Series: The Five Queendoms #1
Release Date: February 22nd 2022
Publisher: Titan Books
Pages: 464
Find it on: Goodreads. BookDepository. Waterstones.
Source: The publisher kindly sent me a copy of this book to review
Rating: 4.25/5 stars
Synopsis
A centuries-long peace is shattered in a matriarchal society when a decade passes without a single girl being born in this sweeping epic fantasy that’s perfect for fans of Robin Hobb and Circe.
Five hundred years of peace between queendoms shatters when girls inexplicably stop being born. As the Drought of Girls stretches across a generation, it sets off a cascade of political and personal consequences across all five queendoms of the known world, throwing long-standing alliances into disarray as each queendom begins to turn on each other—and new threats to each nation rise from within.
Uniting the stories of women from across the queendoms, this propulsive, gripping epic fantasy follows a warrior queen who must rise from childbirth bed to fight for her life and her throne, a healer in hiding desperate to protect the secret of her daughter’s explosive power, a queen whose desperation to retain control leads her to risk using the darkest magic, a near-immortal sorcerer demigod powerful enough to remake the world for her own ends—and the generation of lastborn girls, the ones born just before the Drought, who must bear the hopes and traditions of their nations if the queendoms are to survive.
Review
Scorpica is an epic fantasy tale that follows multiple characters across the five Queendoms. The Queendoms have had peace for hundreds of years, but this is soon thrown into uncertainty when no new baby girls are born. As the drought causes tensions to erupt, new alliances are drawn and old scores will be settled.
Scorpica is one of those books that hooks you in right from the very beginning. The plot was instantly gripping and it felt like such a unique story. I also found myself becoming invested in the characters and the fate of the five Queendoms. Scorpica has such an intriguing world and I was fascinated by the magic system, which is powered by sand. I really enjoyed seeing the different abilities and how the characters choose to use them. I feel like I’ve only seen a small part of the world in this book and I can’t wait to see where McAllister takes the story next.
Where I think Scorpica really excels is the well-crafted characters. There are a number of different POV characters and each one has their own motivations and ambitions. I was never sure who to trust, or who was going to survive. There’s tons of political intrigue and there were more than a few moments that had me on the edge of my seat. Tamura was particularly fascinating as she strives to navigate being queen and I really liked Eminel too. Scorpica is an incredible start to a new fantasy series and if you’re looking for a fresh and engaging fantasy read, this one should definitely be on your TBR.
Reckless Girls is the dark and addictive story of Lux McAllister, a young woman who followed her boyfriend Nico to Hawaii. Planning to fix up his boat and sail the world, Nico is hired by two women to take them to Meroe Island, a mysterious place with a tragic history. Lux agrees to go along and soon hits it off with the two women. When they arrive they join another couple and spend time exploring the island. As the group spends more time together they begin to realize that not everyone is what they seem and the arrival of a third boat brings tension to the remote island. As things take a dark turn Lux begins to wonder if they are ever going to make it off the island alive.
The Key in the Lock is the newest release from Beth Underdown, author of The Witchfinder’s Sister. I absolutely loved The Witchfinder’s Sister so I was really intrigued to pick this one up. In the book, we follow Ivy Boscawen who is struggling with the grief of losing her son Tim in the war. Mourning the loss of his young life, she reflects on the death of another boy decades earlier – a mystery that still haunts her. Though there was a fire and a tragic death, Ivy knows that isn’t the whole truth. Ivy soon discovers if she is ever going to let that night go, she must find out what really happened.
All the White Spaces is the brilliantly told story of Johnathan Morgan who stows away on the ship of renowned explorer James Randall and his expedition to the Antarctic. Johnathan’s brothers were obsessed with Randall and his daring exploits, wanting nothing more to return from the war and join his crew. When both Rufus and Francis die from their wounds overseas, Johnathan knows he must fulfill that dream for them. As their ship gets closer to the Antarctic, there is a strange sense of unease on the ship. When disaster strikes the crew has no choice but to abandon ship and find somewhere to survive in the frozen landscape. As darkness descends the expedition soon fear they are not alone – is there something hunting them or is the cruel frozen landscape driving them mad?
The Witch of Willow Hall is the beautifully told tale of the Montrose family, who move to the countryside following a family scandal in Boston. The family take up residence at Willow Hall but as the family attempt to build their lives back up there are some strange sightings and a sense of dread that lingers in the house. When Lydia meets the previous owner John Barrett, she begins to suspect the house has a dark past, but will she be able to uncover the truth and confront the secrets of her own past before it’s too late?
A Painted Winter is the first part in a four-part story that follows two princes from a Pictish Kingdom in fourth-century Scotland. Taran and Brei are still reeling from the Roman attack that took their mother and killed many in the village. When they come upon a strange woman whilst out on patrol, she tells them that the Romans were the cause. The power of the Romans in Britannia is fading and this sets Brei and Taran on a path of revenge against those who took their mother, but the strange woman isn’t all that she seems and within her lies an incredible gift.
I had never read anything by Pat Barker until I picked up The Silence of the Girls and I ended up reading it and The Women of Troy back to back. The story continues on where we left off in The Silence of the Girls, following Briseis and the other women after Troy has fallen. The Greeks have been victorious, but the winds are not strong enough to sail and they are stranded with only the women of Troy for company.
Riley Sager is one of my go-to authors for fun and fast-paced thrillers. Home Before Dark sounded like exactly the kind of book I was going to love and it had the most intriguing premise. Maggie Holt is famous around the world because her Dad wrote a non-fiction book claiming their house was haunted. Everywhere she goes she is asked what it was like to live in that house. When her father dies and she learns he still owns the infamous Baneberry Hall, Maggie decides to restore the house to sell it on and while she’s there she’ll try and get some answers – but what really happened all those years ago?
All of Us Villains was one of my most anticipated reads of 2021. I absolutely love Amanda Foody’s Shadow Game series and I was so intrigued by the premise of this. Set in the city of Ilverneath, the story follows the champions of seven families that must fight to the death in order to win control of the city’s high magick. The Lowe family are infamous and are the favourite to win every year, but when a book is published revealing the secrets of the tournament, the city is overrun with reporters and tourists desperate to know who will win. When things start to change in the tournament the champions might have the chance to destroy the curse that has plagued their families for generations.
The Gift is a dark and intriguing tale that follows Eleanor Annenberg. Traveling with her parents back to America onboard the Titanic, Eleanor is captivated by a mysterious stranger. She follows him to the very depths of the ship where he opens an ancient sarcophagus. There are corpses everywhere and Eleanor only catches a glimpse of what lies inside before she is swept away in the vicious waters. When she awakes she has been pulled from the water and has a chance to survive that fateful night. The events on the Titanic leave Eleanor with so many questions and she embarks on a journey to uncover the truth – who was the man who saved her and what evil thing killed and mutilated the people on the ship that night? The journey will take her from the tropical shallows off Honduras to a lost mine in Germany. Will she be able to uncover the truth and will it be worth the cost?
The Bibliophile Chronicles 