Unfortunately this book was not for me and I have not been able to finish it. I could not get on with the writing style, I really struggled to get into it which means that I could not continue with the book.

I think this is a great book that I would have enjoyed in middle school/junior high! I thought the story was very cute and the characters definitely conveyed more of that younger YA feeling in their speech and actions. I think if this doesn’t bother you, you would love this book!

*I was given a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book makes you feel everything. There’s romantic tension, intrigue, parties and even a little sci-fi (one of my favorite genres)!

The story of Piper and her journey through a foreign land was magical! I really enjoyed how the story unfolded and certain things came to light that the reader was left in the dark about for quite some time.
Most all of the characters were enjoyable and each had their own personality traits — that is so refreshing and I found myself skipping a chore or two to continue reading.

This story was delightful and I’m so happy for this author and her debut!

I would have loved this book in junior high. A YA story where teenager characters act, talk, and think like teenagers, The King’s 100 includes action and intrigue but overall offers a lighter tone with teen drama and romance. Readers in junior high or early high school would enjoy this book, and I can honestly imagine it as a successful Disney Channel Original movie. If you’re in the mood for a lighter YA read with a unique premise, I would recommend picking up this book.

From the beginning, Piper’s world immediately had me hooked. She is a princess in the STEM Kingdom of Capalon, where logic is valued over emotion and all decisions are based on research and calculations. Throughout the first few chapters we meet Piper’s sister, Queen Evelyn, and explore Piper’s kingdom while getting to know her through 1st person POV. I really enjoyed the set up and think author Karin Biggs did some excellent worldbuilding presenting Capalon in a compelling manner without too many boring info dumps or explanations via character dialogue. When Piper discovers her late mother might still be alive in the enemy kingdom of Mondaria, she devises a plan to infiltrate the Mondarian king’s mansion to find her.

Since Capalon was so riveting, I was expecting something equally unique for Mondaria. While Mondaria is the opposite of Capalon in that emotions and self-expression are allowed, I was a bit disappointed to find it’s pretty comparable to our world today, minus the monarchy and a few futuristic touches. We learn that the these kingdoms are actually future versions of what I’m guessing is the USA, but ties to “ancient” cities such as Paris have been long forgotten.

In Mondaria, teenagers wear jeans and plaid shirts, obsess over their hair and makeup, and frequent coffee shops and clothing boutiques. To get into the king’s mansion, Piper auditions for The King’s 100, a group of musicians and magicians who perform exclusively for the king and his court. The 100 mainly consists of teenagers who reside in dorm-style living and spend their days rehearsing for upcoming shows. See where I’m getting Disney Channel vibes?

Since Piper has always relied on logic to make decisions, it was quite funny seeing her in this new environment where self-expression is allowed. For example, she points out when auditioning for the King’s 100 that her appearance shouldn’t matter if selections are based on talent. This train of thought follows her throughout the book and made for some laugh out loud moments.

I enjoyed Piper’s friendships with the other characters in the series, especially Darden and Layla. When Piper’s main group of girlfriends was introduced, I was pleasantly surprised that a typical “mean girl” wasn’t established and the female characters supported each other from the get-go. Later there is some petty jealousy around boys that made me roll my eyes as a 20-something-year-old, but thinking back to junior high/high school, well… there were definitely some parallels.

We get a slow burning and very sweet friends-to-lovers romance in this book. Although Mondaria has two young princes, Piper is not interested in them but rather finds herself falling for thoughtful and charming fellow King’s 100 drummer, Ari Novak. It’s clear from their first meeting that Piper and Ari are into one other, and while it was wonderful to see them form a solid friendship on their way to love, by the end of the book I was dying for them to be together!

The other side characters are… interesting. The Mondarian royal family comes into play later in the book, and I wish we could’ve had a few scenes where Piper interacts with them sprinkled into the earlier parts of the story to get to know them and provide some buildup to the end. Since we don’t really need to care about these characters until they’re dumped into the finale, it made the ending a bit anticlimactic. However, in spite of this, it did still leave me intrigued. There isn’t really a villain in this story, and the stakes are mostly centered around whether Piper will be revealed as the Capalon princess. Mondarian law mandates that, as their sworn enemies, Capalons who dare set foot in their kingdom will be executed. I found this a bit extreme, but I was willing to roll with it. We get villainous vibes from the Maestro, conductor of the King’s 100 musicians, but honestly his behavior was so erratic that I had zero idea how Biggs actually wanted the reader to feel about him.

