Review - The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi

 

Series: Star-Touched Queen Companion Series #1

Genre: Fantasy

Age Group: Young adult

Source: Purchased

Hardcover - 342 pgs

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Rating - 3/5

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. 

Overall, I think this book suffered from too much hype. The story was good, the characters were good and the writing was good, but nothing stood out as exceptional. I found the Indian culture interesting and enjoyed the vivid world the author created. I also really enjoyed the Hades/Persephone parallels throughout the book. 

However, I was frustrated Maya spent most of the book wandering (or being ordered) from room to room in a giant palace. While I enjoyed the descriptive writing, it slowed down the plot and made the book drag especially when there were long gaps between the action-y parts. 

These long pauses and the wandering around the castle made it hard for me to connect to Maya. Throughout the book I felt distant from her and had a hard time following the logic of her decisions. Though I ended up enjoying the romance in this story it felt a little too contrived and was insta-love (even though it makes sense in this book). It worked in the end, but it took me a while to get over how quickly that happened. His one liners are gold though.

Overall it felt a lot like A Court of Thorns and Roses (especially at the end) and Cruel Beauty (third party) to me. There are different elements and the characters are different, but in essentials it boils down to a very similar story.

PS: I loved Kamala to bits. I hope we see her again.

 

My Last Review ---> Across the Star-Swept Sea