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adancewithbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
3.5
Thank you to Penguin Books and Netgalley for the review copy in exchange for an honest review. This does not change my opinion in anyway.
The ending of Her Majesty's Royal Coven was quite the ordeal. With two of our main characters dead and the whole of the royal coven in disaray, it is quite a feat to pull this all back together. Spoiler: they don't.
One of the things that drew me to Her Majesty's Royal Coven was Niamh and the way she managed to do the right thing, regardless of what was on the other end. Whether this was her sister or one of her best friends, she would always do the right thing. Her relationship with Theo was the high point for me.
But that was completely gone with the ending of the last book and it put us on new footing. Footing I didn't particularily like. Ciara, Naimh's replacement, is quite the opposite, despite being her twin. And this whole book was Ciara's redemptions arc. I didn't nessecarily care for that. Again, the book is another slow build-up that dragged a little.
I also cringe at the choices that were being made. Steps back for certain characters, as if to even the playing field to show that Ciara isn't all that bad either. Or just weird typical plot points. It didn't work for me. I also missed seeing more of Theo and hated how Ciara treated her. Leonie had her hero moments there and I think she grew on me more this book.
Yet, like with the first book, the ending was spectaculair. Just enough for me to want to continue on reading with the series. And yes I have a good idea of that very last bit to the ending. Which is why I want to read on with the series.
The ending of Her Majesty's Royal Coven was quite the ordeal. With two of our main characters dead and the whole of the royal coven in disaray, it is quite a feat to pull this all back together. Spoiler: they don't.
One of the things that drew me to Her Majesty's Royal Coven was Niamh and the way she managed to do the right thing, regardless of what was on the other end. Whether this was her sister or one of her best friends, she would always do the right thing. Her relationship with Theo was the high point for me.
But that was completely gone with the ending of the last book and it put us on new footing. Footing I didn't particularily like. Ciara, Naimh's replacement, is quite the opposite, despite being her twin. And this whole book was Ciara's redemptions arc. I didn't nessecarily care for that. Again, the book is another slow build-up that dragged a little.
I also cringe at the choices that were being made. Steps back for certain characters, as if to even the playing field to show that Ciara isn't all that bad either. Or just weird typical plot points. It didn't work for me. I also missed seeing more of Theo and hated how Ciara treated her. Leonie had her hero moments there and I think she grew on me more this book.
Yet, like with the first book, the ending was spectaculair. Just enough for me to want to continue on reading with the series. And yes I have a good idea of that very last bit to the ending. Which is why I want to read on with the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Violence
Moderate: Drug use, Drug abuse, Transphobia, and Addiction
bigotryquestingnotcoasting's review
adventurous
dark
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
4.0
Her Majesty's Royal Coven is one of my favourite reads of 2023 so far so I was extremely excited to read this one. I listened to the audiobook again because I love Nicola Coughlan's narration. She does a wide range of accents perfectly and the different character POVs feel so distinct. I think I preferred HMRC a tiny bit more because the main characters were more often in the same place at the same time but this was still great. Dawson continues to include social commentary within her urban fantasy world, this time mainly through the introduction of the witchfinders. They made me absolutely furious and this was just as tense as the first one, mainly because of them. The ending of the first one was an interesting choice and I wasn't sure I'd enjoy the repercussions of it but actually I found it a really clever and interesting direction to take the story in. I was prepared for another cliffhanger ending but I couldn't predict what it would be. I slightly regret reading this one so soon after its release because now I have to wait at least a year for the next one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Infidelity, Misogyny, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Death, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Torture, Violence, and War
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Grief
meliemelo's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
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
4.75
An excellent sequel! The new points of views (especially Ciara's, but also Luke's ) really open up the story in sometimes hilarious, although dark, ways. The storyline works really well on its own and brings up very, very interesting developments to the overall arc. Will the references read as dated in a few decades (and perhaps much sooner)? Yes, probably, but that's ok.
I don't know when the (I assume) final book will be out, but I really can't wait for it!
I don't know when the (I assume) final book will be out, but I really can't wait for it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Death, Animal death, Addiction, Sexism, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Racism, Misogyny, Sexual content, Infidelity, Gore, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Dysphoria, Child abuse, Transphobia, and Alcohol
Minor: Torture
kirstym25's review
dark
mysterious
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Ableism
themelleh's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
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? No
4.0
Waterstones did me a solid and delivered it to me early, so even as a slow reader I still managed to finish it in 3 nights after work.
I’m obsessed. I had no idea what to expect but thoroughly enjoyed the ride. I can’t wait for the next book!
