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Queen K
On a balmy evening in late March, Kata hosts a party on her husband's superyacht. Tables cover the massive deck, adorned with orchids, champagne bottles, name cards of famous people, while uniformed staff flank a red carpet on the landing dock. This night marks the attainment of something she's wanted for a long time: acceptance into the glittering world of high society. But some around Kata are full of resentment and closer to home than she could have ever imagined.
Narrated with delicious unreliability by an Englishwoman employed to tutor this family's precocious daughter, QUEEN K pulls back the curtain on the power plays within one extraordinary family, as world politics begin to encroach on their corrupt and fiercely defended haven.
Narrated with delicious unreliability by an Englishwoman employed to tutor this family's precocious daughter, QUEEN K pulls back the curtain on the power plays within one extraordinary family, as world politics begin to encroach on their corrupt and fiercely defended haven.
- GenresFiction
293 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 16, 2023
33 people are currently reading
708 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 64 reviews
February 23, 2023
I really wanted to enjoy this book - I went to the sort of boarding school Tatiana went to, lived and worked in Russia in the early 90s, and came across many budding Ivans when I was studying there - so I couldn't wait to read this.
Sadly, I don't think it really knew what it was trying to be - a thriller, a social commentary, a expose of the British class system?! The characterisation was so two dimensional and Mel's sex scene is one of THE most excruciatingly bad things I've ever read.
Sadly, a book that over promised and underdelivered.....
Sadly, I don't think it really knew what it was trying to be - a thriller, a social commentary, a expose of the British class system?! The characterisation was so two dimensional and Mel's sex scene is one of THE most excruciatingly bad things I've ever read.
Sadly, a book that over promised and underdelivered.....
March 30, 2023
Queen K is a book inspired by Sarah Thomas’ experience working for billionaire families as a private tutor. It peels away the mystery surrounding the lives of the ridiculously wealthy 1%.
I’ll begin my review by outlining the elements I liked.
Firstly, Thomas does an undoubtedly good job of portraying the lives of the affluent through describing every morsel of luxury. The descriptions of the lives of people most of us will never meet is tantalising and draws you in as if you are there with her witnessing and enjoying it.
Secondly, I particularly enjoyed Thomas’ reflections on love and romance. Mel is lustfully and youthfully drawn to the idealistic aspiring musician who is poor and lives in a flat share in Finsbury Park. The desire for him is natural and organic. This is juxtaposed by the more pragmatic choice, the older more successful gentleman who she also finds herself entangled with. I loved the tension at play here. As the modern dating scene becomes increasingly superficial, are we losing our ability to simply connect with people not because of what they have, but because of who they are?
Thirdly, I enjoyed the theme of excess and unlimited access which is clearly largely explored through the character of Kata, our Queen K. She has everything good and wonderful that this life could offer – she is married to a billionaire. But still, she is in pursuit of something intangible, she wants to be seen, heard, praised, admired, sought after – it is the old adage: money cannot but happiness. While it may be viewed as cliché, this theme is effectively executed through the portrayal of Kata. Ultimately, her greed and hubris is what leads to her downfall; it leads her to lose everything.
Lastly, I enjoyed the unreliable narration as another reviewer pointed out. Mel isn’t completely impartial. She wants this life. She’s openly critical of the excess, but also strives to have a taste of it by buying expensive designer clothes and pinning away to be included in Kata’s high society events. This is reflected in us all. If you picked out this book, there is chance you saw it advertised in Vogue, a publication which endeavours to revere luxury; a publication which facilitates aspiration and creates pseudo-proximity to it and all its greatness. Mel is not the only one with this never-ending obsession that underpins our consumerist society. Vogue does have some incredible photography, stylistic inspiration and eau de parfum samples, so this is definitely not an attack on Vogue!
Some things I didn’t like include the following. I did not like the ending, it left more questions than answers and unless we get a second book, it doesn’t feel completely warranted to not wrap up the story and drive home the key message of the story. The ending left me wondering… is Kata dead? Where has Kata disappeared to? If she is dead, how did she die? Did she get drunk and fall off the boat by accident or was it by suicide? How will Ivan finalise the divorce if she is simply missing but not dead? How will all of this impact Alex? Perhaps, this is the purpose of the unresolved ending, to leave us wondering, but I would have enjoyed a scene back in London with Mel recounting the rest of the story to her friends to provide clarity on what happened to Kata. The story centres around Kata, so I don’t think it is unfair to know what ends up happening to her.
