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Contest of Queens (1) (The Frean Chronicles) Hardcover – January 18, 2022

by Jordan H. Bartlett (Author)
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 84 ratings
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In a Queendom divided, can one girl unite the realms?

Jacs, an inventor’s apprentice from the Lower Realm, has only ever dreamed of what the land among the clouds holds. That is until she finds a letter from Connor, an Upperite boy hoping to learn more about the land below. Little does Jacs know, Connor is actually Prince Cornelius of the Queendom of Frea. With wooden boats and hot air balloons, the two begin a secret correspondence. But their friendship is divided by a heavily-guarded bridge and an inescapable prejudice.

The strength of their bond was thought to transcend distance and time, but when the royal family visits the Lower Realm, the Queendom’s feud is reignited.

To save her people, Jacs must infiltrate the Upper Realm and earn her place to compete in the Contest of Queens. In a story about friendship, love, bravery, and defying gravity, Jacs will strive to prove that a Queendom is strongest when united.

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  1. Reading age
    12 - 18 years
  2. Book 1 of 2
    The Frean Chronicles
  3. Print length
    464 pages
  4. Language
    English
  5. Grade level
    7 - 12
  6. Lexile measure
    840L
  7. Dimensions
    5.51 x 1.22 x 8.5 inches
  8. Publisher
    CamCat Publishing
  9. Publication date
    January 18, 2022
  10. ISBN-10
    0744304989
  11. ISBN-13
    978-0744304985
  12. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jordan H. Bartlett is an award-winning, New Zealand-born Canadian author with a love for children’s literature and female empowerment. She grew up reading books about boys for boys and found it hard to find a strong female heroine she could relate to. Bartlett wrote the Frean Chroniclesto give young readers that character she so longed for in a world where gender norms are reversed. Bartlett currently resides in Banff, Alberta where she works as a speech language pathologist and is a certified yoga instructor.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ CamCat Publishing (January 18, 2022)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 464 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0744304989
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0744304985
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 12 - 18 years
  • Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 840L
  • Grade level ‏ : ‎ 7 - 12
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.57 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.51 x 1.22 x 8.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 84 ratings

About the author

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Jordan H. Bartlett

Jordan H. Bartlett

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Award-winning New Zealand-born Canadian, Jordan Bartlett lives in Banff, Alberta. She holds degrees in Psychology, English, and a Master's of Science degree in Speech and Language Pathology. Throughout her English degree, she focused her studies in the areas of children’s literature and the role of women in literature throughout history. It is this affinity for fairy tales mixed with her desire to breathe life into compelling, unique, and ultimately flawed female characters in a world where they have not been tethered that she hopes to flip fantasy tropes and challenge gendered expectations in young adult readers—while keeping the levity of a fairy tale.

Check out her website, www.jordanhbartlett.com

Or follow her on Instagram, @jordanhbartlett

Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
84 global ratings
Fantastic YA Fantasy
5 Stars
Fantastic YA Fantasy
I’m shouting to the rooftops that this is one of my top favorite reads so far this year and what makes it even better is that it’s a genre that I rarely read.This is a YA fantasy novel that tells a wonderful story with lots of action about a girl that is vying to be queen.In this world, the lower and upper realms don’t mix and mingle even though they are under the same rule.It is also a land where women rule and hold all positions of power. The men take on the rolls of strong backs and support positions and it’s the best thing I’ve ever read!We also have two characters: a Prince (Connor) from the upper realm and an inventor’s apprentice (Jacs) from the lower realm. These two become unlikely pen pals for years never knowing who the other really is.When the Queen is assassinated in the lower realm, a contest is held in the upper realm to choose the next queen. (And FYI- the lower realm and upper realm don’t actually get along and are not mutually respected.)Our lower realm girl, Jacs, sneaks to the upper realm to compete in the contest.But no one knows a lower realm girl is part of the contest and the Prince and Jacs don’t know each other’s real identities.Jacs will make friends and enemies as she completes each challenge, but who will become Queen?This book is creative with gender stereotypes being bent in such a way everyone is respected. It is well written with details about the land and it’s people so that I never felt confused or overwhelmed which sometimes happens in fantasy reads for me. It has the intrigue of who assassinated the queen. It has plenty of action from the contest of queens challenges. It has magical creatures such as a griffin. It has wonderful characters who came alive for me in this world. It has an ending which had me already pre-ordering on Kindle the next book in the series, QUEEN’S CATACOMBS, which comes out March of 2023.I received this book as a gift. All opinions are my own.
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Top reviews from the United States

Thriller Lover
5.0 out of 5 stars Great debut!!
Reviewed in the United States on September 18, 2022
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This is an incredible debut effort. The author is a strong writer and she creates dynamic characters who do their best to take patriarchal concepts and turn them on their head in a fun, eye-opening way. Buy it!
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Mica
4.0 out of 5 stars Well written but predictable
Reviewed in the United States on December 10, 2023
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Well written, and I read it all the way through and have already purchased the 2nd book, but it is a bit predictable in a child-like way. It got about more interesting towards the end.
One person found this helpful
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Bruce Buchanan
5.0 out of 5 stars One of my favorite YA fantasy reads in a while
Reviewed in the United States on January 2, 2024
What’s not to like about Jordan H. Bartlett’s YA fantasy novel “Contest of Queens”? For starters, the premise is brilliant. The queendom is divided by a nearly impassable natural barrier, with the Upper Realm enjoying all of the privileges and people of the Lower Realm living under unjust, discriminatory conditions.

And like all great fantasy novels, this one has a hero you want to see succeed. Jacs is a brilliant and resourceful young woman from the Lower Reams who strikes up a penpal friendship with a young man from the Upper Realm. The queen is murdered and the Lower Realm is blamed, forcing Jacs into action to save her family and protect her community. Bartlett really hits the gas at this point–it's a non-stop, compelling adventure the rest of the way, after some nice but quieter character building early on.

