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.

Lor has been a prisoner for half her life and is just trying to survive the brutal life of beatings and sexual assaults for fun inside Nostraza. After being sentenced to two weeks in the Hollow- a pit outside the prison, unprotected from terrifying creatures that roam the forest- Lor is barely coherent when she’s spirited away to luxury and comfort as she finds herself the final tribute in a competition to become the Sun Queen, however not everything is as it seems. 

I have mixed feelings about plots that revolve around one character being totally in the dark while everyone else is in on it. Obviously, it creates tension and a way for the audience to learn about the world but it’s annoying when it would take ten minutes and an ounce of kindness to explain. I also got some literary whiplash changing from Lor’s 1st person perspective to Nadir’s chapters in 3rd person. I got used to it though and it made sense to experience Lor’s triumphs and setbacks through her eyes while Nadir is more of a secondary focus here.

Rarely do I wish a book was longer but in this case, I do. The characters were underdeveloped to the point I could predict most of the plot based on their archetypes. Something I liked was that Lor enjoyed the dresses and long hair in her head instead of being not like other girls. Atlas is a walking red flag. The most interesting character was Gabriel because he’s clearly in on some of Atlas’s plan but not all of it and he can’t seem to decide for himself if he wants to help Lor or harm her. 

We as readers are also kept in the dark about lots that hasn’t been revealed yet. The hints are not hard to miss- Lor has this gem, the Heart Queen was destroyed, a rose is found in her former lands when everything else is dead, etc- but we did not get a reveal in this book. However, it was a fun read and I am excited to read the next one. 

Uninspired and unconvincing. Felt like a jumble of ideas and concepts copied from various other books. 

I didn't like any of the characters as most of them were incredibly immature.

Writing and editing? Not great. Why is one POV in present tense and the other in past tense when they're on the same timeline? Confusing.

Kind of like Hunger Games meets ACOTAR. My only complaints are that it was too short and that I would have liked more info on the world. 

Good young adult fantasy, was great to have an FMC in her 20s and not be meek or unsure of herself. I liked that she didn’t change too much as a person from the beginning and she stuck to her own convictions but was good to see she also wasn’t immune to everything! Overall really liked the setting although there are multiple elements that have been done before / are typical of the genre, I wasn’t very surprised by the twists. I did like the realistic elements of her being a prisoner in the beginning and the sibling element was nicely different to usual. Am intrigued to find out more going forward and discover the 2nd love interest more!