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Alyssa Cole is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors and this book is an excellent example of why. How to Catch a Queen was an excellent book and I enjoyed the story! It is, however, a bit harder to read than your typical romance novel. One of the key elements of the book is the disregarding of women in the Kingdom of Njaza, and while it is masterfully done in context, it’s not exactly a blissful escape from reality. The heroine Shanti combines the princess fantasy of a lot of little girls and with the unrelenting drive of a boss chick and she is truly a sight to behold (imagine? you know what I mean). King Sanyu II suffers from “not fear”, and Cole’s writing of him is brilliant in that we can clearly see how his condition affects him without it defining him as a character, which is impressive since the “not fear” is also a big plot point.
The highlight of the book was the setting, the fictional country of Njaza. Even though the book is set within the same universe as her other Royals titles, the mythology and history that she built around this fictional country are fascinating, especially considering how short the book is. I ended the book wanting to know more about the country itself, something that didn’t occur with the other fictional countries in this literary universe.
I thoroughly enjoyed getting lost in the mystery of Njaza, cheering at Shanti’s fierceness, and reveling in Cole’s masterful treatment of mental health issues. Another excellent read by Alyssa Cole!
I received this book for free from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.