21st July 2024

Although technically a prequel, this novella totally stands alone and doesn’t need the reader to have any familiarity with the main series. Some knowledge of Tudor monarchy will help, but only as much as is standard primary school curriculum.

We arrive at the court of Henry VIII as he’s updating his marital status, following Grace, a relatively minor noble who has been chosen to serve as a lady-in-waiting to the Queen, and learns that her colleagues are more than they first seem.

It’s an interesting story of believable characters of the time, and shows a little bit of the history of this fictional universe in a way that’s very easy to empathise with.

Mostly though I loved how much research must have gone into creating such an authentic setting. There were loads of little references to historic people, places, and events with which I wasn’t familiar, and several times I found myself off reading down a rabbit hole of Wikipedia to learn about something mentioned in passing.

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25th June 2023

The sequel to Her Majesty’s Royal Coven continues the adventures of a group of women whose perfectly normal lives as witches have been massively disrupted by the men in them.

I wasn’t sure where this was going to go after the events of the first novel, but it takes us down a really interesting route exploring both new and old characters and building out more of the world, the backstory, and being action packed in itself.

It took a couple of chapters to get back into, particularly getting my head around one character’s new situation, but from there on I stormed through at full pace.

Really enjoyable reading, full of humorous but also serious political jibes, and realistic scenarios despite the fantasy setting. I can’t believe I have to wait again to find out what happens next.

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1st October 2022

This is the first Juno Dawson novel I’ve read, attracted as I was by the omnipresent online marketing, the bold cover, and the amusing title.

It’s the tale of a group of childhood friends whose roles as adults don’t align neatly, especially when a terrified child is involved.

The novel creates a rich and interesting world, a mirror to our own, where women lead the world of magic due to their inherently stronger power.

The cast of characters is hugely diverse and paints a picture of inclusivity marred by the scarily realistic intolerant attitude of one character, which makes for quite uncomfortable reading.

What most impressed me though is that this is the book I’m not good enough to write. At its heart is an idea that I’ve thought about for years, and Dawson turns that into a world and a story and a novel in a way that I obviously couldn’t. I’m really happy to finally read it.

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