some new fave books?│SMALL THOUGHTS #2

Hello, my fellow book inhalers! Welcome to another instalment in my series of mini-reviews. I've been keeping on top of my reading goal so far this year, and all of these books have made a big impression on me. So, let's delve right in. 

The Big Ask by Simon James Green 

Alfie Parker has bagged the hottest date to prom … hasn’t he? Bestselling LGBTQ+ writer Simon James Green makes his Barrington Stoke debut with a life-affirming teen romance.

Harvey is popular, cool, plays football and has been in a relationship with his girlfriend Summer for as long as anyone can remember. Alfie is not popular, not cool, has a sick note so he doesn’t have to play any sport, and has been in a relationship with his Xbox since forever. So when Summer dramatically dumps Harvey just a few days before the school prom, no one is expecting Alfie to ask Harvey to be his date. Least of all Alfie. But sometimes amazing things can happen when you take a chance… 

A short and perfectly sweet novel from one of my all-time favourite authors. There’s nothing more exciting for teenagers than the run up to prom (most teenagers – my prom was the dullest thing to ever happen), and you could just feel the enthusiasm for it in the pages of this novel! The characters in this were adorable and I was completely rooting for them. It put a much-needed smile on my face this summer. 

Royal Rating:

Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett

When mysterious faeries from other realms appear at her university, curmudgeonly professor Emily Wilde must uncover their secrets before it’s too late, in this heartwarming, enchanting second installment of the Emily Wilde series. 

Emily Wilde is a genius scholar of faerie folklore who just wrote the world’s first comprehensive encyclopaedia of faeries. She’s learned many of the secrets of the Hidden Ones on her adventures . . . and also from her fellow scholar and former rival Wendell Bambleby. 

Because Bambleby is more than infuriatingly charming. He’s an exiled faerie king on the run from his murderous mother and in search of a door back to his realm. And despite Emily’s feelings for Bambleby, she’s not ready to accept his proposal of marriage: Loving one of the Fair Folk comes with secrets and dangers. 

She also has a new project to focus on: a map of the realms of faerie. While she is preparing her research, Bambleby lands her in trouble yet again, when assassins sent by his mother invade Cambridge. Now Bambleby and Emily are on another adventure, this time to the picturesque Austrian Alps, where Emily believes they may find the door to Bambleby’s realm and the key to freeing him from his family’s dark plans.

But with new relationships for the prickly Emily to navigate and dangerous Folk lurking in every forest and hollow, Emily must unravel the mysterious workings of faerie doors and of her own heart.

I picked the first book up after one of my best friends recommended it to me, and she’s never been wrong in pointing me to a book before. I enjoyed the first book plenty, but I fell completely in love with the sequel. It has such a cosy feeling to it whilst still bringing an exciting plot. The characters are ADORABLE and it was thrilling to watch them open up to each other throughout the story. It’s going to be a painstaking wait for the next book! 

Royal Rating:

The Prisoner’s Throne by Holly Black

An imprisoned prince. A vengeful queen. And a battle that will determine the future of Elfhame. 

Prince Oak is paying for his betrayal. Imprisoned in the icy north and bound to the will of a monstrous new queen, he must rely on charm and calculation to survive. With High King Cardan and High Queen Jude willing to use any means necessary to retrieve their stolen heir, Oak will have to decide whether to attempt regaining the trust of the girl he’s always loved or to remain loyal to Elfhame and hand over the means to end her reign—even if it means ending Wren, too.

With a new war looming on the horizon and treachery lurking in every corner, neither Oak’s guile nor his wit will be enough to keep everyone he loves alive. It’s just a question of whom he will doom

Ah, how much I enjoyed being back in Elfhame. After loving The Stolen Heir, I was majorly excited to see how the story ended in this instalment as I was NOT disappointed. It was also a pleasant surprise to read this one from Oak’s perspective instead of Wren because I was definitely eager to learn more about him as his own character, rather than through the eyes of others. What I loved most about this book was getting to catch up with the characters from The Folk of the Air series. I love Jude and Cardan so damn much. I was looking forward to every scene they appeared in. The only downside is that this duology just made me want more spinoffs. 

Royal Rating:

Sword Catcher by Cassandra Clare

In the vibrant city-state of Castellane, the richest of nobles and the most debauched of criminals have one thing in common: the constant search for wealth, power, and the next hedonistic thrill. 