While there is one LGTBQ+ character in this book, I was disappointed that there weren’t more. Specifically, this book could have benefitted from adding LGBTQ+ characters in Mondaria to contrast Capalon’s King Xavier. Matches in Capalon are solely based on intelligence to produce the brightest heirs, so they do not factor in romantic feelings or sexual preference. It’s established early in the book that Queen Evelyn’s match, King Xavier, is a gay man. I would’ve liked for Piper to have LGBTQ+ friends in Mondaria who are openly allowed to love whomever they wish, further exploring the differences between the kingdoms and allowing Piper to see what it means to truly love freely. Other than Xavier, this book is pretty straight, especially in the cringeworthy New Year’s Eve ball scene where couples are matched to kiss at midnight as part of the King’s 100 spectacle. Speaking of kissing, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, but surprise kisses are not okay, and this book has at least three of them. Cutting someone off mid-sentence to kiss them is not romantic!

The ending of this book felt a bit rushed for everything that happened, and of the mysteries Piper had to decipher throughout the story I was pleasantly surprised by the big revelation of one (the roses), but disappointed by the other (the note). However, the cliffhanger ending was one I never saw coming, and it seems like Biggs has provided the set up for a sequel. There aren’t any signs yet as to whether this book will be a series on Goodreads, so in the meantime I will definitely be on the lookout to see if Piper’s story will continue.

Thank you to Immortal Works via Netgalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

A world based on STEM? Yes, please!

This book gave me the classic disney princess vibes, which is refreshing from all the dystopian fantasy books I've been reading lately! I really enjoyed this one. The writing was beautiful and i fell in love with Piper and Ari! I recommend this if you're looking for an enjoyable read that is unique and refreshing!

A female character, considered different and an outcast in a strictly regimented society? - Check! A neighbouring society, deemed strange and wrong but in reality completely different? - Check! At least one, if not multiple, love triangles? - Check! A love interest who has a dark past, is handsome, fallible and makes up for his fallacy in a romantic way? - Check! A mysterious sister, a royal family hiding more than they appear to and a possible conspiracy between the too? - Check! An ending perfectly poised for a second book, and (because YA loves trilogies so much) most likely a third? - Check! Altogether, a written by the numbers teen dystopian romance. Nothing too overwhelming, vaguely dull and predictable plot with a rather whingey main character. I wouldn't even call this YA - definitely teen.

Initial Thoughts

This was a “Read Now” title on NetGalley and it sounded interesting. Ok, full disclosure, I don’t need any more titles in NetGalley 😂 – I have plenty of unread books in there. But, I wanted to read this one because it featured a really interesting premise.

Some Things I Liked

I liked that Piper valued science. I thought a kingdom that was super STEM oriented was really interesting and I was curious to see how the romance would play out.
Contrast between art and science. Again, I liked that the kingdoms were grounded in one or the other and that Piper and her friends could see the value of both.
Mystery / missing person plot. I liked the secrets and detective portions of the story where Piper searched for her mother. I also liked Darden and Reese’s secrets as they gave a lot of relevance to the other characters.
Nods to Cinderella. Maybe it was just me, but I liked that there were hints of Cinderella throughout the story.

One Thing I Wasn’t Crazy About

All of the romances were pretty underdeveloped. I think a sequel is needed to really flesh out a lot of what happened there and Ari and Piper’s relationship seemed to escalate more quickly than what I thought was plausible.

Series Value

I’d read the next book in this series. The ending left me wanting more and hinted at a larger conspiracy between the kingdoms.

