3 reasons to add Nameless Queen to your fantasy TBR list

Rebecca McLaughlin’s Nameless Queen is built from pieces that will feel familiar to fans of YA fantasy, but that ultimately arrange themselves in a generally charming new way.

The idea of a downtrodden lower class girl discovering that she’s secretly rich/a princess/has magic is certainly not a new trope in the world of YA fantasy. In fact, this concept forms the basis for several of the most popular series in recent memory, including Sarah J. Maas’ Throne of Glass books and Victoria Aveyard’s Red Queen series. So if you’ve read many of these stories, it’s likely that the broad strokes of Rebecca Laughlin’s debut Nameless Queen will feel a little familiar to you. The novel does cover a lot of the same ground and include some similar concepts. But it’s the parts where it truly strikes out on its own that make this book worth your time.

The basics of the story are these: In the kingdom of Seriden, people are divided into three classes. Royals are pretty much what it says on the tin. Legals are the middle classes in the center, who have rights, privileges and a certain degree of comfort, but limits on how high they can rise. And finally, there are the Nameless, those who are so abandoned by society that they aren’t even given real names. These people have no power or representation, and the scratch out meager existences by their wits and the generosity of their friends. They’re not even considered important enough to have a legal status – they aren’t citizens, and they can’t be charged with crimes.

Young Coin lives a hard life, with no family, few friends and an antagonistic relationship with one of the young men who manages a pack of urchin street kids he trains to rob better off citizens in the market. All that changes the day the King of Seriden dies and she discovers a mysterious crown tattoo on her arm, marking her as the next heir. The problem is, Coin is Nameless and can’t possibly become queen. It’s never happened before. She, and her reign, is impossible.

Complicated political shenanigans ensue, as Coin attempts to save her life, her friends and the Nameless in her kingdom. And Nameless Queen, for all that it initially feels as though its a story you’ve seen before, has some definite narrative tricks up its sleeve.

Here are three ways McLaughlin story stands out – and stands on its own merits.

It’s the best kind of found family saga.

Perhaps the most surprising aspect of Nameless Queen is that there’s no obvious Love Interest. No predetermined triangle to win the affections of the newly named heir. And no endless angsting over who might rule beside her. Instead, the novel focuses on Coin and a very specific group of people she gets to know at court, the bonds of friendship and affection that grow between and among them, and the way their connection helps her become a better person and a better potential ruler.

The best sort of found family story, it brings together characters from each class level: Coin, her Nameless BFF named Hat, a Legal guard in the Royal household named Greyquartz and Esther, the daughter of the dead king. Who, by the way, he did not name as heir so things should be pretty awkward between them, by all rights. And it is a bit, in the beginning. But then it’s not. Thank goodness. Ultimately, the friendship between the members of little group – who all relate to one another in different ways – is charming, warm and a real highlight of the novel as a whole.

These four are ultimately the key to saving Seriden and sorting out who belongs on its throne, of course, but the thing you’ll remember is their dedication and care for one another, even when some of them (i.e. Coin) make it harder than it needs to be.

The world building is surprisingly original.

Even though I had moments where I didn’t understand entirely where there were only three classes, rather than four or five – the Legals seem like a very wide and broad class type in this world – the class and caste system of Seriden was fascinating to read about. As readers, we’re dropped into the world of Nameless Queen pretty much in medias res, so we’ve got to figure out on our own how these groups of people relate to one another, and what it means to be Nameless rather than Legal or Royal. It’s a nice gesture on behalf the author to trust that we can figure out, what’s going on, and let’s us take in the class system of Seriden from the ground up, so to speak.

Nameless Queen is largely a political story, so it spends quite a bit of time on the ramifications of the relationships between these classes – how desperately the Nameless want to feel a part of the country they live in, how the Legals are all stuck in the middle, and how far too many Royals are only interested in maintaining their own status. Coin’s vision of a kingdom where all classes are at least afforded basic rights and allowed to stand and work alongside their fellow citizens in pursuit of a better tomorrow for everyone is both idealistic and appealing. Given how eager some of her fellow citizens are to punish and take advantage of others, it’s not a vision that’s guaranteed to come true, but it’s certainly a worth end to strive for.

The story feels complete on its own.

Now, given that we exist in a YA world full of sequels and trilogies and special editions, I won’t be surprised to see the story of Nameless Queen continue in some way, should McLaughlin decide to write another book in this universe. That said, the story within these pages feels largely complete – the main characters all end in relatively satisfying places, and though there are a few what-ifs and plot holes to consider, it’s almost enough to simply realize that the story of Coin and Seriden will continue past the point at which we closed the book.

(I wouldn’t mind reading a companion novel about Hat or Greyquartz or even Esther, though. They all have such different outlooks and backgrounds. I’m kind of okay with leaving Coin where she is.)

Nameless Queen is now available at booksellers everywhere. Will you be giving this novel a try this January Let us know!