I’m obsessed. I had no idea what to expect but thoroughly enjoyed the ride. I can’t wait for the next book!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Death, Toxic relationship, War, and Ableism
wordsofclover's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The HMRC is in a bit of a shambles - the previous High Pristess is dead, and the one that's about to take her place is not who people think she. Other than that, young Theo is struggling with her failing powers, Leonie travels to rescue her brother from one of the worst villains the world has known and Elle deals with marital issues in possibly the worst way imaginable.
It's official that the HMRC trilogy is now probably one of my favourites of all time - the two books I've read have just been soooo good and given me everything I wanted, and missed, for a novel about magic and witches but aimed at adults who have been through stuff, just like the readers. I just love and admire how Juno Dawson has brought this world to life - it genuinely feels so real, and the world-building is just so, so good as is the magic - the dark, the good, and the limitations of it.
I'm always so impressed how Juno Dawson brings real world issues into her books and explores them through character actions and how these movements affect and hurt people. In the first book, we saw a main character, Helena, become a full-blown TERF and how it hurt her relationship with her best friends and ultimately brought about her demise, mostly by her own hand. There isn't as much blatant transphobia in this book from characters which is a relief though we see trans-character Theo still struggling with her transition and what it means for her in a very realistic way. In this book, we see the topic of women-hating men in the form of the Hard Working Men witchfinders group (a couple of twists/reveals about this one that had me shocked!!). This group is very much what you would expect from the type of women-hating incel groups you'd find on 4chan and the dark web in how they rile each other up about how awful women/witches are and how they've been hard done by by them. The way Juno Dawson explores this subject (and rising issue in today's modern society) through witchcraft is just genius.
The characters are a bit more scattered in this one so although we will always have our main Spice Girls, they are a little on their own adventures here. Leonie and Ciara as well as Theo and a bit of Luke are the main POVs in this story with Elle taking a little bit more of a backseat apart from a couple of crazy moments. I loved Leonie's journey to different covens - especially her discovery of a sacred coven/safe place.
Our main POV in this book is the most interesting one as it's darker and more twisted than the ones we have had before (even Helena's) and it's a story we have heard a bit about in the previous book but now we're getting, and feeling it, through the actual source and it's different from what I would have imagined it to be. I thought I would hate this character as we've been told how evil they were but after this book, I don't think this at all and I'm just so excited for book 3 when we will have all the Spice Girls back together, even Geri, to kick some Lucifer butt.
Also, screaming, crying, throwing up at the last scene.
It's official that the HMRC trilogy is now probably one of my favourites of all time - the two books I've read have just been soooo good and given me everything I wanted, and missed, for a novel about magic and witches but aimed at adults who have been through stuff, just like the readers. I just love and admire how Juno Dawson has brought this world to life - it genuinely feels so real, and the world-building is just so, so good as is the magic - the dark, the good, and the limitations of it.
I'm always so impressed how Juno Dawson brings real world issues into her books and explores them through character actions and how these movements affect and hurt people. In the first book, we saw a main character, Helena, become a full-blown TERF and how it hurt her relationship with her best friends and ultimately brought about her demise, mostly by her own hand. There isn't as much blatant transphobia in this book from characters which is a relief though we see trans-character Theo still struggling with her transition and what it means for her in a very realistic way. In this book, we see the topic of women-hating men in the form of the Hard Working Men witchfinders group (a couple of twists/reveals about this one that had me shocked!!). This group is very much what you would expect from the type of women-hating incel groups you'd find on 4chan and the dark web in how they rile each other up about how awful women/witches are and how they've been hard done by by them. The way Juno Dawson explores this subject (and rising issue in today's modern society) through witchcraft is just genius.
The characters are a bit more scattered in this one so although we will always have our main Spice Girls, they are a little on their own adventures here. Leonie and Ciara as well as Theo and a bit of Luke are the main POVs in this story with Elle taking a little bit more of a backseat apart from a couple of crazy moments. I loved Leonie's journey to different covens - especially her discovery of a sacred coven/safe place.
Our main POV in this book is the most interesting one as it's darker and more twisted than the ones we have had before (even Helena's) and it's a story we have heard a bit about in the previous book but now we're getting, and feeling it, through the actual source and it's different from what I would have imagined it to be. I thought I would hate this character as we've been told how evil they were but after this book, I don't think this at all and I'm just so excited for book 3 when we will have all the Spice Girls back together, even Geri, to kick some Lucifer butt.
Also, screaming, crying, throwing up at the last scene.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Death, and Misogyny
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