The Disowned Queen’s Consulting Detective Agency: Volume 1

The Disowned Queen’s Consulting Detective Agency #1

by Sarasa Nagase, Hatipisuwan (Illustrator), Joshua Douglass-Molloy (Translator)

When it comes to light that Octavia de Reine isn’t a legitimate member of the noble House of Reine, she swiftly finds herself disowned. At first she takes this in stride...until her power hungry father and ex-suitor start vying for the house full of mysterious heirlooms that her doting grandmother left her. Little does her family know that she’s destined to inherit an even greater legacy. Olivia hopes to follow in Granny’s footsteps and become a famous detective, after all! She’ll face off against young noblemen, phantom thieves, and magical items corrupted by demonic forces. Oh, and one vengeful angel queen. Moreover, who’s this suspiciously young marquis that seems so smitten with her...?

Genres: Fantasy, Light Novel, Romance, Mystery, Fiction

283 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 15, 2022

About the author

Name (in native language): 永瀬さらさ

Reviews

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sarasa Nagase, who also wrote I'm the Villainess, So I'm Taming the Final Boss, is one of those authors whose works I always like better upon reflection. Her writing is dense, and while I appreciate the lack of info-dumps, the world building here is so complicated that it gets in the way of the story. Still, I'll probably want to read the next one by the time it comes out; she's a hindsight kind of author.

[Pieter · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Disowned Queen is an interesting story about a young woman, Octavia, kicked out of her home, planning to take over her grandmother's profession as a detective. The core premise of the story is interesting, cursed items left behind by a long fallen empire which only Octavia can store away and use safely through the magic hat and her bloodline as the queen of said empire. The characters are entertaining, making it a good read. The only downside is that the three arcs within the book leave me wondering whether or not there miss a section in between. Characters met in one story are well known by the MC in the other and we get to see little on the cursed items before jumping to the main mystery of sorts which is then only partially solved in a for me somewhat unsatisfactory fashion. Still a good read, and I will buy the next volume.

[Stitch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charming and captivating

I read a ton of light novels and this one is so interesting and innovative. While I figured out part of the big twist almost instantly, it's clearly a feint for the deeper mystery ahead. Octavia is a brilliant and extremely active protagonist. It's great that she has an annoying male lead like Raven to keep her on her toes. The worldbuilding was interesting, the mysteries are unfolding nicely, and I wish I could read the second book already!!

[Jennine S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic!

I love how this story manages to defy tropes and still be so awesome! The plot and character choices are marvelous. I was hooked by the sample and purchased and finished the whole book immediately. I strongly recommend this book for lovers of quirky fantasy/steam punk realms full of mystery and magic.

[Nicole Nieto · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me a hot minute to understand the world building and where the plot was going, but once I got the hang of it, it was a lot of fun. The “twist” is a bit obvious, but not in an annoying way. It’s one of those moments that you look forward to the build up and how it all gets resolved. Hopefully the next volume comes soon

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF. The author put too many threads in the plot, and didn’t explain the backstory very well. I got about halfway through and lost interest. The writing is mediocre.

[Z · Rating 5 out of 5]

Giggling and kicking my feet😋😋😋

[Maverynthia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was hoping this would be a book about a female detective, but really she does so little detecting. Instead it's about a Phantom Thief Crow and her being both a Queen and a detective. Of course she doesn't get any respect as a Queen and doesn't take the crown because that would give her too much power.
This book is pretty infuriating because Crow sexually assault her twice (yes stealing a kiss is considered sexual assault legally) and always 1-ups Octavia at every turn. She never can win, because she's a woman and he's a man and woman can never be better than a man.
This is all played off as romantic.
Even after she figures out that Raven is Crow, and it takes too long, she doesn't break his legs. She never gets her justice.
There's also Hat that acts as the voice of reason, so Octavia isn't doing any detective work alone. Heaven forbid a woman does anything by herself without a man!