The Hundredth Queen by Emily King

This was a highly charged, heavy emotion book. It is going to make you upset, and you aren't going to like it. You're not supposed to; it is a book about overcoming the things we disagree with. 

I read it based on a recommendation from a favorite author, and it was free on Kindle. It is culturally inspired by Sumeria and India, and their mythologies.

Orphaned women are raised in convents to be kept secluded unless chosen for marriage or servitude by an elite man. Kalinda simply wants to make it passed her sickness and fade away into solitude, but fate has other plans. She is going to become the hundredth rani. A queen among queens, who will change the very structure of the Tarachand Empire. They just really don't understand how exactly she is supposed to do that.

Besides the trope romance, the story is actually crammed pack with emotional moments that kept me coming back to read more each night. I really like the strong sense of sisterhood and empowering each other without having to destroy the system to do it. 

I am interested enough to see where this series goes. With it being part of Kindle Unlimited, I am off to try the next book.