What a unique and incredible story! Juno Dawson has done an amazing job portraying the political aspects of social issues, and the inclusivity in this book was handled beautifully. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the audiobook, and Nicola Coughlan was the perfect choice as the narrator! I’m excited to see what’s next, especially after that ending!

It took me a couple of attempts to get into this book because I found it a little confusing to begin with having so many POVs. But once I got through maybe the first quarter and I knew who everyone was and how they connected, I couldn't stop listening. Nicola Coughlan's narration is impeccable, and they couldn't have picked a better person to narrate this story. The story itself is dark and twisty, going in ways I definitely didn't expect, while also exploring important lessons about the power of womanhood, race, sexuality, and gender. The ending will leave you wanting to reach immediately for the second one!

Ok but Nicola Coughlan SLAYED THIS!!! What a narrator.

But also, what a story! I’m in awe of Juno Dawson’s ability to weave a story that’s fantastical in every sense of the word whilst also discussing and dissecting real issues in very honest ways.

The concept of this book is such an interesting one and I’m excited to see where Juno will take it in The Shadow Cabinet!

love it as I thought I would.

The thing I liked and attracted me to the book was the promise of the plot. Reading the blurb I thought it would be a very cool book. And in it’s very basic bottom line, it was. However, there were a lot of things that didn’t really met my expectations.

The prose and the way the book is written are just not hitting the spot for me. It felt quite juvenile and plain throughout the book.

The characters are inadequately researched and undeveloped causing serious confusion while reading as you can’t distinguish who is who. I had to go back several times to reread part to make it make sense. (Ι still can’t by the way).

Then it was the feeling that there wasn’t connectivity between events in the book. Some parts felt to go way to slow and then parts felt that things went in fast forward due to packed action. I would have like a better flow in the story.

The world building was good and gave you a good idea of the environment the story unfolds.

Overall, this is a nice, pleasant, enjoyable, ‘light’ read if this is what you fancy.

3.5 ⭐️

This was an incredible story set in the modern world where witches are a secret part of our everyday society. It was great that this story follows multiple people, even though I found it a bit difficult at times to know whose POV we were reading.
I listened to the audio of this and have got to say Nicola Coughlan was such a perfect choice for the narrator, managing SO WELL to capture the energy and emotion of every scene. If it wasn’t for her fantastic narration I probably would have stopped with this book as to begin with I felt the story was a bit disjointed and difficult to follow. But I stuck with it and really ended up loving (and hating) these characters. I think Juno Dawson has done an incredible job of portraying the political aspect of social issues - such as the perception of the transgender community. I think the inclusivity in this book was fabulous, and I loved the matriarchal society and feminism, but unfortunately the writing style didn’t mesh for me.

That ending was an absolute shocker though and I will be needing to dive in to the next one.

"Her Majesty’s Royal Coven" by Juno Dawson is a mesmerizing blend of magic, mystery, and modern life that will enchant readers from the very beginning. Hidden within the fabric of society lies a secret government department of witches dedicated to protecting the crown and country from supernatural threats. However, an ominous prophecy threatens to dismantle the coven from within, thrusting four best friends into the heart of the turmoil. Dawson masterfully intertwines ancient prophecies with contemporary issues, crafting a tale that is both thrilling and relatable. With a perfect mix of sacred sisterhood, demonic adversaries, and the complexities of modern dating, this novel is a bewitching start to an extraordinary new adult series. Prepare to be captivated by a story where life as a modern witch is anything but simple—and apocalyptic challenges await.

Her Majesty's Royal Coven has an interesting concept and gender politics at play. It's another hidden magical world story, only in this case the power balance is (supposedly) flipped in favour of more magically powerful women (witches) over men (warlocks). Real world sexism still bleeds through though, from body shaming and stereotypical gender roles to domestic and gendered abuse and violence. It creates an interesting context for the plot's main conflict over the discovery and care of an unusually powerful teenager, who might or might not be the subject of world-ending prophecies.

The 'matriarchal' magical society of HMRC works as an interesting allegory for the feminist and Women's Liberation movement, in that it has a lot of promise and sees itself as a benevolent Sisterhood while falling far short of its own ideals. Even the posh, imperial-sounding name of the eponymous department is challenged directly through Diaspora, a rival coven of working-class, gender and sexually diverse witches and warlocks of colour founded by Leonie, the only queer, black protagonist. (Incidentally, I've seen some reviews complaining about the whiteness of the main cast, but I think that's rather the point. HMRC is implied to be a white feminist organisation, rooted in oppressive, colonialist institutions and fearful of the future and challenges to the status quo, despite its lip service to female empowerment. As opposed to the intersectional feminism of Leonie's smaller, more dynamic coven. I really enjoyed this aspect of the worldbuilding and social commentary, anyway.) (Also, the implication that women are more connected to the Earth Goddess and elemental power etc. is rooted in historic misogynistic discourses on our irrational 'primitive' natures used to justify our oppression, so I'm not sure how I feel about Dawson playing it up. Maybe we're reclaiming the narrative? I'm not sure.)

