The Evil Queen's Beautiful Principles (Light Novel), Vol. 1

Vengeance Over Virtue

A woman reborn, Crown Princess Luxeria is derided as a doll, beautiful and docile. But that's merely the mask she wears. Powerful magic courses through her veins--magic that can corrupt hearts, erase memories, and pluck one's innermost thoughts from the air. After years of being confined to a tower, she is finally set free...only to become embroiled in a grand conspiracy that kicks off with her parents' murder. Thrust onto a tragic stage of love and betrayal, she will play her part to perfection.

©2020 Reia, Haduki Futaba (P)2020 Reia, Haduki Futaba

This was great

The narrator of this book performed very well. this book has a lot of details in it. The main character does not just wave his hand and stuff happens King’s ministers and Noble’s are not all parody of themselves. it actually has depth which makes this book amazing to my eyes 1010. Will read the next book.

A Solid Story

The bones of this story are really good. It was actually much more intelligent and thoughtful than I had thought it would be. It did, however, fall short in a few areas. Firstly, I wasn't sold on the love aspect of the story. There also were not very convincing examples of her "Doll Princess" persona, although I admit that after she dropped that persona, you could certainly tell the difference. Lastly, there was a time skip leading to her coronation but somehow this also got combined with a marriage out of nowhere that was certainly not wanted by the princess, but the book didn't seem to address why it was even happening in the first place. It makes sense in the context of her Doll Princess persona, sort of, but it was still not well explained to me. Given that this was a major aspect of the story, it could have been handled better. With all that said, this was still a good listen and a solid story otherwise, so I hope it gains the popularity it deserves here on Audible.

Not Enough to Keep Me Invested

I got my hopes up in the beginning of this story. it has a strong beginning... but not much else. it made me wonder how that opening scene happened, but the author is a little too invested in playing things close to the vest, including things the main character should absolutely know. There's major upheaval after certain characters are killed, but we're never told how. We're told the mastermind behind it was caught, but none of the details. Should I be suspicious about this or not? i don't know. it isn't dwelt on. When the main character takes an action that changes everything, a certain noble immediately comes across her. Was this coincidence, part of a scheme, or proof of loyalty? I don't know. It isn't dwelt on. The main character has someone she loves, but she seemingly only met that person once, as a child, for an afternoon. Is that the extent of their romantic backstory? I don't know. There aren't any hints one way or the other.

Then there are the evil queen's powers. While there are limitations, she can read and control minds, and she can summon all five sacred magic swords... on top of her being the only heir to the crown. She's portrayed as the underdog, and there's some justification given for it, but I had a hard time buying it. I never felt like she was in danger or that any aspect of her plans would be thwarted. And then there are the swords themselves, which all have unique awesome powers that everyone in the kingdom should know, but one of them ends up becoming the victim of one of these powers even though there's no way he shouldn't have seen it coming. You know who didn't see it coming? The readers, because the author never bothers to mention what any of the swords do until well after the fact. I don't mind the occasional surprise twist, but I don't think being left in the dark about the basic functions of the best-known objects in the kingdom counts as a clever subversion.

This is supposed to be a revenge story, but I know so little about it that I can't get on board. The noble family targeted in this volume wants power and tried to poison the queen once. Is that the extent of their crimes? I don't know. Did they collude with the other noble families the queen wants revenge on? I don't know. Were any or all of those families involved in the major incident early in the book? I don't know. And I'm not talking uncertainty here. I mean, I genuinely don't know if there are even suspicions about any of those matters. It's never brought up. The queen wants revenge, but I don't know how the targets of that revenge earned her wrath other than looking down on the royal family.

The author is so worried about maintaining the mystery that I not only don't know whodunit, I also don't know what was done. Imagine instead of all this stuff I've written, I said, "I don't like how the author handles certain details." Not very useful, is it? But then, I offered clarification. "I really don't like how the author handles certain details." That's what it feels like trying to learn anything about what are supposed to be the most foundational events, objects, and people in this story. The swords are really important and meaningful, everyone! And they're colorful, too!

In terms of audio, the quality is solid and consistent. The narrator speaks clearly and emotes well. There are times where the two most prominent characters aren't easily distinguishable from voice alone, but their words tend to be enough to quickly resolve any confiding m confusion on that matter.

Overall, I wouldn't say this book is awful. It's not that there's no THERE there. I'm just not allowed to know about it, because mystery or suspense or something. And that's just not enough for me. As a side note, you'll see a lot more objections along these lines if you read the reviews for the next book... which is why I think I've seen enough of what this series has to offer. There are some ideas that could have been interesting, but the need for secrecy killed my interest.

Incidentally, while not perfect, Accomplishments of the Duke's Daughter, by the same author, is much better. If given the choice, I'd recommend that over this any day.

Revenge!

The plot is actually good. The payback is satisfying. But for the title to be Evil Queen isn’t really fitting. Getting the second book because that’s how good it is.

the cleverness of the writer

well read, we'll written, very specific niche about playing faces to survive in politics and using your smarts to outwit opponents. like real life chess