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wishbea's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
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? Yes
4.0
A gripping storyline all the way through with highly emotive themes and dynamic characters. The plot was intriguing and difficult to predict, the magic system was fun to learn about and I loved how it was linked to nature.
It was wonderful to read a fantasy story from the perspective of adult women, where many of them have kids/kid charges and it's an accomplishment that the children were all dynamic characters and not frustrating to read about or detrimental to the plot in a way they sometimes are. Themes of motherhood and found family are very strong here.
The romances and friendships all felt organic to me and I was definitely rooting for the budding new romance in the book.
The trans storyline was by far the strongest and was what made this book 5 stars for me, it used a great many talking points I've heard from trans people, allies and TERFs so it was bone chilling how accurate to real life the arguments the characters were having felt.
We also get POC characters and lesbian characters, but their struggles were sidelined somewhat and I am hoping they will get their chance to shine in the next book.
I'm glad the second book is out because I can't wait to read it and find out where these characters go next.
Edit: After reading the second book I've changed my rating to 4 stars as I realised the ending to this book destroys multiple characters storylines and is partially responsible for book 2 being disappointing.
It was wonderful to read a fantasy story from the perspective of adult women, where many of them have kids/kid charges and it's an accomplishment that the children were all dynamic characters and not frustrating to read about or detrimental to the plot in a way they sometimes are. Themes of motherhood and found family are very strong here.
The romances and friendships all felt organic to me and I was definitely rooting for the budding new romance in the book.
The trans storyline was by far the strongest and was what made this book 5 stars for me, it used a great many talking points I've heard from trans people, allies and TERFs so it was bone chilling how accurate to real life the arguments the characters were having felt.
We also get POC characters and lesbian characters, but their struggles were sidelined somewhat and I am hoping they will get their chance to shine in the next book.
I'm glad the second book is out because I can't wait to read it and find out where these characters go next.
Edit: After reading the second book I've changed my rating to 4 stars as I realised the ending to this book destroys multiple characters storylines and is partially responsible for book 2 being disappointing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia, Kidnapping, and Death of parent
Moderate: Ableism, Animal death, Body horror, Infidelity, Racism, Sexual content, Blood, Car accident, Murder, Outing, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Eating disorder, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
risaleel's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
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? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racism, Transphobia, Death of parent, Outing, and War
Moderate: Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Confinement, Drug use, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
lintybird's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
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? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Transphobia, Violence, Outing, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
marwal's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deadnaming and Transphobia
Moderate: Murder, Outing, Toxic friendship, War, and Classism
percys_panda_pillow_pet's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This might be the longest review yet on my page. I may also include minor spoilers for the first time as there were very specific character and plot choices I wanted to bring attention to. Due to how the spoiler system works, I will save these insights for the very end.
Alright. So Her Majesty's Royal Coven by Juno Dawson was a book I had gotten last Christmas after I had put it on my list. I knew it was LGBTQ+ from the tags on the book online and I knew it was about witches, and that was enough for me (as well, the bright pink cover for the UK version was gorgeous).
When I started the book, I got immediately sucked into the story and characters, something that I felt was a bit unusual as even the most interesting books tend to have a slow start as I get used to the setting/characters/set-up. However, from the start, I could tell that Juno Dawson did a fantastic job of balancing each character's POV, creating unique and interesting threads for every POV to feel separate and not blend together, but not too separate that one POV may have been preferred over another. As well, the linking of plot threads between the POVs was perfect, and I was always ready to hear what was going to happen next, no matter the character that narrated. In fact, I was very anticipatory about how each character would react to the situations at hand.
That was the easy praise, now let's get into the tougher stuff. I have mixed feelings about how Dawson presented her main themes and ideas. On one hand, I am a fan of R.F. Kuang, who also tends to be heavy-handed with the themes and points she is trying to make in her books. Sometimes messages can't be subtle and need to be in your face to understand them. Sometimes the lack of subtlety really works as a tool to inform readers that they shouldn't misinterpret this important message of the author, it's literally written plainly in the text. As well, there are a lot of people for whom ignorance is a bliss they can afford and this is a way to wake those people up and force them to see what everyone else sees.