To conclude, here are some general thoughts I have about the book. It is beautifully written; Sarah Thomas fully understands her subject matter and paints the world of luxury and affluence creatively and effectively. At times, the pace of the book is very slow. There is a lot of foundation that needs to be built up before the real drama can ensue so this is why. My advice: be patient.
I’ll begin my review by outlining the elements I liked.
Firstly, Thomas does an undoubtedly good job of portraying the lives of the affluent through describing every morsel of luxury. The descriptions of the lives of people most of us will never meet is tantalising and draws you in as if you are there with her witnessing and enjoying it.
Secondly, I particularly enjoyed Thomas’ reflections on love and romance. Mel is lustfully and youthfully drawn to the idealistic aspiring musician who is poor and lives in a flat share in Finsbury Park. The desire for him is natural and organic. This is juxtaposed by the more pragmatic choice, the older more successful gentleman who she also finds herself entangled with. I loved the tension at play here. As the modern dating scene becomes increasingly superficial, are we losing our ability to simply connect with people not because of what they have, but because of who they are?
Thirdly, I enjoyed the theme of excess and unlimited access which is clearly largely explored through the character of Kata, our Queen K. She has everything good and wonderful that this life could offer – she is married to a billionaire. But still, she is in pursuit of something intangible, she wants to be seen, heard, praised, admired, sought after – it is the old adage: money cannot but happiness. While it may be viewed as cliché, this theme is effectively executed through the portrayal of Kata. Ultimately, her greed and hubris is what leads to her downfall; it leads her to lose everything.
Lastly, I enjoyed the unreliable narration as another reviewer pointed out. Mel isn’t completely impartial. She wants this life. She’s openly critical of the excess, but also strives to have a taste of it by buying expensive designer clothes and pinning away to be included in Kata’s high society events. This is reflected in us all. If you picked out this book, there is chance you saw it advertised in Vogue, a publication which endeavours to revere luxury; a publication which facilitates aspiration and creates pseudo-proximity to it and all its greatness. Mel is not the only one with this never-ending obsession that underpins our consumerist society. Vogue does have some incredible photography, stylistic inspiration and eau de parfum samples, so this is definitely not an attack on Vogue!
Some things I didn’t like include the following. I did not like the ending, it left more questions than answers and unless we get a second book, it doesn’t feel completely warranted to not wrap up the story and drive home the key message of the story. The ending left me wondering… is Kata dead? Where has Kata disappeared to? If she is dead, how did she die? Did she get drunk and fall off the boat by accident or was it by suicide? How will Ivan finalise the divorce if she is simply missing but not dead? How will all of this impact Alex? Perhaps, this is the purpose of the unresolved ending, to leave us wondering, but I would have enjoyed a scene back in London with Mel recounting the rest of the story to her friends to provide clarity on what happened to Kata. The story centres around Kata, so I don’t think it is unfair to know what ends up happening to her.
To conclude, here are some general thoughts I have about the book. It is beautifully written; Sarah Thomas fully understands her subject matter and paints the world of luxury and affluence creatively and effectively. At times, the pace of the book is very slow. There is a lot of foundation that needs to be built up before the real drama can ensue so this is why. My advice: be patient.
November 7, 2022
This was a well written book with a fantastic narrative, a gripping storyline and well developed characters who were all in someway flawed and unreliable and I didn't know what to think or who to believe. I enjoyed it.
August 15, 2023
I clicked to write this review thinking it'd be 4 stars and found that just wouldn't do it justice when it came to clicking! What an utterly compelling book. I was quite genuinely surprised to learn that this was Sarah Thomas' debut novel, such was the confidence that came through in her writing, drawing the reader into her world and her characters within it.
