Reviews with content warning for Misogyny - Las brujas de Su Majestad

I think I mostly enjoyed this book. There were a few things holding it back from being a great book for me.

I loved that we had middle aged women protagonists - something not often seen in Urban Fantasy or fantasy generally. I don't love how they seemed more like charcitures.

I also appreciated the attempt at intersectionality, although I think the racism discussions were a little ham fisted.

It was all over the shop with pacing and its because theres a lots of unnecessary scenes. So much so I had to stop reading for a bit and switch to something a little more cohesive. That makes the beginning and middle very choppy until everything takes off in the last third. It did really hook me once it got going but because that didn't happen until the last third is really why it's 3 stars.

The other thing that stopped me from really getting into it was a bit of a culture clash. I felt for the longest time that the villain was almost cartoonishly evil, that everything was seriously over the top (like the kidnapping attempt).

However, I failed to realise just how entrenched and visible the TERF politics are in Britain (I'm not from the UK). Perhaps if I were British this wouldn't seem that extreme or over the top? Once I had the context I felt the villian made more sense. So no stars off for that but it did impact how much I enjoyed the book.

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barbarella85's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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clairew97's review against another edition

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challenging dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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maaikereadsbooks_'s review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Many thanks to HarperCollins UK Audio and Juno Dawson for the advanced audio copy of Her Majesty’s Royal Coven via NetGalley, in return for my honest and unbiased review. Quick note: I don’t recap plots in my reviews, as it’s easy enough to read the book’s synopsis and blurbs, I purely focus on my feelings & opinions of how the books makes me feel.

If you’re looking for something light-hearted and flippant, this ain’t it! This book is deep, political, and heavy hitting. I’m not normally a fan of low/urban fantasy but I was very much gripped by this narrative and the narrator absolutely sealed the deal for me. There is obviously no accent/dialect that Nicola Coughlan can’t do.

When it comes to people politics, this book covers A LOT. At times it felt like Dawson was perhaps being a bit over-ambitious in trying to force too many issues into one book. However, in the end it was all balanced well, and the issues were raised for a reason and not just for clout.

The book does end on an absolute cliff-hanger, so be warned.

Note: this is very much an adult book, with graphic discussions of abuse, violence, sex and a LOT of swearing!

Spice: 3/5

Trigger warnings: Ableism, Abusive relationship, Animal abuse/death, Blood/Gore, Cheating, Child abuse, Death, Death of a family member, Drugs, Homophobia, Misgendering, Misogyny, Murder, PTSD, Racism, Sexism, Transphobia, Violence

Rating:

Story: 4.5/5

Audio: 5/5

Content Warnings