A review by carireadsbooksandtarot
Her Majesty's Royal Coven by Juno Dawson

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny 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? It's complicated

5.0

 
Her Majesty’s Royal Coven- Juno Dawson. 5 Stars. 
 
I really don’t understand why this book isn’t getting more hype in the bookish community. I don’t remember where I heard about it but I became intrigued. I don’t read a lot of fantasy and am very particular about what kind of fantasy I enjoy so I was skeptical about this book. It turned out to be far beyond what I expected. 
 
The story takes place in modern-day UK, non-magical people (referred to as “mundanes”) are unaware of the existence of witches. We follow four characters, Helena, Elle, Leonie, and Niamh, who have been bound together since childhood as they are among the dwindling number of witches left in the world. Inducted into Her Majesty’s Royal Coven at a young age, the women survive a war together and 8 years later have chosen individual paths. Helena is now High Priestess of HMRC, Leonie has started her own coven that is more open and accepting of marginalized witches, Niamh is a small-town veterinarian, and Elle is happily living as a housewife. 
 
Helena, Niamh, Elle, and Leonie are all brought back together when a prophecy warns of a child who will bring rise to Leviathan, a demon defeated and imprisoned in the earth centuries ago. This child is identified as a terrified teenager named Theo, who has unusually strong powers. Helena thinks the best way to protect the coven is to imprison or destroy Theo, but agrees to allow Niamh the chance to train him and try to avoid the prophecy. Soon, all four friends are pulled into the fray, trying to do the right thing for witches, the world, and Theo. 
 
I was completely hooked from the start. Dawson has created a unique magical world that is complex and believable. She does such an excellent job drawing the reader in, feeding bits of information, so that I always wanted to know more and never felt confused or overwhelmed. All the characters have unique personalities, even as the chapters switch between the four characters, I never felt lost or forgot which character I was following. Most brilliant of all, Dawson brings in modern-day social issues around race and gender in a way that doesn’t feel forced or dramatic. 
 
If you are a fan of any kind of fantasy, you’ll likely enjoy this. If you are more of a fantasy sceptic like myself but enjoy the occasional magical romp, choose this book. Love Harry Potter? This is right up your alley if you’ve been looking for something to fill that void. If you like seeing more diversity in fantasy, and books in general, Dawson has you covered. I keep thinking about what kind of witch I would be in the world of HMRC. I think I’d be a healer or sentient, an air witch. If you read, or have already read, this book, what kind of witch are you? I want someone to talk about this book with! 
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