*I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

For a fantasy book, this book focuses far more on the internal thoughts and feelings of the protagonist than I was expecting. Jena is written with such loving care and is easily one of the more fleshed out protagonists I've encountered. Her struggles with her looks and sexuality are clearly written if not from personal experience then at least from a deep understanding of coming to terms with these issues.

For me, the magic and the fantasy elements were very much secondary to what this story was; a young queer girl who is struggling to understand her place in a broken world and who is in love with her best friend. It's so oddly relatable for a fantasy book. Part of me wonders if the fantasy elements were even necessary at all.

That being said, I thought the premise was great. The one bugbear I had with the book was that the villain was insubstantial. For the first half of the book, he was great and interesting; I was excited to see where his cruelty would take the story. Come the second half of the book, however, he was entirely irrelevant. Even the slight of losing the most beautiful woman in the kingdom to his brother didn't provoke him to anything beyond a scary look and a rude comment.

Jena's story is an interesting one and the idea behind the book was great. I found the delivery beyond Jena's journey of self-discovery somewhat lacking though.

All that being said, I would recommend it! Particularly to young queer girls who don't quite understand themselves and their feelings. Lord knows that a 15 year old TJ would have found herself between these pages.

I simply cannot resist a fairytale! Reading about palaces, princes and kingdoms feels like coming home for me. Aside from the fairytale setting, I found the kingdom’s setup a similar concept to Kiera Cass’ Selection series, where people are “Numbered” by line of descent to the throne. Higher birth/higher numbers equals higher status. If you are one of the Numbered, you live a lavish life, while others struggle as peasants in their villages. Jena’s best friend Sissi is a Numbered, though a mere four hundred fifty third, is invited to the Capital to partake in the ball’s festivities since rumors of her beauty have reached the prince. Once our heroines make the three week journey from from the countryside to the Capital to attend the royal ball in the palace, the story picks up quickly!

This book was a fascinating blend of fantasy and fairytales, with its own complex religious system and magic system. The Kingdom itself is divided into four quarters and each has its own distinctive characteristics, and the characters believe their Kingdom is genuinely the entire earth and the whole earth is ruled by their king and queen. In fact, they thought that their three week journey by carriage was traveling across half of the entire earth, which I thought was funny. The world building is fascinating, and there were many elements that reminded me of other books that I’ve loved in the past.

Lovers of fairytales and low fantasy will enjoy this one. This is just the sort of fantasy that I personally enjoy which is fantasy that borders on fairytales. My only complaint is that this book started out super strong and felt like it was building up to an intense conclusion, only for it to be a letdown. The latter half of the book definitely was not as strong and the conclusion was lacking. Not because of the open ending (leading to an obvious upcoming sequel) but because it was just...underwhelming. Still, I enjoyed this book and I will definitely be picking up the future books in this series.

Thank you to Netgalley and Zenith for sending me an advanced copy in return for my honest review.

Queen of All had the potential to be a really great YA read, with plenty of representation, but the whole book was a little lacklustre for me.

Jeni, the main character, is a plus-sized teenager who lives on a run-down family farm in a small village. She is also in love with her gorgeous cousin Sisi (they are only cousins by marriage, but the whole one-sided love story was very unsettling). Sisi gets summoned to the palace by the King's brother, Lord Ricard, because she has been called the most beautiful woman in the country. Lord Ricard turns out to be doing some very questionable actions, and Jeni and Sisi endeavour to discover his evil plots.

Jeni is always in the shadow of her beloved cousin, and that made the whole story feel like it was being told from the perspective of a side character. Not much of anything happens until about 70% of the way into the book, and by that point, what's the point? Also, Jeni is so self-depricating with her negative views on her body and looks that it begins to become borderline annoying. I understand having negative thoughts about your appearance, but not every other paragraph, and especially when she keeps comparing herself to someone who is literally called the most beautiful person ever.

Now to the supposed villain of the story... Lord Ricard. He was written so well when he did actually show up, but after his big threat he just disappears??? Even when the perfect opportunity to carry out his threat occurs, he is nowhere to be seen... again I ask, what's the point?

