Review: The Chess Queen Enigma

The Chess Queen Enigma 
Rating: 4/5 
Buy or Borrow: Buy 
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher! 

Evaline Stoker & Mina Holmes have reluctantly agreed to act as social chaperones and undercover bodyguards for Princess Lurelia of Betrovia, who has arrived in London to deliver a letter that details the secret location of an ancient chess queen that’s been missing for centuries. But when the letter—which will heal a centuries-old rift between England and the Betrovians—is stolen out from under Evaline and Mina’s watchful eyes, the two girls are forced into a high-stakes race to ensure they find the chess queen before anyone else does…including their foe, the Ankh. For the chess queen is not only a historic symbol of a woman’s political power, but it has literal power as well—the queen will unlock the chessboard, revealing both treasures and ancient secrets the Ankh would kill to possess. It will take Mina’s smarts and Evaline’s strength to beat the thief and untangle this mystery before it is too late. 

I really enjoy this series, it's fun, original and has an imaginative world, with memorable characters. The Chess Queen Enigma is a brilliant new addition to that series. It's fast paced, and there's plenty more shocking and surprising plot twists to keep you guessing. The ending has left me super excited for book four and intrigued to see what happens next, I need to know....things! 

I love Mina, and I love Evaline, but I think Mina is the one I connect to more and who is my favourite out of the two, I've never really connected to Evaline as much as to Mina! I do love the interplay between the two though, and how they work together. And I really ship Evaline and Pix, I'm not going to lie! I was expecting to have learnt more about Pix by this point in the series, and we do get to learn some bits about him, but not much! Evaline's other suitor is dealt with, but the love triangle wasn't really that much of a thing anyway! I was a bit disappointed about what happened to Evaline's other suitor though! 

I have to say, I feel like Dylan could have been in the series a lot more, he was there and there was this time travel element that could have been used in so many ways and I feel like it was really under-utilised throughout the three books. I've never really managed to ship Dylan and Mina because we didn't really get to see Dylan all that much! He was hardly in the books and I feel like he and the time travel thing ended up being quite random! I do quite like Grayling though, and I'm starting to ship he and Mina more and more throughout the books! 

The Chess Queen Enigma is a fast paced, fun, and intriguing read that takes you on an adventure and surprises you again and again. Plus it leaves you wanting more once you reach the end of the book! There's action and romance and cute moments, and humorous moments and it'll keep you reading until the end! Definitely a brilliant steampunk read!