In December and January, TBR & Beyond did a group read of The Star-Touched Queen & A Crown of Wishes. After reading Aru Shah, I was really interested in the author’s other work. Because I read both books pretty close together in time, I decided to do a mini review for each book and post them together!

If you want to see what I thought of these two books, keep on reading!

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.

Review

Roshani has an amazing way with words and I think it distracted me just a bit too much in this book at times. At times, I would really have to think about what I had just read, because it just didn’t register with me at the time. Her writing is a disadvantage at times, because I didn’t dive in the story as easily!

That being said, The Star-Touched Queen was an amazing story. I love the author’s take on mythology and learned about things I hadn’t heard of before reading this book. This world is quite interesting and I would love to visit all the places she visited.

The characters were also very interesting. Maya learns her horoscope doesn’t dictate her life as much as she believes and that fate goes differently than she expected. I loved the aspects of visiting different places through mirrors. The romance in this book didn’t go as easily as it does in many young adult books these days and I loved that it had bumps along the way.

All in all, The Star-Touched Queen is a beautiful story filled with life lessons, learning about yourself and who to trust. A bad fortune doesn’t always control your life. There is even a very odd unicorn in this book!

From the author of The Star-Touched Queen comes a beautiful lush fantasy, Roshani Chokshi’s A Crown of Wishes.

Gauri, the princess of Bharata, has been taken as a prisoner of war by her kingdom’s enemies. Faced with a future of exile and scorn, Gauri has nothing left to lose. Hope unexpectedly comes in the form of Vikram, the cunning prince of a neighboring land and her sworn enemy kingdom. Unsatisfied with becoming a mere puppet king, Vikram offers Gauri a chance to win back her kingdom in exchange for her battle prowess. Together, they’ll have to set aside their differences and team up to win the Tournament of Wishes – a competition held in a mythical city where the Lord of Wealth promises a wish to the victor.

Reaching the tournament is just the beginning. Once they arrive, danger takes on new shapes: poisonous courtesans and mischievous story birds, a feast of fears and twisted fairy revels.

Every which way they turn new trials will test their wit and strength. But what Gauri and Vikram will soon discover is that there’s nothing more dangerous than what they most desire.

Review

A Crown of Wishes isn’t a sequel to The Star-Touched Queen, but a companion novel. This book follows Gauri (Maya’s sister). Gauri is helf captive and ends up on a journey with a prince to try and win her kingdom back while he finds his way to win a wish.

I noticed that I read this book a bit easier than The Star-Touched Queen. The author’s writing is still magical, but I think I connected to Gauri a lot faster than with Maya. All Gauri wants is her Kingdom back from her brother who is cruel. She wants to see change.

They’re off to the Tournament of Wishes and if they are able to get through the tournament, they get their heart’s wish granted. Once again we get a book filled with mythology and lessons. Wishes can have consequences and for certain desires you have to make sacrifices.

Gauri and Vikram are both strong characters and really just want what’s best for their kingdom and to be seen as who they are. Trusting each other in the beginning is hard. Even though they fight and tease, they do work well together.

The magical creatures, mulptiple POV, trials and the ending were really interesting. I enjoyed how everything played out. The romance between Gauri and Vikram developed slowly and I can understand how that changed along the way. I think this book would’ve been just as strong without the romance though.

All in all, I really enjoyed both books and am still amazed by this author’s writing! What was the last author that impressed you with their magical way with words?