In fiction, the world "psychological" has very much become synoynmous with the thriller genre, but that would be such a misstep in categorising this book which is very much a rich psychological exploration without the rigid structure or tropes of a thriller. In Kata and Ivan, Thomas so fully portrayed "new" money, new money that had its origins in the shady politics and economics of Russian, two individuals driven to the acquisition of wealth by their respective childhood statuses as social outcasts, oblivious to all else. In coming together, Ivan gave Kata wealth and Kata gave Ivan the standing of being defined by his wealth, not the boy that he had been before wealth. For Kata though, she was left wanting. For all her riches, the outsider girl was still her essence, longing for admittance to the upper echelons of society, attempting to navigate this desperate need in the face of a husband who carried his own scars to use his elevated status to keep the upper classes at a distance in his personal revenge for their rejection of him as a young man. They never truly saw each other, only seeing what they desperately needed reflected back at them and the lies and fragility of the relationship increased as their desires so drastically deviated.
Caught in the crosshairs of this was their daughter Alex, vulnerable and reduced to a detached instrument through which her parents' machinations could be played out. Their self-involvement was astonishing at times, Ivan with his cold disregard and Kata with her manouvering of Alex for her own social-climbing aspirations. In her tutor Melanie (the narrator, who felt a particular empathy for Alex having herself attended public school and felt the force of being second best to her own mother), she found a safe haven but it was a safe haven that allowed the very worst aspects of the toll that her parents had taken on her adolescence to come to the fore. Melanie herself was aware of this kinship and how to utilise it for her own purposes and, yet, despite the darker strands of their relationship, it was a relationship that remained ultimately pure which is a testament to how intelligently Thomas wrote her characters and their dynamics.
While I was completly immersed in the psychological depictions of these characters, I thought Thomas did an equally brilliant job of depicting the casualness of extreme wealth and the complexity of social heirarchies within wealth. No description ever felt superfluous in this book, it was pitched perfectly.
In fiction, the world "psychological" has very much become synoynmous with the thriller genre, but that would be such a misstep in categorising this book which is very much a rich psychological exploration without the rigid structure or tropes of a thriller. In Kata and Ivan, Thomas so fully portrayed "new" money, new money that had its origins in the shady politics and economics of Russian, two individuals driven to the acquisition of wealth by their respective childhood statuses as social outcasts, oblivious to all else. In coming together, Ivan gave Kata wealth and Kata gave Ivan the standing of being defined by his wealth, not the boy that he had been before wealth. For Kata though, she was left wanting. For all her riches, the outsider girl was still her essence, longing for admittance to the upper echelons of society, attempting to navigate this desperate need in the face of a husband who carried his own scars to use his elevated status to keep the upper classes at a distance in his personal revenge for their rejection of him as a young man. They never truly saw each other, only seeing what they desperately needed reflected back at them and the lies and fragility of the relationship increased as their desires so drastically deviated.
Caught in the crosshairs of this was their daughter Alex, vulnerable and reduced to a detached instrument through which her parents' machinations could be played out. Their self-involvement was astonishing at times, Ivan with his cold disregard and Kata with her manouvering of Alex for her own social-climbing aspirations. In her tutor Melanie (the narrator, who felt a particular empathy for Alex having herself attended public school and felt the force of being second best to her own mother), she found a safe haven but it was a safe haven that allowed the very worst aspects of the toll that her parents had taken on her adolescence to come to the fore. Melanie herself was aware of this kinship and how to utilise it for her own purposes and, yet, despite the darker strands of their relationship, it was a relationship that remained ultimately pure which is a testament to how intelligently Thomas wrote her characters and their dynamics.
While I was completly immersed in the psychological depictions of these characters, I thought Thomas did an equally brilliant job of depicting the casualness of extreme wealth and the complexity of social heirarchies within wealth. No description ever felt superfluous in this book, it was pitched perfectly.