Kel is an orphan, stolen from the life he knew to become the Sword Catcher—the body double of a royal heir, Prince Conor Aurelian. He has been raised alongside the prince, trained in every aspect of combat and statecraft. He and Conor are as close as brothers, but Kel knows that his destiny is to die for Conor. No other future is possible. 

Lin Caster is one of the Ashkar, a small community whose members still possess magical abilities. By law, they must live behind walls within the city, but Lin, a physician, ventures out to tend to the sick and dying of Castellane. Despite her skills, she cannot heal her best friend without access to forbidden knowledge. 

After a failed assassination attempt brings Lin and Kel together, they are drawn into the web of the mysterious Ragpicker King, the criminal ruler of Castellane’s underworld. He offers them each what they want most; but as they descend into his world of intrigue and shadow, they discover a conspiracy of corruption that reaches from the darkest gutters of Castellane to the highest tower of its palaces. 

As long-kept secrets begin to unravel, they must ask themselves: Is knowledge worth the price of betrayal? Can forbidden love bring down a kingdom? And will their discoveries plunge their nation into war—and the world into chaos?

There was no doubt that I was going to pick up Cassandra Clare’s first adult novel – I’d read her shopping list if she published it. I was super excited for this, with it being her first solo novel set outside of the Shadowhunter world. Predictably, I loved it. It was a slow start, but not in a bad way. It took the time to introduce us to the characters and the world without leaving us feeling overwhelmed. I’m hooked on the plot and I love the characters, so I can’t wait to see what the future of this series holds for them. The only thing I’m not 100% sold on yet is the romantic pairings. I think one worked better than the other, but I’m not going to say which, for those who haven’t yet read it. If that’s where the romance is heading, at least! Maybe the love interests will be shaken up, who knows.

Royal Rating:

I'm so happy I picked up these books because there's definitely some new faves amongst them! If you want to keep tabs on what I'm reading, then be sure to drop by my Goodreads or StoryGraph pages. Until next time, readers!

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REVIEW: The Summer Queen by Rochelle Hassan

Pages: 408

Format: Hardback

Publisher: Roaring Brook Press

Genre: Fantasy

Release Date: January 23rd 2024

This captivating sequel to The Buried and the Bound draws readers into the twisted and irresistible world of the Fair Folk—perfect for fans of The Cruel Prince and The Hazel Wood. 

As a new coven, Aziza, Leo, and Tristan faced evil and triumphed. All that’s left is to put their lives back together, a process complicated by the fallout from painful secrets, the emotional and physical scars they now carry, and the mysteries that still haunt them. 

But with the approach of the solstice comes the arrival of strange new visitors to Blackthorn: the Summer Court, a nomadic community of Fair Folk from deep in Elphame. They’ve journeyed to the border between the human world and fairyland, far from their usual caravan route, to take back something that belongs to them—something Leo’s not willing to lose. 

Refusing to give up without a fight, he makes a risky deal with the Summer Court’s princess and regent. The challenge she proposes sends Coven Blackthorn into the farthest, wildest reaches of Elphame. 

But when you play games with the Fair Folk, even winning has a cost.

Oh boy. Do I have WORDS. Earlier this year, I picked up The Buried and The Bound from one of my favourite queer bookstores. I’ll admit, it’s one of those rare instances in which I decided to buy a book solely because I’d fallen in love with the cover. The art is absolutely gorgeous. But I hadn’t heard of the book until that day, had no idea it was a series, went in with zero expectations. And isn’t it funny how those books sometimes end up becoming your favourite? 

I flew through the first book in days and then bought this sequel, The Summer Queen, immediately. After the first book ended with Tristan moving in with Leo, and Aziza locked in a battle of trying to learn more about magic whilst proving to her grandfather that she can take risks and stay safe, I was excited to see where things were going next. 

With the reveal of Hazel’s true identity in the previous story, The Summer Queen takes our trio out of their comfort zone and into the heart of Elphame. I loved how different this book was in terms of tone and location. It’s darker, and the characters are in a place they never expected to be. It’s less of the real world, and that makes everything scarier yet more exciting. 

The characters are what makes this series so special to me. Not that the plot isn’t completely amazing, but the characters are the heart and soul. I love them dearly. I cannot possibly pick a favourite out of the main trio. 

Dion made a great addition and I’m eager to discover more of his story. I also need further interactions between him and Aziza because I love their vibes. It will be interesting to see how his potential involvement shakes things up for our main characters. 

