Review copy was received from Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Queen's Advantage by Jessie Mihalik Narrator: Rachel Dulude
Series: Rogue Queen #2
Published by Tantor Audio on October 8, 2019
Genres: Science Fiction, Space Opera
Length: 5 hours, 41 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Publisher
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When Queen Samara Rani decides to repay her debt to Emperor Valentin Kos by rooting out the traitors in his court, she knows his advisors will despise her presence. The unknown traitors hate her because she tricked them out of five million credits, but even his loyal advisors have no use for the queen of rogues and scoundrels.
True to form, Valentin’s advisors want Samara gone, and they aren’t picky about how. When their tactics turn violent, Samara and Valentin race to unravel the web of treachery and lies binding the court before the next attack ends in tragedy.
Finding traitors is not easy when courtiers learn to lie before they learn to walk. To track down the culprits, Samara must delve deep into the underbelly of a court who wants her dead. But the Rogue Queen isn’t so easy to kill…
I really loved Mihalik’s Polaris Rising so I had no hesitation in starting this Rogue Queen series. These shorter books began as a free online serial on the author’s website. The feel is similar to Polaris Rising. It is set in space with various factions, political and action battles between planets and various coalitions.
Samara leads a planet which tries to stay neutral when a war breaks out between two larger powers. She fights for her people and is not afraid to risk herself for others. She is smart, plans her strategies and fights well. In the past, she worked as a mercenary / assassin, which has given her skills.
She continues her relationship with Emporer Valentin Kos. In The Queen’s Gambit she saved him and made a deal to help him ferret out which faction is trying to kill him and why. The Queen’s Advantage is that story and it is a political mess. The time, on his home planet, gives them a chance to work and play together. Both are a bit explosive! lol There is just a bit more romance. I am really enjoying these in audio format. They should be read in order. I hope there will be more in the series.
Narration:
This series narrator was new to me. She handled both male and female voices in comfortable tones with enough differences in each character so I could discern who was speaking. Most of the dialogue was with a handful of characters which made it easier also. I was able to listen at my normal 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
I have to see if the site I use for audiobooks has this series as it sounds good! I am glad to hear the narration was well done too.
It’s great and they are shorter. It’s published by Tantor if your site has their works.
I just checked and the site I have a subscription service for has the first book in this series :). So I hope I can give it a listen soon. The site I use has most of Tantor’s books as most of their audiobooks aren’t exclusive to Audible. Although there are some books published by them I haven’t been able to find, they sometimes get added later.
YAY I’m glad you’ll be able to try it.
I was wondering how the latest releases fit in with the first book- different series, aha!
Glad you found a good sci-fi romance series to dig into and the audio narrator works well with it. I want to read her books at some point.
Similar style and genre – but yes, a different series. I loved it too. It’s shorter books, somewhat less complex but I am happy to have this series too.
This sounds good! I have Polaris Rising but haven’t had the chance to read it yet. I will have to keep these in mind.
Polaris Rising and Aurora Blazing are in one series – Consortium Rebellion. The Queen’s Gambit and Queen’s Advantage are a different series – Rogue Queen – which was offered as a free serial on the author’s website but I got them for review on audio. They are similar in style, but the Rogue Queen series is shorter books and less complex overall. I love them both.
I’m enjoying some audibles from Tantor right now. This sounds like a fun series.
It is. But it is on the author’s website as a free serial if you want to read instead.
I definitely want to pick up this series, i really love the sound of this heroine especially!!! I am always looking for more Sci Fi romance to grab up. Lovely review darling.
I really was ha[[y to get this on audio because I loved her other series. This is a free serial on her website if you want to read it digitally and since 2 books are done, you aren’t waiting for the serial anymore.