Final Thoughts

This book was good. I’d read the sequel. It’s not a “drop everything the sequel is out” kind of story for me, but it was enjoyable.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Recommendations for Further Reading

To Best the Boys by Mary Weber – if you liked the idea of STEM oriented society, try this standalone by Mary Weber.
Kiss of the Royal by Lindsey Duga – if you liked the concept of a society that doesn’t really believe in love, try this standalone by Lindsey Duga.

This is a fun futuristic novel about finding your voice and your people in the middle of a world that rejects who you are. Piper should not be so emotional, she should be forgetting and moving on, she should be a model princess like her sister. But what Piper should be does not match what she really is, she is deeply sad at the loss of her parents. She also believes her mother may still be alive....in the kingdom of their enemies, but she will need to be a whole lot more if she is going to find her there. Music and song fill the pages and there's even some good winter/holiday romace vibes.

What an enjoyable read!
This was a great, fun, fast book.
If you've read The Selection by Kiera Cass you will probably like this too.
The characters were numerous and unique.
The setting was great.
The story line was brilliant, yet soft and easy and fun.
The ending was good and overall a fabulous book!

Will keep this author on my radar.

What would the world look like if we were to create kingdoms based off of the different sides of the brain? That may not have bee Biggs' intent, but it was interesting to see how different each kingdom was. Piper is the princess of Capalon, a very scientific, logical, and analytical based kingdom. The people of Capalon renounce emotions and feelings in favor of evidence based conclusions. However, Piper has always been a little different. She cried when her parents died, and she has an affinity for singing (a talent unheard of for her people). When Piper receives a note saying her mother is alive, she runs towards the enemy kingdom of Mondaria, a place where people feel all of their emotions, sing, dance, and are very much a creative sort of people.

It would be easy to call the Capalon people boring because they are more representative of robots than people, but when you think about it like the two sides of the brain, it makes more sense. The Capalon people would be the left-side of the brain personified. They very much value logic and analytics over emotion and creation. They rely on science and research to make advancements, and they are far more technologically advanced than Mondaria. On the other hand, Mondarian people would be the right-side of the brain personified. They are creative and emotive. The value arts and creativity over science. They rely on their emotions over science to live their lives. Neither one is better, and throughout the story, we are shown that there are pros and cons to both kingdoms. As Piper navigates this foreign world and mannerisms, I appreciated that we were able to get an idea that while both kingdoms are enemies, they would actually work better together than apart. Piper especially has to embrace the Mondarian ways while still staying true to herself and acknowledging that being a Capalon helped create who she is as a person.

This book was really remarkable in the love story. The romance between the main characters was a beautifully crafted friends to lovers story especially since Piper has to navigate these feelings of love, something that isn't taught to Capalons. On top of a cute love story, the side characters and sub-plots added another level of depth to this story. Each side character had a unique voice and personality, it was easy to distinguish one from the other. I loved the female-female friendships as well as the female-male friendships. The side characters weren't there to just move Piper's story forward, and instead each lived their own lives.

Overall, I thought this was a really cute book. It did start of slow, but picked up towards the end. While this story was predictable and follows many of the same newcomer to the castle story, Piper wasn't entering as a new princess, and instead was entering as a peasant navigating the royal lifestyle. I can't say that I will remember this book years down the road, but in the meantime it was a quick, fun read. The ending wrapped up the story nicely while still giving room for a sequel if one were to be written. I also didn't realize how emotionally attached I was to the characters until things started to go a little wrong. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a good palace story and a friends to lovers story line.

🎶

*Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an early copy of this book for review, all opinions are my own*

I really liked this book, I started reading it without any expectations and ended up surprised.
It is not a spectacular book or one with a refreshing story or full of twists and turns but I was enchanted by the story nonetheless. And what I liked the most was the characters, I loved each one of them and was able to connect and care for all of them.
This is a very heavy romance book but as I love romance and I loved the characters I didn't mind reading about their love life, in fact, I really liked it.
It's a quick book to read, it reminded me a lot of the Selection by Kiera Cass.
So if you like reading this kind of guilty pleasure romances there are quick and sweet I highly recommend this one.

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

The King’s 100 drew my interest, as while it did have some familiar elements of YA fantasy, like the central quest and some elements of intrigue, there were some unique elements that appealed to me, like STEM as the structure behind the kingdom.

