Mortal Queens

The Fae Dynasty, Book 1

By: Victoria McCombs

Narrated by: Ellen Quay

Length: 9 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

"They vanish without a trace, disappear into the night . . .

Each year on the center island, one girl is chosen to be the next Mortal Queen of the idolized fae. The mortals praise these lucky girls, but their daughters are never seen again.

The fae realm is eternal night, where disputes are settled by chess matches, power is acquired through the most devious kinds of trickery, and seven illusive kings roam. The fae hide their faces behind masks and guard their glass hearts to keep them from shattering. But beyond the veil of this luxurious paradise, a dark secret simmers, for their Queens have disappeared.

When aspiring artist Althea is selected, she is desperate to avoid the same mysterious fate. With no one to trust, she conceals messages in paintings and receives anonymous replies from a stranger who slowly reveals the tale of a girl who outwitted the fae. Only if she is clever enough will Althea survive the fate of the Mortal Queens. As long as the king who cannot love does not claim her first.

©2024 Victoria McCombs (P)2024 Oasis Audio

The way the story was told and just being in the far world.

I loved all of it. I can't wait to read the next book! Please let me know when you have more of this series.

fast paced whirlwind

You could say this book is fast paced, but in truth, it's a bit more of a whirlwind. You don't really have time to get to know the main character, Thea, before you're swept off into a completely different world. we're supposed to see that she has managed to survive in her own world, as hard as that is, but not really given the chance to make any predictions about how she'll fare in the Fae world. the development here is too vague. however, before you realize that, you're already in the Fae city, among the clouds, watching as Thea makes one mistake after another while others pick up after her. at no point does she use her mistakes to her advantage, and instead, uses three months of her short life to wallow in her room and paint and learn how to play chess. all the skills she supposedly has from the mortal world are generally...unused or useless. She does have some tender moments, but there is as little time to enjoy these as there is to get to know the main character - who has the same voice and personality as everyone else, which makes it difficult to differentiate her from the others - before she is suddenly making a new decision and a new mistake. if she is supposed to be cunning, she comes across as more of a blundering fool who, as her father is constantly in her head reminding her, is not prepared for the fae realm.

the world building among the fae is a bit odd too.. though if there was more history or explanation it wouldn't be as much of a problem. but it seems like the only reason for pranks is "power," though it is never explained what "power" does or how it is estimated, though it seems to be just the general perception other people have of you, is that you're powerful. if that is the case, Thea, who is supposed to be powerful at the end, is still incredibly... pathetic, and not in the sense of being worthy of our sympathy, but in the sense of, this kid is pitiful and the wrong sort of protagonist to convince me that she will succeed in the second book, even as the stakes get higher. if there was ever a beneficiary of Main Character Protection, this kid is it.

over all, too fast paced to be well developed, with one note characters that are easily interchangeable and indistinguishable. but I did finish it. it was compelling enough to finish.