loud moments.

I enjoyed Piper’s friendships with the other characters in the series, especially Darden and Layla. When Piper’s main group of girlfriends was introduced, I was pleasantly surprised that a typical “mean girl” wasn’t established and the female characters supported each other from the get-go. Later there is some petty jealousy around boys that made me roll my eyes as a 20-something-year-old, but thinking back to junior high/high school, well… there were definitely some parallels.

We get a slow burning and very sweet friends-to-lovers romance in this book. Although Mondaria has two young princes, Piper is not interested in them but rather finds herself falling for thoughtful and charming fellow King’s 100 drummer, Ari Novak. It’s clear from their first meeting that Piper and Ari are into one other, and while it was wonderful to see them form a solid friendship on their way to love, by the end of the book I was dying for them to be together!

The other side characters are… interesting. The Mondarian royal family comes into play later in the book, and I wish we could’ve had a few scenes where Piper interacts with them sprinkled into the earlier parts of the story to get to know them and provide some buildup to the end. Since we don’t really need to care about these characters until they’re dumped into the finale, it made the ending a bit anticlimactic. However, in spite of this, it did still leave me intrigued. There isn’t really a villain in this story, and the stakes are mostly centered around whether Piper will be revealed as the Capalon princess. Mondarian law mandates that, as their sworn enemies, Capalons who dare set foot in their kingdom will be executed. I found this a bit extreme, but I was willing to roll with it. We get villainous vibes from the Maestro, conductor of the King’s 100 musicians, but honestly his behavior was so erratic that I had zero idea how Biggs actually wanted the reader to feel about him.

While there is one LGTBQ+ character in this book, I was disappointed that there weren’t more. Specifically, this book could have benefitted from adding LGBTQ+ characters in Mondaria to contrast Capalon’s King Xavier. Matches in Capalon are solely based on intelligence to produce the brightest heirs, so they do not factor in romantic feelings or sexual preference. It’s established early in the book that Queen Evelyn’s match, King Xavier, is a gay man. I would’ve liked for Piper to have LGBTQ+ friends in Mondaria who are openly allowed to love whomever they wish, further exploring the differences between the kingdoms and allowing Piper to see what it means to truly love freely. Other than Xavier, this book is pretty straight, especially in the cringeworthy New Year’s Eve ball scene where couples are matched to kiss at midnight as part of the King’s 100 spectacle. Speaking of kissing, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, but surprise kisses are not okay, and this book has at least three of them. Cutting someone off mid-sentence to kiss them is not romantic!

The ending of this book felt a bit rushed for everything that happened, and of the mysteries Piper had to decipher throughout the story I was pleasantly surprised by the big revelation of one (the roses), but disappointed by the other (the note). However, the cliffhanger ending was one I never saw coming, and it seems like Biggs has provided the set up for a sequel. There aren’t any signs yet as to whether this book will be a series on Goodreads, so in the meantime I will definitely be on the lookout to see if Piper’s story will continue.

Thank you to Immortal Works via Netgalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

A world based on STEM? Yes, please!

This book gave me the classic disney princess vibes, which is refreshing from all the dystopian fantasy books I've been reading lately! I really enjoyed this one. The writing was beautiful and i fell in love with Piper and Ari! I recommend this if you're looking for an enjoyable read that is unique and refreshing!

A female character, considered different and an outcast in a strictly regimented society? - Check!  A neighbouring society, deemed strange and wrong but in reality completely different? - Check!  At least one, if not multiple, love triangles? - Check!  A love interest who has a dark past, is handsome, fallible and makes up for his fallacy in a romantic way? - Check!  A mysterious sister, a royal family hiding more than they appear to and a possible conspiracy between the too? - Check!  An ending perfectly poised for a second book, and (because YA loves trilogies so much) most likely a third? - Check!  Altogether, a written by the numbers teen dystopian romance.  Nothing too overwhelming, vaguely dull and predictable plot with a rather whingey main character.  I wouldn't even call this YA - definitely teen.

Initial Thoughts

This was a “Read Now” title on NetGalley and it sounded interesting. Ok, full disclosure, I don’t need any more titles in NetGalley 😂 – I have plenty of unread books in there. But, I wanted to read this one because it featured a really interesting premise.

Some Things I Liked

I liked that Piper valued science. I thought a kingdom that was super STEM oriented was really interesting and I was curious to see how the romance would play out.
Contrast between art and science. Again, I liked that the kingdoms were grounded in one or the other and that Piper and her friends could see the value of both.
Mystery / missing person plot. I liked the secrets and detective portions of the story where Piper searched for her mother. I also liked Darden and Reese’s secrets as they gave a lot of relevance to the other characters.
Nods to Cinderella. Maybe it was just me, but I liked that there were hints of Cinderella throughout the story.

One Thing I Wasn’t Crazy About

All of the romances were pretty underdeveloped. I think a sequel is needed to really flesh out a lot of what happened there and Ari and Piper’s relationship seemed to escalate more quickly than what I thought was plausible.

Series Value

I’d read the next book in this series. The ending left me wanting more and hinted at a larger conspiracy between the kingdoms.

Final Thoughts

This book was good. I’d read the sequel. It’s not a “drop everything the sequel is out” kind of story for me, but it was enjoyable.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Recommendations for Further Reading

To Best the Boys by Mary Weber – if you liked the idea of STEM oriented society, try this standalone by Mary Weber.
Kiss of the Royal by Lindsey Duga – if you liked the concept of a society that doesn’t really believe in love, try this standalone by Lindsey Duga.

This is a fun futuristic novel about finding your voice and your people in the middle of a world that rejects who you are.   Piper should not be so emotional,  she should be forgetting and moving on, she should be a model princess like her sister.  But what Piper should be does not match what she really is, she is deeply sad at the loss of her parents. She also believes her mother may still be alive....in the kingdom of their enemies, but she will need to be a whole lot more if she is going to find her there.  Music and song fill the pages and there's even some good winter/holiday romace vibes.