The Star Touched Queen No Spoiler Book Review
Hey lovelies!
Today I am going to be sharing with you a book review of one
of my very recent reads which is The Star Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi!
I had heard lovely things about this book and I really
wanted to give it a shot! It sounded like something I would enjoy and the cover
is gorgeous (which is always a bonus!). It is a standalone YA novel however, it
does have a companion novel coming out in 2017. I know everyone was very
excited at it being a standalone because of how rare that is in the YA world as
most books are trilogies and series!
It is also a diverse book (as in, it is written by a diverse
author or features diverse characters) and I thought that was such an important
aspect because I think it’s very important to read diverse books just to spread
awareness about different cultures and encourage more diverse books to be
written!
But let’s just get started with the review!
Thank you to Read At Midnight for the awesome wallpaper pictured on my phone above!
About the book.
Series: The Star Touched Queen (Book 1)
Author: Roshani Chokshi
Pages: 342
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Synopsis: Fate and fortune. Power and passion. What does it take to be the queen of a kingdom when you’re only seventeen?
Maya is cursed. With a horoscope that promises a marriage of death and destruction, she has earned only the scorn and fear of her father’s kingdom. Content to follow more scholarly pursuits, her whole world is torn apart when her father, the Raja, arranges a wedding of political convenience to quell outside rebellions. Soon Maya becomes the queen of Akaran and wife of Amar. Neither roles are what she expected: As Akaran’s queen, she finds her voice and power. As Amar’s wife, she finds something else entirely: Compassion. Protection. Desire…
But Akaran has its own secrets—thousands of locked doors, gardens of glass, and a tree that bears memories instead of fruit. Soon, Maya suspects her life is in danger. Yet who, besides her husband, can she trust? With the fate of the human and Otherworldly realms hanging in the balance, Maya must unravel an ancient mystery that spans reincarnated lives to save those she loves the most…including herself. (source)
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance
Recommended for: Anyone 12+.
This book was sent to me for review from Harlequin Teen and while I thank them for that, all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own and this is an honest review!
This book was sent to me for review from Harlequin Teen and while I thank them for that, all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own and this is an honest review!
My thoughts.
{ WRITING }
The writing of this book was so fabulous! I adored the poetic
prose that Chokshi has. Every sentence she wrote was like a work of art. It
seemed so carefully constructed and created such a vivid mental image. It also
worked really well with the vibrant and delicate style of the book and
complemented the world and idea extremely well.
The banter and slight humour used to add interest in the
book also gave it a whole new element. I loved the tension, mystery and
chemistry created between the two characters through her writing and it really
brought the whole book to life!
However, I will say that there were some parts where I was
VERY confused. I didn’t know what was going on or had to go back and re-read to
try and decipher what had happened, which really jarred my reading experience. There
were also some scenes that happened really quickly, without enough detail or
description. This was quite frustrating and it made me less eager to pick the
book up. I read this book in 4 days, which is a very long time for me as my average
reading time is usually 2-3 days.
{ IDEA }
I found the idea to so cool! The Star Touched Queen is a
Hades-Persephone retelling with Hindu influences and mythology. The way Chokshi
wove in Hindu perspectives into Greek mythology was very well done and it
flowed quite seamlessly. I was also quite impressed with the world that had
been created (although, as mentioned before, the lack of description made it
hard to fully picture).
I will add though that I would have liked some of the
mythology to be more clearly explained because at times, it became a mish-mash
of ideas and retellings.
{ PLOT }
The plot of this book was a little slow but quite suspense-filled,
which I really liked. There was some mystery and intrigue in this as none of
the characters were really predictable. I didn’t know who to trust, who was
good, who was bad and it had me very interested in the outcome!
In saying that, there were times where I found the mystery
created was a little forced and didn’t flow very smoothly.
However, I liked how the ending clarified a lot of questions
I had in my mind so it left me feeling good at the end. But I would have liked
some of these questions to be answered throughout the book so it would have
been less confusing.
{ CHARACTERS }
I feel quite neutral about the characters, which I am quite
sad about because this story is pretty character driven.
Maya is a head strong, bold character and I liked her wit, curiosity
and loyalty but I couldn’t connect with her. I found her to remain quite
distant from the readers and there weren’t moments where I could feel for her,
unfortunately.
I liked Amar a little more. I liked what a mysterious character
he was but nothing else other than that stood out to me.
The romance was really good though! And totally quote
worthy! It had the perfect amount of sizzle and sweetness! It was quite well
developed as well and realistic.
{ FINALLY }
Overall, I enjoyed this book quite a lot
and I cannot wait for the next book, A Crown Of Wishes. The let downs for me
was just the lack of explanation and if that is fixed up in A Crown Of Wishes, I
am sure I will love that one even more!
OVERALL RATING:
★★★★
2 happy thoughts
Ooh this one sounds amazing! I've seen it floating around a few months back, but never felt really interested in it. I mean, I love Indian cultures, they're beautiful, but I don't know much about them that I'm afraid it will feel disconnected with me! But now I know it's also a retelling of Hades and Persephone (which is one of my faves) I would definitely give it a try! I'm sorry about the characters though, it sucks when everything else is amazing but the character just fell flat :(
ReplyDeleteTasya // The Literary Huntress
Yay! I just love when I am able to convince people to try a book (no pressure or anything though, haha, still totally up to you!) And yes, the characters did fall a little flat but I still hope you enjoy it! :) (PS. Thank you for taking the time to comment on my blog, not only once but twice!)
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