The Star-Touched Queen
Young Adult Fiction
St. Martin's Griffin
March 28, 2017
E-Book
384
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.
WrensReads Review:
Whenever you think of Wonderland or Neverland or just anything stupid-beautiful, this book should be the first thing that comes to mind. Actually no, anything Roshani Chokshi has written is stupid-beautiful. It feels like a poem had a baby with a fantasy and out came Chokshi’s books. The way she makes you see things is something you will get completely lost in. I found myself wanting to read more of the magical place she pieced together.
Caraval and The Night Circus are two other books that I would compare to this marvelous book. If you loved The Star-Touched Queen, just know that this was written a little differently. I myself had a little bit of a hard time piecing things together in The Star-Touched Queen because I was so distracted by how much description and beautiful sentences there were. But, I did end up loving it, and you can see my review for it here. You should know that the writing is different between these two books, so you may find yourself in love with it.
You technically don’t even have to read The Star-Touched Queen in order to read this book, since it was a companion novel, though I highly recommend that you do. I learned the hard way with Leigh Bardugo’s books that even though you can technically read a series (Six of Crows) without reading the previous series (Grisha), doesn’t mean that you should. There are hints about The Star Touched Queen through out the book that will make you smile, but the fixed-content itself is completely separate.
So the characters in this book are what made it so much better to me. You have two royals thrown together in a quest to win a wondrous price. Both have completely different ideas on what to do with the price, but that doesn’t stop them from regrettably working together. One is a princess named Gauri that is being held captive by the country that Prince Vikram will rule. They are polar opposites not only in country but in spirit too. Where Vikram has wit, Gauri has has determination and strength. Where Vikram has spur of the moment, Gauri has ponder and thought out. Gauri is more serious and Vikram loves that (because how else is a prince going to stay entertained on a quest?).
You meet different types of beings in this book and just learn a lot more of this beautiful land Chokshi has brought before us. She deserves all the publicity and praise she is going to get with this book. It will blow you away.
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