This book disappointed me. The concept was interesting, although I do often struggle with unlikeable main characters so perhaps it was not quite my taste.

However my main issue with the book was really the language. I didn't find it to flow, and especially the first 100 pages were very repetitive. Despite being told in first person, the character has an ability that means we often get to read about other people's memories and thoughts. I didn't find the way that worked fully logical and at times the plot was not moving forward, instead the book was built on endless accounts of people's lives, motivations, guilt and passions. 

The next book seems to be told from the perspective of a different character so I might give it a go despite struggling with this one. 

Was this book well written? Absolutely.

Was it fun to read? Not in the least. It's full of the darkest stuff humanity has to offer. Unapologetically brutal, violent, and traumatic. I would not recommend reading this unless you've reviewed trigger warnings and are in a good mental place for it.

Frankly I picked this up because the cover looked interesting to me and the synopsis seemed decent. Maybe I’ll give it another go in the future but it just felt very “white person writing about mystical Indigenous populations”  if that makes sense? I also personally just didn’t love the writing style. There also seemed to be more hunting at / implications of sexual violence than I’d really anticipated (not that I’d anticipated much / any..) and for me that was just too triggering and not worth it esp bc it was difficult for me to get into the writing or plot anyways. 

+ Diverse setting and unique magic system
+ Tense pace that kept my stomach in knots til the end.
+ Twists
- Brutal & graphic depictions of slavery. Inspiration was drawn from the colonization of the Caribbean, so I wouldn't say it was superfluous.
- The main character gets lost in thoughts and has frequent flashbacks.  It didn't bother me, but I could see how other readers may not like the pacing.
- The reveal of the Big Twist left something to be desired. I understand why it was revealed the way it was, but it was kinda "eh" compared to other parts of the book.

 "To the slaves before me- to all the islanders -- I'm the traitor to her own people. My skin might be brown, and my blood might belong to these islands, but I'm no better than the Fjern."

Queen of the Conquered sets before the reader a hard question. Do the means of the mission justify the end? Sigourney Rose has convinced herself that in her search for vengeance she also will be helping the islanders. However, throughout her thought process, it's clear she has no plans for what comes next after she enacts her revenge. Even how she perceives the other islanders shows that she believes herself to be in a class above them. Sigourney is an anti-hero, (I do enjoy a good anti-hero story) but I could not like her,couldn't do it. Sigourney did a lot of theorizing and thinking but not a whole lot of action or movement unless it came to oppressing her own people. She tried to convince herself she's good while soften her own horrible actions to her people in her mind, and I cannot with her.

Writing-wise I kept waiting for something to happen. I was waiting for Sigourney to make a move or enact her plot but nothing ever sparked. The plot dragged for me while also becoming a who-done-it type of plot it reminded me of And Then There Were None (probably because of the island setting and murders.)

I did start to wonder whether she was had stronger magic than she realized and if she was tricking herself with her visions etc.

Overall the whole was a lot of saying and not showing. It was slow for two-thirds of it but the last third really sealed the deal for me. I was thrown for a loop but I enjoyed the twist. I did not like how the most powerful of people though was revealed and died within twenty pages.

The fact that Sigourney began to "trust" some of the nobles with her theories really threw me; she basically began to align herself with them. I do wonder why she didn't ask any of the other islanders if they had seen or hear anything suspicious (because those who are unseen know a lot more than we usually think they do.) I supposed it trickles into the fact that she did not see herself as a part of the other islanders either. Also for someone who can sense other people's feelings, she definitely can't read the flipping room. Each thought I have keeps coming back to the point that Sigourney while wanting revenge for herself and (supposedly) better for islanders, did not see the islanders as her equals or even as human as her. Callender does a great job of exploring how brutal slavery was and how rage can build and build in people until it explodes.

Queen of the Conquered had political intrigue, power-infused people, murder mystery, and characters with questionable morals. It has its issues but I enjoyed it! A great book for book club. 

 Callender is an amazing writer, once you get used to their flow and style. People saying the protagonist is unlikable as missing the point: she is supposed to be. This is a gripping, chilling, and deeply emotional novel, showing the horrors of slavery through a fictional lens, written by someone who actually understands this pain - instead of white authors pretending they do. This book is a brutal, and honest, portrayal of the results of privilege and power. It is not a novel for everyone; it is not supposed to be. But you should read it anyway. 

This is a hard book. The characters are hard through necessity, the protagonist Sigourney is honestly downright unlikable, and her participation in a system of slavery poisons her belief in the righteousness of her cause, and there's very little opportunity for love to bloom. It's a tough read, especially since Callender doesn't shy away from (nor do they revel in, which was a nice change from books by white authors that use slavery) the worst parts of slavery and they are very clear that Sigourney is not a good person. But I also feel like all of this leads it to being such a good book. I'd recommend getting a version of the book with the "extras" in the back to read Callender's Q&A about their story. I thought their discussion that they wanted to create a work about complicity with such a damaging system and that they wanted to have a book that dealt with privilege and complicity and reflecting on their own privilege and complicity in oppressive systems.