3/5
Four Dead Queens is a novel telling the story of Keralie Corrington, a skilled thief who becomes roped into a dangerous political conspiracy involving the four queens of the empire after a job goes wrong. The world-building in the novel is insane!! The kingdom of Quadara is so unique and rich, each of the four regions being ruled by a different queen, each with a different set of culture, laws, and customs.
The novel was really descriptive and was actually written from 6 different perspectives. This was not one of my favourite points, as I felt more attached and emotionally invested in other characters rather than the actual main character, Keralie. Because of this, I find the characters to be quite a cliché and flat, though their backstories were still enjoyable to read.
I think the best part of this novel is the world it's set in itself as well as the politics, it's so unique and well thought out, while the charters were kind of left in the dust. I find the plot loses focus and is hard to keep track of. Also, I was having trouble understanding what the main genre really is, it felt like a romantic fantasy sci-fi murder mystery mushed all into one. I think if the book was longer and spread out into more than one book it would have been amazing.
Despite all that, I do think this book is worth reading, especially if you’re the kind of person who appreciates a novel with descriptive and complex world-building