Unfortunately, this book was just not for me. While I enjoyed the audiobook narrator, I found her hard to understand sometimes. I had trouble distinguishing between the characters and overall the story fell flat. This book was comped to A Discovery of Witches, which is false in my opinion. It almost felt like the events that take place before the book would have been a better story than the one we got.

This. Book.

Packed full of queer, trans, and female rage, Dawson holds up a mirror to the ugly side of modern UK gender politics. She deftly stresses the importance of intersectional feminism and sisterhood, tempering the bleakness with lovable characters and by inviting us into the hidden magical world of witches and warlocks.

Nicola Coughlan is the perfect audiobook narrator – emotive reading, an expert at conveying tone, and exceptional character voices and accents. She truly brought Dawson’s tale to life.

Until about 20% of the way in, I felt a little ambivalent about the story. However, as soon as Theo hit the scene, I was hooked. By the end of the book, Theo, Niamh, Holly and Leonie (and many more!) had my heart in a vice grip.

Not often do plot twists catch me off guard, but Dawson kept me guessing. Some plot points I saw coming, but that didn’t put a damper on my enjoyment of the novel. The antagonist’s (naming no names to avoid spoilers!) slow descent into political extremism, was so upsettingly believable. If you’ve ever had the displeasure of arguing with a TERF (which, given the current state of UK politics, is quite likely), many scenes will feel oh so familiar – and so incredibly frustrating!

I’ve seen a few comments calling the book ‘heavy-handed’ and ‘too political.’ This book probably isn’t for you if you’re someone to describe yourself as ‘apolitical.’ A big theme of HMRC is that queer people and people of colour rarely have that luxury.

Finally: the ending. It’s an unbearably tense cliff-hanger. I didn’t realise, until the end, that HMRC was the start of a series. So… errr… Juno, I know HMRC isn’t out yet, but can we have the sequel now please and thank you?

A great story full of diversity and strong female representation.
Thanks NetGalley for providing me with an audio copy to listen to. The narrator did such a great job, every accent seemed to be authentic and different for each character.
At first I thought it was going to be a simple feminist read about witches but it was so much more than that!
This book is very well researched, the locations and the history were easily recognisable.
We got to see what childhood resentment and jealousy can do if ignored into adulthood. We see narcissism and ignorance. We read about places steeped in witch history, especially the likes of Pendle Hill. We see real diversity and representation, thanks to amazing characters like Leoni and Theo.
Then there’s that surprise ending…….I’m certainly going to be eager for book 2.

Now I'm a fan of Juno, I won't lie to you. So I was Very intrigued to have HMC as it's not her usual genre and to be fair, not one I tend to delve into. However, Juno always gives the goods so of course I jumped in.

Juno, Juno, Juno, you clever, clever, CLEVER, bastard!
This is without a single doubt your best work yet. This has by far flew past every book I have ever read and is now my most favourite and best book ever. Honest to god! (Sorry, I mean Gaia).

No, seriously. I don't have any words that can put together a review that won't give spoilers but also won't just be me talking in circles about how good this read actually is.
I do not know how the next book in the series never mind the third is going to top it. However, I do not have any qualms at all about you being able to do so. And I am so fucking excited for the next instalment and back in the sisterhood.

I didn't want to write it's about its political side, the social injustice's and racism it includes. I fear that it may put people off from reading it. You know how people get. ‘Oh be arsed, with a political and proper boring roll-your-eyes kind of book'. But I have to and I have to ask people to not be that way because it's this that makes it what it is. It's this that makes it clever. It's this that gives it its strength and magic. Sometimes I roll my eyes too people and think I can't deal with something like that right now, but this IS NOT like that. I promise you.

I cannot recommend this book enough. I won’t stop recommending this book enough.

Oh I am in awe and wonder and can do nothing but raise my hands in applause to you Juno. You're absolutely fucking magical! Bless you, your mind, your struggle, your talent and your love for giving us something so magnificent. Your essence and spirit are in every single part and I can assure you we hear your words. We hear them loudly! Congratulations.

