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queer_bookwyrm's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
3.5 ⭐ CW: violence, descriptions of blood and corpses, war
The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi is the fist book in the Star-Touched Queen duology. This book is packed full of Indian mythology and fairy tale lore, and it was refreshing to read something so different. I don't know that I will read the next book though.
We follow Maya, a girl living in a harem who is reviled by all simply because of her dark horoscope predicting a marriage of death and destruction. Her father plans a wedding ceremony where she is to choose a husband to stop the wars, but all goes wrong and she is left with only one choice, and he doesn't live in the mortal world.
We get a glimpse of Indian fairy tales and storytelling. I was fascinated by the mythical creatures and the rich descriptions. My favorite character was a talking, flesh-eating horse named Kamala. Yes, you read that right. Horse. She was sassy and annoying and charming all at the same time.
Unfortunately, I found this have a very slow start. I feel like the book didn't really hit its stride until the 200 page mark (the book is only 339 pages long) and everything just happened all at once at the end. Although Maya was willful and strong as an MC, I found Amar lacking. We didn't get enough of him in order to trust him. I just felt like this fell a little flat for me for some reason. It just doesn't have that...something.
Here's hoping I enjoy The Gilded Wolves more.
The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi is the fist book in the Star-Touched Queen duology. This book is packed full of Indian mythology and fairy tale lore, and it was refreshing to read something so different. I don't know that I will read the next book though.
We follow Maya, a girl living in a harem who is reviled by all simply because of her dark horoscope predicting a marriage of death and destruction. Her father plans a wedding ceremony where she is to choose a husband to stop the wars, but all goes wrong and she is left with only one choice, and he doesn't live in the mortal world.
We get a glimpse of Indian fairy tales and storytelling. I was fascinated by the mythical creatures and the rich descriptions. My favorite character was a talking, flesh-eating horse named Kamala. Yes, you read that right. Horse. She was sassy and annoying and charming all at the same time.
Unfortunately, I found this have a very slow start. I feel like the book didn't really hit its stride until the 200 page mark (the book is only 339 pages long) and everything just happened all at once at the end. Although Maya was willful and strong as an MC, I found Amar lacking. We didn't get enough of him in order to trust him. I just felt like this fell a little flat for me for some reason. It just doesn't have that...something.
Here's hoping I enjoy The Gilded Wolves more.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Blood, and War
00phantom's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-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? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Blood, Suicide attempt, and Murder
Minor: Vomit
bookcaptivated's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, and Blood