And it does try to be engaging. The best part was the way the value system is portrayed, and how Piper is shown to stick out, due to her tendency toward emotion as opposed to cold practicality. I did kind of want the concept developed a bit more, though, especially to explore the history behind the current system.

As for the plot itself, I found it fairly engaging and page turning. My main complaint with Piper’s story is how she allowed herself to constantly be sidetracked by other things, like her potential love interest, instead of focusing on the goal of finding her mother.

There are some great ideas here, but I feel like they got a bit lost in the execution. I do look forward to what comes next for the series, however, to see if it can build on the concept more. I recommend it to fans of YA fantasy.

I think that this book was not pitched in the best way. I didn't completely fall in love with this book, but I also didn't hate it. What I thought I was getting into when I started the book was some interesting world building, some sort of fantasy element that played a role in why Piper's mom was missing, or at the least some action. In terms of the plot, it was extremely bland. Most of the time we just followed Piper's journey of fitting into the Mondarian Kingdom, making friends, and high school type drama. With that being said, like I said I didn't hate it. I actually found the book enjoyable and pretty amusing. It reminded me of old Disney Channel shows and moves, like High School Musical. I thought the characters were so over the top and dramatic and the whole concept of the King's court just simply fun. I don't think this book had much substance. That's something that's really important for me when I really enjoy a book. I think the main thing that kept me entertained about this book was the characters. I liked Piper's character and her spontaneous decision to sneak into another Kingdom and disguise herself as one of the citizens. I loved the culture shock she faced when she arrived at the Kingdom and how she had to learn new phrases, traditions, etc. She was a pretty decent main character and so I continued reading just to find out if she would be able to find her mom. I don't want to spoil anything, but the ending was kind of predictable to me, and at the end I just wanted a little more from the story. If you're looking for something light and fluffy I highly recommend. Otherwise, this book might not be for you. 


Writing: 8/10
Characters: 7/10
Plot: 5/10
Ending: 5/10
Originality: 6/10
Overall: 31/50
Cover: 5/10

Piper Parish is the sixteen-year-old princess of Capalon, and by crying at her mother's funeral, she committed a terrible social faux pas. In her kingdom, showing emotion is considered a moral failing, for the people of Capalon prize intellect, scientific advancement, and rigorous mental achievement above all else. Piper enjoys other weak and wasteful activities, like singing, and so despite being a princess, it's almost as if she doesn't belong in her own kingdom. One day, she receives information that her mother is not dead, and is hiding in Mondaria, a nearby enemy kingdom where the arts and expressions of the soul are highly valued. Determined to find her mother, she sets off into Mondaria as Paris Marigold, knowing that if anyone discovers her, she's as good as dead. Maybe along the way, she can find a place where expressing herself and singing a song doesn't get her labeled strange and wrong.⁣
⁣
This is a sweet and straightforward tale about a girl finding her place in the world, even though the world placed expectations on her from the very beginning that her soul could never adhere to. The romantic aspects are cute, and as Piper discovers more of Mondaria, she discovers more of herself as well. The caricature of the world is so straightforward that it almost becomes a character unto itself, with the contrast between kingdoms innately creating conflict for Piper and the people she meets. Many of the side characters are well written, including Ari, a boy who interests Piper, as well as Darden and Evelynn. This story is ultimately more about the journey than the destination, in a very good way. Written by debut author Karin Biggs, The King's 100 ends on a note that suggests we might see more of Capalon and Mondaria, and I feel like I'd be quite alright with that.⁣

⭐⭐⭐.75 rounded to 4 stars!

I enjoyed this book. It was fun to see Piper acclimate to Mondaria, since everything was so different in her own country. I liked how well-written the cultures were, though I wouldn’t have wanted to live in Capalon! I enjoyed reading about Piper’s friendships as well, and I would have liked to be a member of the 100 with them! (Although maybe not, unless there was a different Maestro, because he was not someone you would want to work with, to say the least.)