On the other hand, I felt like Dawson was even more heavy-handed than Kuang with her main message in this book. There was so much just obviously written out that I almost wanted to cringe at the lack of subtlety. As well, I found myself annoyed at a few of the celebrity author reviews inside the book that praised it for its use of metaphor. A metaphor implies a need for deeper reading and possible different interpretations. This was not a metaphor, it was not a commentary, it was a direct message to the masses. Even as someone who tends to enjoy a lack of subtlety in writing once and a while, the extreme length to which this author went even had me wishing for a more keen writing style, allowing for more work done by the reader. I do not blame anyone who does not or would not like this book because of that writing style.
That isn't to say that the book completely lacked metaphors, which I will go into soon. However, before I mark my spoilers, I lastly wanted to comment on the word choices within this book. Dawson is queer and she has her own experiences to draw from. However, there was a feeling while reading that I wasn't reading a book, but rather scrolling on the internet. I don't like to say when something was "trying too hard" to be inclusive, as it can often be taken the wrong way. I was drawn to this book because of its inclusivity and diversity. But, I did feel as though it was "too much" for just one book to cover. There was a feeling of "trying too hard" because there was so much effort to address all sorts of issues. While I am glad for the attempt, I feel as though the book suffered for it, and it would've been better to focus on a singular issue (understanding, of course, that oftentimes these issues are intersectional). The book didn't quite fail in my mind, rather, it just wasn't done as well as I had thought it should've been.
Now into the spoilers. Something I really enjoyed as a metaphor was Helena representing white feminism and cosying up to Hale, who represents facism, the patriarchy, and supremacism. She viewed herself as better for being a witch, one from a long legacy of other (white and rich) witches. She was a genuinely complex character for the most part, and I enjoyed her internal issues of feeling inadequate because of her mother but also believing that as a woman in power, she had to present a certain face. I do feel like as the plot went on, she became more caricatured, with no reasoning behind her bigotry except a need to maintain control over the status quo, which felt like a weak reason to me. Helena's type of bigotry is sewn into her life from birth due to propaganda persisting in the rest of society of othering certain types of people.
Dawson as well added the hint that Helena may have been abused at the hand of her lovers. It could've worked as an angle for her character if done better. It would've made sense within the metaphor of Helena representing white feminism, and how white women had certain power for their skin color, their gender will still be oppressed by the patriarchy. However, at the moment it just felt like a cop-out and an excuse that Helena had issues and that's why she was being awful.
I cannot say for certain that it wasn't on purpose that Helena slowly became a caricature of a villainous bigot. Perhaps as well, the sudden introduction of trauma from her past was meant to be a commentary on how bigotry is always trying to be excused for a sad sob story of how hard life can be. I am not sure what the intention was, and I'm not as concerned with it. The way it was written just didn't seem done well to me, and I felt the writing could've been stronger.
Focusing on another aspect of the story, as I said above, Dawson is queer and I won't question her experiences and what this book means to her. However, from a writing perspective, I felt like the plot was a little lost when Theo was outed/came out as trans. It's hard to say, as I do understand that a big part of the book was meant to focus on this storyline. This is the reason Helena becomes the villain. But there is a solid section of the book where all the magic is lost, all the lore and prophecy hearing and witchy vibes are gone in favor of a contemporary story about a teen coming out as trans. I just felt like it took over a bit too much and could've used a bit more balance. I was also going to talk about Theo's transformation at the end, but with Dawson's experiences and my own perspective being different, I didn't feel comfortable critiquing it fully. All I will say is that I didn't really know how I felt about the magical transition. It wasn't positive or negative, just middling.
Finally, to wrap up this LONG review, I want to pose a simple question: Who is this book for? Now a book can be for anyone, people can read what they want. But a book, like any other form of media or advertising or construct, can have a specific audience it is catering towards or aimed at. So who was supposed to read this book? Someone like me who already agreed with the author's feelings on the themes and messages? Someone who is vehemently against those things? Someone who is on the fence? I'm not entirely sure, and I feel like knowing exactly what audience this book was meant for would help a lot in solidifying its purpose. And it does have a purpose, that is for certain. What do you think?
Alright. So Her Majesty's Royal Coven by Juno Dawson was a book I had gotten last Christmas after I had put it on my list. I knew it was LGBTQ+ from the tags on the book online and I knew it was about witches, and that was enough for me (as well, the bright pink cover for the UK version was gorgeous).
