Thursday Review: THE ORPHAN QUEEN by Jodi Meadows

Summary: When we meet Wilhelmina, she's a top player in a gang of orphans called the Ospreys, former nobles all, who were displaced when their country of Aecor was overrun by the neighboring Indigo Kingdom. Now they live on the fringes of the Indigo Kingdom's capital, Skyvale, thieving and deceiving in order to survive, all the while scheming to gather their scattered countrymen and take back their nation. And Wil is destined to be queen of Aecor. But she's got a secret: she can do magic. Magic is all but verboten in their world—they're living post-magical-apocalypse. Doing magic leads to the creation of wraith, a misty, creeping substance that's toxic and that…changes things. Makes small animals large and vicious. And the wraith and its creatures are spreading.

Against this tense backdrop, the Ospreys' success is riding on a daring plan to infiltrate the castle, with Wil and her friend Melanie posing as refugee noblewomen from a neighboring kingdom fleeing the wraith. But the more Wil learns about the reasons for the fighting between her own Aecor and Indigo, the more she sees of her new home, the less clear-cut her cause becomes…

Peaks: This was a wonderfully crafted book with respect to the political intrigue—there's plenty of it, but there's also a fair bit of magic, a lot of action and disguises and creeping about, and just enough romance to really foul things up for the protagonists and make everything tense and suspenseful. The key characters are all complex and everyone seems to have some sort of ulterior motive, even the narrator, Wil, who must keep her magic under wraps as well as her disguise intact. I really enjoyed this one. Even though I kind of guessed the identity of the mysterious Black Knife part of the way in, there was just enough uncertainty that I was still feeling the anticipation of the final reveal.

Valleys: Well, for me, this one had the distinct disadvantage of NOT HAVING A SEQUEL I COULD READ RIGHT THIS MINUTE. It's not out for MONTHS. Sigh. Time to look for a digital galley…

Conclusion: Fans of fantasy with strong, courageous, intelligent female protagonists will want to check this one out. It's kinda gritty, I suppose, so I'd definitely recommend it for a YA audience and above. If you like Tamora Pierce's YA stuff, if you like Graceling or The Winner's Curse, check this one out. But don't say I didn't warn you about that sequel not being available yet!!

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I received my copy of this book courtesy of my library's ebook collection. You can find THE ORPHAN QUEEN by Jodi Meadows at an online e-tailer, or at a real life, independent bookstore near you!