Reviews with content warning for Child abuse - Her Majesty's Royal Coven

Juno Dawson never disappoints, this book is the perfect potion of feminism, witches, and transphobia. (Weird to say I love a book so much that has transphobia, but trust me it's worth it)
I went into this book not sure what to expect, I've only ever read Dawson's nonfiction works before, so I wasn't sure how that would translate to a fantasy story. I did kind of expect (or hope!) for there to be elements of queerness, identity, and transness explored. To say I was blown away would be an understatement! Her Majesty's Royal Coven explores transphobia, feminism, race, the corruption of power, and fear.
People always seem to forget that hate doesn't just appear out of nowhere one day. People don't just turn around and decide to be evil and hateful. It is more like a slow shift, people fall down different pipelines, or don't deal with their past trauma. Maybe they are around unhealthy environments that unintentionally (or intentionally) push an agenda of power and fear. The characters in this are all still reeling from the Witch civil war, and grieving in their own ways. Whether that leads them to insulate in their own communities, push people away, or become power hungry tyrants all depends on the individual and their support system.
I feel like I am making this sound like some dark and emotional book that is going to lead you traumatized, and that couldn't be further from the truth. While there are a lot of difficult topics and themes, at its heart is such a thread of hope and found family. Proving that no matter what happens, as long as you allow yourself to trust and be loved everything might just turn out to be okay.
This is a book that I want to bring out of my pocket when there are conversations around representation and intersectionality. (Look kids it's possible for a white author to write good representation!)
I am a self professed cliff-hanger hater, this is the only exception where I can say it was done well and I enjoyed it. (Though I am lucky to be in possession of the second book, so there was definitely a cushion there)
I would 100000000000000000000000% recommend this, perfect for anytime of the year be it spooky season, or just something to really fall into, I can't wait to read the second book.

Content Warnings

written_between_the_stars's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny 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

4.5

This started pretty slow and it took the first 200 pages until I really settled into the story, but damn introducing each character and their dynamics paid off so much in the end. I was so invested. The atmosphere was also a lot cozier than expected.

A feminist book about witches with a queer chosen one and the villain is JK Rowling/terf coded. Hell yes!!!

This gave me all the complex, Gilmore Girls, Witch Club, Jennifer's Body, Yellowjackets, feminine rage/complexity/friendship vibes I wanted. It just was so 💗girly💗 and fem. You know those posts about how there's always a majority male cast in books and like one woman. In HER MAJESTY'S ROYAL COVEN you won't have this problem. It's the opposite. Basically every character is a woman or girl in this. With the exception of the side characters.

This book is so many different genres depending on whose POV you're reading from. It was thriller, cottage core cozy fantasy, horror, coming of age and 90s/early 2000s romance movie all in one. It highlighted the camaraderie of womanhood without ignoring the ugly/competitive parts of being in a "girl friendship group" and the racism/queerphobia of white feminism.

This easily could've been told through the teenagers' POV in this story (a few of the MCs are mothers) but I'm so glad it wasn't the hundredth version of the "Chosen One" or "16 year old realizing she has powers". I love that we follow these very different types of thirty-something women/witches through a slice of their mundane and magic life instead. With a big magical boom at the end. It was basically Sex & the City + Magic. Such a fresh take on common tropes. I already ordered the sequel!

Content Warnings

tofi_15's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous 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? Yes

4.75

Content Warnings

l4urenf13's review

Go to review page

adventurous mysterious tense medium-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

5.0

Content Warnings

tiredcreature's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

There is a core of a solid criticism of white cishet feminism in there, but ultimately all the intersectional characters act as backdrop and support to a conflict between two white cishet women, and the whole thing falls flat

Content Warnings

bookishwondergoth's review against another edition

Go to review page

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.

Content Warnings

More...