Review copy was received from Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Queen's Gambit by Jessie Mihalik Narrator: Rachel Dulude
Series: Rogue Queen #1
Published by Tantor Audio on May 31, 2019
Genres: Science Fiction, Space Opera
Length: 4 hours, 14 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Publisher
Goodreads
Amazon, Audible, Libro.fm
When the Quint Confederacy and the Kos Empire went to war—again—young Queen Samara wisely kept her Rogue Coalition out of the conflict. But staying neutral in a galactic war doesn’t pay the bills, not when both sides refuse to trade with neutral sectors.
With her people on the brink of starvation, Samara hatches a daring plan to snatch the kidnapped Kos Emperor from the Quint mercenaries holding him. The Kos Empire will pay a fortune for their emperor’s return, enough to feed the Coalition’s citizens while they wait for the return to a begrudging peace.
But when her plan goes sideways, Samara finds herself evading Quint mercenaries with the very man she intends to capture. And the more time she spends with Valentin Kos, the more she realizes that he’s not the coldly indifferent villain she imagined. Torn between duty and desire, Samara must decide if saving her people is worth giving up the one thing she’s always wanted.
I really loved Mihalik’s Polaris Rising so I had no hesitation in requesting The Queen’s Gambit. It is shorter but has the same feel I enjoyed in Polaris Rising. The action is set in space and on planets involved in various disputes. This novella was an online free serial on the author’s site.
Samara leads a planet which tries to stay neutral when a war breaks out between two larger powers. Without trade, the people are starving so she comes up with a plan to make some money to feed her people. The thrilling action and fights which follow are the kind of thing I live to read. She is smart and plans her strategies well. Samara is also not afraid to risk herself for others.
She slowly builds a friendship with Emporer Valentin Kos. It remains to be seen if it will be more. I can’t wait for more. I’ll be reading and hopefully listening. The next part of the Rogue Queen series, The Queen’s Advantage looks like it will be published in one work in July. I hope it will be available in audio as well.
Narration:
This narrator is new to me and I enjoyed her performance very much. Her voices for all the characters, male or female felt right. There were slight differences for each of the characters so I could tell who was speaking but there were mostly 2 characters doing most of the speaking. I listened to this one comfortably at 1.5x speed.
Listen to a clip: HERE
About Jessie Mihalik
Jessie Mihalik has a degree in Computer Science and a love of all things geeky. A software engineer by trade, Jessie now writes full time from her home in Texas. When she’s not writing, she can be found playing co-op video games with her husband, trying out new board games, or reading books pulled from her overflowing bookshelves.
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I read all types of books but my favorites are urban fantasy and romantic suspense.I like some romance and some action / adventure / mystery in everything.I like sex in my books but please, only between TWO people.Intimate conversation is equally important to the sex in a book.It lets me see the characters.The other thing I enjoy is humor.
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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 2019 Audiobooks
- 2019 Releases
- COYER Hunt
Neat that the author did the in between story serial, but I love that she’s doing a release of the full story (I don’t have enough patience for serials). This is a series that I will definitely be getting to.
This is similar to what Ilona Andrews does with her Innkeeper series. It is serial on the blog. When one “book” is complete, it is edited and published. I wasn’t able to do serial for the first couple but then I got it together and read every time it was released.
I wish I could serials. My jobs keep me so busy I struggle to catch them all. This does sound like a great series!
Well she is publishing once a “book” is complete. I’m glad they do that. Penny Reid does this also.
I almost grabbed this one. I really enjoy Rachel Dulude. I listened to hear read one of Katie Ruggle’s series. I’ve also heard so many great things about Polaris Rising (which I already have on my TBR list). I eventually decided against only because I need to get through some of my existing list. Glad you enjoyed it.
Melanie @ Hot Listens & Books of My Heart
Well I loved it. I hope you get to listen sometime. This was my first time with this narrator I think but I really liked her.
Cool. I didn’t realize she had done a serial. I will have to add this one to my list.
Yes I liked it a lot.