I really loved how the story started with the magical and mysterious mother who decides to abandon baby Jeni for reasons unknown, but this almost had no relevance to the majority of the book. It is only until the very end, when Jeni finally starts to come into her own character, that we start to see the magic come into play again, and even then the storyline felt unresolved. An epilogue from the mother's point of view again would have really tied the story together well.

Overall, I stayed with this story because I wanted to know more about the magic system, and how Jeni's mother is involved, so hopefully that comes in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and Zenith publishing for providing me with an ARC copy to review!

3.5 Stars

For me, this book was okay. I liked the characters, but I felt that the plot was a little weak since the villain was not evil enough and was too easy to overcome. Also, it was too slow-paced for my taste. Hopefully, the next book will have more action, and it will explain the mystery of the main character's mother.

I had the opportunity to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review, thanks to NetGalley and Zenith Publishing.

Queen of All (QOA) by Anya Leigh Josephs is told from the perspective of Jeni, the cousin of Sisi, rumoured to be the most beautiful girl. Jeni & Sisi have grown up together, both without their mothers. Their family is poor & the farm has been declining in recent years, blamed on the loss of the woman who blessed their crops, when she was killed for practicing magic.

When the King’s brother, Ricard, sends a request, for Sisi to come the palace she declines. She knows where it is likely to lead & she wants more from life than to be pretty property. However, when a family member pleads for her to reconsider, she relents. Auntie Mae & Jeni accompany Sisi on her journey & into the palace walls. As Ricard courts Sisi, Jeni realises she loves Sisi in a way that will never be reciprocated.

This doesn’t change Jeni’s loyalty to Sisi, so when she learns of Sisi’s secret project she is keen to help, leading to Jeni exploring the castle & learning to read. As a result, Jeni grows from a shy, uneducated girl into a curious young woman.

Cons:
- QOA is mostly Jeni sharing Sisi’s story, while living in her shadow. Jeni only starts her own adventure at the end, when Sisi’s journey is fulfilled.
- The story begins with a flashback of Jeni’s mother leaving, but the promise of unravelling this mystery is left unfulfilled in QOA.
- QOA is listed as LGBT, but the only exploration of this is Jeni’s unreturned love for Sisi & the insinuation she will end up alone.
- Jeni has significant unaddressed self-esteem issues steeped in fatphobia.
- The book’s villain suddenly disappears without explanation

Pros:
- QOA is easy to read & propels the reader forward.
- The complicated history of other races & the mystery of their disappearances from the human world.
- The structure of human numbering based on position to the crown.
- The villain, where he does appear, is well represented.
- Jeni’s growth, making her choices at the end of the book plausible & enticing the reader to follow her on her future adventure.

3/5 🌟

Thank you Netgalley & Zenith Publishing for the opportunity to read Queen of All in exchange for my impartial review. All opinions stated above are my own.

I loved this book! The world and characters hooked me from the beginning and I cant wait for the next one! Josephs has done an incredible job and will definitely reading her other work.

I have mixed feelings about Queen of All.
I was extremely excited to see a YA LGBTQ+ novel. Add the fact that it was branded as F/F and a fantasy world I was all about it. One of the main issues I had, was the main conflict was a little meh. There was so much build-up but by the end of the book, I was left wondering if I had missed something. What happened with the prince? Was Jena more than meets the eye like I thought she was going to be? I felt a bit lost.
Sisi and Jena are tight friends. So much so, that once Sisi is summoned to the royal court due to her rumored beauty, Jena goes with her. They take on the royal court and work together to ensure they are safe.
What I liked was Jena. She took the opportunity to read and learn as much as she could. She used her plain appearance to venture around the castle unnoticed. But I feel like she got pushed into the traditional role of supporting character who is the fat best friend. Nothing irritates me more. I had so many hopes for her and was let down.
There were few LGBTQ+ elements in this. Jena does admit to herself that she has feelings for another girl, but again, her happiness here gets sacrificed.
This was just a huge miss for me. Other readers absolutely adored this novel. Check out the reviews on Goodreads, they raved about it. It just didn’t work out for me.

#NetGalley #QueenOfAll
I thank NetGalley for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review :)
All I have to say is this....everyone pick this book up when releases.
You absolutely will not be disappointed 🙌🏼

I was given and advanced readers ebook of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Queen of all follows fourteen-year-old Jena. Her best friend (and crush) Sisi is summoned to the royal court, and the girls find the kingdom's future in their hands.

