Nameless Queen

by Rebecca McLaughlin

One girl must make a name for herself--or die trying--in this royal fantasy where an unknown peasant becomes the ultimate ruler. But how long can she keep the crown if everyone wants her dead? Perfect for fans of Furyborn, Red Queen, and Everless.

Everyone expected the king's daughter would inherit the throne. No one expected me.

It shouldn't be possible. I'm Nameless, a class of citizens so disrespected, we don't even get names. Dozens of us have been going missing for months and no one seems to care.

But there's no denying the tattoo emblazoned on my arm. I am to be queen. In a palace where the corridors are more dangerous than the streets, though, how could I possibly rule? And what will become of the Nameless if I don't?

"A thrilling tale of identity and found family wrapped up in epic, politically-charged worldbuilding. Once I started reading, I couldn't stop...on the list of my favorite fantasies, Nameless Queen has won its way to the top!" - Crystal Smith, author of Bloodleaf

• ISBN10: 1524700266
• ISBN13: 9781524700263
• Publish Date: 7 January 2020
• Publish Status: Out of Stock
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Crown Books for Young Readers
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 352
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9781524700263

Reviews

[Quirky Cat]

I received a copy of Nameless Queen through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Nameless Queen is the debut novel of Rebecca McLaughlin, and it has been getting a lot of attention in the last few months. It’s been favorably compared to novels like Red Queen, Everless, and Furyborn. Having read the novel, I can certainly understand why those comparisons were made.
Nameless Queen is set in a world where magic exists, but only serves to strengthen the differences between classes. There are the Royals, the Legals, and the Nameless. That’s where Coin comes into play – that’s the name she chose for herself, since she was never given any other.
The Nameless are the lowest class in the city, and are treated worse than dirt. The only good thing they have going for them is that magic doesn’t seem to affect them. A small grace, given the odds of being killed by lack of food, hygiene, or being in the good graces of a guard.
But all of that is set to change on the morning of the King’s death. For Coin herself has inherited that magical and coveted crown tattoo. The one that marks her as the new queen of the city.

“Wearing Legal clothes is enough to get me thrown into prison, or if the patrolling Royal guards are in a bad mood, I’ll get a quick trip to the gallows.”

Nameless Queen was an interesting and emotionally compelling read. This was a tale that wove politics with magic, and it was such an interesting combination. I would gladly read more about this world, given half the chance.
It’s impossible to read this book and not feel sympathy for Coin and her Nameless friends. McLaughlin did an excellent job of portraying all of the hardships that come along with living in squalor and being treated so poorly. Seeing the magical flair was a nice touch, of course.
This was a fast-paced read, one that had us rushing alongside Coin as she struggled with politics, betrayals, and magical battles. To say that there was a lot going on here would be the understatement of the year.
My one regret is that we didn’t get more time to know more of the characters on a personal level. We saw a lot of Coin and what made her tick, but I still felt like there was this barrier to getting to know her. I think that had to do with how frequently she was focused on other dilemmas, but I’m not certain. Likewise, I would have loved to see a stronger connection made with the secondary characters as well.
I did really enjoy this world, and was enthralled by the magical system that McLaughlin created. I’m not sure if her next book will be a standalone, or if it will be a sequel. But if it is a sequel, I look forward to seeing more of this world – and the politics within it.

For more reviews check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks

[Cocktails and Books]

Wish I could have liked this one more. Can't put my finger on exactly why I didn't connect with the story or the characters.

[llamareads]

This book is a bit like its titular heroine, the Nameless Queen. I can’t say it’s exactly the book I expected from the blurb, but it’s definitely a good YA fantasy about powerlessness, feeling like you don’t belong, and creating your own found family.

“I am a misplaced puzzle piece. Worse, I’m a puzzle piece glued to the center of an otherwise beautiful painting. And the painting is on fire.
I am the thing that doesn’t make sense.”

The population of Seriden is divided into three castes: the Royals (the nobility), the Legals (working class), and the Nameless (basically homeless). The King or Queen is designated by a black crown tattoo on their shoulder, and they pass the kingdom (and their magic) to the next Royal by saying their name as they die. Sounds simple (if a ridiculous way of determining who the ruler is), but of course, everything changes the day after the king dies and Coin, a 17-year-old Nameless girl, wakes up with the crown tattoo. When a younger Nameless girl is arrested for a crime, Coin is forced to reveal herself as the queen. But no one, it seems, knows what to do with a Nameless queen, and Coin’s forced to choose between her past life and, well, no life at all.