February 21, 2024
This book isn't my usual cup of tea but being an eclectic reader I will give anything a try. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I was really enjoying it and it was quite fast paced to begin with. The storyline did seem to slow down then about a quarter of the way through but after that picked up again. It was a fascinating read as well as quite thought provoking as it gives us some insight into what it must be like to live a life where money isn't a worry. Alex doesn't want for anything materialistic as it is all handed to her. However all she wants is her mother's love and attention but her mother only hands it out in small doses as a reward. My heart went out to Alex at the start as Mel seems to be the only friend or even person she can talk to. I couldn't stand Kara and the way she treated her daughter was disgusting. I probably should have had more sympathy for her by the end and although I did have some it wasn't an awful lot. I found the sexual scene a bit pointless to be honest as well as crude. I don't have a problem with sex scenes in books but this one just seemed to be thrown in for the fun of it rather than any part of the storyline. Although I was a bit annoyed with the open ending at the same time I do like the fact that it closed the story with some mystery. Overall it was an interesting book that made me reconsider wanting to be a billionaire but I still wouldn't say no to winning the lottery!!
February 9, 2024
This was a very easy read and, for the most part I really enjoyed it. It describes in great detail the lives of the super rich which is always entertaining. Flawed ending, though - kind of left you hanging. It had been building up to it throughout the whole book, but you never really discovered why things happened the way they did, and there were definitely some questions unanswered. But, it’s great fun, and one of those books it’s hard to put down.
September 30, 2023
I picked this book as a summer read. There is a yacht on the front of the cover of my copy and someone sunbathing. The main characters are a billionaire family who hires a tutor for their daughter. The book is written from the tutor’s perspective and shows what a dark and twisted world they live in. It was not a sunny book, despite being set in Monaco and the Maldives.
Firstly, I loved the writing style. It was moreish like a good TV series where you just want to watch the next episode. The book is about the relationships in the family and how Kata (the mother) isn’t just hungry for wealth, she is more hungry for power and to get her foot in the door of the upper classes. Although not a lot happened in the book, there was an intriguing underlying tension that kept me on my toes. There is a moral here in the book too: money does not buy you happiness, and if all you want is more, you are forgetting to appreciate what you do have.
Firstly, I loved the writing style. It was moreish like a good TV series where you just want to watch the next episode. The book is about the relationships in the family and how Kata (the mother) isn’t just hungry for wealth, she is more hungry for power and to get her foot in the door of the upper classes. Although not a lot happened in the book, there was an intriguing underlying tension that kept me on my toes. There is a moral here in the book too: money does not buy you happiness, and if all you want is more, you are forgetting to appreciate what you do have.
October 14, 2023
Enjoyed and believable what a person with a job like that has to put up with. A friend of mine who had a nanny job to rich persons also had horror stories.
April 30, 2023
I enjoyed this book. It's compulsive: a bingeable insight into the drama and lifestyles of the ultra-rich, and this was the standout quality of the book for me. And it was really interesting to see how the family dynamic ebbed and flowed over time, and how Mel’s opinion of Kata shifted back and forth. However, I thought the whole book just seemed a bit superficial, even though there was plenty of content and potential there (with characters plotting against each other and many reflections on relationship, class and status, trauma). I thought the ending was a bit too abrupt as well, despite the build up.
Many thanks to the publisher for providing a reading copy :)
Many thanks to the publisher for providing a reading copy :)
March 25, 2023
This was a good read, albeit a little slow at times.
The thriller aspect was lost on me almost entirely - the storyline failed to keep me tense, I feel like the frequency of the flashbacks might be at fault here.
The storyline is good, especially since I am a big fan of stories that explore astronomical wealth and its implications. The protagonist, Mel, was a good narrator in a sense that she didn't have all that much dimension to her, and thus her being there didn't distract from the interesting parts of the story. It was as if I was an observer through an observer. Because her life was mainly put on the back burner, though, the resentment that appeared in her in the second half of the book did manifest a bit suddenly. I agreed with it entirely, but I just didn't quite expect to see it there.
I feel like the plot, although it did keep me interested for the major part, could have done better with some deciding on what it was trying to accomplish. As I said before, if it's thriller the author was going for, it didn't quite deliver. If it was social commentary, a bit more consequence or stark opinion would have juxtaposed the opulence. And if it was simple lavish indulgence, amp up the luxuries! Maybe I am just used to the way riches were described in Dorian Grey, where just fabric textures were dedicated half a page. A bit more direction, that is all.
The characters were, for the most part, deeply unlikeable, but I feel like that was very much on purpose. I didn't necessarily want to sympathise with an oligarch anyway. Showing the passage of time and the effects of wealth (and the British secondary school system, which to this day makes me shudder with fear) through the prism of the daughter was a nice touch.
