The Queen of Days
by Greta Kelly
rating: ★★★☆☆ | publishes october 24th, 2023
I received an eARC from the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. Thank you kindly to Harper Voyager for my review copy.
THE QUEEN OF DAYS follows a group of thieves who also happen to be the last remaining few of a political family overthrown and murdered in a coup. In order to make ends meet and to survive, they turned to thievery. Bal, our protagonist, takes a job that could set them up for life and allows Bal to take revenge on the man that ruined his life — the only stipulation is that they hire The Queen of Days, Tass. But it turns out the stakes are higher than any of them imagined. THE QUEEN OF DAYS started off great, and ended up just good. I’ve had a string of books recently that this has happened to, where it has a really strong start, and just fizzles out a bit towards the end. That’s exactly what happened here.
I’ll start with the things I really enjoyed. QUEEN OF DAYS has a found family dynamic and a ragtag-group-on-a-mission-to-save-the-world that gives me a sort of D&D vibe, so kudos on that aspect. Also, the world-building is exceptional. A lot of care and thought obviously went into crafting such an intricate and intriguing world, which also includes a well-executed and original magic system. It is definitely one of the highlights of the novel. I also thought it was very well written, even if at times the pacing does seem a bit off.
“Because you are human, your memory is filled with ghosts. They may haunt you, but they cannot touch you. The past changes you, yes, but it does not chain you. This is a blessing, Bal, one that allows you to heal and sometimes even to forgive. The Ankaari do not have this gift.”
Now, onto some things that are perhaps the reason this is getting three stars. I said I enjoyed the group dynamics, and that is true BUT the group and most of the relationships we see here are pre-established which I feel like we miss out on some of that character building and thus I felt like the only ones we really got to know were Bal and Tass, our protagonists. I also thought Tass had an exceptional opening, but I do feel like she lost some of the intrigue and mystery that made her such a formidable character, though I do appreciate that the author was trying to expand on her characterization, I just felt that perhaps it was not executed quite so well.
Overall, though, I do think this is a solid fantasy novel that I think would appeal to fans of D&D and fantasy heist novels.
Lauren is a British blogger and book reviewer. She is an avid bookworm, writer, and procrastinator extraordinaire. A not-too-recent history grad, Lauren is currently grappling with adulthood, finding solace in the written word. As an avid reader of YA literature, she’s a lover of sci-fi, epic fantasies, found families and sister stories, and cute sapphic books. Some of her favourite books include Code Name Verity by the incredibly talented Elizabeth Wein, the hauntingly atmospheric Other Words For Smoke by Irish author Sarah Maria Griffin, and the magical fantasy Inkmistress by Audrey Coulthurst.
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