The Imposter Queen by Sarah Fine

The Imposter Queen by Sarah Fine
on January 5th 2016
Genres: Fiction, YA, Young Adult
Goodreads

Sixteen-year-old Elli was a small child when the Elders of Kupari chose her to succeed the Valtia, the queen who wields infinitely powerful ice and fire magic. Since then, Elli has lived in the temple, surrounded by luxury and tutored by magical priests, as she prepares for the day when the Valtia perishes and the magic finds a new home in her. Elli is destined to be the most powerful Valtia to ever rule.

But when the queen dies defending the kingdom from invading warriors, the magic doesn’t enter Elli. It’s nowhere to be found.

Disgraced, Elli flees to the outlands, the home of banished criminals—some who would love to see the temple burn with all its priests inside. As she finds her footing in this new world, Elli uncovers devastating new information about the Kupari magic, those who wield it, and the prophecy that foretold her destiny. Torn between the love she has for her people and her growing loyalty to the banished, Elli struggles to understand the true role she was meant to play. But as war looms, she must align with the right side—before the kingdom and its magic are completely destroyed.

I received a copy of this for review from the publisher, this does not influence my review or thoughts on the novel.

I admit I wasn’t sure what to think about this one at first but I loved the idea of The Imposter Queen. I enjoyed most of it but I found that by the end of the novel, I felt that I wasn’t really sure of what I read. I liked it enough, but I’m not sure I loved it.

Elli has been trained to be queen. In a world with fire and ice magic, only the queen can control both forces and protect her people. When the previous queen dies, Elli is now queen but she soon finds out that she actually has no magic. The Imposter Queen is about Elli and her journey to learn more about herself and her world.

I liked Elli. She does read a bit young but I felt that it was believable because she was sheltered during her lifetime, forced to only know what the Elders taught her. I felt that the plot moved a bit slow, and seemed to drag on, but the second half of the novel really picked up. I found the ending to be a bit cliche but I think I will probably pick up the next book in the series.

The world building was pretty unique, and I loved the idea of a queen ruling over the land that could control both fire and ice. The world-building did develop as the novel went on and I was just as surprised as the main character was towards the end of the novel.

In terms of the romance, I was pleasantly surprised. In the beginning of the novel, Elli is in love with her handmaiden which was all kinds of awesome. As the novel goes on (and due to plot conflicts), another love interest appears who I liked enough. The romance was overall swoony and cute but I’m not sure how I feel about it as a whole.

In terms of diversity, there is clearly some LGBTQ+ themes and it is addressed in a slight way but that’s really about it.

Overall, The Imposter Queen is an interesting fantasy novel that I’m sure will appeal to most but it just wasn’t my cup of tea. I will probably read the sequel though!