Playing Through Every Choices Book, In Order (Part 64: Queen B, Book 2)

Hey! Today, we struggle to maintain our throne as Queen B when a new, shadowy enemy appears. Can we triumph, or will we go the way of one Persephone Dalton?

Next time, we head to Los Angeles to begin our acting career. Will we be able to brave the breakneck industry?

Link to previous reviews: https://www.reddit.com/user/stresseatingdog/comments/sj3s3m/all_choices_reviews_megapost/

Queen B, Book 2

M/C: Stella Hughes

Final LI: Ian

Favorite Chapter: That one with the spin the bottle game?

Favorite Character(s): Zoey, Poppy, Chloe, Carter, Veronica, Ford, Liam, Trixie, Ohio, Caroline

Least Favorite Character(s): Selene/Persephone, Dean Steinhelm

Overall Rating: 7/10

Review:

Let’s talk about the good parts of this book first. All the same excellent writing and humor from the first book are still present here in spades, so that is wonderful. Both LI’s are again, good, and Ian/Ina felt like an actual LI this time instead of a glorified sex toy. The whole concept of the Hit List and unmasking all the minions and X is so entertaining and fun. This subreddit was so fun back when this book was releasing, with all the conspiracy theories and ideas as to who the minions were and who X was. I love how the posse from the first book still comes back to help you too, making your diamonds quite useful (again, aside from Professor Roberta, who is kind of useless lol). Poppy is still awesome, and even if she isn’t a completely official LI by the end, she gets pretty much the same treatment as the two actual LI’s. The top 15-ers (again, aside from Tasha, who completely disappears in this book - I guess she graduated?) are so fun to interact with in this book, since you are their leader now. Now, onto the negative. I only liked a few of X’s minions. Lexi, Ohio, Michael, and Caroline all were great X minions because we either know them from Book 1, or in the case of Carmichael, she actually appears in Book 1 in a scene that she references in this book. The other minions? Lame. Not knowing any of them made taking them down so much less satisfying. Like who the hell is Pit Stain, or Maisie Pine? As for the final X minion, Xanthippe, I honestly don’t like what they did with her. Firstly, I wish she had been a character we already knew, like Veronica or something. Secondly, she becomes your “ally” if you pay the diamonds, but she literally shows up for one scene in the second to last chapter and is practically non-existent outside of that. Some “ally”, huh? She also spoils that X is Persephone Dalton like two chapters before the actual reveal. Speaking of X, I do not enjoy Selene being X. It was so predictable. Like obviously, the new character with the new sprite is going to be the new villain. I was praying that they would be original with X, that it would actually be a twist, but no, they played it safe. I suppose the real twist is supposed to be that Selene is Persephone, but that’s not much of a twist. I don’t know who I would have preferred to be X, but certainly not Selene. I also think the book stops being interesting after X’s reveal in Chapter 14. The Apoidea ball is boring, Selene is taken out in like two seconds, Poppy feels forced as a final antagonist, and it's just so dull. I feel like the writing team got tired, maybe, after Chapter 14, so they phoned it in for the final two chapters? It’s a shame, because I genuinely did enjoy the majority of this book. The mystery aspect was great, the writing was great, and I wish the book hadn't lost its stride in the end. In all, I don't like this book as much as the first one, but it does still have its merits.