The Queen Is Dead

By: Kate Locke

Narrated by: Moira Quirk

Length: 10 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's Summary

In Book 2 of the Immortal Empire series, brother Val gets in over his head in an investigation of Half-Blood disappearances and goes missing himself. It's up to Xandra, newly crowned Goblin Queen, to get him back and bring the atrocities to light. Xandra must frequent the seediest parts of London, while also coping with what she is, the political factions vying for her favor, and the all-too-close scrutiny of Queen Victoria, who wants her head. Add this to being a suspect in a murder investigation, a werewolf boyfriend with demands of his own, and a mother hell-bent on destroying the monarchy, and Xandra barely knows which way is up. One thing she does know is that she's already lost one sibling, she's not about to lose another.

©2013 Kate Locke (P)2013 Hachette Audio

Loved this series despite the cover art

Would you consider the audio edition of The Queen Is Dead to be better than the print version?

I don't know. I did not read it.

What other book might you compare The Queen Is Dead to and why?

I am not sure there is anything to compare it to, maybe the Parasol Protectorate books which I loved as well.

Have you listened to any of Moira Quirk’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

She was an ok narrator not as good as the person who did the first book.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It was just a fun book.

Quite A Sequel

Absolutely amazing audiobook! Thoroughly enjoyed this book, the new narrator did a wonderful job. While I liked the previous narrator, this one did a great job too. Great sequel and has an amazing storyline.

Pretty decent set up for book 3

Yes, this is an Empire Strikes Back middle book, where only minor skirmishes get resolved. But, this was a very engaging middle book nonetheless. I barely even noticed the change of narrators. There’s an uptick in F-bombs, and still only fade to black romance. My one minor criticism is that the book 2 bad guys are largely absent until an end of book reveal, and the Big Bad remains completely hidden after two books- this seemed like a missed opportunity to develop conflict against the nicely complex good guys. Ah well, at least the plot has depth, setting up the finale to reveal the puppet master. Book 3 amps the horror, conspiracy, and stakes to fantastic effect. All hail the Goblin Queen!

Moira Quirk is awesome!!

I really enjoyed the story and the clever way it builds -- but I guess I just love anything Moira Quirk narrates.

I could listen to more stories from Kate Locke !

Fantastic Production

I was already a fan of Kate Locke's writing after reading the first book in this series, but the performance really takes it to another level. So we'll done!

Incredibly fun read!

This is the second book in The Immortal Empire series. I know the third book in the series will be titled, Long Live the Queen, and release in October 2013. I am unsure of whether there will additional books in this series after that one. I really enjoyed this book, it was just pure fun.

I listened to this on audiobook. The narrator does a stellar job of capturing Xandra’s personality perfectly. I read the first book in this series in paperback and listened to this second book. This was one of those series where I actually enjoyed listening to it more than reading it!

Xandra is struggling to find her place in the world. She is unsure whether or not she should accept the crown of the Goblin Queen. Then her sister shows up, upset that their brother has gone missing. Xandra is forced to use her Goblin connections to try and figure out where he has gone. Vex, of course, is at her side to bring some werewolf sensibility to the mission.

Xandra is trying to get her life back together after finding out she is the Goblin Queen. When her brother goes missing she is dead set on investigating his disappearance. Xandra grows a lot in this story. She learns to set aside some vendettas and take up her responsibilities. It was fun to watch her grow and change into a better person.

Xandra is plucky, tough, fun, and loyal. I really enjoy her as a heroine. Vex is the perfect counterbalance; he loves her and respects her...but he also doesn't let Xandra get away with being irresponsible or shying from decisions that need making.

I love the world this story is set in. Modern day London but with goblins, vamps, weres, and halfies. You have vampires and weres as the Royals. Goblins as the race that everyone is terrified of and halfies dealing with the fallout. The world is an absolute blast and you never know what you will find around the next corner.

The story is action packed and full of mystery. The book clips along at a good pace and is very engaging. The book is well written and fun. Mostly this is a mystery, but there is some relationship stuff going on between Xandra and Vex. The plot definitely isn’t romance driven though. This is more of a high octane urban fantasy read.

Overall this was a delightful and absolutely enjoyable book. This book was incredibly fun to read and very well put together. Xandra and Vex have a lot of tough problems thrown their way, but they react like mature adults and still have fun on the ride. Highly recommended for fans of urban fantasy with a Victorian flare.

Loved everything about it

Perfect story, perfect narrator. It doesn't get any better than that. Kate Locke and Xandra have been added to my A list.

I can't wait for the next one. Please keep the same narrator. She's amazing.

I was hoping it would be as good as book 1

Boom, Mrs Locke strikes again. At first I didn't like the pace of the story, it wasn't as exciting to me as the 1st book was. Things were happening but I didn't feel like I was on a thrill ride the same way I felt with book 1. I was afraid the novelty wore off.

I'm deliriously happy to say I was wrong. I kept on and it got much better. I still enjoy the 1st book better but this one is still pretty good in its own right. The author has a way of keeing you turning pages, not wanting to put the book down. I won't reveal spoilers but lets say that you learn more about our protagonist when members of her family are threatended. We aksi learn a little more about Xandra's abilities which are pretty cool.

To explain the missing star, because book 1 was noticeably better than this one, I couldn't also give book 2 5 stars. I feel too many people give out 5 starts to books they only like a little and I won't do that. Book 1 deserved 5 stars. This book, because it's not quite as thrilling and exciting as book 1, I took off a star.

I did thoroughly enjoy the book and I would recommend it to anyone, considering they read book 1. I can't wait for book 3! Kate Locke is an extremely talented author and I can't wait for more!