All in all, it was decent! I hope Sarah Thomas will continue writing and find their voice fully in their future work, because they have so much potential.
3/5
The thriller aspect was lost on me almost entirely - the storyline failed to keep me tense, I feel like the frequency of the flashbacks might be at fault here.
The storyline is good, especially since I am a big fan of stories that explore astronomical wealth and its implications. The protagonist, Mel, was a good narrator in a sense that she didn't have all that much dimension to her, and thus her being there didn't distract from the interesting parts of the story. It was as if I was an observer through an observer. Because her life was mainly put on the back burner, though, the resentment that appeared in her in the second half of the book did manifest a bit suddenly. I agreed with it entirely, but I just didn't quite expect to see it there.
I feel like the plot, although it did keep me interested for the major part, could have done better with some deciding on what it was trying to accomplish. As I said before, if it's thriller the author was going for, it didn't quite deliver. If it was social commentary, a bit more consequence or stark opinion would have juxtaposed the opulence. And if it was simple lavish indulgence, amp up the luxuries! Maybe I am just used to the way riches were described in Dorian Grey, where just fabric textures were dedicated half a page. A bit more direction, that is all.
The characters were, for the most part, deeply unlikeable, but I feel like that was very much on purpose. I didn't necessarily want to sympathise with an oligarch anyway. Showing the passage of time and the effects of wealth (and the British secondary school system, which to this day makes me shudder with fear) through the prism of the daughter was a nice touch.
All in all, it was decent! I hope Sarah Thomas will continue writing and find their voice fully in their future work, because they have so much potential.
3/5
August 14, 2023
The characters are well thought out except the narrator who seems to be missing something when you would expect you’d know most about her as the person telling the story. I also feel like the ending snuck up a bit too quick without proper buildup or roundup.
August 17, 2023
More than your average holiday paperback. A savage takedown of the ultra high net worth crew and their relationships.
April 10, 2023
Unfortunately this book was a disappointment. The blurb sells a lot of promise but I think the plot was lost as the story progressed. I'm not sure how the title, the blurb and the story were connected now that I finished the read. Mel, Alex and other supporting characters e.g. Ivan and Tatiana seemed to be stronger than 'K' so I am not sure why there was an emphasis surrounding her as the central character. The curiosity that builds up in the first pages around K's disappearance soon vanishes and is left as a figment of imagination when we start with Mel's involvement and connection to K and Alex, and by the time we reach the conclusion of the book it feels anticlimactic and weak. Thank you @netgalley @serpentstail @viperbooks for an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest unedited review.
May 30, 2024
3.5 stars. Audiobook. This was ok, but nothing particularly special. I think if something doesn’t have a strong narrative plot, I need it to have beautiful writing to make a huge impact on me. This didn’t, but it was an interesting snapshot of the dynamics between a certain type of wealthy, complicated family and their employer.
January 10, 2024
I haven’t been so confused over a book in a long time; so many of the characters were unreliable, there was so much corruption and drama, and that ending? what on Earth happened to Kata?
June 9, 2023
This sharp and amusing debut novel gives us a personal insight into the lives of the Russian oligarchs and their family. The author, Sarah Thomas, drew inspiration from her own personal experience, working as a private tutor for billionaire families. Throughout the book, I was thinking of Mel, the narrator, as being the author herself.
The main protagonist, Melanie – or Mel, is a private tutor. She is employed by the glamourous Kata, to tutor Kata’s daughter Alex, and prepare her to get in a private school in the UK. Kata is married to Ivan, a ruthless billionaire with a dubious history.
From the first couple of pages, it is clear that Kata went missing, and that the Mel is telling the story/backstory to this mysterious event.
The plot unfolds in three parts, in different exotic locations (Geneva, Monaco and the Maldives) and different time periods. The timing is not linear though, so there is some jumping around and flashbacks – so you need to keep your wits about you.
Through Mel’s eyes – as an interesting insider, with an outsider’s observations, we get an insight into Kata’s world of glamour, opulence, and luxury. The author is familiar with this lifestyle as the descriptions and imagery are detailed and vivid. It is like getting an extreme close-up of the “Real Housewives” lives – the world of the ultra-rich and privilege makes for binge-worthy reading.
