The Q by Beth Brower | A Book Review

Hello, all my fellow bookworms!!!!!!! *staggers in under the weight of many, many books* Oh my word I don’t even know how to write the intro for this post because this is a review of a book that absolutely DESTROYED me… Truly. I… It ruined me. It broke my heart. Not in a bad way. But also, IT BROKE MY HEART!!!!

I now realize that perhaps I should actually give you guys some context…

One of my all-time favorite book series ever is the Emma M. Lion series by Beth Brower — such a beautiful, historical fiction told in journal form by the MC, Emma, that is absolutely full of wit and voice, and it is just so wonderful!! I reviewed it a little earlier on my blog, and you can check that review out here. A little later, one of my fellow bloggers, Ava, reviewed another book by Beth Brower: The Q.

It was a splendid review. And so, after a few weeks of dilly-dallying, I finally headed off to Kindle Unlimited and got this book.

I truly had no clue what on earth to really expect. Would I like it? Hate it?? Would it be anything like Emma M. Lion?

Well.

Suffice to say this book absolutely BROKE me. I just… I have no words. It is such a wonderful historical fiction, with such wonderful characters, and I just loved it!!

The blurb reads:

On New Year’s Eve, Quincy St. Claire’s well-ordered world is set askew. Her Uncle Ezekiel tells her that, upon his demise, she must fulfill a list of requirements in order to inherit his publication, The Q. But Quincy is not to be told what those requirements are, and the only person in possession of that knowledge is her silent, disapproving solicitor, James Arch.

All of Rhysdon is intrigued by Quincy’s genius and her adeptness at turning a profit through her fierce focus on business, excluding all else. Surrounded by a unique cadre of individuals who find their way to the offices of The Q, Quincy is determined to win her Uncle’s absurd game, and keep the only thing she has ever cared about.

This is such a wonderful book!! I simply adored almost everything about it!! (As well as the character names!!! For some reason, I just think all the names fit the characters so well! And I loved Quincy St. Claire’s name. Rolls of the tongue splendidly, in my opinion!)

The writing style of this book was amazing, and while I always have trouble really describing the writing style of a writer, Beth Brower really does have a unique style that just brings the story to life!! The way she manages to weave in plot and world and backstory and also show us so much of each character is just amazing, and I love how deep and fleshed-out every single character was!!! They really felt like real people!

My favorite character throughout this book, of course, has to be Quincy St. Claire. She is simply wonderful. Her character feels… both clipped and well-ordered and yet also so messy and human at the same time! I felt for her so much, and truly, from page one she just felt so real! She is far from a perfect character, and that is honestly what I love so much about her!! Especially all her flaws and the way Beth Brower wrote them… It really just makes her come alive!!

Of course, my second favorite character would either have to be Arch or Lady Fothergil. Arch is such a well-written character as well, and even though the book isn’t written from his POV, the author still manages to show us so much of him and give us such a wonderful look into his character, his past, and his history!!! I honestly felt for all the characters so much, and the way Beth Brower slowly reveals/unravels each character’s past is just… *chef’s kiss* It is simply splendid!!

Crow is such an interesting character as well!! Okay, yes, he’s technically a smuggler and perhaps a less-than-honorable person, but he certainly is an interesting character!! (And look, he has a cool name! A very cool name!!!! And I simply adore cool names, so…. XD)

I loved the plot and the world of this book as well! While I was a bit disappointed there weren’t any Emma cameos, I absolutely loved following Quincy’s journey!! The Q felt like a real place I was stepping into each time Quincy did, and just…. the way everything in The Q is described…. All the characters and their relationships… Everything just made it feel so real, and you can really see how much The Q means to Quincy, and I loved that!!!

And also….

The things on Ezekiel’s list…….

Oh my gosh, I LOVED that so much!!!!!!!! All the things seem a bit ludicrous at first, but as the story develops, you can see that all those things do have some meaning and Ezekiel wasn’t just making up a random list of silly things for Quincy to fulfill!

(And also, Blue Boy and Angel’s relationship was such fun to read!!!!)

And now that brings to me the part of the book that broke me.

THe part that I guess would be called Act Three.

…

IT BROKE ME…..

Truly.

Beth Brower, I will never forgive you…….

Truly, it broke my heart. No spoilers of course… but what happened with Quincy and Arch…… *sobs* AND THE Q!!!!!!!!!!!!! How could you, Beth Brower?!?!?!

I will never forget this ending or what happened in this book.

So yes, overall, a fantastic book that I highly recommend for teens and up!!!! I think I’d probably recommend this to ages 13+. Tis a wonderful read, and one that I think Emma M. Lion fans would enjoy!!! Definitely five stars out of five!!!! (Dare I say…. 5.5 stars out of five? Not quite six stars, but….. It is a wonderful book!)

Do let me know down in the comments if you’ve read The Q and if so, what you thought of it!! (Or if you’re planning to! Or if you are a fellow Emma M. Lion fan who is also impatiently waiting for book nine!) I love hearing from y’all!

Now….

I must get back to reading The Two Towers….

Till next time!

-Isabelle

P.S. I also wanted to let you guys know about something exciting!!!! For the first time in my life….. I entered a writing contest…. AND I WAS ACTUALLY RUNNERUP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (No, I didn’t win, but I have never ever gotten any place in any sort of writing contest!!! Much less second place!!!!!) A huge thank you to Iona at Story Blossoms for hosting the contest, and you can check out the announcement post here!

P.P.S. I may just decide to end every post with a song recommendation. Freya Skye just released her new song, silent treatment, and it is such a wonderful song!! (That I think I relate to a bit too much…) Flowers in My Hair by Wes Reeve is SUCH a whimsical, romantic song as well that I adore……