Mortal Queens

The Fae Dynasty, Book 1

By: Victoria McCombs

Narrated by: Ellen Quay

"They vanish without a trace, disappear into the night . . .

Each year on the center island, one girl is chosen to be the next Mortal Queen of the idolized fae. The mortals praise these lucky girls, but their daughters are never seen again.

The fae realm is eternal night, where disputes are settled by chess matches, power is acquired through the most devious kinds of trickery, and seven illusive kings roam. The fae hide their faces behind masks and guard their glass hearts to keep them from shattering. But beyond the veil of this luxurious paradise, a dark secret simmers, for their Queens have disappeared.

When aspiring artist Althea is selected, she is desperate to avoid the same mysterious fate. With no one to trust, she conceals messages in paintings and receives anonymous replies from a stranger who slowly reveals the tale of a girl who outwitted the fae. Only if she is clever enough will Althea survive the fate of the Mortal Queens. As long as the king who cannot love does not claim her first.

©2024 Victoria McCombs (P)2024 Oasis Audio

The way the story was told and just being in the far world.

I loved all of it. I can't wait to read the next book! Please let me know when you have more of this series.

Unique premise with engaging characters

Mortal Queens manages to build a fascinating and unique other-world without losing itself in the fantasy. The characters are grounded and relatable, and I’m a big fan of the female friendships built into the story. There were plot twists I didn’t expect, and a build-up for book 2 that promises unique adventures of its own.

Delightfully unpredictable!

I’m hooked! Rarely is there a storyline that brings the first to a sensible close, yet has you hooked and anticipating the next.

This author has multiple series. Each is so different in setting and character development that I never feel like I can predict the next turn.

I’m looking forward to the next installment!!!

I Enjoyed the Narration and Story

This book is young adult, clean fantasy fiction. The book is hard to rate because it ends before the story is done. Like the Harry Potter books, the book takes place in the span of one year. The protagonist is transported to a new world with beings that are powerful and angelic-like in beauty but act in cunning and deceitful ways. Unlike the Harry Potter, the book does not give a clear fight and adventure which resolves at the end. There is magic in the book but it is not free. Everything costs something painful either physically or emotionally, sometimes both.

Victoria McCombs has created a world in which lies, games, trickery, and masks are the modus operandi. Deals, contracts, and alliances are made but are never straightforward. Even legitimate games like chess are gambled on. There are magic items as well which cost more than most would be willing to pay.

The world reminds me of a video game atmosphere. Certain rooms or places held items. Characters bargain for favors and magical feats but never without a selfish motive. The main character shows some knowledge of moral reasoning but never really admits to it. Love is spoken about but never in terms of altruism. There are acts of unselfishness but very few. The world and characters feel hollow and inhuman for the most part. The only act of passion seems to be for revenge. At no point do characters weigh the moral right or wrong of actions, only the potential benefit versus loss to their agendas. Ready player one. This is the fantasy world that Ms. McCombs created, wooden, hollow, unforgiving, inhuman. It is well written in this sense, but unfortunately, it makes every character rather flat. I think that is the point. If love makes us real, as the author of the Velveteen Rabbit states, then the characters will only come to life in this duology when they learn to love in an unselfish manner and accept some form of morality other than to best their opponent in a battle of wits.

I like the book , sort of. It is an interesting concept with characters who act in a way so foreign to the way I view the world. At no point do I see my relationship with others as a means to an end, using them for my benefit and only befriending them when I can gain from them. But I do think that reading about such people is interesting because it is so different. It may aid understanding people like this. On the other hand, I did not identify with any of the characters because they constantly are manipulating each other which is off-putting I did not know which parts were genuine and which were lies; everyone appeared fake. That is the point of the book, but maybe it is written too well on this point? The main character is not much different than the others so even though I want to like her, I did not and did not sympathize with her. I felt like I did not have a frame of reference, a context for her guilt when she did something slimy ( and she did do a lot of questionable things as well as a few altruistic ones but why?). I think the next book will provide some context and finish the story properly. Since it is available, I look forward to some resolution.

Good book, not to much action

It was a good book but I got confused a lot of the time, and the overall, “why?” Started coming up a lot, and it was kinda predictable. I am going to re-read it to see if it makes more sense.