Summary (taken from Goodreads):
"King Severn Argentine's fearsome reputation precedes him: usurper of the throne, killer of rightful heirs, ruthless punisher of traitors. Attempting to depose him, the Duke of Kiskaddon gambles....and loses. Now the duke must atone by handing over his young son, Own, as the king's hostage. And should his loyalty falter again, the boy will pay with his life.
Seeking allies and eluding Severn's spies, Owen learns to survive in the court of Kingfountain. But when new evidence of his father's betrayal threatens to seal his fate, Owen must win the vengeful king's favor by proving his worth--through extraordinary means. And only one person can aid his desperate cause: a mysterious woman, dwelling in secrecy, who truly wields power over life, death, and destiny."
Jeff Wheeler's The Queen's Poisoner is the first in The Kingfountain series. Let me say though the assumptions you're likely to make from the summary above are probably wrong. I downloaded this book through kindle unlimited (I highly suggest this if you read a lot because it's I think $10 a month and you have a wide selection of books to download through amazon for free). Since I'm studying abroad I only brought my kindle to travel light and The Queen's Poisoner seemed really interesting. It also had a high rating and sounded like a typical YA book that would be enjoyable, if not rememberable. I was wrong! It was rememberable!
I assumed this book was about a teen boy in court who falls in love with that "mysterious woman" who's probably secretly royalty or something. It was actually about an 8 year old boy allowing the story to not center around a romance (thank the lord!). It does feel a little cheesy at times but it is from the point of view of a young boy and so it's a little difficult to get in that mindset when I'm a 19 year old girl. I think it did a great job of it though where Owen is innocent, but also a very intelligent boy whose life is in danger.
I also found this book really interesting because of how much it's based off of the War of the Roses. Last year I had to read William Shakespeare's Richard III for class and it was really cool knowing the backstory and the historical basis! The Queen's Poisoner is more about if Richard (or King Severn) had won at the Battle of Bosworth Field. It also adds in a magical element and I think it was done incredibly well. It was more intriguing to me and it quickly became a fun read where I wanted to know where the story went since my initial predictions were so wrong.
Overall, I found this to be a very fun and enjoyable read that kept me entertained. The second book is also on kindle unlimited and so I plan to read it eventually. It flashes forward about nine years in time where Owen is a teenager.
What I'm Reading Now
I'm going to Amsterdam the weekend of January 27th and I want to have read her diary before I go see her house.
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