This book had great representation: the main characters are people of color, queer, and body diversity. I was especially excited for the body diversity because I do not see that positively represented in media very often.

Overall a great feminist fantasy; I definitely recommend! Get a copy when it is released on June 9!

Two stars might be a bit generous but I’m going with it. This book is not at all what I was expecting. I thought epic fantasy with a queer romance. There wasn’t much plot. World-building was just ok. I liked the Numbered system but not a big fan of anything else. Way too much descriptive writing and not much actually happening. Jena, our main character, has some serious self-esteem issues. She compared herself to her most beautiful best friend all the time. Sisi is so beautiful. Sisi is so much smarter. I feel like even if Jena is supposed to be the main character this really was the “Sisi Show”. Sisi is her love interest. Also, her best friend and cousin. Yeah that was weird to me too that they refer to each other as “cousin”. By marriage I believe but with the age difference of Jena being 14 and Sisi being 18 the entire romance wasn’t working for me. It really was a one-sided romance if you can even call it romance. Not much about this book really worked for me by the end.

*Received via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

I. Adored. This. Book. I am so looking forward to the sequel. I imagine there will be one especially after that ending. I absolutely cannot wait for people to stumble over this lovely first book that will surely end up being a series.

The things I absolutely love? Main characters of color, body diversity, and queer representation that doesn’t end the in “bury your gays” trope.

I enjoyed watching Jeni’s character grow, and I loved see her come into her own. She and Sisi are just absolutely alive and amazing to me. And it was so lovely to have a bigger bodied, dark-skinned woman seen as the most beautiful woman in the world. I definitely want to live in this world and watch these two women burn the patriarchy down.

I got an arc in exchange for a review! but unfortunately it's a DNF @ 30% from me :///
listen. i wanted to finish it, I did - the plot in the summary sounds incredible! the tiny crumbs of worldbuilding I got? fantastic weaving of realism and fantasy! but. but you see, theres..... nothing. we dont know why jena is going there. we dont get anything other than her complaining. and if your plot hasnt started at 30%, when does it start? I'm not even gonna get on the reviews I've read where jenna (14) had a crush on sisi (18), which..... not good bestie.
giving it 2 stars bc I liked the prologue and the worldbuilding tbh

Thank you netgalley for this e-arc!

As the description says, this book is about Jena, a 14-year-old farm girl who finds herself suddenly immersed at court with the "numbered" and her "cousin" Sisi and Aunt Mae.

I really liked Jena at first. I like the way the author wrote how Jena thinks. Jena's thoughts are very put together, elaborate, imaginative and mature for someone who can't read or write. She presents very well, but also has that insecure side that one would expect in a 14-year-old girl who doesn't really know herself yet. One thing I did not like about Jena thought was her focus on her appearance and constant fat-shaming herself. I understand that not all heroines are meant to be ultra-secure and devil-may-care about what other people think about them, but every two pages or so there would be some line of thought from Jena about how fat she was. I don't think it added much to the story, which happened to have quite a bit to do with appearance, but Jena was a little too focused on her weight for me. Now, I do love that she was not portrayed as the tiny little women that are often seen in fantasy books. It was definitely more realistic.

I really liked the idea of the "numbered" which was like the nobility in the Kingdom. The noble people had numbers which indicated how far they were from succession to the throne. I thought it was a really interesting concept and Josephs wrote it really well. Those folks who did not have a number were essentially considered as peasants. Knowing about the numbers is really where we were able to see the plot, which wasn't clear for at least the first half of the book. In my opinion, the book started off too slow and there was not enough build up of the plot. But once we found out more about the numbered and how the system works, we start to see where Josephs is going with the story. That didn't happen until about 40% through the book, which is too slow a pace for me. The first 40% had some important points about background of the world and world-building, but it was not descriptive enough to actually understand what was going on until you got to about half-way through.