The only thing I didn’t like related to Piper’s claim that she was homeschooled as an explanation for how she didn’t know many things about Mondarian culture. I didn’t care for how other characters assumed that she must be socially awkward because she didn’t go to school. I think it’s a smart excuse for her to use in certain situations, but just because you are homeschooled doesn’t mean you don’t have friends. I was homeschooled and we were part of homeschool groups, I went to Irish dance lessons, we did field trips with other families, and I had friends at church that I saw weekly. So when I went to college I didn’t know how a cafeteria worked, but I did know how to make new friends and how to relate to people. I get why the author chose homeschooling as an excuse for the main character so she can use that when she’s in a situation where she should know something but doesn’t. But at one point one of the girls says to the main character, “I know you’ve missed out on the whole girl-code thing since you’ve been homeschooled your whole life”, and, while it does make sense in the scene, it made me uncomfortable because homeschooled girls do know how to relate to other girls.

The romance was sweet, and I enjoyed seeing Piper grow in friendship with the guy she had a crush on. The rest of the book is pretty clean, though there are brief mentions of people slipping out of other people’s bedrooms. There is also innuendo in the truth or dare game that I didn’t care for.

Content:
Mild swearing.
Innuendo: brief kissing. Some innuendo in a game. Also the king of Capalon is married to Piper’s sister, but is actually gay.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This story was really enjoyable. I absolutely loved the unique take of science vs art kingdoms. The main character Princess Piper is very likeable and you can’t help but root for her- plus her adorable misunderstandings of things make for some really funny moments. I definitely recommend this book to anyone that enjoys a good ya fantasy with Royal and mystery factors.

Unfortunately didn’t download so I couldn’t read and review, but will be buying instead as really want to read this

Apologies

The reason I wanted to read this book was due to the fact that I loved the Selection and was looking for something similar, yet different, if that makes sense. It was light and a quick read, and was also really different in the fact that it doesn't follow all the typical YA books.

The characters themselves were very well done and I loved reading about their struggles. I don't want to say too much in this review for fear of spoilers, but I can definitely recommend this if you are looking for a quick and fun read!

Overall, I enjoyed the book, but I couldn't help but get the feeling that some parts of the book were underdeveloped and many details were very glossed over.. Although the STEM-inspired kingdom was an interesting idea, the whole fantasy world seemed a sparse and lacking in details. I also couldn't really comprehend why exactly the Capalons and Mondarians hated each other.

Also, in one part of the book, hypothetically speaking, let's say the main character needed a certian key to break into a room they aren't supposed to be in. Her enemy gets mad at people for no reason whatsoever and starts throwing those keys at the people for reasons I don't even get. She manages to get the key because the one she needs is thrown to her friend. Seems a little TOO perfect. I didn't get why that scene even happend and had to read it at least three times over.

The plot about Piper going to Mondaria to look for her long-lost mother is like, nonexistant at best. She looks for her sporadically, and it isn't a main plot of the book, no matter what the summary says. However, with this comes Piper changing as a character. I enjoyed watching her grow and develop. I found myself unable to stop reading this book. It unlike other books I've read before, but still similar in some lights.


I recieved a copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to write a postive review, and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Selection meets Grace and Fury meets Girls With Sharp Sticks, The Kings 100 by Karin Biggs is an epic young adult fantasy novel with tantalising twists of science fiction technology. A Princess of a rigid kingdom discovers a sense of freedom, friendships and a forbidden love in the carefree court of her enemies as she searches for her mother who has been presumed dead for several years.

The Kings 100 features, but is not limited to, the following themes:
Princess
Royal courts
Infiltrating an enemy kingdom
Romance
Performers
Friendships
YA fantasy
Advanced Technology

Romance Level: Safe for the younger tweens and sweet and romantic for us teens and older, The Kings 100 will satisfy most age groups.


My overall rating for The Kings 100 is...

5 stars!
This book surprised me! I dove in thinking I might enjoy the read and ended up head over heals for the characters and story. This book is honestly going to be the next best thing for fans of Kiera Cass. If you enjoy an agonising journey of friendship to love, a royal court setting and a protagonist discovering oneself, this book is for you!