Pretty good book. A little slow, but overall not bad. It sort of felt like the author was trying to be very proper with their writing but it just came off a bit boring.

I really don’t enjoy when a book starts with a prologue and then a prelude before the story even starts but it was so well written. The prologue is such a pure heartfelt declaration of love. I felt the love all the way down to my toes.
Then the prelude starts introducing us to characters. I believe Jena’s mom plays a big part in her life even though she’s not in the story. It was set up well for the rest of the book.
I really enjoyed all the magical aspects of this novel. So magical without truly having magic. I’m really hoping that there’s another novel that will reveal more of the magic to us.
The story is about 2 cousins who travel from the country to the capital by invitation from the royal family. Sisi is a closer descendant in the numbers system and is the one who receives the invite but she refuses to travel without her ‘plain’ cousin Jena. As much as Sisi was one of the main characters I felt that Jena’s story is the true main story. Jena ends up doing anything she can for the one girl she is truly in love with.
The writing in this novel is so beautiful and I can’t wait to read more from this author.




Thank you NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

What a start to the series! While I must admit that it took me a little bit to get into, it was well worth it. After a few chapters in I could not put it down and desperately needed to know what was in store for Jeni and Sisi.

Anya was very detailed in her writing style and created a picture perfect setting with amazing character development over the span of the book. I also appreciated the author’s diversity and inclusivity on the subject of race (detailed descriptions of how the character looks and the feeling of overall unity) and the LGBTQ community (the struggle of coming out and letting ones true feelings show). While it was a bit slow to start, I found that it progressed nicely and ended in a cliffhanger that had me wishing for the next book to find out what happens to our precious ‘little bird’.

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review such a wonderful book!

Highly recommend this book

This book has no plot just vibes.

Or well it does have a plot but its of little consequence for our protagonist and doesnt really pick up until the last couple of chapters.

This book is marketed as lgbt and the main character is a lesbian so that’s absolutely fine. Except the only lgbt content we have is the main character’s unrequited love for her 18/19 year old cousin. Did i mention the main character is 14/15? (the book takes place over a year and a bit so they do age). I don’t know how to feel about all of that but I think if you’re gonna go down that route there should have been more yearning to it, not a couple of mentions of it here and there.

There was so much talk of True Names and magic and Gaia but yet it all felt quite lackluster and irrevelant. Same for the Numbered people and the world building in general.

The King’s brother was made out to be a very important character and that he and the King would severly clash over the prettiest girl in the world, but there was little to none of that and it was all quite anticlimatic.

The main character is quite self conscious because she grew up around beautiful and thin people her whole life and has to hide her sexuality so I think she is well written. Plus her story arc and character development is quite good but other than that this book felt like one big build up to nothing happening.

And the ending. It seems like it’s setting up for a sequel but I’m not actually sure if there will be one or not. Irregardless, that potential storyline seems a lot more interesting than the story we got.

This book was not bad but I felt like it could have been a lot more.

I was quite excited to read this book, as I was interested in the lore and queer representation, however it took a completely different direction than I thought. While the world building and the stakes of the story did fall a little short in my opinion, the character development of Jena and her growth as a person, coming into her own, was incredible. I can't wait for Jena's journey to truly begin and see where Anya Leigh Josephs goes next!

Queen of All has, from start to finish, a magical and fascinating note, which has deeply captured me and transported me to a unique universe.

From the beginning of the novel it is very easy to empathize with the protagonist of the story, Jena. The girl lives a relatively quiet and simple life in a poor family; motherless from an early age, she knows that her purpose in life is to work on his father's farm to help her family, and she has no high expectations for her future, which is uncertain and full of anxieties, other than the road that already seems to be written for her.

"Unlike Sisi, I have no special secret past. Other than having no mother, I'm an ordinary girl. I was born on this farm and, in all likelihood, I'll die here, or in some other spot half a league away. My days will be filled with work like this. I'll pick apples when I'm young, and then by the time I'm Sisi's age, I'll marry one of the boys she doesn't want, and I'll have children and a room of my own in the house. Or I'll stay unmarried like Aunt Mae and I'll nurse my aunts and my uncle and my father when the get old. Either way I'll die and be buried in the back garden like my grandparents are, and perhaps if I'm very lucky, someone might think to tell my nieces and nephews about me. Otherwise, I'll be forgotten."

Despite low expectations for her future, however, Jena has a very clear goal in her mind: to protect her beloved Sisi. When difficulties come, Jena shows the bravest and most loyal side of herself, even though she herself is afraid, and is ready to defend Sisi with her whole self. Her love for Sisi is extremely pure and touching, one cannot help but support her.

"I wonder how I can keep Sisi, the person I love most, safe from those who will never see her as anything more than a prize to be won, a delicacy to be devoured."

Although it is inted in the prologue, it is only during the journey to the City that we realize that the novel has an underlying mystery, namely the disappearance of Jena's mother. Thanks to Aunt Mae's story, we understand that Ia - Jena's mom - was destined to leave since the very beginning, altough not voluntarily. This new perspective makes everything even more interesting and intrigued me deeply.

