Quests of the Kings by Robert Evert
Expected publication: March 14th 2017
From the author of the Riddle in Stone books comes a thrilling new series for fans of Sarah J. Maas and Kristin Cashore.
Across the realms, the kings’ quests captivate the imaginations of nobles and commoners alike. These dangerous competitions pit the most daring adventurers against each other as they compete for riches and glory for their kingdoms.
Plain and ordinary Natalie, a sixteen-year-old peasant girl, loves listening to stories about famous adventurers, but the thrilling action of the kings’ quests seems far removed from her everyday life of mucking out stables and working every odd job she can find to support her siblings and disabled mother. However, after a violent run-in with Brago, a ruthless adventurer who believes Natalie is a threat to his mission, she is dragged unwillingly into the latest contest.
On the run from Brago, Natalie seeks refuge with a rival adventurer, the legendary Sir Edris, and his squire, Reg. As they toil together to find the object all of the kings desire–an ancient golden harp–Natalie starts to feel safe with the fatherly knight. Yet, despite Edris’s protection, Brago is never far behind. When one of Brago’s cruel plots separates Natalie from her protectors, she must become as strong and cunning as the adventurers of old to save her friends and stay alive.
I received an advanced review copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I went into this book with pretty high hopes. It sounded amazing and the synopsis says “a thrilling new series for fans of Sarah J. Maas.” I was so pumped. However, this book is not for fans of Sarah J. Maas. Sarah writes great books with badass female characters. This book was littered with sexism, misogyny, and the main character is a misandrist.
It started when the main character’s two “best friends” nagged her about her looks, her job that was meant for a boy (she worked at a stable), and how she needed a man. What a poorly written female friendship. But it didn’t stop there. It seemed every single character told the main character how much she needed a man. She hated the idea and said she could take care of herself. That sounds pretty great, right? The main character is a boss, a leading lady, she takes no crap. Wrong. She expresses over and over how awful she thinks men are. She hates on them every chance she gets. She’s a straight up misandrist. The amount of sexism towards women and men in this book blew my mind.
The main character, Natalie, beaten to the extreme in a dark alley and when she tells her boss how a man could do whatever he wanted to a women and get away with it, says “You men…”, he responds “Whoa! Now wait a minute. No, not us men.” A “not all men” comment in a YA novel. I kid you not.
And if all that doesn’t bother you, if you’re even remotely triggered by violence against women, this book is not for you.
This book has everything, sexism, misogyny and misandry, slut shaming, awful representation of female friendships, and extreme violence against women. And even if none that was in Quests of the Kings, the writing wasn’t that great and it was kind of slow for me. I couldn’t bring myself to read past 14% because there was no redeeming this book.
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