Hello, friends! Here I am again for a bullet-point review of a book… that was quite popular a little while ago around the blogosphere.
The book
Roshani Chokshi, The Star-Touched Queen, Published by St Martin’s Griffin, April 26th, 2016.
Fate and fortune. Power and passion. What does it take to be the queen of a kingdom when youāre 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 fatherās 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 Akaranās queen, she finds her voice and power. As Amarās wife, she finds something else entirely: Compassion. Protection. Desireā¦
But Akaran has its own secretsāthousands 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 mostā¦including herself.
Before getting into this, the biggest thank you and shout out to Deborah @ The Reading Chick for sending me her copy of the book, you’re the best!
I ENJOYED…
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- One of the strongest suits of this book is for me, the writing. Itās absolutely stunning and you just want to devour every single sentence. I was transported from the very first page and I loved that.
- The Star-Touched Queen was a really imaginative, gorgeous story overall as well: itās inspired by Indian mythology (and #ownvoices, the author being half-indian) and there is so much I loved to read about it: the world she created, the myths that came alive with her prose were three-dimensional and so, very cool.
- I liked the main character a lot – she was really interesting to follow and I loved how she grew and took matters into her own hands, little by little. She was strong, determined, passionate and I loved that about her.
- The main characterās sidekick for part of the story, a demon horse, is deliciously sassy and I absolutely loved him.
- The romance was swooooooooooooon worthy for me, I really enjoyed it. It feels a bit like insta-love for many readers, but for me it did not at all. I loved the mystery, the way they got close to each other slowly and how he revealed his secrets, the prose and everything made this something so gorgeous.
- Sister vibes and sister needing protection and AH SO HERE FOR THIS. (though we needed way more of that in the book, but donāt pay attention to that, just me wanting my sisterhood haha)
I HAD A HARD TIME WITH…
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- The plot was a bit confusing at times and I felt a bit lost about the world-building, too. Actually, the thing is: the writing is so gorgeous, but itās heavy on metaphors and sometimes I had to stop a second to wonder what actually, was happening on the page. Ā There were moments where I felt myself completely immersed into the story and loved every page, but some others, when I wasnāt getting into it as much as before and felt a bit distant from everything happening. Thatās a me thing though.
- As much as I liked the romance, I wish I could have gotten to know Amar a bit better – he felt a bit one-dimensional in the story which made me a bit sad.
OVERALL
Overall, The Star-Touched Queen was a beautiful book, both inside and out. The authorās writing is gorgeous, the world she creates is so imaginative just as well. Ā Even if the world and plot left me confused at times, Iād still heavily recommend that one if youāre a fan of stories with mythology and enjoy purple prose just as well. I canāt wait to read more from the author.
Final rating: 4 drops!
Ā
Trigger warnings: if you found some, please let me know so I can add them!
Check out some #ownvoices reviews for this book: Mishma @ Chasing Faerytales,Ā Shanti.
Do you want to read The Star-Touched Queen? Did you read it? What did you think of it?
What’s the latest book with a gorgeous writing that you loved? Let me know in comments!
I’m so happy you enjoyed it Marie! I really enjoyed it but I admit I was getting lost in the story for some time too; I enjoyed the writing but it can get too much. Lovely review <3
I agree – sometimes it gets a bit too much, I think it’s the kind of book and writing you really have to enjoy and be in the mood for, to really get lost in it all š
Thank you so much! <3 <3 <3
Loved the post. ?????
Aww thank you so much, happy you enjoyed it š
Youāre welcome! Great review. The writing and world definitely needed to be praised it was so beautiful! I agree with both your points about how the plot was confusing and Amat needed a little more depth. I had wondered if it shouldnāt have been written from both POVās? If I had known his feelings and back story I wouldāve cared about him a bit more. Xoxo!
Thank YOU again for the book, Deborah, I’m so, so happy to have read it, it was such a good story and the writing was beautiful <3
Oh I think you're right about that – having both POV would have been so interesting!
Thank you again! <3 <3 <3 <3
I really enjoyed this book but agree all the metaphors made the plot a little confusing! Her second book has even more metaphors but it’s equally awesome!
Ohh, well that’s good to hear – I can’t wait to read more from the author sometime soon, hopefully š
Thank you so much for stopping by! š
I purchased this last month and the sequel as well. I’m planning to read both books in October. Great review!
Ohh that’s great – I really hope you will love them š x
Thank you so much!
I am so so glad you enjoyed this book Marie. š <3 The Star-Touched Queen is a favourite of mine mainly because of the writing and the world building. The way Roshani Chokshi wrote her story and the world reminded me a little of Laini Taylor and The Night Circus, it kind of made me believe the magic being described was real it was so beautifully written, and I loved the romance as well. I get how people saw it as insta-love but it didn't strike me like that either.
Do you plan to pick up the second book soon? I actually preferred A Crown of Wishes to this one so I'll be interested to see what you think of it. Great review. š <3
I’m so, so happy to hear you loved this book so much, Beth! <3 <3
I know I really want to read more from the author, I'm curious to read A Crown of Wishes for sure and I can't wait to read her other books as well, I know I want to read more overall. Her writing is so beautiful. <3
Thank you so much, Beth! <3
Thanks Marie! š <3 I'm sure you'll love A Crown of Wishes as well, and yeah I can't wait to read more of Roshani Chokshi's work either. No matter what it is you know it'll be amazing.
