[Review] The Orphan Queen by jodi Meadows

ABOUT

Title: The Orphan Queen

Author: Jodi Meadows

Series: The Orphan Queen #1 

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Release Date: March 10th 2015 

Get it Here: Indigo Amazon B&N BookDepository

Goodreads Page 

Source: ARC via giveaway

Synopsis:

Wilhelmina has a hundred identities.

She is a princess. When the Indigo Kingdom conquered her homeland, Wilhelmina and other orphaned children of nobility were taken to Skyvale, the Indigo Kingdom’s capital. Ten years later, they are the Ospreys, experts at stealth and theft. With them, Wilhelmina means to take back her throne.

She is a spy. Wil and her best friend, Melanie, infiltrate Skyvale Palace to study their foes. They assume the identities of nobles from a wraith-fallen kingdom, but enemies fill the palace, and Melanie’s behavior grows suspicious. With Osprey missions becoming increasingly dangerous and their leader more unstable, Wil can’t trust anyone.

She is a threat. Wraith is the toxic by-product of magic, and for a century using magic has been forbidden. Still the wraith pours across the continent, reshaping the land and animals into fresh horrors. Soon it will reach the Indigo Kingdom. Wilhelmina’s magic might be the key to stopping the wraith, but if the vigilante Black Knife discovers Wil’s magic, she will vanish like all the others

Jodi Meadows introduces a vivid new fantasy full of intrigue, romance, dangerous magic, and one girl’s battle to reclaim her place in the world.

I received an ARC from a giveaway. This review is my honest opinion and I did not receive any compensation in any shape or form in exchange for this review.

I'm so glad that the entirety of the book lived up to my expectations from the extended teaser, which I reviewed here. Omyfreaking gosh, this book.

Wilhelmina is the princess of a country that has been taken over by another kingdom. Exiled from her country, she along with orphans from the other noble families of her kingdom form a group called the Ospreys, where their primary objective is to reclaim Aecor and have Wilhelmina on the throne again.

Right after the point that the sneak peek stops at, is where things start taking off and omg! Despite finishing the book, there are mysteries that have yet to be solved that leave you wanting to know what's happening. This series is a duology and I'm curious as to how things are going to be revealed in the next and final book.

Wilhelmina is a badass. She kicks butt and is great at forgery as well. She does all these un-queenly things in order to get to her goal: reclaiming her kingdom. She and her group have been lead by Patrick, the son of the General Lien of Aecor and also the oldest, that Wil has deferred leadership to him though she is the queen. So while she may be trying to reclaim her throne, she's also undergoing a journey to find her path back to being the leader she was born to be.

Black Knife is a vigilante in Indigo Kingdom who is notorious for capturing flashers, as magic users are called, and fighting the wraith monsters and glow men (people poisoned by the wraith) as well as all the other things a vigilante generally does. No one knows who he is as he keeps his face covered by a black mask. He presents as an obstacle to Wil, since she is a magic user and he captures them. However, he's super interesting (and kinda swoony tbh), especially since he keeps running into Wil and does nothing about her despite the fact that he calls her a criminal. I really love Black Knife.

The plot is great. I always love a good "infiltrate the palace" plot line and of course, the whole thing with Wil being a princess and her badassery, as well as the whole wraith thing, makes it a whole lot more interesting. I cannot wait to find out what's going to happen next to Wil and the Ospreys, as well as Black Knife!

The ending of this book is an emotional roller coaster that left me going, "WHAT JUST HAPPENED???" It's a cliff hanger for sure and I kind of NEED to know what's happening next. Thankfully, there will be novellas released in June on the origin of Black Knife to tide me over to 2016.

You can also check out the interview I did with Jodi meadows here!

Happy Reading!