A magical mindfuck of the true meaning of sisterhood.
Wow!
There are no amount of starts good enough for this book.

P.S.. apologies for the complete rambling and overall mess of this pretend review. I haven’t been like this over a book for a VERY long time.

DNF. Nicola Coughlan is an excellent narrator and her capacity to differentiate each of this books DOZENS of characters is remarkable. But the rest of the book...I struggled. I couldn't even push myself beyond a quarter of the way. Nothing was happening. Though I appreciated the lead character had the same name as me (slightly disconcerting in some points), I struggled with the writing style and the plot. I've previously enjoyed Juno Dawson's books - but this one was all over the place. It's clearly very political and the fantasy elements woven in there are interesting, I just wish it had been better executed. It's as though there were lots of stories going on here that had been smashed together, when just one through line would've been more compelling. Loved the concept - not so much the execution.

Audio review: I love the narrator. I would track her down narrating other books just to listen to her. There were points when she was the only thing stopping me DNFing.




Review: I've really dawdled with this review because I am intensely ambivalent about this book. There were times when I thought it would be 5 stars and then several points where it was so infuriating I very nearly quit and didn't rate it at all. I really don't see the point in labouring everything so I'll just add a few points.

- When I enjoyed this book, I loved it. I thought it was great concept and it should have been totally my thing.

- The story is not the one marketed. This is not urban fantasy. This is not really adult fantasy because it's focus is entirely bent on using a fantasy framework to deliver a political message. If you like that, great. But I'm a Story is King kind of reader and like the author's opinions to play second fiddle to the plot, not the other way round.

- The political message was wielded like a sledgehammer. There are times for a scalpel and times for a screwdriver. There's even time for duct tape. But judging by the very binary nature of the message and the lack of exploration of any nuance of the issues it engaged with, a sledgehammer was all that was in Dawson's toolkit.

- The structure was all over the shop. The actual plot didn't really get going until 60% of the way through, and even then it was stops and starts. It felt like the preceding 80% was window dressing for Theo's big moment.

- I actually liked a lot of the characters. They could have benefitted from more development and ideally from not basically being Sex and the City meets chick lit characterisation 101, but there was potential. I thought Theo was sweet and even though her arc is utterly predictable, it was fairly satisfying.

- This was wish fulfilment. I don't think that's a bad thing.

- the wish fulfilment was focused on a specific type of meanness and spite. I enjoyed that less.

- I hated - and I mean HATED - the ending. I dislike the evil twin/ body swap trope at the best of times and this felt horribly contrived. Again, it smacked of that meanness of spirit that permeated the book.

- I liked the world building, even if it was unfinished and parts of it didn't make sense.

- a lot of this was female experience as painted by numbers which was incredibly depressing.

- Helena was character assassinated. I mean, I disliked her from the first but even the antagonist deserves proper character development than to be turned into a moustache twirling villain who was clearly just a cardboard cut-out for the author to joust at.

- the writing was basic but sound enough that it didn't get in the way of the story.

- My biggest problem with this book is me. I wanted it to really be about witches and sisterhood and found family. I wanted it t be a story not a political message which pretty much everyone has already worked out for themselves. It wasn't. It's ridiculous to expect a piece of art to be anything except what it is. So my frustration and disappointment are on me.

In conclusion, I'm in two minds about reading the next book. There was enough right with this to attract me, but also enough to put me off. I'm genuinely sorry I didn't like this more.

Oh my god! I have devoured this book.
This is more of a modern take on the witchy books we know and love. I can’t believe how much I’ve enjoyed it.

I just love Theo, without spoilers I just needed a character like her to make this book feel really modern and keeping up with the times of acceptance and chosen families.
If you can get this book!

HER MAJESTY'S ROYAL COVEN is my first Juno Dawson book, partly read because of the title and partly because of the stunning publicity campaign (so tongue in cheek and mocking the various government adverts of the last two years!) I think I picked a really good book to try by the author, given I am more of an adult fan than YA these days.

This is a feminist book about sisterhood, womanhood, and motherhood. The POVs are women who have been through one war and are now living very separate lives, trying to juggle jobs, relationships, family, and their own desires for life - as well as being witches hiding from the general world.