The narration is rich and exquisite, full of detailed descriptions of this wonderful setup and enriched with traditional tales about the creation of the Earth by Goddess Gaia. I really appreciated the author's writing style, refined and never boring, capable of keeping the reader's attention high.

Throughout the book there is a melancholy note given by the loneliness that Jena feels, knowing that Sisi, the only person she has always felt close to, is embarking on a path that will take her away from her forever. Feel the sadness that the protagonist feels, the sense of inadequacy and inferiority of her. Again, I can't help but be fascinated by the author's writing skills.

"I remember how long I had looked at one spot, how I had let myself fantasize about a better life, a life with my mother, a life where I belonged, where I never felt as though I were slipping through the margins of a family that didn't truly want me there with them, but had to take care of me because I was, however little I seemed it, their own blood."

Jena, however, does not give up. On the contrary, she tries with all herself to improve, to grow; she does it when she learns to read for the first time, to be useful in Sisi's search; she does it when she makes an important gesture to ensure the happiness of her loved one; and eventually she does it, to finally find her home. Jena is a beautiful and pure protagonist who is impossible not to love.

"It's what your True Name means. Jena. Little bird. And you're going to learn how to fly."

The end left me in an emotional mess. I absolutely need to know how this wonderful story will continue.

Rating: 4,5.

(I received a free copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to the publisher and the author!)

I loved the writing style of this author. The story was wonderful and enchanting as well. I would love to read more from this author.

Queen of All follows young Jena on a journey of self-discovery and independence. Like most coming of age stories, it is easy to find yourself relating to Jena as she struggles with family drama and heart ache. Jena is surrounded by people, yet feels so alone which is heartbreaking but sincere. It is amazing to see how she slowly finds her place in the royal court and steps out of her cousins shadow.

I really enjoyed how Anya Josephs goes outside of the normal tropes of the genre and builds a very original fantasy world. She is very detailed in her narration, often having long descriptions with very little dialogue which helps build the setting and the inner perspective, but probably could also be taken as rambling sometimes. Also, as a young Jewish woman it was hard to find how this book follows Jewish stories. Josephs uses "konim", "ruak" and other common terms to me, but the traditions I have grown up with are missing. Traditional ceremonies are done in a completely different way, baseline Jewish values are missing and even Jewish names are missing. I would say that although Josephs has a knowledge of Jewish mysticism, it is a bit to far to claim that this is based on Jewish mythology. However, I did enjoy seeing more of myself represented in a novel as that is quite rare. I can't wait to see what comes next for Jena!

This book was a true gem to read. The beginning was so spectacular, the poetry, the atmospheric writing in BOTH types of perspectives were extraordinary. In fact, I'd argue that the writing style is this book's strongest feature. On top of this, one thing I noticed was the ever present tension within the book; there is always some new piece of information or character aspect given to us and the story did not feel like it spent dragging amount of time on a same piece of plot, rather it kept advancing and i appreciate that a lot. The themes of feminism, queer romance, and pretty privilege was especially executed really well. This along with the writing style really gave a unique voice to the main character.

However, the gradually started becoming more boring by the second, not due to lack of plot, because while the political intrigue was done well, it felt overshadowed by the lack of interesting characters. No other characters were given depth and honestly so many of them were too tropey, they did not have any uniqueness to them. I still stuck with the book because of the beautiful writing and i will also stick with 3 stars for its exceptionally good beginning and an ending that i really enjoyed for it connected back to the beginning.
Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an arc via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

the review for this book will be uploaded on my goodreads, blog, twitter and barnes and nobles website on 6th June 2021 (i will update and add the links of all of that here once i post them)

3.5/5 Queen of All was a unique fantasy that focuses on Jeni, a fourteen year-old girl from a poor farm. When her cousin Sisi is invited to the City to attend a ball with the Crown Prince, Jeni finds herself on a path of discovery, coming-of-age, and love.

What stood out in this book for me was the writing. There is a consistent tone to Jeni’s perspective and a mysterious tension throughout the book until the end, where we are left off with the desire to read more. The author described the dynamics of Jeni’s family quite well, and while some of the other characters didn’t stand out for me, the build-up around Jeni’s relationships with others did.

The worldbuilding was a bit weak, but we do get a good sense of the royal, wealthy culture that takes place in the City. One thing about the worldbuilding is that so much of it seems irrelevant until the end, where I believe the story will lead into a second book. We get a lot of background info about the magic and history of certain people in the land, plus the Old Tongue which is a forbidden language, but not much of that comes to play until the end. We see Jeni go through training accompanying Sisi, and eventually she takes things into her own hands to learn more about history. I liked that the author chose to include this part because Jeni doesn’t know how to read in the beginning and she comes a long way, but I kept wondering when any of that knowledge would truly play a part in the story.

