Tiger Queen By Annie Sullivan [Review]

RELEASE DATE: September 10th 2019
AUTHORS: Annie Sullivan
GENRE:    Young-Adult, Fantasy, Adventure.
PUBLISHER: Blink
SUMMARY:

In the mythical desert kingdom of Achra, an ancient law forces sixteen-year-old Princess Kateri to fight in the arena to prove her right to rule. For Kateri, winning also means fulfilling a promise to her late mother that she would protect her people, who are struggling through windstorms and drought. The situation is worsened by the gang of Desert Boys that frequently raids the city wells, forcing the king to ration what little water is left. The punishment for stealing water is a choice between two doors: behind one lies freedom, and behind the other is a tiger.
But when Kateri’s final opponent is announced, she knows she cannot win. In desperation, she turns to the desert and the one person she never thought she’d side with. What Kateri discovers twists her world—and her heart—upside down. Her future is now behind two doors—only she’s not sure which holds the key to keeping her kingdom and which releases the tiger.

 

I’ve been looking forward to this book since I’ve finished the author’s debut novel A Touch Of Gold. Tiger Queen is a retelling of a short story by Frank Stockton called “The Lady or the Tiger?” which I haven’t read. Honestly, this was a fun read but nothing mind blowing. The story was quite predictable, but I still enjoyed it. It has a decent storyline, world building, and characters.

The story follows sixteen year old Princess Kateri of Achra who wants to rule her Kingdom when her time comes. The city of Achra is suffering from the draught for a long time, and water is rationed carefully. People who doesn’t follow the laws of the king will be severely punished. So many people and children are dying because of the lack of water. The situation is worsened by the gang of Desert Boys that frequently raids the city wells. Ceon, the leader of the Desert Boys is the wanted Criminal in the Achra, and Kateri hates him. She promised her mother that she would take care of the citizens, but before she can take the throne, she must prove that she’s worthy by fighting twelve noble suitors every month, and winning them until she turns 16. If she loses, then she’ll become the winner’s bride, but when she realizes that her last opponent is someone that she can’t beat, she flees from the palace and seeks help from the enemy whom she despises. 

Princess Kateri is a strong, brave, and stubborn character, but she’s also very naive when it comes to trusting people. She really cares for her citizens unlike her manipulative father. I enjoyed her character development from a naive young girl to a mature women. The secondary main character Ceon was not bad. He’s the love interest, but I wasn’t much impressed with his character. I couldn’t connect with him, but it doesn’t mean that I hate him. He helps Kateri by training her to defeat her last opponent. I enjoyed the friendship between them more than their romance which I didn’t care much for it. I also enjoyed the other desert boys even though they’re not memorable enough. 

The plot was entertaining filled with adventure, intrigue, friendship, and a dash of romance. I loved how the author incorporated other tales in to this story like Robin Hood and Peter Pan. The story moved in a fast pace. The twists were pretty much predictable except for the scorpion part. The story was engaging enough to read till the end. The writing was pretty good. The book was written in Kateri’s first person POV. I liked the world building. I found the whole desert setting  simple and unique. There’s no magic in this book, but the story does have a magical feel to it.

Overall, It was a good stand-alone read! The book concludes with a satisfying ending. Even though it was missing that wow factor, it was a fun book to read. I’ll look forward to the author’s next work. 

Recommend it?
Yes

If you’re looking for a fun and adventurous YA fantasy read with a strong heroine then definitely give it a shot.

MY RATING:

[4/5 Stars]

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