The dark side of the Russian elite is also highlighted – the greed, vanity, and corruption. This is visible in Ivan’s business dealings and his marriage with Kata – filled with secrets, violence, and enemies. Kata is desperately trying to fit in with the high society of the various countries they live in/visit – so much so that it comes across as desperate and sad. And the cliché (and truth) – that she wants to be seen and heard on more than just the glamorous, superficial level. It is difficult not to feel sorry for her. I also had empathy for Alex, her daughter, as she struggled to find her own voice and identity and tries to fulfil her parent’s ideals and expectations.
Mel has got a complex relationship with Kata, and this makes her come across as an unreliable narrator at times. In her thoughts, she is critical of the almost obscene riches and glitter – but she also envies and craves that lifestyle.
The themes of wealth, power, privilege, identity, and loyalty features strongly. Almost all the characters are flawed and unlikeable, and that is fine! “Queen K” is a slow burn, but I found it very readable and entertaining. It is quite well-written and provides some interesting social commentary as well.
I am interested to see how the author develops further – I really enjoyed this insight into the world of extravagance and hypocrisy!
With thanks to Jonathan Ball Publishers for the opportunity to read this book.
3.5 rounded up
The main protagonist, Melanie – or Mel, is a private tutor. She is employed by the glamourous Kata, to tutor Kata’s daughter Alex, and prepare her to get in a private school in the UK. Kata is married to Ivan, a ruthless billionaire with a dubious history.
From the first couple of pages, it is clear that Kata went missing, and that the Mel is telling the story/backstory to this mysterious event.
The plot unfolds in three parts, in different exotic locations (Geneva, Monaco and the Maldives) and different time periods. The timing is not linear though, so there is some jumping around and flashbacks – so you need to keep your wits about you.
Through Mel’s eyes – as an interesting insider, with an outsider’s observations, we get an insight into Kata’s world of glamour, opulence, and luxury. The author is familiar with this lifestyle as the descriptions and imagery are detailed and vivid. It is like getting an extreme close-up of the “Real Housewives” lives – the world of the ultra-rich and privilege makes for binge-worthy reading.
The dark side of the Russian elite is also highlighted – the greed, vanity, and corruption. This is visible in Ivan’s business dealings and his marriage with Kata – filled with secrets, violence, and enemies. Kata is desperately trying to fit in with the high society of the various countries they live in/visit – so much so that it comes across as desperate and sad. And the cliché (and truth) – that she wants to be seen and heard on more than just the glamorous, superficial level. It is difficult not to feel sorry for her. I also had empathy for Alex, her daughter, as she struggled to find her own voice and identity and tries to fulfil her parent’s ideals and expectations.
Mel has got a complex relationship with Kata, and this makes her come across as an unreliable narrator at times. In her thoughts, she is critical of the almost obscene riches and glitter – but she also envies and craves that lifestyle.
The themes of wealth, power, privilege, identity, and loyalty features strongly. Almost all the characters are flawed and unlikeable, and that is fine! “Queen K” is a slow burn, but I found it very readable and entertaining. It is quite well-written and provides some interesting social commentary as well.
I am interested to see how the author develops further – I really enjoyed this insight into the world of extravagance and hypocrisy!
With thanks to Jonathan Ball Publishers for the opportunity to read this book.
3.5 rounded up
June 17, 2023
This book is told from the POV of Mel, a tutor who is hired by a Russian Billionaire to tutor his daughter so that she will get the required grades to attend an English boarding school. The story is told over a period of around 6 years, and only over the summer months when Mel is tutoring Alex.
The story starts with us finding out that Kata (the billionaires wife) mysteriously died back when Mel used to work for the family, and Mel launches into recounting her time spent with them.
The story is inspired by the authors own time tutoring the children of billionaires, and I think she does a wonderful job inviting us into their world, whilst maintaining the perspective of an outsider. It's feels very voyeuristic, and you're aware that Mel is only included because she's present in their world, but excluded because she's technically staff and a paid companion for Alex. Mel is not a reliable narrator, she wants to be a part of this world, to have a piece of the opulence and wealth and status that comes with it. She's openly critical of the wealth she's surrounded by, but also goes out of her way to buy designer brands.
