“TIGER QUEEN is a gorgeous, lush YA fiction…Highly recommend for anyone looking for a beautifully crafted stand-alone book.” (YA and Kids Book Central) Two doors. Two choices. Life or death. Kateri, an arrogant warrior princess, has to fight in the arena against her suitors to win her right to rule, and she is desperate to prove to her father that she is strong enough to take over his throne … strong enough to take over his throne and rule the kingdom. But when she finds out her final opponent, she knows she cannot win. Kateri flees to the desert to train under the enemy she hates the most and the only one who might be able to give her a shot at winning. But what Kateri discovers in the desert twists her world–and her heart–upside down. There in the sand, away from the comforts of the palace, Kateri’s perception of her father is challenged and she discovers the truth about his treatment of her people. When she returns to the kingdom, the fate of the one she loves lies behind two doors in the arena–one door leads to happiness, and the other door releases the tiger.
Secrets, suitors, thieves, and a fierce princess await readers in this YA fantasy re-telling.
Tiger Queen:
- Is a fantasy re-telling of Frank Stockton’s famous short story, “The Lady, or the Tiger?”
- Features a slow-burn romance wrapped in fast-paced adventure
- Is set in a fantastical world wrought by fascism, classism, and climate crisis
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I absolutely loved this book!! it was so epically awesome with the fighting scenes to the more softer moments with the characters and it was everything I ever wanted in a book. Highly recommend this book!
This book was good. It was interesting reading a different legend/fairytale than the norm. The characters, storyline, and setting were good. I love how strong Kateri and Cion were. I also thought the author did a good job of making Kateri grow without making it unrealistic.
Princess Kateri has trained her whole life to finally claim her birthright, vowing to have her revenge on the Desert Boys who killed her mother. But a face-to-face encounter with a living legend, turns everything that she thought she knew on its head, as she is forced to re-evaluate her core beliefs and what it means to be queen.
The sophomore novel from Annie Sullivan will not fail to disappoint. Tiger Queen is engaging from the start establishing a strong heroine, the desert kingdom, and the perceived enemies quickly, then skillfully turning what we thought we knew all around. Life in the desert is merciless, as are its monarchs.
Kateri is courageous, never backing down from a challenge, she knows her weaknesses and acknowledges that she still has room to grow and learn. I admired her compassion, and strength.
Cion is a mysterious enigma who over the course of the book becomes more and more flesh. He is a born leader, with strong loyalties to his family, I loved unraveling his secrets throughout the story.
Action-packed, with excellent world building, Tiger Queen is my favorite of Ms. Sullivan’s novels so far. I liked the unexpected twists, well paced action and character development. There are many twists and turns that kept me guessing, and many characters who are not what they appear at first. A wonderful read for fans of teen fantasy and strong heroines.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Princess Kateri must defeat twelve champions in the arena before she can prove her worthiness to rule the desert-kingdom of Achra. Her father’s disappointment is a goad that never lets her stop training, as is the memory of her mother’s death at the hands of the villainous “desert boys.” If she can only prove herself to her father and find a way to take care of her mother’s suffering people, perhaps the drought in Achra will end and water will find its way to the parched populace once again.
But when the captain of the guard, brutish and sadistic Rodric, turns Kateri’s father against her, the princess is forced to flee to the desert before her twelfth match. There she meets Cion, the leader of the desert boys, and discovers that the desert boys have a far different reason for stealing Achra’s water than she’s always been taught. Initiated into their group, she learns fortitude, kindness, and cunning from Cion, honing her skills so that she can best Rodric and uncover the secret that her father has been keeping from the people.
Based on Frank Stockton’s short story, “The Lady, or the Tiger,” this YA novel creates a fantastical world of swinging swords and swirling sand. Kateri, with her privileged palace upbringing, is a bit annoying at first, but she soon grows into a heroine one can root for–a cross between Jasmine and Mulan. Cion, a commoner with the nobility of a prince, is unfailingly likeable throughout, with his knowledge of the unforgiving desert as vast as his sympathy for the downtrodden. The romantic chemistry between Cion and Kateri is at exactly the right level for a YA novel.
The tie-in to the original story helps build anticipation. Kateri’s father is renowned for allowing his prisoners a choice between two doors–one of which holds a man-eating tiger. Knowing the original Stockton story, I was eager to see how the choice between the tiger or a rival lady would play out at the end of the story, and I must say, the dramatic tension did not disappoint! Annie Sullivan is a new author to me, and I look forward to reading more of her books.
Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this title from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.
If you follow me, you know I love any kind of a retelling, and while I hadn’t ever really read The Lady or the Tiger, I know the gist of that story, so it made this work for me. I love that we once again have a strong female character who is fighting to be her own person. The characters really had a lot going on, lots of good background stories that really tied in to wrap the whole story together. Each little history for the characters brought it all in to make the ending and the way things wrapped up perfect. The fight that you knew had to come at the end was different than it was originally planned or even how you thought it would be as the story progressed. But it wasn’t just an easy win for her, an all of a sudden it just is easy for her, she’s suddenly better than Rodric after her short time training with Cion. It was still a hard fight, and she had to use the things she’d learned, but also apply them to new situations or things as they happened in the moment.
The setting was beautiful, the whole story was beautifully told and imagined, and I look forward to reading more by this author in the future!
A fascinating retelling. The short story does not give much to the reader other than leaving the reader with the question of whether or not the main character loves her beloved enough to keep him alive or if she is selfish enough to see him die. That is a very superficial way of looking at the original tale, admittedly but, but here Sullivan has taken the story, and she has adapted and expanded upon it in a brilliant way. Princess Kateri is a fierce female character who has to fight for her right to rule her people; it is tradition, but also the way her father wants it. He does not want weakness shown in his kingdom and want’s to make sure that his heir, whether it be his daughter or the man who ultimately defeats her, is a strong man who could destroy their enemies.
There is much tension between Kateri and her father that serves as an underlying part of the story’s tension. Kateri both sees him and does not see him at the same time. She loves her father and believes him, and through a rose-colored lens, she watches his moves. The change in her perspective lends much to her personal growth as those lenses begin to crack slowly and she can see the reality of the worlds around her, the truth behind all the lies that have governed her life.
It is a journey of personal growth for Kateri, which makes for an exciting read because already she starts as this formidable female character, she is a gladiator. Moreover, yet there is a frailty about her that makes her relatable, an understanding and connection to the past that pushes her to be a better person. Her resilience, her strength, and her ability to learn all make her a strong female character. Moreover, the development that goes into that is exceptionally well-done on Sullivan’s part.
As for the story, it has come a long way from the short story. Yes, there is a woman, yes there are some tigers, and yes, there are two doors that an accused must choose from, but that is where the similarities end. Sullivan took those ideas, and she was able to craft a tension driven story from those elements to draw the reader into a new narrative. There are classic tropes in the story regarding the villains, but it is the journey the story takes, the progression and pace that keep it unique and entertaining for the reader.
Tiger Queen is, ultimately, a riveting read. The landscape and detail of the world built here are both beautiful and deadly and has a vibrant aesthetic to it as it tells this story.