When Princess Adri passes her Trials stirring the land as she suddenly becomes first in the line of succession. Nearly every member of the Council is against her, the people do not favor her and the only people she has in her corner are her mother, her sister and a group of Garden Mages who would do anything the Queen asks. Except Rhyme that is.
Rhyme has worked as one of the Queen’s Gardeners for much of her life. She has more power than most people think and knows more than she lets on. Despite her dislike of the Heir’s mother, the current Queen of Angileri she knows what's best for the people.
Rhyme knows Adri will make a great ruler...that is if she gets the chance. Rhyme and her fellow Gardeners will have to use every skill they possess to ensure that this unlikely monarch gets the chance to sit the throne.
Somewhere in this mess a nice story is hidden, but I struggled mightily to find it.
I do wonder about all the 4 and 5 star ratings this novel has. Were none of these reviewers bothered with the atrocious writing? I mean, the complete and utter lack of proper punctuation, paragraph after paragraph filled with run on sentences, many instances of the wrong words (there instead of their) and the godawful formatting that took multiple attempts to even find out who was talking?
Does none of this bother the people who gave it 4 and 5 stars?
Well, it bothered me. It's self-published, but that simply is not an excuse. See Breaking Legacies for a self-published novel that has none of the flaws this one has.
I read several reciews before deciding to read this one (it had nothing to do with my book allotment already spent or anything)...so i was prepared for the lack of editing that went along with reading. I will say that though there are plenty, the story really is fantastic. It grips you from the beginning and though there is a little lull, it picks up for the finish. You really do enjoy reading about Rhyme and Adri. I will say the Marr threw me for a loop but its all good. If youre between books and looking for a really good read try this one. It doesnt really have dragons but it has magic and romance and women who are powerful. Plus free on kindle.
I really liked the story. The characters were likable and Rhyme's sense of not holding back when confronting someone was refreshing and at times humorous, the story unfolds slowly at some points and quickly in others but it worked out perfectly.
I really liked the read. The book could get a little wordy at times. But it was colorful. I loved the mage abilities and I do hope we get to know a bit of the water and fire mages. Maybe even the dragons. THE SHADOW PEOPLE.
Rhyme and Adri were adorable and I awwwed every time they were together. The way they grew into love. From friendship to there, it was a beautiful love story. (Honestly my favorite trope done perfectly.)
Adri was also a breath of fresh air. Even though she didn’t want the crown, she accepted it for her people. She was vulnerable and kind and loving. Truly worthy of being queen. That being said, there would’ve been nothing wrong with her being fat and the constant need to point out she wasn’t fat she plus her “flat stomach” was disheartening. Rhyme was so clueless and I found that relatable lol. I felt very connected to Rhyme in general tbh. It was nice reading of a black woman who got a lot of love and admirers when she’s so unaware. (That being said, I would’ve preferred the desert princess as the third than Renka. Outside of the fact that Rhyme literally owned her, their relationship never felt romantic and was sprung out of nowhere. Especially the love admittance. If anything, the fact that Rhyme saved her life felt more like a debt. Especially after finding the restraints of the spell.)
Moving on, if the other books in the series involve other characters I would it. I want Lisbeth. Also want one for M, (adri’s sister who’s full name I can’t remember right now). The shadow part sounds fascinating and something I’ve thought about before as a power. Please write her a book! (If she and Lisbeth fell in love, I wouldn’t be mad.)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
The Queen's Garden Mage is a sight to behold. Creatures come alive in shades of green or woven from myth and burst off these pages. Is it perfect? No. Typos? Yes. Editing errors? Of course. Plot problems? Yeah. None of this matters in a novel that is so terrific. I read it with utter enjoyment. Rhyme, the title character, is the cat's meow of superheroes. She is perfectly imperfect and a force with which to be reckoned. Her love interest is Princess Adri. They are meant to be together and still this only means that it will take miracle for it to happen.
There is no point in trying to retell the story. Read the book and be dazzled. If Dorothy of Oz or Alice of Wonderland could harness the power of life itself, they'd be like Rhyme. Alice and Dorothy were ordinary folks at the mercy of magical lands. Rhyme embodies magic in a crumbling Queendom. Take this wonderful tour, with her and her loved ones, as they face down the Void!
I think this was a great story line, very original (to me) and a lovely romance. I could only give 3 stars because it was badly edited, with missing words and, in some places, atrocious grammar. The spelling was equally bad and just had me irritated the whole way through the book because it was repeated over and over - the word is entwined not twinned (completely different definitions). Also, there are many synonyms for this and other recurrent words in the story, perhaps the author could look them up. I would have given it a much higher rating except for the abysmal spelling and grammar. Rereading lines or paragraphs to understand what the author is saying is not the best way to write a book. Please get a good editor or a beta reader of two.
I read alot of books. More than I should and I have to say this is one of the best I've read. This should be apparent in that this is 1 of 3 reviews I've written.
I really wanted to like this but I didn't even make it to the end of the second chapter. The concepts I saw in that space were intriguing and I'd love to know more, but unfortunately the writing is very very rough and desperately needs an editor. Lots of run on sentences and long paragraphs and it's sometimes hard to track what is happening and when amongst confusing sentences and unnecessary exposition. If the author produces more polished work in the future, I would be interested to check it out and I hope they persist. Just with a (better) editor.
I was glad this tired out to be so well written. Great plot, beautiful scenery, everything I could see in great detail. Just an all around fun book to read.