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A review by amyvl93
Her Majesty's Royal Coven by Juno Dawson
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I so wanted to love this book and series, but this was a bit of a miss for me. Her Majesty's Royal Coven is set in an alternative contemporary UK, where witches and wizards exist and work for the government (sort of) through official covens and cabals which are hidden in plain sight from the 'mundane' population (HMRC - get it). The plot follows four women who were friends in childhood and who are all reeling from a recent magical civil war; Helena who is now the Head Witch of HMRC, Leonie who has established her own more inclusive coven, Niamh reeling from the loss of her husband and living her best vet life in Hebden Bridge and Elle who just wants her home life to stay perfect. They are thrown together again when Helena becomes convinced they are facing a mortal threat to their safety.
In terms of what did work well, whenever we side-barred away from the main plot to information about the world and the witch lore was really well crafted. I could have read a whole novel about the witches history - and to be honest, would have actually quite liked to read the novel about the events prior to this one. I also really liked Niamh as a protagonist, she felt the most rounded of the women whose heads we spend time in and again, a novel just following her using her healing powers to be a vet would have been a wholesome good time.
However, lots about this just didn't work for me. I found the prose to often feel quite juvenile, with the women feeling a lot younger than they actually were. There's so much slang and pop culture references in here, which felt very cringe and already aged the book despite it being a recent release. The teenage characters also didn't feel believable - a lot of their dialogue didn't feel at all recognisable as how teens actually speak to each other.
Many of the characters felt very shallowly defined by their identities with little space for nuance - Helena's villain arc ultimately felt quite a stretch, and Leonie seemed defined by her blackness and her queerness which feels at odds of the message of the book to see people as more than their identities. I agree with the messages that Dawson wants to get across here, but they felt quite heavy handed. This is a shame as there's such a need to challenge transphobic rhetoric, but I'm not sure if someone stumbling across this novel who may have other views would have their minds changed.
The ending also made me so mad it killed any vague notion I may have had of finishing the series...a miss for me; but many love it so may be one to check out if you want a pacey fantasy read.
In terms of what did work well, whenever we side-barred away from the main plot to information about the world and the witch lore was really well crafted. I could have read a whole novel about the witches history - and to be honest, would have actually quite liked to read the novel about the events prior to this one. I also really liked Niamh as a protagonist, she felt the most rounded of the women whose heads we spend time in and again, a novel just following her using her healing powers to be a vet would have been a wholesome good time.
However, lots about this just didn't work for me. I found the prose to often feel quite juvenile, with the women feeling a lot younger than they actually were. There's so much slang and pop culture references in here, which felt very cringe and already aged the book despite it being a recent release. The teenage characters also didn't feel believable - a lot of their dialogue didn't feel at all recognisable as how teens actually speak to each other.
Many of the characters felt very shallowly defined by their identities with little space for nuance - Helena's villain arc ultimately felt quite a stretch, and Leonie seemed defined by her blackness and her queerness which feels at odds of the message of the book to see people as more than their identities. I agree with the messages that Dawson wants to get across here, but they felt quite heavy handed. This is a shame as there's such a need to challenge transphobic rhetoric, but I'm not sure if someone stumbling across this novel who may have other views would have their minds changed.
The ending also made me so mad it killed any vague notion I may have had of finishing the series...a miss for me; but many love it so may be one to check out if you want a pacey fantasy read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia
Moderate: Grief