The world building was amazing, unfortunately, the characters fell flat in comparison - annoying, boring, and just dull! I DNF'd at around 20%

Although I quite liked the world building in this book, the characters were all pretty annoying! The plot was slow to start but picked up later on, and I did think the ending was good. Not sure I'll ever reread this one though!

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

DNF at 7%

Maybe I'll give it another chance before the release date but I'm not holding my breath. The writing is basic. The MC is a bore. The story is tired. This is not what I expect fromy YA fantasy.

Wow, this was such a great read - full of far more twists and turns than I had anticipated. I felt for Amie throughout this book, betrayed, hurt and used, over and over again by people who could only think of themselves. Even Jeneba turned out to be better for her than almost anyone she encountered! A truly great read, and it was so good to read a novel based on a Malian fairytale with Gods and magic. A little bit of a queer-baity blurb, as there was no hints of anything approaching a love triangle until the final chapter, but a strong read nonetheless.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my copy of this e-arc!

This book was decently paced and I enjoyed that the protagonist was queer which bumped up the book a little.

I feel like we were told so much information instead of it being shown to us when it comes to why something was happening.

At the beginning we find out very quickly why she is in the position she’s in and then later in the book all is forgiven very quickly.

The main character was likeable but she wasn’t my favourite because we didn’t see any progression in her because we were told and not shown barely any developments in the characters

An interesting plot that starts slow but really picks up the pace, that features lots of twists and turns centred around a deadly competition. We also have a FMC who I would describe as morally grey but some may see as someone they can't root for.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Books for the ARC. This was a 2.5⭐ read which I give props for its queer protagonist. A love triangle where the protag is torn between two love interests of different genders is definitely more interesting than the usual fodder we get in YA. I honestly wanted to see where this queer relationship was going and that was the only motivation for not DNF-ing.

Somehow the plot of TSQ feels both simplistic and yet unnecessarily convoluted. So much scheming and manipulation took place and all for the end goal of ending the brutal trials that the Emperor Suleyman had put in place to find a groom for his daughter, Princess Mariama. Literally, their scheme on paper was to help a potential suitor survive the trials and win the hand of the princess, by journeying with him to a god's lair to find an mythical object that will imbue him with power and protection. The issue with this whole plot is that it sidelines the princess for most of the novel; she stays behind while Amie the protag heads off to assist said suitor in this quest. Princess Mariama is part of the synopsis and the love triangle but doesn't get to be directly involved with the main gist of the plot. Yes, it is later explained why this is so, but this just makes the princess a flat character.

And there is SO much telling, particularly when it comes to relationships. We're TOLD Amie's past with Kader, the boy she loves since her betrothal, and why she loves him. We're TOLD that Princess Mariama treats Amie kindly and spends time with her, leading to the two developing affection for the other. The latter is especially egregious, because these two girls essentially fell in love over a span of a few weeks that we're told had happened. They don't actually spend that many chapters together. The pacing is fast but it definitely could slow down and spend more time & depth on the relationships with the two love interests.

Amie herself as the POV character is serviceable. Again, we're TOLD she used to be meek and obedient before her social disgrace, so her newfound on-page confidence to rebel against authority and societal expectations was to be expected. With such paper-thin romances, her interactions with older sister Haddy and friendships with fellow servants Penda & Jeneba prove more compelling. Overall, TSQ didn't quite work for me. I didn't like the plot, and the romance was meh.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4 stars
I really liked the world building and the setting of the story! I liked the idea of a deadly competition to find a suitor and there were many twists and turns that kept me engaged. However, the FMC was difficult to like at times.
I wasn't a fan of the ending but I am interested in the next book.

The Scorpion Queen is a brilliant read, I loved the twists and turns, the peril and the high stakes the characters are facing throughout the book. I liked that the book’s pace increased towards the end and the ending made me hopeful for a sequel.

The book starts off slow, but the plot rapidly gets faster about halfway through. The ending makes it seem it is going to be a series.

I enjoyed the twists and was surprised a few times when reading. It's a book that will keep you flipping the page over in shock. I really liked all the twists in the book as they were unexpected.

I enjoyed the book, but wish I knew it was a series before reading it! I need an ending!

The concept was very interesting but the writing style for me personally didn't work. I didn't like how the main character was overexplaining her feelings. The world seemed cool so I liked that.

Thanks Netgalley for the ARC!