More than anything: I NEED LEO’S CURSE TO END!!!!!! It’s the most incredible and frustrating aspect of the story and it has me on tenterhooks every single time there’s a scene between him and Tristan. 

• Found family at its absolute finest. These characters were thrown together and now they’re the cutest trio I’ve ever read. 

• Intriguing subplots. I’m still struggling to figure out what the main story is: is it Hazel in Elphame, is it Leo’s curse, is it Aziza reuniting Meryl with her family, or is there a greater, more specific threat that they all have to tackle? WHO KNOWS! And that’s exactly what makes this story so excited. 

• Gorgeous cover art. Just allow me a moment to be shallow and gush about how visually pleasing these books are on my shelves. 

The Summer Queen was everything I wanted in a sequel, and it’s made me fall even more in love with this story and these characters. The wait for the next instalment is going to be brutal, and I can’t wait to see what it has in store.

Royal Rating:

 

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Introducing The Queen of Lexis!

Let’s be honest, after thirteen years it was time for a refresh. The Queen of Teen Fiction has served me well all these years, but times have changed. I set up this blog with the intention of introducing books to teenagers who need them, especially because it was something I wish I’d had myself when I was a teen. And whilst getting young people to read is still hugely important to me, I didn’t feel like the Teen Fiction aspect of my brand didn’t truly reflected me anymore. 

Though I’ll still focus on YA fiction because it remains my main passion, I want to celebrate all stories and all reader groups. Plus, the KatieBookQueen handle I’ve had on social media for years just needed to GO. 

my first ever logo for The Queen of Teen Fiction in 2011

For the past few weeks I’ve been brainstorming ideas. I knew I wanted to keep the royalty theme because I liked my crown, and I didn’t want to change the overall look of my blog or what I do. But The Queen of Fiction just wasn’t hitting the same, so I knew simply dropping the Teen wasn’t going to work. And then everything new I tried was already taken on social media because, you know, it’s 2024 and almost every possible username combination that isn’t cringe is already in use. 

But then my sister, with her English degree and trauma associated to the word lexicon, came up with The Queen of Lexis, and that was that. I bagged the @ on my socials and here we are. 

So, no big change in terms of looks, no new logo or colour scheme. I’m still wearing the crown. But under a new name. The only downside is redirecting everything to my new URL. I’ve fixed as many links as I can but to anyone searching for a particular link, just swap out the queenofteenfiction in URL for queenoflexis, and it should work! (I’m so sorry to all the publishers and authors who now have broken links to my blog, please blame GoDaddy and their constant issues) 

Changing something that’s been integral to my life for over a decade is terrifying, but I hope you enjoy the new and improved me!

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REVIEW: A Grim and Sunken Vow by Ashley Shuttleworth

Pages: 640

Format: Hardback

Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry

Genre: Fantasy

Release Date: November 28th 2023

The die is cast.

The era of Spring is over.

Riadne’s bloody coup on the Summer Solstice changed Arlo’s life forever. In one fell swoop and a fool’s bargain, she lost both her family and free will to the newly crowned High Queen. Now, with Arlo forced to use her powers as Luck’s Hollow Star to help summon the rest of the seven deadly sins, Riadne stands closer than ever to achieving her dark goals.

And Arlo isn’t the only one trapped in a frightening new role. Her ex-Fury girlfriend, Nausicaä, is determined to do whatever it takes to stay by Arlo’s side, even if that means becoming Riadne’s pet assassin. Aurelian and Vehan, torn apart, struggle to survive on their own.

Meanwhile, Celadon has been revealed as Riadne’s illegitimate son—and heir to both Spring and Summer, the ultimate offense in the faerie world. But the High Prince has secret plans of his own, plans made all the more complicated when the beautiful and deadly immortal Hunter Lethe takes an interest in him…

Five budding legacies will need more than luck if they hope to stand a chance against the greatest adversary the Courts have faced. For nothing’s more dangerous than a faerie tale… except the one who tells it, and maybe what they’re going to need is no longer that story’s hero but its villain.  

I,,,, don’t even know where to start. This book??? Was written for ME. I’ve been in love with this series since I first got my hands on A Dark and Hollow Star, and I’ve been eagerly anticipating this latest instalment. Especially because it’s more focused on two of my favourite characters. A certain two people on the cover. 

And oh boy, was I treated after my wait. 

A Grim and Sunken Vow picks up immediately after the harrowing events at the end of A Cruel and Fated Light, throwing us right back in the middle of all the drama. There is a time skip after a few chapters, which I LOVED because it had me stressed and curious at the same time to see what had changed.  