That's all right. š <3
Great review Marie! I’ve had my eye on this one for a while. The second two books are available through my library’s digital database via audiobook but for some reason the first isn’t? What’s up with that? This sounds like a lovely read.
Okay… that’s so strange and frustrating when only the second book is available! I hope the first one will be soon as well so you can read it š
Thank you so much, Amanda <3
You are so right about the writing! And if he seems two dimensional I loved him in Star Touched Stories Marie š
Ohh that’s good to know! I really want to read more of these stories now š
Thank you so much for your comment <3
Great post Marie !
You really make me want to read this book ! ( also I really love this type of post !)
Oh thank you so, so much, I’m happy you enjoyed this! They’re really fun and quick to write haha š I hope you’ll want to give this book a try, it was a beautiful read <3
Hey, thanks for linking my review! I think this book had so much going for it, and I really want to read more of Roshani Choksi’s writing. I did find it a little dense and sort of show offy at times though. Anyway, nice review!
You’re so welcome, thank YOU for writing such a lovely review, Shanti! <3
I agree – sometimes it's a bit hard to follow, but I really was captivated by it some other times. I really liked it <3 I can't wait to read more from the author either š
Thank you so much!!
I’m so glad that you enjoyed this book Marie ? I absolutely loved the writing style too, it was so vivid, lush and totally made the myths come alive. I also adored Maya as well, I loved seeing her devlopment and I did very much enjoy the romance as well š Oh and the demon horse was hilarious ? I highly recommend reading the companion novel A Crown of Wishes, it’s even better š
Oh I’m so happy you loved this book as much as I did, yay š I loved the demon horse haha he made me laugh so much haha š
I can’t wait to read more from the author, I’ll have to check out A Crown of Wishes soon š
Thank you so much, Caro! <3
It’s basically been a bajillion years since I read this, but I do remember just LIVING for the gorgeous writing as well. I bought the spin-off for this (or is it a sequel? GAH I KNOW NOTHING), and it looks like I’m going to need to do some research about this book again. XD That being said, I’m soooo happy you loved it! Do you plan to read A Crown of Wishes?
Ohhh I’m so happy you loved the writing as well – it was gorgeous, I swear that, at times, I felt like I was hypnotized haha. I LOVED IT.
I think I’m going to read A Crown of Wishes, I really want to! I also want to read The Gilded Wolves, her next release coming in 2019, it sounds AMAZING š
Thank you so much, Aimee! <3
I read this book a few years back after my friend kept raving about it and I loved it. I totally agree that the writing is one of the best things about this book, yet it also made me confused at times. But by the time I read A Crown of Wishes I was familiar enough with the writing style that it didn’t bother me anymore. Do you plan on reading A Crown of Wishes?
Oh that’s great to hear, I am so happy you enjoyed it as well! I am planning on reading A Crown of Wishes and more from the author overall, I’m excited to š
Thank you so much for your sweet comment <3
Roshani Chokshi is the one I want to start reading for sure. I have heard amazing things about her books. I guess, her new book is making quite a hype these days so it would be good to start reading her. And lovely review, Marie š
Oh yes, her new release is making some noise and… it sounds amazing! I can’t wait to read more from her – I hope you’ll have the occasion to, just as well. I’d love to hear what you think of it š
Thank you so much! <3 <3
I have heard a lot about this book and have yet to read it, although I really do want to! Hopefully one day in the future I will be able to get a copy. I always love a good romance and the writing sounds really beautiful. I think Maggie Stiefvater has a gorgeous writing style in The Raven Cycle. And classic literature is full of beautiful writing too ^.^ Especially Shakespeare!!
I hope you’ll get a chance to read this book soon, it was such a great story. I loved the writing, too, so gorgeous and immersive <3
Agree! I loved Stiefvater's writing so, very much just as well <3
I felt exactly the same way! I LOVED the writing so much – it was gorgeous. I also found Amar’s character not as well-developed as it could’ve been, and sometimes I felt as if there wasn’t really a plot? The sequel sounds incredible though!
Ahh I’m glad to hear you felt the same way as I did, yay š I can’t wait to read the companion novel, I’m really curious about it š
Thank you so much, Kyra! <3
Yeah, the plot gets a little confusing many times throughout the book. I thought I was the only one who wasn’t getting used to the writing and so had issues. My favourite was the demon horse, Kamala because she’s just really sassy and I needed that. ? I feel like A Crown of Wishes, which tells the story of her sister Gauri, has a much better plot and I love the myths she’s used in that one. This was also 4 stars for me but ACOW got a full 5! I hope you decide to pick it up too. ā¤ These short bite-sized reviews are great! ?
OH yes hahaha, Kamala was just amazing, I think she was one of my favorite characters hahaha, just so sassy, I loved it!
I’m so glad you loved A Crown of Wishes, it makes me even more impatient to pick it up š
Thank you so, so much for your comment! <3 <3
Oh Iām so glad you loved this book! I really enjoyed it and the companion novel, A Crown of Wishes, is even better! I too didnāt think there was insta-love and I do wish Amar had more background! But I would love to revisit it! It was really good. (Also Gauri is the main character in A Crown of Wishes so I highly recommend!)
Ohh, I’ve heard amazing things about A Crown of Wishes, I can’t wait to read it, hopefully soon š I’m happy you enjoyed it, too š
Thank you so much for your sweet comment! š