A review by warlocksarecool21
Her Majesty's Royal Coven by Juno Dawson

adventurous dark emotional hopeful medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Overall, I thought it was a fun book that played with the common lore around witches. The strength of this book was the relevant discussion around intersectional feminism and the pervasive transphobia that has cropped up in both the social and political consciousness of this day and age. I think it does a good job exploring why some people, white cis women especially, cling so hard to transphobic rhetoric and how they’re actually hurting themselves in the process. The book also touches on the perils of white feminism and why it is necessary to approach the dismantling of the patriarchy and white supremacy with an intersectional feminist lense. While I definitely appreciate that the author tackled these issues, as transphobia is rampant right now, I do think it’s presented in a way that’s meant to be for a reader who’s never really considered these things before. I definitely think that it’s important to have these kinds of books, but I think if you’ve already engaged with queer and feminist theory (and if you’re queer and/or BIPOC) you probably already understand all this and might think it’s a little heavy-handed. It’s a definitely a response to the bigotry of a certain British children’s fantasy author and the rancid politics of the UK recently, so I understand why the author took the approach they did. You still might appreciate it but I did feel that this book is not necessarily for younger queer people and experienced activists. 

All that being said, I did really enjoy Theo’s character and how Niamh stepped up to care for her (and raised hell on her behalf). They were my favorite part of the book and I thought their bond was very sweet. I also loved seeing Theo’s journey of self-discovery and the trans joy that she experiences. I enjoyed the other characters (except Helena🤢) but I didn’t really resonate with them. They did have distinct personalities, but I feel like their problems were just a little too millenial for me to care about and I think the writing was generic enough that I wasn’t further moved to be invested in them. I do hope Leonie’s character is centered more in the next book, I think her story has a lot to say and I wanted to see more of her Diaspora coven (which is for non-white witches). 

 My rating is lower, because the writing was kind of cliche at times. Don’t get me wrong, it was fun and witty, but nothing really groundbreaking. I think if you like watching blockbuster movies you’d have fun with this. I will probably read the next book because I was not expecting the cliffhanger at the very end. Again, it’s a fun witchy book with social commentary, and if you haven’t thought much about transphobia and feminism you might find it to be reflective. 

(There is a lot of graphic transphobic rhetoric in the perspective of one of the characters, Helena, so be aware of that if it might be upsetting to you.) 
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