The Orphan Queen by Jodi Meadows - Paul's Pre Reading

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Title: The Orphan Queen
Author: Jodi Meadows

Recent Release Date: March 10, 2015

Synopsis: 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.

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Why?: I really enjoyed Jodi Meadows's first series. Her worldbuilding was awesome. And I really enjoyed the characters. This book seems more high fantasy than fantasy/sci-fi blend. I have followed Meadows on social media as she has been writing this book. I'm intrigued by how calligraphy will come into play. 

I'm excited to see a new world with a new magic system. Even if this wasn't by one of my favorite current YA authors, a princess with magic going undercover as a spy sounds interesting enough.

Expectations: I'm expecting awesome world building. Awesome magic. And awesome characters.  

Judging a book by its cover: I love the cover. I like the way the O and Q intermingle. The cool colors of the cover matched with the caped figure add an air of mystique to the cover. I'm intrigued. 


--PAUL