A review by danireneewood
Nameless Queen by Rebecca McLaughlin
Did not finish book.
This was an ARC that I was excited to read, but one that unfortunately did not live up to excitement or expectations.
The concept was intriguing: a social hierarchy arranged around the power of names and family heritage, but in the sense that those without names, the Nameless, are completely without power and must steal and sleep on the streets to survive.
Above the Nameless are Legals, who can be considered to be the working class, and finally, at the peak, are the Royals. The land of Seriden is ruled by the crown - and when the current king or queen dies, they name their heir by saying their name. The individual who is to ascend to the crown is marked with a tattoo. The story supposedly gets interesting when a Nameless is named heir.
Coin, the nameless who finds herself wearing the crown tattoo, is smart. She's quick mentally and on her feet, and has survived as a petty thief on the streets of Seriden. Early on there's the feeling that she's worked for what she has, and is smart enough not to get too attached to the material. There's a feeling that she's grown over time.
That image is completely shattered the moment she gains the crown tattoo. After revealing herself to be the named ruler of Seriden, Coin is taken into custody, and it is while she is in custody that she immediately begins displaying control of magical powers - such as seeing and understanding auras, making things invisible and the like. What's interesting is that despite no prior mention of these powers or having them before, she is instantly adept at using them. It is an incredibly frustrating display, and one that we don't see a lot of personal growth from. Immediately Coin falls into the tropes of the Mary Sue, and it's an image not recovered from.
The big moments are rushed, and don't feel like the climax they deserve to be. Outside of structurally, the writing is decent - it conveys what it needs to, and nothing more. It often feels very tell rather than show.
Nameless Queen does break the YA Fantasy norm in that it focuses on the importance of family - of blood relation or not - rather than a romantic interest, and in that, I thought, it had it's big win.
I wanted so much more from this title, and maybe it's a case of expectation being the root of heartache for me.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book. Receiving a copy did not impact my review.
The concept was intriguing: a social hierarchy arranged around the power of names and family heritage, but in the sense that those without names, the Nameless, are completely without power and must steal and sleep on the streets to survive.
Above the Nameless are Legals, who can be considered to be the working class, and finally, at the peak, are the Royals. The land of Seriden is ruled by the crown - and when the current king or queen dies, they name their heir by saying their name. The individual who is to ascend to the crown is marked with a tattoo. The story supposedly gets interesting when a Nameless is named heir.
Coin, the nameless who finds herself wearing the crown tattoo, is smart. She's quick mentally and on her feet, and has survived as a petty thief on the streets of Seriden. Early on there's the feeling that she's worked for what she has, and is smart enough not to get too attached to the material. There's a feeling that she's grown over time.
That image is completely shattered the moment she gains the crown tattoo. After revealing herself to be the named ruler of Seriden, Coin is taken into custody, and it is while she is in custody that she immediately begins displaying control of magical powers - such as seeing and understanding auras, making things invisible and the like. What's interesting is that despite no prior mention of these powers or having them before, she is instantly adept at using them. It is an incredibly frustrating display, and one that we don't see a lot of personal growth from. Immediately Coin falls into the tropes of the Mary Sue, and it's an image not recovered from.
The big moments are rushed, and don't feel like the climax they deserve to be. Outside of structurally, the writing is decent - it conveys what it needs to, and nothing more. It often feels very tell rather than show.
Nameless Queen does break the YA Fantasy norm in that it focuses on the importance of family - of blood relation or not - rather than a romantic interest, and in that, I thought, it had it's big win.
I wanted so much more from this title, and maybe it's a case of expectation being the root of heartache for me.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book. Receiving a copy did not impact my review.