Long May She Reign

I have been in a reading slump lately, and this book was all around impressive. There were fantasy aspects(teensy really), mystery, mass murder, and a very slight romance.

Freya is a timid, does not like big crowds, and is 23rd in line for the crown. Attending the King's latest feast is not only a waste of time in her eyes, but an egregious waste of food. She and her best friend, Naomi, make an escape as soon as they can! To where? Her home lab! Ah, a girl after my own heart. She is running home experiments, keeping meticulous notes, on how to... ok its not really important. What is important, is I loved her. She stays true to her scientist roots throughout the whole novel. Anyways, her dad bursts in, and drops the bomb, everyone at court was poisoned, and Freya is now queen, and must be protected, and Naomi is also in line and cannot go looking for her brother. Sad face!

The bulk of this book is Freya experimenting, trying to come up with a test for arsenic, so that tasters do not have to taste for this in food. Good idea Freya! Seriously, I love this girl. She becomes close to people from the old court who survived, and there are betrayals. But, because Freya is insistent on needing proof of guilt, she rules with an even head, even when she feels personally slighted by someone. Once in a while Freya comes off as kind of meek, but I think in the end she really shines, her strengths aren't typical of that of a female lead, and she and strong friends and allies to back her up.

One more thing I liked about this book, it is a standalone! Yay! I would suggest this, I breezed through it in a few hours which lately has been pretty difficult for me to do.