i received a copy of her majesty’s royal coven from harper collins nz in exchange for an honest review.
star rating
her majesty’s royal coven review
her majesty’s royal coven is a feminist urban fantasy. while i enjoyed the inclusivity, it reads like a the author had a bunch of tick boxes and was shoving as much as they could into it. we have a token black character that fills most of the boxes.
the constant overuse of spice girls references really grated my nerves. it was cheesy and cringy. i felt secondhand embarrassment from the characters calling each other these nicknames. because of this, i had a hard time taking the characters seriously. this in turn made them hard to like or care about. the characters just didn’t have much depth.
and because of that, the big plot twist at the end (no spoilers) — i didn’t give two shits about it. it didn’t phase me in the slightest.
the writing itself was really difficult for me to get into. it didn’t flow nicely. it was stiff and awkward. it’s something i would’ve expected from a debut author, but not a seasoned pro like dawson.
all of that aside, here’s the one thing i did love about her majesty’s royal coven: the coming out story of one of the characters. i like how it was important to the plot, and not something thrown in last minute to appease (feminist) readers.
i know i’m probably in the minority with my opinions of this book, so take it with a grain of salt. this book tackles some important issues, i just wish the storytelling was done better.
buy your copy now!
whitcoulls | the nile | mighty ape | the warehouse | paper plus
8 Comments
Yikes! I hope you enjoy your next book more!
ugh, i’ve had like 5 or 6 of them all 1 star or dnf. it’s not going so well. (on the plus side, i’ve finally finished a 5 star book!)
I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy this one as much! I was curious about it but the same things would bother me too.
i appear to be in the minority here. i suggest checking out some other reviews and maybe just giving it a read for yourself. most people i’ve seen around are loving this book, and it’s just me that didn’t.
this book didn’t really interest me before, but I just had to read your review! I get what your saying about “ticking boxes” in the storytelling, when the author doesn’t do a good job it really shows in the writing & characters. Hoping you enjoy your next read <3
while i love and am all for inclusion, i really wish it was incorporated into the actual story rather than them rattling off things about a character. (it’s even worse when it’s only one character rather than spreading the diversity over multiple — like in this book).
Sorry this one wasn’t for you. I always hate when a book disappoints me like this.
thank you! i wanted so badly to like this one. it was up there on my highly anticipated list :/