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adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The plot felt too predictable, and seen many times before: poor morta girl suffers pains, is kidnapped/rescued by faes, forced to face trials, falls “in love” with the first pretty tool who shows her attention, is empowered after a month of training despite a decade of starvation, and then goes away with the people of a broody, dark, mysterious and sexy prince with daddy issues. Oh, she also has hidden powers of course.
Also, the diversity of characters was just to have character diversity, they added nothing to the plot.
Also, the diversity of characters was just to have character diversity, they added nothing to the plot.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Deportation
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Wow I can’t believe I put this off for so long. I picked it up initially and DNF’d because I wasn’t feeling it at the time but picked it back up again after reading Tuli’s newest book NSFW. This was great! Very entertaining, unique take on some tropes, the world building and plot are excellent. Immediately bought the next book in the series to start because I can’t wait to see what is going to happen next!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content, Blood, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Rape, Sexual violence
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This was marketed to me as a Hunger Games meets A Court of Thorns and Roses. I am a big Hunger Games fan and moderately enjoyed ACOTAR. I can see why the parallels would be drawn, it's not a new concept. Please don't expect HG quality. The female main character is incredibly grating to me. Her presentation in the first chapters is contradicting. It feels like the author used sass and bitchy to convey that this woman was strong, but it read to me as completely disconnected from what is a seriously dangerous and abusive environment full of sexual violence. Her trauma shows itself in "not making smart choices" which doesn't translate well for me. I was in a shit place with my health and I am not going to lie, - I finished the series out of spite and needing something to occupy my brain whilst not feeling to many vulnerable feelings. This series fit the bill - my annoyance was a better place to be than in my own head or body. It was engaging enough, and all the other characters where interesting and fun to read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual harassment
Minor: Sexual violence
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Although the plot was reminiscent of others within the romantasy genre, I enjoyed the overall story. With that said, there were several times when I was confused. Some things were seemingly meant to be understood, but weren't ever explained. Other times there were obvious inconsistencies. I'd rate it higher otherwise.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence
Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Kidnapping, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death of parent
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping
Moderate: Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual content
Minor: Rape
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Classism
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Blood, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
When I was at the bookstore to pick up a new book, I was torn between Trial of the Sun Queen and The Serpent and the Wings of Night, but upon polling some friends, we decided to pick up Trial of the Sun Queen instead.
Upon reading, it was a really good read that had me hooked from the opening sequence of "she took my soap" to the good plot twist at the end. It was super easy for me to get sucked into this book and the world. It's pacing was solid all throughout keeping me enthralled between each twist and turn while spacing out the danger and character development in between.
The plot twist at the end had me questioning my thoughts and feelings towards characters. It's super nice that it was done and done pretty well, too. The book left me with so many questions that I'm super excited to read the book while simultaneously kind of putting me in a little bit of a "what did I just read? how should I process my emotions?" kind of slump (in a good way as it's the good kind of reading slump where I can bounce back quickly). I'm so excited to pick up and read Rule of the Aurora King and continue following Lor's story and adventure!
Upon reading, it was a really good read that had me hooked from the opening sequence of "she took my soap" to the good plot twist at the end. It was super easy for me to get sucked into this book and the world. It's pacing was solid all throughout keeping me enthralled between each twist and turn while spacing out the danger and character development in between.
The plot twist at the end had me questioning my thoughts and feelings towards characters. It's super nice that it was done and done pretty well, too. The book left me with so many questions that I'm super excited to read the book while simultaneously kind of putting me in a little bit of a "what did I just read? how should I process my emotions?" kind of slump (in a good way as it's the good kind of reading slump where I can bounce back quickly). I'm so excited to pick up and read Rule of the Aurora King and continue following Lor's story and adventure!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Violence
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual violence, Death of parent
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
If you’ve read A Court of Thorns and Roses and Throne of Glass, Trial of the Sun Queen will feel extremely familiar—maybe a little too familiar. The premise? A young woman, Lor, is plucked from prison and thrown into deadly trials, competing for the chance to be the Sun King’s queen. Sound like Throne of Glass? That’s because it is. Meanwhile, the romance setup feels like a direct lift from ACOTAR: the Sun King (Tamlin 2.0) is presented as the charming ruler, but it’s obvious from the start that he’s not the one—instead, we’re introduced to a brooding, morally gray prince (cough Rhysand) who steals the spotlight and clearly has endgame energy.
Despite the predictability, I devoured this book. I can’t fully explain it. The writing is easy to sink into, the pacing keeps you flipping pages, and even though I didn’t particularly connect with Lor or care deeply about any of the characters, I still had fun. It’s the literary equivalent of eating junk food—you know it’s not groundbreaking, you’ve had it a million times before, but you keep going back for more.
The trials themselves are supposed to be a big focal point, but they don’t carry much weight. Lor survives, but there’s never any real tension that she won’t. The Fae court’s interest in the trials is a direct callback to the whole let’s-watch-mortals-suffer-for-entertainment trope seen (and frankly, done better) in everything from ACOTAR to The Serpent & The Wings of Night to The Final Strife. But the execution doesn’t add much new to the genre and lacks the high-stakes tensions of those stories.
Overall, Trial of the Sun Queen feels like what would happen if you asked ChatGPT to write a romantasy inspired by Sarah J. Maas. It’s not original in any way, and yet, I had a ridiculously good time reading it. I’ll probably pick up the next one, despite knowing exactly where it’s going.
Would I recommend it? I'm honestly not sure. I don't think so. But, If you love SJM books and want a familiar-feeling romantasy, go for it. Just don’t expect anything new.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape, Sexual violence, Kidnapping
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Bridgerton meets Hunger Games
Another underwhelming booktok book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Sexual violence, Slavery, Death of parent