“I swear by everything Nameless,” I say, stopping in front of him and pointing in his face, “that if you call me Highness or my lady one more spetzing time, I’m going to punch you right in your excellently bearded face.” I pause, collecting myself. “And I mean that … in a … not violent way? Yeah, I’ll work on it.”

Coin definitely had a lot of markers of my favorite sort of YA heroine. She’s prickly, but ultimately has a heart of gold. She does, unfortunately, suffer from Mary Sue syndrome, as she’s somehow able to immediately master magic and Royal etiquette near flawlessly. Even with that, though, I still liked her and enjoyed watching her try to adjust to royal life while still fighting for the Nameless. The other characters were decently done, from the scheming Royal Belrosa to Coin’s guard, Glenquartz, and I especially loved Esther, the princess and the one who was expected to be the next Queen. Her relationship with Coin was particularly well done.

My main criticism of the book is that the magic/caste system never really made sense to me. As the Queen, Coin has magic, like the ability to create illusions, but the magic only works on named people (so the Royals and Legals). Since she’s Nameless, that means she can create illusions that others see but she can’t. I never really understood why the Nameless weren’t affected by magic, despite the Charter history lesson. I do usually enjoy being thrown into a fantasy world and being left to figure out the why’s and how’s myself, but the magic system felt simultaneously too regimented and too loose to make sense to me.

“Things happen to us,” I say, “things we can’t control and things we don’t want. But we are more than what happens to us.”

So, what did I like about this book? At its heart, it’s all Coin making her own found family, with Glenquartz, the Legal guard assigned to her, with Hat, the Nameless girl she saved from execution, and Esther. It’s a bit preachy at times, yes, but the message itself was well done, and I liked watching Coin realize she could rely on other people and not worry about them hurting her back.

I also appreciated that there’s no romance in this book. While I’m a humongous romance fan (see, uh, my entire Goodreads history), I think it would’ve taken away from Coin’s journey in this book. Plus, it’s nice to see that not every YA heroine needs a romantic partner to make their story complete.

Overall, yes, this leans heavily toward wish-fulfillment and Mary Sue, it’s still an enjoyable found family fantasy, and I think it’ll hit the spot for many teen readers. Overall, I’d give this 3.5 stars, rounding up to 4.

I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

[shannonmiz]

You can find the full review and all the fancy and/or randomness that accompanies it at It Starts at Midnight

3.5*

This was a good book. Easy to read, enjoyable characters, and a story that compelled me to keep going. What it wasn't, however, was particularly unique or memorable. And that is really my only negative of note: I found it a tad generic. BUT, like I said, I still enjoyed reading it and am glad I did, so let's talk about why!

• • The characters were fabulous. Honestly, that's the bread and butter of this story. The characters are just so completely endearing, so enjoyable, that I would fully recommend reading the book for them alone. It's one of those "we choose our own family" type of stories, which I adore. Coin, who's given herself a name as she's not "worthy" of having one, at first resists pretty much all people. But as the story progresses, she learns that not the whole world is garbage. And the people who care for her are just the best.



• • The "nameless" concept in general is clever. It's such a great approach to detail the ridiculous classist ways of the society in a way that readers will find enjoyable and easy to comprehend. There are absolutely relevant societal statements in this book, and I am here for every last one of them.



• • Even though there were many dark/bleak moments, the book had enough humor for a good balance. I find that this is incredibly important to me lately. I love a darker book, but I also love when the characters can throw a spark of humor, even in satire or sarcasm, during the book. This one was great at achieving that balance, which made it extra enjoyable to read.

Bottom Line: While it may not be permanently seared in my memory, this book was absolutely enjoyable and full of characters I loved reading about. Definitely one to read if you're a YA fantasy fan!

[Alina]

Loved the premise, the world has promise and I wanted to dive in, I was however unable to connect to any of the characters and found some of their "speeches" a bit preachy, it pushed me out of the story, as it made the interactions artificial and forced... I wanted to know more about the magic of the crown, about the other 13 cities, about the life in this promising new world the author invented, but I was somehow a bit let down. Do give it a try, it might be more to your taste than it was to mine