I liked the idea of this, but I think it was still a little underdeveloped. This book follows Amie as a first person single POV, and after a fall from grace she's become a handmaiden to princess Mariama. The Princess is haunted by the trials her father set for her marriage, any man vying for her hand must go into the desert for 3 days, find a special type of wood that most likely doesn't exist, and then they can marry the princess. If they fail, their next trial is to be boiled alive and if they surive that they can still marry her. So far, 99 men have died. I found this concept quite interesting, and the story opens on another execution, but I would have liked to linger in this moment a bit longer before Amie moves on to her plans to run away with her love interest.

I liked the developing friendship (potentially to romance? But this wasn't entirely clear to me) between Amie and Mariama, but I did feel it all happened very fast. By the end, that makes sense, but I think the author could have gone a little deeper here. I found Kader (the boy she wants to run away with) less interesting, but I did like Amie's sister and the two other maids.

The world building was interesting. This book is historical, set during the Mali empire, but there's also gods from the pre-islamic regional culture, and magic derived from those gods. It could all have been developed a little further, but I did enjoy the setting and the way mythology was woven into story.

I found Amie a bit hard to connect to at times. She's a bit annoying at first, and I think the author could have leaned a bit more into this to make it a more obvious character flaw, though she does change towards the end. I found Mariama and Haddy (her sister) more interesting to read about.

The ending of this book was very abrupt, it ended almost in the middle of the scene with a set up towards a second book, but I found this an unusual choice to end the book. Even building up to a second book, I would have wanted a final look for now, rather than end in the action.

I did like the plot, there were several interesting ideas and I didn't see any of the major plot twists coming, so I found those well done, and I'm curious where Amie and Mariama are going in the next book.

Would recommend this to fans of younger YA

**This is a really good 3.5 stars** Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC.

Let's get this straight... this book has so much potential. Reading the unedited arc, I was just a little confused with the plot, but I did love the queer love triangle, I enjoyed the twists and deceitful characters, the Malian setting and accuracy in specific details like what trading goods came from each region of Africa. The surprises at the end and the willingness have tragic, bloody deaths has me hoping the next installment will be better. As much as I'm intrigued by where we ended up, I can honestly say I have no idea when this went from being a standalone as I foolishly expected to a multi-book story. I wasn't expecting the importance of Amie's sister, or magic or the gods... and maybe that's a good thing (yay surprises?), but I feel like the summary needs to change a little bit to make readers more aware of what they're getting into. This is not simply a queer love triangle and a quest to break the curse of the trials, etc. It is so much more than that, but I wish I'd been expecting that so I better understood why certain scenes and conversations were happening. I honestly don't like either love interest we're presented with at the start, though I am happy we're done with one of them and fingers crossed he won't come back. That man was all kinds of frustrating. I also suspect the other love interest will have a bit of a redemption arc so... again I'm trusting book two to come through for me. In the unedited eARC there were some hypocritical things, specifically our main character Amie says she didn't know the healer took care of both the Princess and her mother when, while getting a potion from said healer, they state that they cared for the Empress as well as Mariana. I'm assuming this may be fixed in the final copy coming out next year.

This follows Amie as she navigates her new life as a servant to the princess Mariama. Amie was set to marry the love of her life Kader when a lie causes her to be disinherited and shamed from her family and her marriage called off.
Mariama's father created a series of impossible tasks in order for a suitor to marry his daughter, when they fail they get boiled alive in public.
Mariama, Amie and 2 of the other servants hatch a plan to stop the trails however it will test them to their limits.

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book, I found the first half to be a little slow and tedious but once you get into it it's really hard to put down. I think there was more details needed to explore the magic system and the background surrounding it as its brought in quite suddenly with little information but the glimpse you get is really interesting. I did find myself feeling let down by the sudden ending, even though it is setting for a series I would have liked some form of closure.

Actual Rating: 3.5

When it comes to ’The Scorpion Queen’ there were two major factors that helped it catch my eye: its Malian fairy tale inspiration and its gruelling history of marriage trials. Thankfully both of these features managed to deliver and ’The Scorpion Queen’ proved to be a swift, engrossing read yet I did come away from it having expected a bit more and had conflicting feelings over some of its other elements.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, given what initially drew me towards this book, the Imperial Mali 1359 setting, specifically Timbuktu, the various mentions of Malian fairy tales and details about the gods of the land were my favourite feature of this book. Early on I was utterly immersed within this novel and delighted in discovering its world. Everything from the landscape, culture and food to the clothing, history and differing beliefs fascinated me. I was addicted to the introduction to this time and place, anticipating a tale that was going to blow me away.