I loved their complicated relationships with each other and their various partners/children. It's so rare to see older protagonists (the four are all in their thirties) and such a variety of lives - some are married with kids, some are in relationships, some are single. It really helps round out the variety of experiences on the page, and the various intersectionalities explored.

There's a common piece of writing advice "the villain is the hero of their own story" and this book exemplifies that. We get the villain's POV, following as they have the fall arc into villain, entirely believing she is doing the right thing, for the greater good, at all times. It's really interesting to get that POV, to understand why everything that is happening happens.

Nicola Coughlan does so so well as the narrator. There are four POVs and there are characters from all over the UK, but she handles the variety of voices and accents like it's a breeze. She makes it such an engaging read, bringing out the emotions and pulling you into the world.

The ending more or less sums up the main plot, but there's a lot left over - and some last minute events that really make me want to know what happens next.

Her Majesty's Royal Coven follows the story of 4 witches in an alternative magical England who have between them bonds of sisterhood, past and future betrayals and the weight of legacy.

The 4 characters we follow are Niamh, a sentient (telepathic) witch working as a vet and struggling to move on with her life after her husband died many years ago. Leonie, a witch who ran away from the main coven to start her own, diaspora, a more welcoming and inclusive coven. Leonie is also a lesbian and has a girlfriend and I enjoyed the brief glimpses we got of their relationship. Elle is a healer witch and has mostly left the witch world in her past, living with her human husband but when her daughter Holly starts developing witchy powers she gets back involved. Helena is the last one of their little coven and is in a high ranking position in her majesty's royal coven and is very proper and traditional in her beliefs, and willing to go to any length to protect the coven.

I wouldn't have said this book has loads of plot, it is mainly exploring the characters and relationships between them. There was a war in the magical world that we don't find out a lot about but I think it happened about 8 years prior to the book taking place and the characters are still dealing with the fallout of that. There is also a dark prophecy that the witches are trying to get ahead of.

The main highlight of this book for me was exploring all the complex and nuanced relationships the women have with each other and other loved ones. It just felt very human and realistic in the relationships it explored. It showed how friendships can drift apart and change over time and well as highlighting more parental style relationships (elle/holly, niamh/theo etc) and the different ways of expressing love and acceptance. I think the author has some wonderful insight into society and the roles we play in it, as well as the relationships that make us human (or witch as the case may be).

This book explores in depth transphobia, especially in the context of "feminism" (TERFs) which feels particularly timely at the moment. One of the characters, Theo, is a young trans witch but some members of the coven refuse to accept her into it. I think this book discusses very well how people get sucked into the twisted belief system that trans women are just men pretending to be women with some sinister motivation and also highlights how most people don't think like this, just a loud minority who unfortunately have too much power. I believe the author is trans as well which I think shows in the authenticity and empathy the themes are handled.

The very last chapter/epilogue of this book had me gasping out loud and so so excited for the sequel. I think Keira, who doesn't not have much of a part in book 1, is possibly going to be my favourite character - I love a good unhinged woman and I'm very intrigued by more of her story.

Overall I would really recommend this book - it toes the line between contemporary lit fic with a hint of fantasy and magic but ultimately feels like a very human story at heart. It reminded me a lot of the TV show Derry Girls, just with slightly older characters and the fact they happen to be witches!

Officially Under HMRC’s Spell - Bring On Book 2!

🧡 This thoroughly modern imagining of witchcraft in whitehall had me bewitched from start to stop. It reminded me of the excellent Fort Salem TV series, with its intricate alternate history and defined power structure, not to mention complex relationships.

💚 The fantastic cast of characters, their personal politics, machinations and betrayals, all of it works brilliantly, but for me it is the coming of age journey of transgender witch Theo that tugged at my heart. The view of witchcraft as traditionally female acting as the source of prejudice was, if not subtle, certainly smart. Can’t wait to see how her story unfolds.
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SOUNDBITE

🎧 There are too many characters and plot lines to call this an easy listen. I had to concentrate quite hard to keep track of it all.

