I love this book! 

I could not put it down and finished it fast. 

The writing is excellent, the story is excellent, the characters are fun.

The only reason I knocked off .25 stars if that the ending felt a bit rushed compared to the rest of the book. 

I cannot wait for book 2! 

Expect:
-training
-trials
-mystery
-mouthy FMC
-broody men
-fae
-magic

Overall 4.75/5 stars
Spice 1.5/5

 I was going to give this book 3 stars, because despite my following review, I did enjoy this book. It was, at the very least, a fast and entertaining read. But the more I think about it the more annoyed I'm getting.

The attempts at foreshadowing and an unreliable narrator were certainly an attempt. Maybe it wasn't supposed to be a reveal and I'm getting worked up over nothing, but everyone is just so secretive throughout this book, and the ending was certainly written like it was supposed to be an "Aha!" moment. But it was so obvious from the very beginning who Lor is supposed to be, despite her claiming she has no clue what anyone is talking about.
Flat and predictable, the plot barrels on ahead despite the many many holes it has. Why must we hold trails for the choosing of the Sun Queen? Why must the trials be deadly? Why can't we just stick a bunch of women in front of the Mirror until it picks somebody? Nobody knows! That's just the way things are, DUH!!

And I don't think I've ever read a book where the FMC's POV is in first person, present tense, while the MMC's POV is third person, past tense. Certainly another choice on the author's part. I've read my fair share of books that swap between first and third person for the different characters' chapters, but shouldn't we be sticking to the same timely narrative? Unless we're looking at a flashback or something? I thought mayyybe the reveal would be that Nadir's chapters happened a long time ago and Lor is the only one in the present, but nope. Just sloppy writing. There's scene where their POVs are back to back of the same event, and it was still like that there as well. A narrator was recalling his side of the story, and Lor was telling us her side as it was happing. I found it jarring, to say the least.

Was this book the worst thing I've ever read? No absolutely not. Was it just a clash of the plots of SJM's entire writing collective and The Selection series? Absolutely yes. And do I have the next book sitting on my holds shelf? For now, but that's subject to change seeing as I have a projected several months wait. I may change my mind between now and then. 

The pitting of grown women against each other over some man. The two main characters haven't even interacted. 

Oh and I'm pretty sure Lor is the lost queen of hearts or some shit. I mean she has the red stone right.

The writing is terrible. And it's as anti feminist as it gets. 

I mean: "He's just a male and can't be held responsible for his actions"

Uh victim blaming, rape culture. Just a big fat nope on this one. 

Trial of the sun queen- 3.75⭐️ 2.5🌶️

New Adult

High Romantasy

Romantic Fantasy

Dual POV

Bipoc 

Fae Courts

Magic

Politics

Feuding Kingdoms

Secrets

Bride Trials

Rags to Riches

Slow Burn

🏳️‍🌈 Side Character Rep

Tw- adult themes, definitly check the trigger warnings.

The first line- “That bitch took my soap.” I was immediately invested in this FMC. I wanted to know her story, her hardships. The time in the prison made this story unique and compelling. I wish there had been more of the story developed there. 

Thank goodness the trials in this book were heavy in the plot and revealed character growth. They took up space and were well laid out. There was a little bit of haziness around the 2nd. I was more than a little turned around on the obstacle course in where the competitors were in relation to each other. But I was relieved for them to be as central to the plot in how they were played out and not just that they happened. It helped with more than just the FMC’s character development, I feel like it really moved the side characters forward as well.

If the secret had been known, I feel like it would have added to the tension and stakes of the plot. Instead I felt left out and that the FMC was untrustworthy.

I found the romance to be very naive right off the bat, making it feel more YA. The FMC’s defined character from her time in prison immediately disappeared once she was in the trials. In the prison she was independent, untrusting, self-sufficient, with feminine rage for days. When she was in the palace, all of a sudden she had absolutely no self preservation or suspicion until further in the plot than you would expect.

I had a great time reading this book!

Thank you NetGalley and Forever (Gran Central Publishing) for an Advanced eReader Copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.