When I started the book, I got immediately sucked into the story and characters, something that I felt was a bit unusual as even the most interesting books tend to have a slow start as I get used to the setting/characters/set-up. However, from the start, I could tell that Juno Dawson did a fantastic job of balancing each character's POV, creating unique and interesting threads for every POV to feel separate and not blend together, but not too separate that one POV may have been preferred over another. As well, the linking of plot threads between the POVs was perfect, and I was always ready to hear what was going to happen next, no matter the character that narrated. In fact, I was very anticipatory about how each character would react to the situations at hand.
That was the easy praise, now let's get into the tougher stuff. I have mixed feelings about how Dawson presented her main themes and ideas. On one hand, I am a fan of R.F. Kuang, who also tends to be heavy-handed with the themes and points she is trying to make in her books. Sometimes messages can't be subtle and need to be in your face to understand them. Sometimes the lack of subtlety really works as a tool to inform readers that they shouldn't misinterpret this important message of the author, it's literally written plainly in the text. As well, there are a lot of people for whom ignorance is a bliss they can afford and this is a way to wake those people up and force them to see what everyone else sees.
On the other hand, I felt like Dawson was even more heavy-handed than Kuang with her main message in this book. There was so much just obviously written out that I almost wanted to cringe at the lack of subtlety. As well, I found myself annoyed at a few of the celebrity author reviews inside the book that praised it for its use of metaphor. A metaphor implies a need for deeper reading and possible different interpretations. This was not a metaphor, it was not a commentary, it was a direct message to the masses. Even as someone who tends to enjoy a lack of subtlety in writing once and a while, the extreme length to which this author went even had me wishing for a more keen writing style, allowing for more work done by the reader. I do not blame anyone who does not or would not like this book because of that writing style.
That isn't to say that the book completely lacked metaphors, which I will go into soon. However, before I mark my spoilers, I lastly wanted to comment on the word choices within this book. Dawson is queer and she has her own experiences to draw from. However, there was a feeling while reading that I wasn't reading a book, but rather scrolling on the internet. I don't like to say when something was "trying too hard" to be inclusive, as it can often be taken the wrong way. I was drawn to this book because of its inclusivity and diversity. But, I did feel as though it was "too much" for just one book to cover. There was a feeling of "trying too hard" because there was so much effort to address all sorts of issues. While I am glad for the attempt, I feel as though the book suffered for it, and it would've been better to focus on a singular issue (understanding, of course, that oftentimes these issues are intersectional). The book didn't quite fail in my mind, rather, it just wasn't done as well as I had thought it should've been.
Now into the spoilers. Something I really enjoyed as a metaphor was
Dawson as well added the hint that Helena may have been abused at the hand of her lovers. It could've worked as an angle for her character if done better. It would've made sense within the metaphor of Helena representing white feminism, and how white women had certain power for their skin color, their gender will still be oppressed by the patriarchy. However, at the moment it just felt like a cop-out and an excuse that Helena had issues and that's why she was being awful.
I cannot say for certain that it wasn't on purpose that Helena slowly became a caricature of a villainous bigot. Perhaps as well, the sudden introduction of trauma from her past was meant to be a commentary on how bigotry is always trying to be excused for a sad sob story of how hard life can be. I am not sure what the intention was, and I'm not as concerned with it. The way it was written just didn't seem done well to me, and I felt the writing could've been stronger.
Focusing on another aspect of the story, as I said above, Dawson is queer and I won't question her experiences and what this book means to her. However,
Finally, to wrap up this LONG review, I want to pose a simple question: Who is this book for? Now a book can be for anyone, people can read what they want. But a book, like any other form of media or advertising or construct, can have a specific audience it is catering towards or aimed at. So who was supposed to read this book? Someone like me who already agreed with the author's feelings on the themes and messages? Someone who is vehemently against those things? Someone who is on the fence? I'm not entirely sure, and I feel like knowing exactly what audience this book was meant for would help a lot in solidifying its purpose. And it does have a purpose, that is for certain. What do you think?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia and Outing
bookishwondergoth's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
informative
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
4.0
I loved this book. It was well written, modern, fresh and topical and full of twists and turns.
I see from other reviews people have commented that the writing style seems too informal and littered with slang and references that are shoe-horned in. I personally don't agree with this criticism at all. The informality works for its contemporary setting. Also, Niamh and the relationship she has with her friends and their children felt very familiar to me and my own experiences as an adult who lived as a child through the 90s.
