Book Review: The Star-Touched Queen

Rating: ☆☆☆
Audience: YA Fantasy Romance
Length: 342 pages
Author: Roshani Chokshi
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Release Date: April 26th, 2016
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

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.

*SHRUG*

I’ve been sitting on this review for a few days because I don’t know what I want to actually write. I’m sad to say this was not a hit for me, and even on audio where I listen to it at a fast pace (and it’s only 9 hours) I found myself bored.

Things started off on a good foot with our main character, Maya and her curse. I liked the initial set-up, then some insta-love got thrown in. But later you find out it’s not insta-love? Sort-of? I feel like I was taken on this convoluted journey that only made sense at the very end. And by then, I had already decided I didn’t want to read the sequel.

There wasn’t much depth to anybody. New characters showed up and didn’t make a name for themselves. So much so, I can’t give you any names of any other characters. I don’t remember them and that’s the crux of this entire novel.

Overall audience notes:

• YA Fantasy Romance
• Language: none
• Romance: kisses to closed door
• Trigger/Content Warnings: sexism, sexual assault by coercion, child abuse, domestic abuse (recounted), forced attempted suicide, stillbirth mentioned, death of loved ones, captivity, bullying, war themes

Instagram || Goodreads