Finally, I liked the queer aspect of the book, but my main issue with it was that Sisi and Jena are portrayed as cousins from the start and they constantly refer to each other as "cousin" and they call all their relatives "cousin Jorj" or "aunt mae." It was difficult to determine at first, but they aren't actually blood related. But it still had that vibe of them being related, which I was not a fan of. Overall, I enjoyed Jena's growth and what she realizes about herself and her journey, but I got lost on the plot. It was still a very good book and I think Josephs did a great job.

I got an e-arc of this book from Netgalley and provided this review!

This book was… disappointing. I had high hopes based on the short blurb and it did not deliver.

As I started my reading, my first thought was that the writing was pretty and easy to read. The prologue and prelude really pulled me in and I was very excited to read more. Then I started chapter 1, the POV changed, and I met Jena, the main character. I was curious about her in the beginning. Jena is very observant which makes her interesting as a narrator because of the very singular way she has to see the world and to describe it. She doesn’t really give off protagonist vibes, she is surprising in a way, and I enjoyed it at first. I thought there was an interesting and subtle contrast between the two girls, Jena and Sisi, who illustrated two very different ways of seeing the world and had worries and aspirations that felt true to their respective ages. Sadly, I expected more character growth, especially from the narrator who quickly became boring and annoying.

I saw close to no development as I got further in the book. Things get redundant, Jena keeps complaining about the same things throughout the entire novel and has almost no influence on the plot which... doesn’t really exist either. Overall this was very boring and bland. Though the writing was very descriptive, the world building was weak. A few ideas were introduced but not developed and I have trouble identifying what importance they had in the story. The absence of plot didn’t help. A few things happen when you get close to the ending but it’s all predictable and just… not… interesting.

Now my main issue with the book was that this is marketed as a LGBTQIA novel, and yes the main character is gay, but her feelings are unrequited. So this is the story of a young lesbian who’s in love with her best friend and basically sacrifices her own happiness. And I agree that this is something that happens in real life, but the whole book was about her burying her feelings and learning that as a gay woman, she’d never find love (another “well meaning“ character basically says that to her). It felt like a sentence, a punishment. Honestly, this made it all really sad and painful to me, and I did not understand the point of this storyline. Another thing that was weird was that Jena and Sisi are not blood-related but still call themselves cousins, and that there’s an age-gap between them (Jena is 14 and Sisi is 18, I believe) that made me uncomfortable. Once again, the idea of a young teenager having a crush on an older friend is something that happens and is a story that deserves to be told, but not like this… Everything about the romance in this book was weird and I didn’t know what to think of it. This is a young adult novel, I think it’s important to be careful about how stories are presented. I could’ve seen Jena’s childish crush being simply that, something that she’d overcome quickly and that would help her grow, but as I said earlier there is close to no character growth.

Apparently this is the first book in a series, which maybe explains a few things but still. The first book should have a solid storyline. It should feel complete on a certain level. This book feels like an introduction but it’s way too long for that. It would’ve been better maybe as a 100-pages novella. I just feel like everything is underdeveloped and slow and takes way too many pages for how little plot we got. I understand that this setup was probably needed to introduce what will happen in Book 2, and the ending really suggests that the plot will begin in the sequel but I just think that this was not the way to introduce the characters.

As a queer reader I did not want to read 300 pages about a sad lesbian who’s in love with her best friend, who doesn’t like girls and is way too old for her.

My honest opinion on Queen Of All is that there isn’t enough substance for a full-length novel, that it should’ve been either a short introductory novella or structured differently and incorporated in the sequel. That being said, I think Anya Leigh Josephs is a promising author who has a unique way with words. As it is, the book wasn’t for me but if other readers enjoyed this novel, I’m truly happy for them.


Content warnings: parental abandonment, talk of corporal punishment, fatphobia, harassment, pregnancy and childbirth, mention and vague description of a character being burnt alive.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC!

Jena, despite being the main protagonist, is intriguingly a side character in the ‘Sisi’ show. For as long as she can remember, Jena has always lived a simple, farmer life, quietly resting in the shadow of her beautiful friend Sisi. Whilst Jena is abandoned by her mother as a baby and is bought up by her emotionally cold, reluctant father; Sisi grows up as daughter of a numbered household, meaning she has royalty in her ancestry. Sisi’s brother fled their life of ruthless court intrigue for a quiet, rural life. But – when a message arrives from the second in the kingdom – Lord Ricard – inviting Sisi to the Midwinter Ball, it seems as if Sisi will return to a life of luxury. In reality, Sisi wants Jena to help her enact revenge on the very same lord who tried to destroy her family all those years ago and unearth the truth about the lord’s fear of anyone who practices magic. Jena, as a loyal friend, accompanies Sisi to the palace and together they face their uncertain future.

