Review ~ "The Orphan Queen" by Jodi Meadows

Title: "The Orphan Queen"

Series: The Orphan Queen #1

Author: Jodi Meadows

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Published: March 10, 2015
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Magic
Pages: 393
Format: Hardcover
Source: Library

Read May 26 to 28, 2015

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Wilhelmina has a hundred identities. She is a princess. When the Indigo Kingdom conquered her homeland, Wilhelmina and other orphaned children of nobility were taken to Skyvale, the Indigo Kingdom’s capital. Ten years later, they are the Ospreys, experts at stealth and theft. With them, Wilhelmina means to take back her throne. She is a spy. Wil and her best friend, Melanie, infiltrate Skyvale Palace to study their foes. They assume the identities of nobles from a wraith-fallen kingdom, but enemies fill the palace, and Melanie’s behavior grows suspicious. With Osprey missions becoming increasingly dangerous and their leader more unstable, Wil can’t trust anyone. She is a threat. Wraith is the toxic by-product of magic, and for a century using magic has been forbidden. Still the wraith pours across the continent, reshaping the land and animals into fresh horrors. Soon it will reach the Indigo Kingdom. Wilhelmina’s magic might be the key to stopping the wraith, but if the vigilante Black Knife discovers Wil’s magic, she will vanish like all the others. Jodi Meadows introduces a vivid new fantasy full of intrigue, romance, dangerous magic, and one girl’s battle to reclaim her place in the world.

  Oh my god. That ending. THAT ENDING! My heart! It hurts! Now I get to nurse it until The Mirror King comes out. I don't think I'll make it!



Wil, as the title states, is an orphaned queen. When she was very young, her kingdom was attacked by a neighboring kingdom and her parents and many other adult nobility were murdered. Wil and many of the kids were taken to the Indigo Kingdom, the kingdom that attacked, and have been working to take back their home. However, in the Indigo Kingdom there is a mysterious vigilante named the Black Knife, who has been associated with the disappearance of people with magic, and Wil's worried that she might disappear next.
  I absolutely loved Wil. She worked so hard to try to keep the Ospreys, the name of the group of orphans, safe and she was willing to do anything that was needed. However, she was pressured by Patrick, the oldest in the group who's also a dick, to do what he wanted, even though she was the rightful queen. And then Melanie, Wil's best friend, who tends to always side with Patrick, and that is discussed later in the book.
  Wil and Melanie infiltrate the Indigo Kingdom, posing as thought dead nobility, because aren't you supposed to keep your enemies closer? Living in the same castle as them is pretty close. Of course they immediately make some enemies, but are still able to make some friends anyway. While there, Wil unexpectedly becomes friends with Black Knife, and when she finds out about his identity... of my god. I guessed, and I guessed right, but it was still crazy. And as I said before, my heart hurts with that ending.
 
I love how a big part of the book was Wil's internal dilemma of deciding whether or not to use her magic. She has this amazing ability, but magic use is creating wraith, which has been killing kingdoms. I can't wait to see if she uses it more often in the sequel!
 
There really isn't all that much romance in the book. Wil flirts with James a little bit, but to me it's just more of a friendly banter. And we're sort of teased with a Wil and Black Knife romance, but then things happen LIKE THAT ENDING so I'm not sure what to expect for The Mirror King (which has a gorgeous cover BTW).
  I immediately saw similarities to Throne of Glass, and I was cool with that as I love that series. They weren't huge glaring similarities, but small subtle ones. Great book to read while impatiently waiting for Queen of Shadows!
 
Wil
Super awesome! She's not perfect, and she doesn't try to be. She just tries to be a good leader to her group and show them that she can be a good queen, as it is her birthright.
 
Melanie
I didn't trust her from the beginning, and I had a reason to. Tsk tsk tsk...
 
Patrick
Douche. DOUCHE. I didn't like him.
 
Tobiah
I wasn't so sure about him in the beginning, and now I have mixed feelings about him. How DARE YOU with that ending! GAH!
 
Overall, this was a great high fantasy book, and it seems like more and more high fantasy books are coming out these days. I can't wait for the sequel, and will have to mend my broken heart while I wait. How dare you, Jodi Meadows?