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A review by pidgevorg
Pale Queen Rising by A.R. Kahler
3.0
I didn't like this one much, but I have to give credit where credit is due--first person present tense POV is hard to write well, and this book nails it. Every piece of information given makes sense as part of the narrator's thought process at that moment. And her personality was level-headed enough to be able to describe bloody/scary scenes in detail without sounding out of character, so she was perfect for this POV. She also doesn't know herself very well, which makes it fun to read between the lines to figure out her real character.
Other than that, we have a heroine of middling intelligence and no powers or skills other than those given to her by the faerie queen, but with a lot of attitude and an overactive libido. She's an assassin, and is used to simple killing missions, but this time she has to solve a mystery, so she's out of her depth. Which I guess explains why she goes about it like a toddler--just telling everyone and their uncle's dog what the problem is, and hoping that someone nice might clue her in. Not surprisingly, all her attempts are too little too late. But luckily for the future of her world, her boss the faerie queen seems to know more than she lets on. It's obvious that no one is actually expecting our heroine to be successful, that she is in fact a pawn in some bigger game. (Let me guess, she has some hidden "speshul powers" which have to do with her mysterious origin? Is it just me, or have I heard that one 50 times already??) But what that game is, and who is playing... well, you'll have to wait until the next book to find out. Which is all great, but doesn't make for a very interesting story in this book. In the meantime, enjoy watching as our cold-blooded assassin drools over every cute guy or girl in a 10 mile vicinity, and takes lots of bubble baths.
Other than that, we have a heroine of middling intelligence and no powers or skills other than those given to her by the faerie queen, but with a lot of attitude and an overactive libido. She's an assassin, and is used to simple killing missions, but this time she has to solve a mystery, so she's out of her depth. Which I guess explains why she goes about it like a toddler--just telling everyone and their uncle's dog what the problem is, and hoping that someone nice might clue her in. Not surprisingly, all her attempts are too little too late. But luckily for the future of her world, her boss the faerie queen seems to know more than she lets on. It's obvious that no one is actually expecting our heroine to be successful, that she is in fact a pawn in some bigger game. (Let me guess, she has some hidden "speshul powers" which have to do with her mysterious origin? Is it just me, or have I heard that one 50 times already??) But what that game is, and who is playing... well, you'll have to wait until the next book to find out. Which is all great, but doesn't make for a very interesting story in this book. In the meantime, enjoy watching as our cold-blooded assassin drools over every cute guy or girl in a 10 mile vicinity, and takes lots of bubble baths.