Mel spends most of her time with Alex, and though their lifestyles are very different, Mel ends up finding parallels between her childhood and Alex's. Both of them have little to no relationship with their fathers, and are desperate for their mothers to spend time with them, to love them. This eventually sours for both Mel and Alex, and both of them grow away from their mothers for different reasons - Mel is embarrassed of her mother's alcoholism, and Alex because she is contemptuous of Katas desperatation to be accepted.
The story starts with us finding out that Kata (the billionaires wife) mysteriously died back when Mel used to work for the family, and Mel launches into recounting her time spent with them.
The story is inspired by the authors own time tutoring the children of billionaires, and I think she does a wonderful job inviting us into their world, whilst maintaining the perspective of an outsider. It's feels very voyeuristic, and you're aware that Mel is only included because she's present in their world, but excluded because she's technically staff and a paid companion for Alex. Mel is not a reliable narrator, she wants to be a part of this world, to have a piece of the opulence and wealth and status that comes with it. She's openly critical of the wealth she's surrounded by, but also goes out of her way to buy designer brands.
Mel spends most of her time with Alex, and though their lifestyles are very different, Mel ends up finding parallels between her childhood and Alex's. Both of them have little to no relationship with their fathers, and are desperate for their mothers to spend time with them, to love them. This eventually sours for both Mel and Alex, and both of them grow away from their mothers for different reasons - Mel is embarrassed of her mother's alcoholism, and Alex because she is contemptuous of Katas desperatation to be accepted.
September 3, 2023
AD-PR PRODUCT
Thank you so much Tandem for posting me a copy of this book!
Queen K follows main character Mel. She tutors for the daughter of an extremely wealthy man. When I say extremely wealthy, I’m talking billionaire level! In the book she is introduced to a world of extreme luxury and the hidden secrets of what happens behind closed doors.
I love stories of rich people behaving badly. And this takes it the a new level of money and corruption. While I enjoyed reading about all the glitz and the glamour, unfortunately Queen K was only an okay book for me.
Not enough happens in the story. I needed more drama and twists. I struggled to keep engaged in some parts of the story. A nice idea for a book but it had so much more potential!
Thank you so much Tandem for posting me a copy of this book!
Queen K follows main character Mel. She tutors for the daughter of an extremely wealthy man. When I say extremely wealthy, I’m talking billionaire level! In the book she is introduced to a world of extreme luxury and the hidden secrets of what happens behind closed doors.
I love stories of rich people behaving badly. And this takes it the a new level of money and corruption. While I enjoyed reading about all the glitz and the glamour, unfortunately Queen K was only an okay book for me.
Not enough happens in the story. I needed more drama and twists. I struggled to keep engaged in some parts of the story. A nice idea for a book but it had so much more potential!
November 23, 2025
Melissa is a tutor to the wealthy. She lives a life of luxury but has to be prepared to be excluded in an instant.
She becomes enmeshed in the frenetic lives of her employer, a wealthy Russian whose daughter, Alexa is treated as a puppy that can be switched on and off. She has no separate life and has such a temporary existence between jobs that she keeps her life in storage.
Despite this, she seems to have a happier lot than her employers although they live a champagne existence in either a stunningly beautiful house or aboard a luxury yacht.
Between feelings of inferiority and humiliation the mistress has a worse life than her employee does.
The rich descriptions take you to Nice or just as effectively to the chilliest part of Russia
She becomes enmeshed in the frenetic lives of her employer, a wealthy Russian whose daughter, Alexa is treated as a puppy that can be switched on and off. She has no separate life and has such a temporary existence between jobs that she keeps her life in storage.
Despite this, she seems to have a happier lot than her employers although they live a champagne existence in either a stunningly beautiful house or aboard a luxury yacht.
Between feelings of inferiority and humiliation the mistress has a worse life than her employee does.