The trials were brought rather vividly to life straight from the start too, with a first chapter that contained some pretty gruesome descriptions. The approach to them differed from what I’d originally expected (way back when I first heard of this book) but matched in with the premise described in its blurb – terrible trials that Princess Mariama longs to end.

Initially this book felt as if it was going to be a historical tale with mentions of gods and similar mystical elements but without them featuring on the page. So I was pretty surprised when things rather abruptly changed and magic found its way onto the pages. As a fantasy fan this certainly delighted me, although it’s one of the elements that I was somewhat conflicted over too. The ideas behind the magic within this world intrigued me but I did long for more background information too. In some instances I imagine those details may come within the sequel but with others I do feel like more time could have been taken to go into depth now.

Which is truly what I generally struggled with slightly as the book went on – a need for more depth. The story itself moves swiftly and doesn’t have a dull moment but I’d personally have loved for a little less pace and a little more depth. The action itself is vividly detailed but the moments in between those segments could have used a bit more time. Pace wise this may leave many readers happy but it left me frustrated with little details too. Injuries seemed to get brushed away and monumental developments accepted – and forgotten – rather abruptly.

Similarly I think a little bit more depth and time could have benefitted the character development too. I wouldn’t say that anybody stood out as being particularly weak or unbelievable but they also didn’t pop off of the page either. I’d have appreciated more time spent on developing relationships, to make me truly believe in the bonds, although what I truly needed was more time spent on some of the fractures that appeared. Changing dynamics happened rather abruptly I felt.

So ultimately this is a book that I can’t help but feel conflicted over. There were elements that I adored but I can’t help but wish that there had been a bit more depth at times too. When it came to deciding on whether I should round this one up or down (where necessary) I ultimately opted for down simply because I’m undecided as to whether or not I’d continue this series and leaning towards not doing so at the moment. Yet I can see this working for some readers and do think it’s worth taking a chance on. If you pick up a lot of fantasy offerings – particularly adult ones – then this may not be for you. But if you’re looking for a fast paced read and within the YA target range then I could see this being a memorable story. There are still elements that I personally felt could have used strengthening but the potential is certainly there and it kept me invested throughout.

A fresh new world, dealthy trials and a brewing rebellion.

This story takes place in a Timbuktu, a world not too unfamiliar with exciting elements that captivates the reader. Whilst the start is heavier with the world building, I read the last 50% in just over an hour because it is was so engaging and I didn't want to put it down.

The main characters romantic ideals specifically can make her a little hard to like, especially considering the bigger picture but her loyalty is much more likeable. The plot was very engaging and it had some very fun twists that made you look at the story completely differently (in a 👀 way).

Thank you to Netgalley

3.5 stars
This book starts out a bit slow, but the second half has a suspenseful life or death situation that puts you on the edge of your seat, it’s full of death, fighting, magic and the realisation that maybe those you thought you could trust you can’t and those that you don’t are actually the ones that you can.

The FMC was a bit annoying at times, especially at the start when she was all doom and gloom. I loved her growth with Jeneba and Penda, as well as her relationship with her sister that we see grows by the end.

The ending was a bit abrupt, I know it’s setting up for a series but I was hoping for a bit more of a conclusion.

I love the worldbuilding and the concept of the gods, sorcerers, magical maps and a deadly suitor competition.

I came across this book by chance and was given an opportunity to read this via NetGalley, the story focuses on Amie who has had an unfortunate fall from grace. She ends up as one of three maids that looks after the Princess Mariama. The fantasy tale unfolds with the princess suitors having to complete trails to gain her hand in marriage, 99 of them have already failed. I don’t really want to give too much more away as in all honestly it was a rather good twist on the princess fantasy tale as indeed not is all as it seems. Amie is a rather annoying character and at times does come across a bit pathetic with her ‘my life is terrible’ stance all the time. We do get further insight of her terrible family and why what happened to her had to take place but doesn’t really push the story forward just asks more questions that are unfortunately not fully answered, main one is her sister who she hates but loves and has powers nobody really understands how she has them! The story at times is slow and struggles to get to a point but bare with as most of the focus is around 60% plus when it starts to get interesting. The book is set up I am presuming as a series or at least a further book to continue the story as the ending was wrapped up without a satisfying conclusion. I would advise this is a YA fantasy but does have elements of death, infliction of pain as well as the main characters questioning of her own self discovery.