The book begins with a prologue and a prelude that are very stand alone in comparison to the rest of the book. In my opinion, the prologue is the standout section of writing from the novel. Written in Jena’s mothers’ voice, it is a stunning declaration of love and loss. Jena’s mother appears reluctant to leave her baby girl but is driven by a deeper calling which appears to hint at magic. It leaves the reader wondering whether she will ever return to claim her baby girl back and teach her about magic, this story arc is sadly only touched on within this book and not resolved but hopefully will be more of a central focus in the next book.

The class system is intriguing and reminds me slightly of the Russian dynasty of serfdom versus royalty. The lower classes are kept to the fringes of the towns and the countryside, living in comfortable poverty. Whilst those families who can trace their heritage back to the first King and Queen are called ‘The Numbered’. The lower your number, the closer you are to royalty and the more wealth and power you wield over others. The numbered live within the large cities in opulent lifestyles. However, all is not as it seems as some numbered families are hunted down and massacred if deemed to be a threat to Lord Ricard becoming the next crowned king. For despite being second in line to the throne, you must pass a test to be deemed worthy of the crown, Lord Ricard has failed once already and is desperate not to fail again.

There was a lot I enjoyed in this book, the Midwinter Ball scene was the peak, highly engaging as Sisi and Jena enjoy the splendour of the ball but tremble at the political threats that loom underneath the glamour. However, the threat of Lord Ricard’s murderous intent seems to die away in the latter section of the book. One minute he threatens the lives of her family and the next they are invited to the castle to enjoy the city’s luxuries. This story arc seems confusing to me, it seems unlikely that such a built up villain who has murdered hundreds of families to advance his position in the numbered, now sits back and allows Sisi to slip away from him. Lord Ricard’s arc is not believable and his villainy is not fulfilled to it’s true potential.

This book is marketed as an LGBTQIA book. Jena’s adoration of her best friend, quickly turns into complicated, deep feelings that she can’t ignore. There is a lovely, tender moment between Jena and her Auntie where they discuss her feelings towards women and Jena is made to feel valued and respected. However, Jena’s feelings are not reciprocated and in the end it feels like she is used by Sisi as Jena must sacrifice her love for Sisi in order to give Sisi her happily ever after. Sisi does not seem worthy of Jena’s love, paying her little attention and always reluctant to communicate with her. The unrequited love arc is touching at times but most of the time is is frustrating for the reader as we know that Sisi is not redeemable enough to be worthy of Jena’s affection.

I will definitely be reading the second book as I’m intrigued as to whether Jena will ever find her mother and gain an explanation as to her budding powers. I believe the next book may be more enticing than the first if the focus is on Jena’s growth and development, leaving Sisi’s coming of age story behind, allowing Jena to bloom as the proper protagonist.

Anya Josephs have a really beautiful way to get you in the story. Her writing was amazing, I think that the main reason I had to keep reading I just enjoyed it a lot. It was something really unique, I think many people will enjoy it.

Thank you netgalley for the e-arc

My favorite part of this book is how the main character is so clearly a side character. The book is written in the same vein as The Rest of Us Just Live Here, where Jena lives in her friend Sisi’s shadow her entire life and must continue to help her as she becomes the Queen of all Earth.

The worldbuilding is slightly confusing, as new fantasy tends to be. There is only one country, and the rulers rule over the entirety of earth which is separated into 4 sections and 16 quadrants respectively. I would have appreciated a more in depth explanation, but in all honesty it’s not really necessary because the majority of the book takes place in the Palace in the middle.

I really love Jena’s character. She spends the entire book helping Sisi, and sacrificing her own happiness and feelings so that her best friend can be happy, but she grows so much during that time. She is a resilient strong character and I can’t wait to read the sequel.

Queen of All is a Young Adult Fantasy book about Jena’s journey.
Reading the plot I really got interested and that’s why I requested this book on NetGalley.