The rich descriptions take you to Nice or just as effectively to the chilliest part of Russia
August 25, 2023
A very intense and interesting book. Brutally honest, it combines the elements of the grotesque, black humor and psychological drama. Based on some real historical events, this story is of a new class of the Russian oligarchs and the unimaginable wealth they acquired in a short time since the collapse of the Soviet Union. The book keeps you engaged to the last page. In light of the current political events it is very interesting to imagine the future of these people who became an integral fixture of the European society at its highest echelons.
March 31, 2023
4.5 stars. a strong story that really pulled me in, so much that I read it in one sitting. It is clear that the author has lived knowledge of at least some of the subject matter, some of the detail of working in these families and this came through. Some of the characterisation was maybe not as strong as it could have been, but you get so caught up in the story that you can let this slide. Not Boty material but still a great read.
September 16, 2024
very fun and easy poolside read! follows melanie who is a tutor to the daughter of a russian oligarch and gets an insider view to their lifestyle! ivan and kata’s relationship was one of the main focal point of this book as well as kata’s desire to be accepted into high society despite coming from a poor background. i also liked how melanie is clearly a biased narrator as she also lusts after a richer lifestyle while being critical of kata’s desire to rise above her station.
September 18, 2024
I found this book so gripping. I liked that there was not much of a plot or story line which is what some people did not like about this book. I also assumed that Kata jumped off the boat so I wasn't bothered that it wasn't spelt out to us.
I loved the relationship between Mel and Alex. I did find the subject matter in general quite upsetting because Ivan, Kata & Alex are all hurting and damaged people in my opinion. And this seemed quite sad.
I loved the relationship between Mel and Alex. I did find the subject matter in general quite upsetting because Ivan, Kata & Alex are all hurting and damaged people in my opinion. And this seemed quite sad.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 20, 2023
Tension in the lives of the super-rich. This follows the fortunes of Mel, a graduate desperate for a taste of the high life she craves, who works as a tutor for the daughter of a Russian oligarch and becomes a witness to their dysfunction and excesses over the space of several years. This is like an expose of what happens behind the scenes in OK magazine.
August 20, 2023
I was suckered in by the blurb mentioning The White Lotus and on one level it didn't disappoint.
Lots of descriptions of glamorous ski resorts, private yachts and the lives of Russian oligarchs.
Unfortunately the central story was rather slight and it was hard to care much about any of the characters really.
All in all, a solid airport read
Lots of descriptions of glamorous ski resorts, private yachts and the lives of Russian oligarchs.
Unfortunately the central story was rather slight and it was hard to care much about any of the characters really.
All in all, a solid airport read
January 3, 2024
Genuinely only read this to tick off Q for the alphabet challenge early this year as I missed it last year. I wasn’t a huge fan to be honest. It felt a little waffly and whiney at times and it was hard to care for the characters a lot. I was listening to the audio which helped get through the book but for the most part I was going through the motions.
October 25, 2025
مؤلمة هذه الرواية مهما اختلفت الثقافات تظل هذه اللعنة القاتلة في حاجة الإنسان دائماً إلى أن يكون محبوباً ومقبولاً سواء من عائلته او من المجتمع تظل حقاً احتياج ولعنه تكاد أن تقتله كم تعاطفت مع شخصيات هذه الرواية مشكلتي الوحيدة فيها أن بعض الأحداث غير واضحه وغير مفهومه أشعر أن الترجمة ربما تكون قتلت الرواية قليلاً بالنسبة إلي
April 9, 2023
Well, I thought it was pretty good up until the ending, which I found incomprehensible. Are we supposed to be able to figure out what happened? Or are we supposed to be left hanging?
Either way, I can’t say I’m a fan.
Either way, I can’t say I’m a fan.
May 2, 2023
Found this book really hard work and it took a long while to finish reading.
With an ending that did not really end, as if it was missing the last dozen pages.
All in all, very unsatisfactory I'm afraid.
With an ending that did not really end, as if it was missing the last dozen pages.
All in all, very unsatisfactory I'm afraid.
August 6, 2023
randomly stumbled upon this on in the book store~
One thing i can say is that it was Pure mystery, only mystery, im still reeling from the mystery. I loved the setting and family dynamics so much!!!! What a delight
One thing i can say is that it was Pure mystery, only mystery, im still reeling from the mystery. I loved the setting and family dynamics so much!!!! What a delight
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