How do I even begin to describe the love I have for these characters? I mean, Arlo is a fellow pansexual, so naturally I would die for her. Nausicäa is so my type it’s painful. Vehan and Aurelian have that oh-so-special 'we’ve been secretly in love with each other forever and now we’re figuring out how to be more than best friends' thing going on. Which is a GOD TIER trope, btw. And then,,, there’s Celadon and Lethe.  

As a Lethe enjoyer from the very start of this series, I feel SO validated right now. You know how much I’m an absolute sucker for a villain who actually might be a big softie and only has their awfully traumatic past to blame for the way they are. Getting to discover more of his backstory was such a long-awaited treat. Even though it ripped my heart into tiny pieces, I adored every damn second of it.

The slow-burn romance that builds between him and Celadon literally had me climbing the WALLS. I love them so much and I don’t know how I’m going to cope without them. HOW CAN ANY OTHER SHIP COMPARE?     

• Found family at it’s finest. I say found but some of them are actually related. Either way, the bond between these characters is *chef’s kiss*. Even though some of them get torn apart through the course of this story, there’s very little angst between them. They talk things THROUGH. Which is something we all need to be reading more of in books, actually.   

• NO LOVE TRIANGLE!!! God, it’s so refreshing to read a YA fantasy series that doesn’t have a love triangle.  

• The Moon. That's all I need to say. 

So, yeah, too many thoughts for a simple little blog post. I will be thinking about these characters every single day until we get the final book. I am NOT okay after that ending. 

Sidenote before I wrap things up: for anyone who isn’t aware, the UK publisher dropped this series after the second book, meaning we have to ship our physical copies in from overseas. I just want to say how utterly disappointed I am in the publisher for not seeing this series through to it’s end. It has so much important representation weaved in amongst the plot, and it’s made me feel so seen. All I can do is thank Ashley for writing such a beautiful story - I'll finish the series no matter where I have to ship it from.

Royal Rating: 

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Meeting Alice Oseman!

If you know even the slightest thing about me, you’ll know that I absolutely adore Alice Oseman. I’ve been a fan of their stories for so long now, they’re practically part of me. There hasn’t been a single other author who has made me feel as seen as Alice has. There’s just so many aspects of their books and characters that I relate to on a personal level. 

So when I found out they were going to be doing a book signing at my favourite bookshop, Queer Lit, I got a ticket immediately. 

my copy of heartstopper volume 5 with adorable freebies from the shop

As I’ve already established on multiple occasions, I am an anxious mess. I’ve gotten better over the years, and meds have helped enormously, but I’m still way more terrified than the average person when it comes to events and speaking to people – especially people who’s books have quite literally changed my life. 

But one thing I was determined to do was take the Heartstopper jacket I painted a few years ago and ask them to sign. 

i spent most of yesterday painting a #Heartstopper jacket! i’m going to be wearing it everywhere for the foreseeable future 💕 pic.twitter.com/NweHEB3LLv

— katie ♛ (@KatieBookQueen) July 29, 2021

My sister and I arrived early as the bookshop is also a café, and they stock some of my favourite tea. So we sat with some drinks for a while before the signing time started. We were also given the opportunity to write out our favourite Heartstopper moments onto a postcard, to potentially be shared on a podcast by The Proud Trust.

the gorgeous pride fan we given after handing in our postcards

When the time came for the signing, of course everyone wanted to chat to Alice, so things ended up running behind. Even though I’d arrived early and wasn’t that far back in the queue, they had to start limiting the amount of books people got signed to three instead of the originally planned five. 

It was completely fine by me because I’d only brought two other books with me – I don’t live locally, and I have a back injury at the moment so I wouldn’t have been able to carry more anyway! Since a copy of Heartstopper Volume 5 was included with our tickets, I decided not to have that signed in order to ask about my jacket instead. 

When I got to the front of the queue, even though the lovely assistant told me that they were only doing books today, Alice had already seen the jacket at that point and had decided to sign it anyway since I only had two books - I was so unbelievably grateful! 

so i took this jacket with me to meet @AliceOseman and they signed it for me 😭 https://t.co/TOOrWOgSq7 pic.twitter.com/oR8l7D3YVT

— katie ♛ (@KatieBookQueen) February 14, 2024

I also got my US hardback edition of my favourite Alice novel signed, I Was Born For This, and my original copy of Solitaire. It’s a bit of a throwback, but I still adore this version. It’s a book that’s been through the wars with me and I’ve annotated it too, so it means a lot. To have it signed makes it even more special!

