41. The Hundredth Queen by Emily R. King

The Hundredth Queen #1
read on my iPhone
2017, Skyscape
300 pgs.
YA Fantasy
Finished 7-19-17
Goodreads rating:  3.84 - 6963 ratings
My rating:  4
Setting:  Ancient times, Middle east?"

First line/s: "Snowy mountains tear into the ashen sky, their jagged peaks pearly, like wolverine fangs.  Cold winds sting my bare cheeks and exposed hands.  The frosty temple coutryard is barren of the other daughters and sister who reside here.  Only my best friend is with me."

My comments:  For a couple of years I taught Gilgamesh and a bit about ancient Sumeria to fifth graders at Tucson Hebrew Academy.  Interesting stuff.  Emily R. King uses some of the ancient Sumerian religion as a basis for her fictional Tarachand Empire and its religion.  Although there was battling and bloodiness, tournaments and fighting, those parts were not belabored and kept my interest completely.  Excellent characters and characterization.  Some of the bad guys were really bad. Some of the bad guys weren't quite so bad.  Lots of secrets.  Cool setting.  There's something about one guy with 100 wives and at least as many paramours that is very entertaining and though-provoking.  There was nothing boring about this book, I looked forward to returning to it, and I'm disappointed that it's finished.  I know there's a book two and wonder if there'll be more.  Good read.

Goodreads synopsis: As an orphan ward of the Sisterhood, eighteen-year-old Kalinda is destined for nothing more than a life of seclusion and prayer. Plagued by fevers, she’s an unlikely candidate for even a servant’s position, let alone a courtesan or wife. Her sole dream is to continue living in peace in the Sisterhood’s mountain temple.
          But a visit from the tyrant Rajah Tarek disrupts Kalinda’s life. Within hours, she is ripped from the comfort of her home, set on a desert trek, and ordered to fight for her place among the rajah’s ninety-nine wives and numerous courtesans. Her only solace comes in the company of her guard, the stoic but kind Captain Deven Naik.
          Faced with the danger of a tournament to the death—and her growing affection for Deven—Kalinda has only one hope for escape, and it lies in an arcane, forbidden power buried within her.
          In Emily R. King’s thrilling fantasy debut, an orphan girl blossoms into a warrior, summoning courage and confidence in her fearless quest to upend tradition, overthrow an empire, and reclaim her life as her own.