TITLE: Death Queen

AUTHOR: Janeal Falor
SERIES: Standalone

PUBLICATION DATE: March 6 2017

PUBLISHER: Self Published

SOURCE: Netgalley ARC

Nameless. Unknown. Alone.
An assassin without a name, born to kill. Owned by a vicious man who refuses to call her anything but girl, she is forced to commit atrocious acts of violence. Vowing to take her future into her own hands, the seventeen-year-old decides to risk everything on one act of defiance—drinking from The Death Drink. The beverage kills most whose lips touch it—only allowing those who are destined to be royalty survive the first sip.
Powerful. Revered. Hunted.
To the astonishment of the nation of Valcora, she imbibes it and lives, which crowns her queen. Thrown into a life of royal intrigue, she now has a purpose—to rule with the fairness she was never shown. Despite her altruistic plans, it becomes apparent that someone wants her dead. The new queen must use her training from the former life she only wants to forget in order to stay alive long enough to turn her kingdom into something she can be proud of. She’ll hold onto the crown… or die trying.

Going into this book, i was pretty nervous thinking it would be a little too similar to Throne Of Glass but the only similarities were that both MC's were assassins and they had manipulative former masters. The MC from this book (we don't know her name) wasn't voluntarily an assassin and every time she kills she dies a little more inside which is why she decides she'd rather die than keep killing.

The MC's character went through an awesome evolution! When she first took the crown, she was completely lost and was using it only as a means to hide from her previous owner. So she spent her days locked up in her room and creating chaos with her lack of tradition. But after a while she starts to open up to her responsibilities with the guidance of Nash, her bodyguard whom she promoted to Royal Adviser.

I liked Nash's intellect, he really compensated for the MC's rash and rough exterior. Where she lacked social skills and public communication, he excelled and so helped to improve her interactions with the members of the council who pretty think she's a joke.

I liked the idea that only Queen's ruled the country and they weren't allowed to marry/be in a relationship in case they got heirs who would later fight for their claim to the throne, It was actually a pretty intelligent concept when you think about it cause no one would ever claim the throne as a birthright or something.

Okay i just have to rant about what an AWESOME personality the MC has! And no i'm not talking about her kickass fighting skills which just seem like a dull background compared to her badass attitude. So when she first gets to the castle and she noticed the court adviser is a total snake and doesn't respect her, what does she do? Does she exile him? Nope. Does she kill him? Nuh-uh.  Frame him and then put him in jail? No. She makes him her Royal Furniture Adviser because the furniture is ugly and uncomfortable!!!





She doesn't have a care in the world for traditions and she doesn't melt under the pressure of becoming a  poised and graceful queen. She really remained true to her antisocial/opinionated/generous self. She took Scandalous Queen to a whole new level!!! Even refusing to see her Ladies In Waiting for weeks (i don't blame her they were irritating!). Oh and she basically has zero social skills since she mostly stuck to the shadows as an assassin; which makes being a queen much more difficult for her. Not to mention she doesn't earn many fans within the council.


I can't give it above 4 stars because i wasn't really feeling the romance and though the plot was good, it was pretty basic. And i would have liked more world building! We get hints and a few magical aspects but i needed a little more! And i kind of already guessed who was trying to kill her...There was a lot of potential but it fell a little short to me.

Nevertheless it was a quick, short and enjoyable read! Loved the concept and the characters but i just wished it was a little more developed! I would definitely pick up a sequel though :P!