Alice was super lovely, which put my anxious self at ease. The shop was running Heartstopper episodes on the screen behind the signing desk, and my picture with Alice was perfectly timed, don’t you think?

I’m so incredibly grateful to Queer Lit for organising the signing and doing their absolute best, even when things got stressful. I had such an amazing time and I will treasure my books and my jacket!

Have you ever met a favourite author?

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COVER REVEAL: Cursed Under London by Gabby Hutchinson Crouch

Hello, fellow bookworms! Today, I have the honour of helping to reveal the book cover for Cursed Under London by Gabby Hutchinson Crouch. 

This is the first in an Elizabethan romantasy series, set in a world where certain historical events have unfolded differently from what we know. It sounds exactly like the type of story I’d pick up in a heartbeat. Isn’t the cover just gorgeous? We all know how much I love a pink book. 

The year is 1599. Fang, a grumpy, heartbroken traveller from the Ming Empire, awakes from death to discover he’s not quite human any more. Nor is he a zombie, vampire, werewolf or any of the other supernatural beings who roam the segregated cities of Upper London and its dragon-ruled underground counterpart, Deep London. 

He stumbles upon Lazare de Quitte-Beuffe, a people-pleasing popinjay of an actor afflicted with the same strange mysterious curse, which means neither of them can die. Thrown together by immortality, the two strangers set out to reverse the spell, traversing the dangers of Deep London and encountering vampires, ghouls, ogres, poets, púca, magical talking swans and the zombie of Christopher Marlowe, all the while trying to ignore the intense connection between them. 

As they are drawn further into the shadowy world of Deep London, they unearth a dangerous plot which they appear to be right in the middle of. Needing to reverse the spell and get on with being dead, the worst thing they could do, right now, would be to fall in love…

I am SO excited to read this one. The book is due out on July 4th, so make sure to add it to your TBR! You can also pre-order it here. 

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A Bookish Moment in London

Hello my dearest bookworms! Welcome to my first post of 2024! I know it’s a tad late, but the first couple of weeks of the year were spent planning a little trip to London. 

For Christmas, I got tickets to see She Stoops to Conquer at the adorable Orange Tree Theatre in Richmond. I was super excited because it was my first play (I’ve seen one musical before but it was years ago and I was right at the back). I loved the small and intimate setting of Orange Tree because it helped the play feel more personal and it made for some wholesome audience interaction. I had the absolute best time! 

had such a wonderful time visiting @OrangeTreeThtr for the first time this weekend to see She Stoops to Conquer. such an adorable theatre, and freddie fox & tanya reynolds are SO incredible 😌 pic.twitter.com/7WtdMPVwku

— katie (@KatieBookQueen) January 14, 2024

Since I was going all the way to London (I live near Liverpool and can’t travel often) I decided to visit some bookshops, naturally. I didn’t have much time because I had to get the train back, but I managed to squeeze in a few stops. 

First up was The Alligator’s Mouth, an adorable little place in Richmond that focuses mostly on children’s books but has a section for YA and Adult novels too. It was close to where I was staying so I was thrilled to discover a bookshop nearby. It was SO cute in there. 

Next up was Foyles! There isn’t a Foyles anywhere near where I live so whenever I get the chance to travel to London, I’m always excited to visit. The flagship store on Charing Cross Road is gorgeous and I had a great time browsing the huge YA/NA shelves. 

Just before I had to catch my train, I had enough time for the place I’d saved till last. My personal favourite, Gay’s The Word. It’s a no brainer that I love this bookshop with my whole heart. I can’t go to London without buying a book there.

This time I managed to get my hands on a copy of Love Letters: Virgina Woolf and Vita Sackville-West. Oh, to be tending a castle garden whilst sending love letters to one of the best writers of all time. 

As I made my way back to the station, I passed by one of the homes of J. M. Barrie. How are we all feeling about Peter Pan finally being in the public domain?? I’m excited for what stories it brings because I’ve always been a sucker for Peter Pan retellings. I’ve been planning my own story (based more on Hook 👀) for years now and I’m hoping that 2024 is the year I’ll actually get it written. 

So, a short and sweet bookish wander around the capital for me, but I enjoyed every second of it. If I lived closer to London, the bookshops would never be rid of me. 

What’s your favourite London bookshop, or one you’d like to visit?

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