We watch Jeni struggle with her feelings for her cousin (they aren’t related by blood) and the realization that she is gay. I appreciate the sensitivity and care the author took to weave their relationship throughout the story, but it is difficult at some points to watch Jeni’s love unrequited. Their Aunt that accompanied them is also gay, and the conversation Jeni and her have was sad, but insightful. There isn’t a queer norm in this world and ultimately Jeni’s love becomes a sacrifice for Sisi, who ends up being Queen. While Sisi has made some sacrifices, I feel Jeni was overlooked by even her, and Jeni’s hard work is often unnoticed. This made reading occasionally difficult because you’re reading Jeni’s emotions and feelings, while Sisi ends up finding happiness while Jeni struggles to figure out what she wants as she dedicates her time and life to Sisi. Their relationship was my favourite throughout the book, but it isn’t the kind that leaves you happy by end.

There is also quite a bit of discussion around how beautiful Sisi is, and subsequently, how Jeni is not. Jeni is the opposite of Sisi in shape and natural beauty, but Jeni is still young and growing into herself. The topic of pretty privilege appears throughout the book, sometimes a bit too repetitive, but well-done. Jeni often is a little down-trodden or unconfident about her appearance, but also has the strength to ignore the surface-level opinions of others. I liked how she grappled with this aspect throughout the book as I feel it was pretty realistic. Also, with the society they were thrust into, appearance means quite a bit.

The ending made this story for me, where we see Jeni realize her power and understand herself more. She comes to terms with her feelings for Sisi and recognizes that while their relationship will never be realized, she still loves Sisi and is glad she made the sacrifices she did. Jeni sets off to confront her questions and find out more about her mother, who we read of in the prologue. The concept of Gaia and magic has me interested in reading further. Queen of All almost read more like the prologue or origin story for Jeni and an exciting adventure ahead. In some ways I feel a bit eluded by this story because it has so much unanswered, but fingers crossed there will be second book to satisfy my wonder!

Thank you to NetGalley and GenZ Publishing for the ARC.

Jena lives with her family and with her best, Sisi, firmed in her family's farm. A farm that is struggling badly, pushing Sisi to accept an offer to go to the capital and meet with the prince. A trip Jena and her aunt take with Sisi. The trip is the beginning of a journey that will change Jena's life forever and will fill her life with happiness, sadness, discovery and acceptance.

I enjoy YA's and fantasy books, so when I had the opportunity to read a new book by a new author I did so right away. The book is first person, something I don't usually like, but It was well done in this book. There were long stretches of descriptions with barely any conversation, but I was ok with it since it is a made up world and it needs to be explains and the stage set.

The story was of self discovery and it was well done. The book takes you on a ride into a world I found myself immersed in and thinking about it when I was not reading about it. It was interesting and it didn't give you all the answers right away.

If you like YA and fantasy, definitely give this book a read!

I received an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I received an eARC of this book from GenZ (Zenith Publishing) via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have to be honest, I tried getting into this story. I tried and tried but was unable to get past the 5th chapter. The errors in writing were so bad that it distracted me from he story. I will try again when it has been edited but as of now, I will not be finishing the book.

I chose to read Queen of All as part of my personal quest to try new genres. I have always been in the ‘I don’t like fantasy camp’. I was wrong.

Queen of All is a story of unrequited, deep, and selfless love, set on a backdrop of secrets, magic, and an evil Prince.

The plot moves at just the right pace, keeping you captivated and wanting more. I enjoyed the similarities and comparisons between the society within the book and that of the real world. How women can be objectified, belong to men, ‘affections’ can be traded for, and that they are expected to behave in certain ways.
I felt the story arc of Jena comprehending and coming to terms with her sexuality was done incredibly well, it was a gradual process, and I was touched that her Aunt Mae was able to offer her someone to talk to and show her compassion and understanding.

The author’s writing style is original and ingenious. The development of Sisi and Jena throughout the book and their ‘coming-of-age’ in terms of growing from girls to women is poignant. Whilst Sisi finds love and settles down ‘traditionally’ into her womanhood, Jena grows into her strength, independence, and spirit.

I cannot wait for book two to follow what happens next for Jena, I’m completely gripped!

Thank you, NetGalley and Zenith Publishing for the e-arc.

i can only say the same thing as the previous reviewers - e-arc only contains the cover and back of the book. 3 stars placeholder until/if there's an actual arc of the book!

As the previous comment states, this is only the front and back cover. But a beautiful front and back cover it is, I am excited to read the book when it actually comes out. The design of the cover is eye-catching and not too busy, the teal and gold going well together and reinforcing the idea of royalty. The excerpt of the book on the back is even more intriguing than the except provided on NetGalley, I am excited to see more of the book when it becomes available.

4 stars for the cover and excerpt design

Would love to review the book once it is uploaded! However as previous post states this is only the front and back cover. Going to give it a 4 star rating as a placeholder till the full version is granted. Great cover at least!