As one of my top reads I was looking forward to in January, I was so excited to get an ARC of The Kings Quartet. And I was not disappointed by this world. It has an interesting magic system, a grassroots rebellion that took the time to show the work it takes to launch one, and most importantly, Elle - the true Queen, hidden away as a baby in a nation who didn't even know she had been born.
Elle is a fascinating protagonist because she does not follow the normal Chosen One rules. Most of the time in literature we'll see the Chosen One comes into the picture, fights all the bad guys, and eventually saves the world. Elle is not that kind of Chosen One. She second-guesses herself constantly, she thinks before making a decision, and despite her having the magical powers that could save the world, she is told by multiple people she is allowed to say no and keep the simple life she grew up with. She mourns the people who die, even ones who are on the wrong side and wants this rebellion to have as little bloodshed as possible. Elle was so relatable that by the end of the story, she felt like she was a friend, one who I would follow into battle but also enjoy a cup of coffee while talking about my day with. It's hard to find a balance within characterization that lets the reader feel both, but I found the author was able to do it with ease.
While some would describe this book as a slow-burn romance and others would describe it as a love triangle - the book itself is neither. Elle has two very different relationships throughout the story. The first is a star-crossed lovers romance with Prince Emrick, the son of the Queen who overthrew Elle's birth parents. And I found this one to be the swoonier of the two romances, despite the giant ticking doomsday clock always overshadowing them. While the rest of the rebellion saw this as an espionage mission, there were true feelings that made me hope over and over that Emrick would eventually betray his mother and join in the rebellion. The other romance involves Soren, the rebel who leads the team to find Elle. This romance for me was overshadowed by the fact that I was so frustrated with this man the entire book. He has a hard time letting go of control, of being told no, and even admitted he had a hard time seeing Elle as a person instead of as a concept who would just immediately save the world. And while I loved that his character arc was learning how to overcome his expectations to be content with reality, where he started made me wary of any potential romance he has with Elle. I look forward to seeing how both of these men grow over the next book - and seeing how any emotions, good or bad, continue to develop within the second book.
I also really appreciated how even though a lot of the groundwork for the rebellion was laid out, this book took the time to show us what a grassroots rebellion would look like. There was a lot less fighting than someone would expect from a romantasy book and a lot more espionage. They didn't have the numbers, the support, or the information to launch a whole attack throughout this book. So instead they spent the story gathering it. At times, it did make the pacing feel a little slower than expected, but it was also so important to do this. So often with Chosen One narratives, the author throws the main character into a fully formed rebellion that just needs a figurehead. It was nice to see it still being formed, as it gave me a chance to get to know the cast of characters and gave a good reminder of exactly how much work has to be done before the fighting even starts.
Overall, I enjoyed the book. While there were a few developmental issues with pacing and how different reveals were broken up, it wasn't enough to stop my enjoyment of the amazing story. And with the ending reveal, I am going to be holding my breath for the next book, which has been set up to be high-stakes, high-action, and most importantly of all, a chance for Elle to truly take up her place as Queen. And I absolutely cannot wait to get my hands on it.
The Kings Quartet is available for preorder through Amazon and will be released on January 15th.