🎧 I really enjoyed Nicola Coughlan’s performance. She has this silky voice and gorgeous Irish lilt and she kept everything understated, allowing the fiction to speak for itself. However, whenever there are so many characters, I do prefer having the added vocal cues of multiple narrators.

Big thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK Audio for providing me with an ALC in return for an honest review.

I was completely drawn in by the premise of this book, a secret coven of witches that protect the UK from all evils until one day someone from within the coven betrays them, what is not to love about that? With the addition of hearing that the book is filled with positive rep it seemed as though it would be the perfect read.

However, that was sadly not the case. HMRC left me feeling quite disappointed, the book is so clichéd from the dialogue between characters, the black and white good/bad guy character arc to everything being too thought out and the end result was quite a flat reading experience.

My rating is based on the positive representation and the narrator (Nicola Coughlan), both of which I thought were great.

I was surprised how much I liked this audiobook and how much I’m looking forward to the next in the series.

I thought this was a YA book focused on a coven of witches and it is. Although definitely on the older end of the YA range. It’s also a delicate look at the patriarchy, trans identity and how ageing changes a person. The writing of relationships between women was a special delight.

. In Dawson's England HMRC is even more daunting as Her Majesty's Royal Coven, the largest society of British witches, representing witchkind to the few aware of there existence amongst those in power amongst the mundanes. On the other side of the coin are the cabals, the unions of the less powerful warlocks who exist in a not-always-friendly relationship with their female counterparts. Elements of the story will be familiar, especially the charismatic enemy, a powerful warlock who led a faction of witches and warlocks in an attempt to take power and rule in magic over the rest of the world. This is a historical war that forms the history of the story, that of Niamh, Elle, Leonie and Helena, the four remainders of a friendship group of five. Following the war they went their separate ways but remined friends, Helena as High Priestess of HMRC, Leonie who founded a rival coven to better represent the interests of witches of colour and LGBTQIA wielders of magic, Elle, somewhat happily married to a man who knows nothing of her other worlds and a daughter showing clear signs of the gift and Niamh, part-time vet and no longer a member of any coven. Still healing from the events of the war the four women are thrown into disarray and conflict when an ancient prophecy of the end times re-emerges, centred around an isolated child of terrific power with secrets that could tear apart the magical world.

I loved it. A badass, intersectional, magical triumph. Dawson doesn't shy from any issue, from the universal changing friendships of adulthood and loyalty in times of disagreement to the discrimination faced by People of Colour and the LGBTQIA community. She gives them a magical twist but she delves deep into these very real issues and the fraught, often unstable nature of allyship. I loved that her women were all flawed, some more than others and the main difference between them was the willingness to listen and empathise. The characters are brilliantly realised and fully-rounded and the world utterly convincing. Centring the story in Hebden Bridge and bringing in the history of witchcraft in Pendle and the north of England was a lovely touch, no doubt influenced by her own roots in Yorkshire. It's funny, it's fast-paced, it's thrilling, it's thoughtful. It's also angry and takes no prisoners in the advocacy of intersectional womanhood and feminism.

As for Nicola Coughlan, she gives a masterclass of narration. Delicately paced and brilliantly characterised. Some of the accents are a little better than others but it really doesn't matter as she sweeps you along in the story, investing in the people and emotion of the story. I'd happily listen to any audiobook she cares to take on.

Firstly, the narrator! Nicola Coughlan from Bridgerton! Yes Penelope reading a story! Fabulous!

Just want to say next that this is definitely an adult read because of the language that's used. I'm known to sometimes have mouth of a sailor but the baddest swear was sprinkled around in here like confetti!!!

And one more thing.....I didn't realise this was set in England and I couldn't be happier, the terms that I don't normally see in books , DPD, a Fiesta (car), Yorkshire Bank, fabulous!

Oh and one more! I did chuckle at the use of HMRC as I deal with them most days for my job. I can tell you they are very different things!

