I was familiar with Mary Janice Davidson and her paranormal books. The blurb didn't mention the paranormal so I should not have been disappointed but the story did. It jumped back and forth with little warning and the storyline was a little complicated. The language was a little off putting but I did like the sisterhood between the women. Some of the biking characters didn't seem to ring true. I usually like Ms. Davidson's books but this one didn't grab me.

This was a cozy mystery that was alright. I think some parts of the story dragged a little but some of it was really good! I think the pacing could have been improved, but overall I had a decent time reading it.

I love the premise of this book, the mystery and the work that this group of friends had been doing. They had a fun and complicated relationship with lots of playful banter. I felt like there were some disjointed parts of this story and the romance felt forced and unnecessary. Overall, it was an enjoyable story.
Thank you to NetGalley and Montlake for this ARC.

Road Queens was my first book by MaryJanice Davidson. While the premise was intriguing, I had a hard time getting into this book. Cassandra, Amanda, and Sidney were best friends once upon a time. With Cass as the driving force, they created OpStar, a way to help people in bad situations. Until everything went wrong and Cass took off. But now, there is a dead body whom no one seems to know, and Cass is back in town. Enter Sean Beane, a PI or a cop—it’s kind of hard to tell, and it isn’t really made clear.

The story is told by switching between the past and present, and while I normally don’t mind this, sometimes the flashback was 5 years ago, other times it was an indistinct time such as “forever ago.” It also wasn’t consistent. I found the banter between the girls to be funny-ish at best and downright annoying at other times. But that’s how it is when you’re an outsider looking in. When you’ve been friends for so long, you develop your own patois and secret language. However, I felt it was a little overdone. One too many pop culture references for me. And it took forever for me to figure out what was going on. I felt like I had missed something for the first 20% of the book. And how many times do we need to mention that Cass likes to eat dinner for breakfast? It became redundant after a while. I also don’t understand how the banter can be so quick but the story could move so slowly.

There is also a romance component to the book between Amanda and Sean Beane. The sexy bits are around the 2.5 peppers range, so I’ll round it up to 3. But it felt a little forced. This book seems like it didn’t know what it wanted to be—a romance? A thriller? Women’s fiction? I would put this in the same category as The Finlay Donovan books, basically a soft thriller.

All of this aside, I did enjoy the book. I found the story interesting and the character of Iris is downright intriguing. Towards the end, Amanda and Sean’s chemistry didn’t seem so forced, which was an improvement. We also left off with Sidney promising to be divorced or widowed, leaving the door open for another book which I look forward to. I found the information about MC clubs and female motorcycle riders interesting. I love that the girls are so badass and independent.

As always, I encourage you to read this book and form your own opinions just as I have. Thank you to the publisher Montlake, NetGalley, and the author for the ARC copy of this book. For all my fellow KU lovers, this book is available in KU to read AND listen!

This was a fun story.. I liked the plot and the characters were a lot of fun. Very much recommend this book.

I'm not really a romance person but a friend suggested the series with Betsy the Vampire Queen and I have been in love with MaryJanice Davidson's books since. They're funny and snarky and clever and I really, really love the people she creates.
Road Queens has some of that but it is also much darker. Domestic violence is a serious topic and it's handled well here. The main three characters are so great, with their bikes and their loyalty and their fearlessness in the face of danger.
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this.
I hope there are more in this series

Finishing this book was such a bitter sweet moment for me and it gave me a huge book hangover. Plus, it took me few weeks to get over it. I simply loved reading it.

A massive thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!! I really enjoyed this book; definitely something I will tell my friends about!

Let me preface this review by saying I love MaryJanice Davidson's books. I'm a big fan of the Undead, the Wyndham Werewolves, and the Alaskan Royals series.
Her books are full of hilarity and snark.
And while Road Queens is also full of hilarity and snark, there's something deeper under the surface. Something more substantial and a little darker.
I admit I took a little while to really get immersed in what was going on. Possibly this was because the tale is spread over 2 time periods. But also because because we really have both Amanda's and Cassandra's views - you need to be paying attention. But it's really worth it.

This one hurts. Hurst to wr6as much as it hurt to read. I am freaking OBSESSED with queen B and her entire series so I was pumped to see Mary has a new book out. But we were just not matched. Book is cute after and funny but sometimes it just isn't enough. I wish I was Kenouf for this book.

Cool story with friends looking for an old friend but the story was drawn out and slow until the last little bit.

This was an enjoyable, fun read outside what I have been reading lately and it was a fun, reminiscent read. I need to remember to read more outside of my comfort zone.

When one friend is accused of murder, two more surround her with love and help unravel the mystery of what exactly is going on.
Opinion
The cast of this book is fabulous. With three very different friends, a mother in jail, a jerk they knew from high school and an ex cop who seems to know too much about the girls, there is much hilarity in what is going on.
I was completely frustrated at the beginning when hints were dropped about what happened in the past but nothing was explained. However, as the book continued and light was shed on the past, I saw Davidson for what she is, a genius. I can't say enough about how much I loved this book. The fact that I made sure to tell my bestie to run and get the book as soon as I saw her should speak volumes. This is a great book.
Many thanks to Net Galley and Montlake for providing me with an ARC of this book.

loved this romance and how the journey stated and ended. loved the friends and all of the trials that they went through on the journey. loved the cast and i can't wait t read more.

I read many books of MaryJanice Davidson, i loved the "Undead" series, and when i found out that a new book was coming
i was thrilled and excited to read it.
The writing is fluent and well written, the Davidson sassiness is unmistakable.

I received a complimentary copy of this book via Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are my own opinions.

I love MaryJanice Davidson's books. In fact, her undead series is the first series I bought as I was taking them out of the library so much. You can imagine how excited I was to receive a Road Queens A.R.C.

Although the story is based on a very serious subject, the story was able to find a way to be sarcastic and funny without being disrespectful. I was entertained throughout and once again very happy to have been chosen for this A.R.C

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy. I really enjoyed this and will be getting copies for my shop.

This one was not for me. I didn't enjoy the writing style, and I was automatically turned off by the cursing on every page. I was initially excited for this book for the women bikers as I ride a motorcycle as well, but I felt like bikers in general were distastefully and inaccurately portrayed. It was honestly a turn-off for me. Thank you, NetGalley and Montlake, for the opportunity to read and review this advanced copy.

I love MaryJanice Davidson's Undead Series and have enjoyed many of her contemporary romance works, and was instantly intrigued by the premise of this book. Not sure if my expectations were too high or I wasn't in the right mood for this one, but it was just an okay read for me. My favorite part was the deep friendship and often hilarious banter between Cass, Amanda, and Sidney and I appreciated the use of flashbacks to give more context and background to the crime and how the trio was connected to the victim. Overall, it just felt a bit too drawn out and the culprit reveal was a little meh for me.

I have been a fan of Mary Janice Davidson and especially the Queen Betsy books for years. Road Queens delivered on the humor and snark as well as some romance and intrigue. It was a little slow to start for me but about a quarter of the way in, I was hooked. I like the OpStar sisterhood and their friendship, lots of loose ends that make me think this could be a fun series. I feel like she did a good job of dealing with domestic violence and incarceration, definitely building up her characters' motivations and back stories. The time jumps from the past to the present were also done in a compelling way. As someone who comes from a motorcycle family, it was fun to see some of the terminology used and it did not fall into the typical MC trope that I usually don't enjoy. Overall, it was a fun and engaging read with a good whodunnit plot. I will definitely be interested to follow along for more of these ladies adventures.