There’s a sequel that I’m considering a must-read. Easy 5 of 5 on “Contest of Queens.”
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Janine
5.0 out of 5 stars An engaging start to a unique YA High Fantasy series
Reviewed in the United States on May 17, 2023
Contest of Queens managed to surprise me. Going in with no expectations despite the beautiful cover, I was quickly engaged with the characters and world of this YA Fantasy, and struggled to pull myself away from this story, despite it’s long runtime.

The book takes place in a Queendom, a gender role swap where women rule and men are mostly seen as the brute force gender, and it was quite interesting to see the differences due to this change, and was rather enlightening, from the major plot of women in charge to the smaller details. The country is divided in two, the elite Upper Realm above the clouds, and the commoner Lower Realm, on the surface, and the conflict with them is quite intense, especially since they barely talk to each other. The world overall was fleshed out and I was in love with the world building and how it was delivered and I just wanted to know more, even as the last minutes went by. Either way, the prose and setting gave a classical and whimsical High Fantasy feel to the world, with inventions like hot air balloons just coming into being. The story itself is paced well, with a gradual build up of the world and characters at the start, ramping up in the second half with the contest, with plenty of surprises and twists along the way, with immersive prose that kept me in the story.

Connor, a prince from the Upper Realm, and Jacs, an inventor from the Lower Realm, start out as pen pals and grow closer, at least until tragedy strikes. The two were perfect complements, with Connor somewhat naive and having to grow up, and Jacs being determined and resourceful, as well as kind to most of the people she comes across, but also shares her host of demons. The other characters were memorable and likable as well, with the inventor and two fellow contestants Jacs meets being highlights for me.

The narrator, Karissa Vacker was spot on, her voice changing according to the situation and for the most part, great with the voices, though I sometimes got confused with Connor and his father, the King, since they sounded so similar.

I highly recommend this to no spice YA Fantasy fans and looking forward to where book 2 is going.

*I received a review copy of the audiobook from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.*
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LAWonder10
5.0 out of 5 stars A mystical series where the rokes of men and women are reversed.
Reviewed in the United States on March 17, 2023
The Contest of queens is a well-written YA Book. I recommend it for older YA. It would be great for Middle-Grade age, except it deals with controversial subjects and it does contain a few words of profanity.

This is a unique series and very creative. It is a fantasy created in a mystical setting, in a world where the roles are reversed from those in this world, The women are in charge and men are treated as lesser beings.

This kingdom is split in two. The elite lives on top of a mountain. The underprivileged live at the bottom of the cliffs and are not aware of the lifestyle of those above, and vice versa. It is impossible for anyone to ascend to the top... Yet one girl did!

Years ago, Jacs found a letter in a wooden boat sent down the river. Jacs responds through her invention of air balloons. They communicate for years. Jacs will make a startling discovery when she makes the impossible ascent to accomplish a goal to aid her suffering people of the Lower Realm.

This has a lot of action and depicts the challenges of change and acceptance. The "feats" are very graphic and yet inspiring. The message of persevering is very strong. It also has a wonderful message of humanity.  However, it does include heterosexual and homosexual romantic relationships that some may find offensive.

It does captivate the reader/listener to the very end. Although predictable at times, it is mostly unpredictable.

The characters are well-developed and seem very real. The scenes are graphically portrayed well. The Title is well-chosen and the cover image depicts the story and is very eye-catching.

It does end with a "cliffhanger" so you will want to be sure to purchase the next book of the series.

I listened to the audiobook, performed by Karissa Vacker. She lacked diction and consistency in the first few pages and was hard to understand. Soon, she overcame her struggle and spoke clearly and energetically throughout the rest of the book. Her "voices" became consistent, as well. She did an outstanding performance after a "shaky" beginning. I was not able to listen to chapter 19 because of a faulty recording.

I offer a Fur and a Half Stars rating for Karissa's performance and a Four Stars rating for the story. I felt it was a little extreme for the genre.

This audiobook was gifted me with no pressure to post a positive review. This is my honest review.
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Top reviews from other countries

Leslie Anne Taylor
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful story
Reviewed in Canada on November 17, 2022
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A book with the kind of heroine we can all admire! Jacs is a brilliant, resourceful young lady who relies on her friends and her wits to survive. If you are looking for reading material for the Y/A girl in your life, check this one out!
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M. Johnston
5.0 out of 5 stars Well worth picking up!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 28, 2022
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It grabbed me from the start! I adored the matriarchal twist on the fantasy setting, loved the council of gr[redacted], and I'm super invested to see where the story goes next
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Kelsey Roberts
5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing story and world building
Reviewed in Australia on October 30, 2022
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I’ve read this book a couple of times now and it’s just as hard to put down as the first time. My inner feminist loves that it’s a queendom (why is this not in the dictionary) ruled by women. The realm is split into two, the upper and the lower realm, with very little communication between the two. But ‘when one group of people does not know of o identify with another group of people, it is dangerous and only breeds hate, prejudice, and violence.’ Jacs is determined to bridge the gap between realms, and if anyone can it is her. I can’t wait for more books In the series to find out what happens!
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Erin
5.0 out of 5 stars Must read! Get your daughters to read this too!
Reviewed in Canada on October 31, 2022
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What a captivating read! The world building is fantastic and refreshing. I also bought this book for my friend's 16 year old daughter, and she loved it too. Prepare yourself for an awesome adventure :)
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Josh
5.0 out of 5 stars Captivating Story
Reviewed in Canada on October 27, 2022
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Amazing story that sucks you in and you wont be able to put it down. Very bright future for this author looking forward to reading the sequals
2 people found this helpful
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