Review: The Impostor Queen by Sarah Fine

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Series: The Impostor Queen #1
Pages: 415
Copyright: 2016 
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Buy: Amazon

Summary: from Good Reads
Sixteen-year-old Elli was only a child when the Elders of Kupari chose her to succeed the Valtia, the queen who wields infinitely powerful ice and fire magic in service of her people. The only life Elli has known has been in the temple, surrounded by luxury, tutored by magic-wielding priests, preparing for the day when the queen perishes—and the ice and fire find a new home in Elli, who is prophesied to be the most powerful Valtia to ever rule.

But when the queen dies defending the kingdom from invading warriors, the magic doesn’t enter Elli. It’s nowhere to be found.

Disgraced, Elli flees to the outlands, home of banished criminals—some who would love to see the temple burn with all its priests inside. As she finds her footing in this new world, Elli uncovers devastating new information about the Kupari magic, those who wield it, and the prophecy that foretold her destiny. Torn between her love for her people and her growing loyalty to the banished, Elli struggles to understand the true role she was meant to play. But as war looms, she must choose the right side before the kingdom and its magic are completely destroyed.

Feelings:
I made the mistake of looking at a few reviews as well as the over all rating before I started reading this novel. It had a not so great over all rating. I normally look for an average of 4 stars, and this had 3.7 stars. I didn't think it was the best book, but I really enjoyed the story.

Elli seemed like a real person. She had fears and worries. I liked that about her. She also had disappointment but she learned to live with it and make the best of what she had. She was a very interesting character, and I enjoyed getting to know her as she grew throughout the novel.She knew what her short comings were outside of the temple and she did her best to learn and grow. She made mistakes, but she didn't obsess over them. She did obsess a little over what she wasn't and what sh actually was. It was interesting to see her learn about magic and her lack of it.

Another character I really liked was Oskar. He denied so much of himself because of fear. This is true of so many people, not just in fiction. We let fear hold us back because we are scared of what might happen. I could go off into a rant about the politics of fear, which is applicable to this novel. However, I won't. Oskar does learn from his fear and he changes. It was the growth in both of these characters that made me really like reading about them. I also enjoyed the family dynamic that was present in the outlands rebel camp. It was so different from the city.

I also liked the balance that magic had with fire and ice. Without a balance a person is consumed by the magic. Sarah Fines created an interesting world in The Impostor Queen. I recommend this novel and look forward to the next in the series.