Book Review: Her Majesty's Royal Coven by Juno Dawson

Y'all know I love my witches. This is another Fairyloot novel. I might not have discovered it if it didn't come with my subscription.

This novel begins with a prologue setting up the main characters as a group of friends in the nineties. They're witches and love 90s pop culture. I didn't think it was necessary, because there were so many references throughout the book that could have accomplished both their found family relationships and their love of the culture.

From the start of the novel, I had trouble keeping up with each character and who was who. This is a challenge when you have a large cast of characters. I found that most of the voices weren't varied enough for me to understand who was who until about midway through the book.

That said, I thoroughly enjoyed the story. I loved seeing how the author adapted a Charmed-esque world into modern society.

One of the friends from the group is now the High Priestes of Her Majesty's Royal Coven--a secret society that is in the background of everything that's happened over the last century. Others have left the coven since a war ten years ago, and one of them even branched off to form their own coven - Diaspora.

One thing I have to highlight is the diversity in this novel. You had characters of color, LGBTQ! rep, and one of the main storylines was about a young character coming to terms with their gender. I thought it was really good. I would love to speak with trans people that have read this book to see what their perspective of the novel was good. As a CIS woman, I can't truly understand or relate to that journey, but I thought it was well done, except for the magical fix at the end (this could be really harmful to trans people).

Overall, the political intrigue and loose ends have convinced me to read into the next novel.

My only complaint is that there were a lot of events that happened ten years prior to this--a whole war, in fact--and I sort of wish the series started there instead of here.

Abbie

From Page to Screen: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

I adore the dystopian genre. About ten years ago, it was HUGE. One of the biggest dystopian series out there was The Hunger Games!

The BOOK

The first time I read this novel, I was hooked. From the moment Katniss volunteers as tribute, I was glued to the wild ride this story would be.

Almost everyone knows the story, so I won't recount that here. If you enjoy young adult and dystopian stories like Divergent and the Maze Runner, you will absolutely love this one.

One of my favorite things about Katniss is that she is literally just trying to live her life. She's trying to survive. She wants to make sure that her family can eat the next year. She's not thinking about glory or breaking the system. That part of it gets thrust on her when people read into her attempt to save herself and Peeta at the end as some political statement. I can relate a lot to not having control of your life, as well as having to live in a world that tries to make you out to be something you're not.

Of note, I was torn between Peeta and Gale until Catching Fire, when Peeta said "...but the baby..."

The MOVIE

No one can convince me that this movie was not perfectly cast. From Jennifer Lawrence to Woody Harrelson, to Elizabeth Banks, each and every single actor portrayed the characters from the novel so well.

I loved getting to see the world written by Collins on the big screen. Dystopian is my favorite genre, and I love seeing what the world is like after it ends. This one was no different. I enjoyed getting to see life in the districts versus the capitol. I loved getting to see the fancy costumes of those who live in the capital.

My least favorite thing is how much of Katniss's inner thoughts you lose from the page to the screen. Jennifer Lawrence did an amazing job portraying most of what Katniss is thinking, but there were so many moments in the book that I absolutely wished would have been able to be on screen.

Rue's death gets me every. single. time.

I loved getting to see what was happening in the capitol while the games were on. Seeing Haymitch negotiate for Katniss was really great, and something we missed out on in the novel, since it was Katniss's perspective. Plus, Woody Harrelson is just perfection in that role.

I didn't like some of the changes they made. Mainly, the final battle in the arena when the dogs come running. They were supposed to actually look like the fallen tributes. I also didn't like that Peeta and Katniss weren't nearly as beat up as they were in the book. I mean, Peeta needed a prosthetic leg after the games.

Final THOUGHTS

Overall, I wasn't unhappy with the adaptation from page to screen. I love when Hollywood gets it as right as they can, given that they can't just have narration over the entire thing. Most people have already read and/or seen this movie, but...there's nothing to say you can't re-watch it! :)

Abbie

Book Review: Twin Crowns by Katherine Webber & Catherine Doyle

This book came in one of my subscription boxes. I can't remember which one, honestly, and it was a bit of a bonus book. In starting my reads of 2023, I decided to tackle the thickest books first, and this one was definitely thick. I had no knowledge of the authors, but it was a fantasy romance, which sounded right up my alley.

This novel begins by introducing our two main characters: Rose and Wren. Twins, but Rose doesn't know that.

When Wren and her friend Shen infiltrate Princess Rose's bedroom to kidnap her, Wren stays behind to take her place.

You see, no one knows Wren exists. Their parents were killed the night of their birth and no one knows two babies were born that night. The Kingsbreath, Willem Rathborne, set the narrative that a witch midwife murdered them and fled in the night. This was a great example of how who controls the narrative can shape an entire world.

Shen steals Rose away in the night. She awakes in the middle of the desert, astride a horse with an unfamiliar man. They are traveling. To where? Rose has no idea.

Meanwhile, Wren is doing what she was raised to do: fit in to the castle and take down the Kingsbreath, then make Eana a safe place for witches.

Overall, I enjoyed this story. There were two romance arcs, and I really enjoyed it, but I would have liked to see the authors push a little harder to show the heat between both couples. They could have taken Wren's story much further and I think it would have made the ending satisfying.

Still, if you're looking for a good fantasy romance, I would absolutely recommend this one!

Abbie