I also really enjoyed the examinations of intersectional feminism (or the lack of it in many white women) and its flat-out codemnation of TERFism. This was very clearly written in response to J. K. Rowling's transphobic essay published in 2020. It's not subtle, but then TERFs are not at all subtle with their transphobia in the UK, so did I care? No. Fuck TERFs. Their mindset makes ZERO sense and Juno Dawson does a really good job of showing just how completely nonsensical it is.
I do think there are some segments that could have been better fleshed out/made relevant to the main story (pretty much everything to do with Leonie and her breakaway coven, Diaspora). However, this is the first book in a trilogy, and in the author Q&A with Juno Dawson I attended a couple of weeks ago, she told us that Leonie comes more into play in subsequent books.
I also seriously disagree with those pointing out that for a book about feminism, the women are awfully divided and therefore the book is not feminist. That is the point. Division over these issues is not feminist because the division is caused by bigotry and intolerance. Therefore the people who do not fight for the rights of women—all women, including transwomen and BIPOC women—are not feminist and they absolutely must be challenged in their views. We're all getting fucked over by the patriarchy here, some moreso than others. Acknowledging that divide, difference, and the very real divisions in friendships and families who disagree over fundamental human rights is important.
This book made me really really angry in the best way and I can't wait to read the next one. Might have to borrow it from a friend as the copy I plan to buy isn't due for dispatch until November, gah.
Anyway, loved it. Highly recommended.
I see from other reviews people have commented that the writing style seems too informal and littered with slang and references that are shoe-horned in. I personally don't agree with this criticism at all. The informality works for its contemporary setting. Also, Niamh and the relationship she has with her friends and their children felt very familiar to me and my own experiences as an adult who lived as a child through the 90s.
I also really enjoyed the examinations of intersectional feminism (or the lack of it in many white women) and its flat-out codemnation of TERFism. This was very clearly written in response to J. K. Rowling's transphobic essay published in 2020. It's not subtle, but then TERFs are not at all subtle with their transphobia in the UK, so did I care? No. Fuck TERFs. Their mindset makes ZERO sense and Juno Dawson does a really good job of showing just how completely nonsensical it is.
I do think there are some segments that could have been better fleshed out/made relevant to the main story (pretty much everything to do with Leonie and her breakaway coven, Diaspora). However, this is the first book in a trilogy, and in the author Q&A with Juno Dawson I attended a couple of weeks ago, she told us that Leonie comes more into play in subsequent books.
I also seriously disagree with those pointing out that for a book about feminism, the women are awfully divided and therefore the book is not feminist. That is the point. Division over these issues is not feminist because the division is caused by bigotry and intolerance. Therefore the people who do not fight for the rights of women—all women, including transwomen and BIPOC women—are not feminist and they absolutely must be challenged in their views. We're all getting fucked over by the patriarchy here, some moreso than others. Acknowledging that divide, difference, and the very real divisions in friendships and families who disagree over fundamental human rights is important.
This book made me really really angry in the best way and I can't wait to read the next one. Might have to borrow it from a friend as the copy I plan to buy isn't due for dispatch until November, gah.
Anyway, loved it. Highly recommended.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Transphobia, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, Outing, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and War
Moderate: Animal death, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Lesbophobia, and Injury/Injury detail
shadereads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia, Murder, and Outing
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Domestic abuse and War
traa's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Dysphoria, and War
Moderate: Fatphobia and Outing
Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic
th18's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Heres a few points I noted down whilst reading:
- Fast pace and seemed more YA than anything, too many modern references for me personally but each to their own.
- This also felt like the second book of the series at the start there was just so much unexplained things thrown in.
- Whilst the book did deal with modern topics such as race and trans rights, I wish it also talked a bit about harmful beauty standards due to Elle literally hiding her true self from her husband.
- I feel like the amount of swear words was also unnneeded.
- I love the idea of queer witches and empowered modern women but I feel like the talk about adulthood was very bleak
- The writing and worldbuilding also felt quite underdeveloped which was disappointing
- Finally the use of the d slur was completely unneeded
Although I've only mentioned the negatives, I did have an okay time reading this and it was quite engaging but it could definitely have been better.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Transphobia, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Dysphoria, and Classism
Minor: Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Abortion, Outing, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment
axel_p's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Slay
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Kidnapping, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, and Outing
Minor: Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Transphobia, Violence, Pregnancy, and War