The central conflict over the possibly-world-ending “Sullied Child” dramatises the major tension between inclusive feminism and white-feministy exclusionary ‘feminists’ (especially TERFs) and foregrounds questions of gender and biological determinism. Particularly how fear and paranoia corrupt and skew even the most idealistic and principled of people. Dawson does a good job of maintaining the tension and sympathy towards all four of the protagonists; even when certain characters started to make objectively bad decisions, you can see where she's coming from (and why she's wrong). It made for a compelling but kind of depressing story. Unfortunately, for me, it took a while to get to that point, to the extent that I almost lost interest all together. That said, it does get exciting in the third act and the gender politics of the novel are interesting. However, the very last scene features a very effective plot twist that, unfortunately, is also a trope that I personally cannot stand, so I probably won't continue reading the series. That's a matter of personal taste, however, and isn’t a criticism of the book (or trope!) itself.

In short, I liked the concept and the ideas HMRC plays with though the execution of it dragged for me, especially in the first half. A plot twist revealed about a third to half way through the novel added a lot more intrigue and cast the personal politics of the main characters into a more interesting light, especially when certain characters started going off the rails. I'd recommend this book to fantasy fans who like some feminist political commentary in their fiction. And, of course, Nicola Coughlan’s narration was delightful; she does a great job of creating different voices and accents for the different characters. I would definitely pick up other audiobooks she narrates!

dont ask y why i waited so long to listen to this book!! i am absolutely baffled at myself. I absolutely loved this book.!! I am moving straight on to book 2. Juno has a way of writing her characters that just draws the rader in and keeps you gripped for the entire book!

Juno Dawson is a genius! Her Majesty's Royal Coven was written perfectly to encapsulate the modern, chaotic worldly experience with the magical. Nicola Coughlan was such a perfect choice for HMRC's narrator; she makes every character feel unique, and encapsulates the energy and emotion of every single scene. The dramatic twists and turns has me audibly gasping in shock at times - bring on the sequel!

One of the easiest 5 stars I've ever given. This was a delight from start to end. I hadn't expected how cozy it felt, and I loved the whole witchy vibe to the books. I also like how it tackled the issues presented however I will say if Babel's handling of its themes was a little too on the nose for you then this one might also have that issue. That being said I loved it for that. Dawson's writing was fantastic, and I loved how the transphobia bled into even the basic writing in one of the Pov chapters. Niamh as a protagonist was a fantastic lead, and her relationship to Theo, and the found family element I adored. I also loved her close group of friends (except 1) and I loved the bonds they had with each other. Overall this was a fantastic little read, that had a very interesting contemporary witchy world (very AHS coven, in the best way)

An incredible start to what will be a wonderfully action filled series. Taking on friendship, love, identity and responsibility this is a wonderful story and I look forward to see where the series goes.

A really good premise behind this book and really engaging storytelling. Some of the characters became confused for me but I liked the setting.

I enjoyed this novel that follows multiple members of a coven of witches in contemporary Britain, but it had its problems.

First, there were multiple characters to follow - 4 main ones really - but it made the beginning of the book very confusing to me. Listening to the audiobook (masterfully narrated by Nicola Coughlan) made it all the more confusing as you can't go back to see who did what. I actually re-listened to the first quarter of the book 3 times...which isn't a good sign...

The book is an interesting concept with the coven, but what we get for most of the plot is women fighting each other, not the supportive feminism vibes I was getting from the marketing. The demonisation of the trans character felt very relevant to current times and I enjoyed those politics and acceptance of this character, but I wish there'd been more positive bits about the relationship between all these women.

I think overall I would want to read the sequel, but my expectations might be lower...

I loved this book and the narrator was so easy to listen to, so I’d recommend it from that perspective. The world building was fantastic and I was definitely sucked in to their world, the women are so badass. Because I liked them so much I HATED the ending, to the point that it put me off reading the sequel! Not the narrator’s fault but whyyyyy did the author do that. It would have been five stars if it weren’t for that last little twist!

I apologise for taking so long to send this review but omg I loved this book I even brought the physical book and the second one. It was a loved the witchcraft and the humour that some parts actually made me laugh. But it was very compelling an can’t wait to read the next books

The concept of this book is so interesting but it was lost somewhere in the execution. The book is not fantasy/magic focused but acts as a socio-political commentary, with emphasis on institutional racism and transphobia. These topics were dealt with appropriately but a little subtlety or nuance would been better. It's so obvious and raging in it's narrative which left a sour taste in my mind.
The female friendship between the main characters was heartfelt. There's many queer characters, including a sapphic main couple. One of the primary characters is a young trans girl who plays an important role in the story.
Overall, a fun read which could improve upon it's narrative style.

Loved this! Full of action, character building and suspense!

I thoroughly enjoyed this, especially the twist at the end. Looking forward to the sequel :)

I can not wait to read the sequel - finally something for grow ups HP fans. also, queer hp fans who grew up missing some magic in their life

Such a cool book! I have to admit from the get go that I’m a little put out by the ending (while avoiding spoilers, it’s a major cliffhanger and removes one of the main characters from the picture).

However, such a damn awesome concept and it just goes to show that fate is unavoidable, and by trying to avoid it you might just set things into motion which wouldn’t have ordinarily occurred.

I love LOVE that Juno included a trans storyline in the heart of this book. It was phenomenally done and felt so real, despite the obviously fantastical storyline.

I think in time, once the pain and shock of the ending has worn off, I’ll definitely come back to this series. Just need to heal a little first.

It’s been an age since I listened to an audio book and I’m so glad I broke my dry spell with this book.
I was engrossed right from the start and couldn’t wait to see how the whole story developed.