I enjoyed the writing style of the author. The main character, Jena’s life is something to easily get related, like family issues, one-sided love and lonelyness. Jena is surrounded by people but she still feels alone, which is a common problem nowadays.

As much as I liked Jena’s characther and her development through the story, I couldn’t get along with Sisi’s characther. Maybe it was my personal problem with her, but for me she was just unlikeable.

In general it was an interesting and enjoyable YA fantasy book.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

The Book Queen of All is one of the best YA Fantasies I have read! The book dips right into the life of two girl "cousins" and their life on the family farm. From the viewpoint of Jena, she and her cousin Sisi are family and best friends, until the day a message is delivered and both of their lives are changed for ever. We learn of the struggles of the lower class and what is expected of Sisi as part of the numbered royal class. Through tales of loss and deception, we learn about true love and sacrifice. I absolutely love the LGBTQ aspect and I feel books like this are needed! I wish it was longer! The end seemed a bit rushed, I would have loved more details, but it was a great read. I would highly recommend this book for LGBTQ, YA, Fantasy, Si-Fi.

I really wanted to like this one, I swear. Now, I really liked the writing style and it was refreshingly diverse and kind of a stray from the usual YA fantasy, Jeni/Jena was a really unique MC and she felt like she could be super interesting. But.. uh she wasn't.

It feels like there was this really good arc for her being built up but it never felt like it went anywhere, yet it was also super hastily resolved? I think that's my problem with this book, there's build-up, but nothing happens and then it just *boom* resolved. The main plot of the book had legitimately no tension and I'm not even sure there was an antagonist.

Well... that's not necessarily true, honestly Sisi (pretty best friend) felt like the antagonist up until the very end. I have so many issues and honestly Sisi is the cause of most of them. First, the way this book is introduced and marketed, it feels like a sapphic YA with them being the relationship.... it's not, there is no romantic arc for our MC, which isn't necessarily a problem, except she does have a crush on Sisi. The crush itself made me really uncomfortable, as Sisi was a) 5-6 years older than Jeni and b) her cousin (not by blood but the implications are still no). Their 'friendship' felt really manipulative too, Sisi is so whiny, and Jeni does everything for her, even if it was 'for the sake of love,' no piece of media should really promote a message of if you love someone you'll sacrifice yourself for them, even if they don't love you back and they don't do anything for you. There wasn't a believable friendship or crush between them because Jeni just felt like Sisi's punching bag or some sort of pet. <spoiler> the end scene before Jeni leaves does not make up for it, it feels like she admitted she knew she liked her and never addressed it. ALSO SISI GOT EVERTHING SHE WANTED AS JENI SACRIFICED SOMETHING FOR HER (though I don't know what she sacrificed because 'vague magic sacrifice' happened ) AND THE MOST SHE GAVE JENI WAS AN ESCORT OUT AND TELLING HER TO LEAVE, I hate her, oh my god I hate her. </spoiler>

The world building and the setting also suffers from just being lackluster over all, there was no tension, no intrigue in it, for all I knew, nothing happened outside of the palace and the poor apple farm where the MC grew up. The backstory for the world was also really interesting, but yet again, it feels like nothing came from it.

Now I understand that this is the first book in a series, but even so there needs to be some forms of resolution for arcs and plots. It felt like nothing happened except a bunch of randomly assorted events that concluded with some plot point being accomplished (does that even make sense?), and the MC grows so little, honestly I feel like she got worse, like she goes from no confidence, constantly comparing herself to... very little confidence, still only seeing herself as a sidepiece, though I think that kind of changed towards the end. Also, random nitpick, but since we're on Jeni, can she please stop fat-shaming herself, like I was so glad that there was a plus-size MC but every time she eats or looks in a mirror, she laments about how curvy she is or how jealous she is of Sisi, who's pretty and has all her weight in her figure, like please.. no don't set that example.

I know I'm in the minority here but I did not like the main character's main relationship, the main character felt way too lackluster, this book is so anticlimactic in every single aspect that it's ridiculous, but the writing style is good and this book had so much potential that it's a little disheartening to see how it came out. I don't think I will be continuing with the series, but I do want to say that I really liked this author's writing style and I do think she has a lot of potential