So here we have 4 witch friends coming back together when they take in a young, very powerful warlock. Helena, High Priestess of HMRC, Leonie who has branches off and started another coven, Niamh who uses her powers to be a vet and Elle, housewife.

OK so no spoilers here but I do have a couple of gripes that affected my enjoyment of this.

I really did waver through this book. I had a hard time getting into the story first of all and also had an issue with characterisation, they all sounded so similar (apart from Helena and she was vile) and I can't say I gelled with any of them. The only one I actually really liked throughout this story was Theo I'm sad to say.

Lastly there's one bit that I'm trying so hard not to spoil so I'll just say this. Magic knows who the most powerful are.

Firstly I loved the narrator! Anything with Nicola Coughlan is a win for me. She did a fab job of giving each character life and separate voices. Now the story- we are following witches , some are in the governments coven , others are not. Doomsday has basically been foretold and they believe this one young warlock could be the source - Theo. Now when we first met Theo in his cage , I was like it’s a silence of the lambs moment! The government are terrified of him. Within a few pages he was in the car with a non government witch to go live with her… and from there the story kind of lost me. I did finish the book and I did t love the narration but the pacing was just off. Sorry. I gave it three stars because some parts were amazing!

Amazing! Such a beautiful and mesmerising read! The story was intriguing, sad, joyous and thrilling - the perfect start to what should be an epic trilogy. The characters are all likeable (even the antagonists to an extent) and the narrative is completely gripping from beginning to end.

Told using multiple pov of coven members, we really get an insight into character emotions and thoughts. This and through Theo’s heartwarming and heart wrenching experiences as a fledgling witch, the author dealt with so many important issues (including identity, gender and race) in a powerful and entertaining way. So much is revealed through the clever multi- pov that you can’t help but wonder who to root for at times. There was also some hints of nostalgia with regencies to my home town, Manchester, the Trafford centre and the Spice Girls.

The climax scene was so good that I literally held my breath! And I did not see that ending coming at all! Loved it! Now I’m desperate to read on! Absolutely enthralled by this brilliant witchy read.

Juno Dawson - you are one hell of a talented writer (as well as being absolutely stunning).

The audiobook was great! Thank you so much for my advanced audiobook.

I loved the premise of this book. I’m game for anything witchy and love plots centred around magic, power and witchy covens so this was a must read (or listen in my case. I had an audiobook version of this book and it was amazingly narrated).

It was intriguing from the get go, with a looming feeling of danger, demons and powerful witches on the horizon. The characters were well made and thought through but I didn’t much feel attached to them as I thought I would. The book constantly flitted from 3 stars to 4 and back again throughout and I really struggled to rate this one. Elements of amazing and then bits that fell a bit flat for me. I don’t mind swearing but some things in this book just felt unnecessary.

The writing was great though and it was very well established and thought out. The representation was also great in this.

A great read for someone looking for lgbtqia+ representation and fantasy.

I think that, because I was coming off the highs of reading series by Sarah J Maas, Jeanine Frost and Maggie Stiefvater, my expectations for this read were really, really high and, unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy this read as much as I hoped I would. I felt like the magic systems in the world were ok, but that there wasn’t much originality brought to the well-worn tropes of witches and warlocks. The pace felt slow and I didn’t connect with the characters, although the narrator did a really good job with the different accents.
Huge thanks to the author and publisher for this advance review copy. Views my own. 3*

**Listened to the audio book**

I adore Juno Dawson... as a writer, as a spokesperson, and as a person! She is phenomenal and she talks a lot of sense. So it really pains me to say I disliked this book.
I found the plot to be very slow, and I just didn't connect. The only time I felt engaged is when Theo is introduced in the cage... it got a bit exciting there - but that was it. The premise sounded right up my street but unfortunately the book itself did nothing for me. There were plenty of times I was thinking of DNF'ing to be honest.

The narrator of the audio was good, and did a variety of accents that helped to identify the characters - something that helped as there is A LOT!

Really didn't like this one - will have to wait for the next Juno Dawson book not within this HMRC world!

I wanted to like the book based on the summary but I can’t engage with any of the characters or the plot after the first few chapters.