I thoroughly enjoyed this witchy, magical romp through Yorkshire and London as Her Majesty's Royal Coven tries to deal with power shifts, trans rights, racial inequalities, and the complex dynamics of old friendships. The narration of Nicola Coughlan felt absolutely perfect for this novel which takes a magical setting and deals with the very real questions that we face in our lives - is it not just an element of humanity that there will always be strife, disagreement, and denial of what is 'real', whose experience matters? And those last few pages - I can't wait for the sequel!

A northern based, modern tale of witch craft and female friendship.

Touching on topics including LGBTQ, race, adoption, good and bad witchcraft, the story follows a group of friends from Hebden Bridge as their lives (and witch powers) take them on their own unique journeys.

While each have their own path to follow, their long standing friendship and witch oath see their lives overlapping on multiple occasions, though they may not always be on the same side.

Filled with beautifully developed characters, many of whom will become new friends, the ending will make you want to instantly jump to the next book to find out more. I certainly will be.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for access to the audio of Her Majesty’s royal coven. Nicola Coughlin was an excellent narrator.

Thankyou to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to listen to the audiobook of this release. I enjoyed the narrator of this story and it lived up to the high expectations i had.

I was kindly allowed to listen to this audiobook from #netgalley and the publishers. I throughly enjoyed the performance and it added to the immersive feeling while reading the physical text to. Again thank you so much for the audio book 😄👌
#netgalley #HerMajestysRoyalCoven

While it wasn't a perfect read, it was a damn good one, especially in how it explored a lot of hard topics!

If you ever complained about a "woke agenda", you'll hate this book. If you however think that grappling topics like inclusivity, a diverse cast and characters who are willing to stand up for minorities are actually a plus - this is the book for you.

I loved the way transphobia, supremacy and hate were handled, and how it was balanced by those characters who will not look away but try their best to help instead. This really is the strongest part of the story.

The writing itself was a bit on the easy side and almost felt like a YA book at times. I personally don't mind, I'm as happy to read easy books as complex ones, abs that goes from prose to plot. For me it only made the book all the more readable. I thought the easy to digest writing left more room for my head to gnaw on all the thought provoking bits actually.

There's quite some unexpected twists and turns - I definitely want to find out more in future books!

I've heard so many good things about this book. Personally I'm still not entirely sure where I come down. There's some fantastic world building here. Like other, I particularly appreciated how it weaves in issues that a myriad of marginalised communities deal with. It's got a lot of say in terms of reflecting our society, It's often done with ease, although some specific moments feel less seamless.

For me, it falls down in trying to do so many things. It just means that none of them are quite on the money, and the whole story feels underdeveloped. I found it a really interesting cast of characters, I'm not sure they were done justice. Maybe the style wasn't for me.

Overall it was an ambitious read. With that shocker ending, it'll be interesting to see how the series continues.

3.5 stars, rounded up

This is a sharp allegory for the queer political landscape in the UK right now. A brilliant eff you to transphobic white women pearl-clutching and grasping for power. But much as I enjoyed the story, I didn’t LOVE it. It didn’t quite hit the mark for me in other ways.

It’s contemporary/urban fantasy, but the voice felt more fitting for women’s fiction. This contributed to the the pacing being too slow for me, because it didn’t have the oomph of epic fantasy etc. to sustain the slow unfolding, especially in the first half, even though I got the impression it was attempting that kind of scope. I also struggled to connect to lost of the main characters, in part because of the style of the writing. It just didn’t click with me.

That said, I really enjoyed Theo’s character development, and the worldbuilding was quite interesting - I’m not sure it was used to its full potential but I imagine it will be fleshed out in the next book. I’m especially interesting in the kind of rival coven that was established by witches chafing against the HMRC’s legacy issues and lack of diversity.

I listened to the audiobook, and Nicola Coughlan does a fab job with balancing all the different characters and accents. Her performance was what kept me engaged through the book until the tension picked up.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an audio arc of this title.

This is just,, wow. Such a strong and beautiful story, with some incredibly beautiful trans rep, great social commentary and well written characters. I haven’t read any Juno Dawson before this book, but I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for her other books.

I will say, I wasn’t the biggest fan of one of the major POV characters being a TERF. I much prefer when I can really sympathize with the POV characters and being a TERF is a very big dealbreaker. I can totally see why Dawson chose to include this, though, as this character played a huge part for the themes and the plot of this story to be able to work. And she handled it flawlessly. Seeing this character get what she deserved was honestly one of the most satisfying scenes I’ve read.

Fair warning, it does end on one of the most brutal cliffhangers I’ve ever read. Needless to say, I need the sequel as soon as possible.

The narrator of this also had a voice I found to be quite pleasing.

This review will be up on my Instagram (@kratist0) at the end of this month or early December

What in the Jesus Christ was that ending. I didn't know it is going to be a series, so get ready for some big twists and turns.

I listened to the audio book which was narrated by Nicola Coughlan and she did brilliantly. Highly recommend the audio! Although I do regret not getting the gorgeous hardback.

Honestly, I couldn't have predicted what would happen in this book and I love that. Great characters you grow to love, and some you grow to hate - no spoilers from me though.

Strong plot with a great back story, and I enjoyed the way it flipped between each of the girls point of view. Strong topics which are heavily discussed nowadays, and I enjoyed the modernism twist to this witchy tale.

Looking forward to the next!

I bloody loved this.
HMRC follows women, friends since childhood, who also happen to be witches. Each is living a very different life, both in their home lives and in the way that they embrace the witch in themselves. Things are upended when a young warlock whose powers have been prophesied is found and the friends, in their various capacities, try to help him, or otherwise.
The story, whilst set in a fantastical version of our world, had many parallels with it, the main one being people’s reactions to, and fear of, those who are different to us. The examination of the characters reactions to Theo are thought provoking and really made me reflect on the actions of real life people,
In addition to excellent storytelling and rich and diverse characters, the narration by Nicola Coughlan of Derry Girls and Bridgerton fame, was absolutely fantastic. Get her on more audiobooks! She brought life and distinction to each and every character. Fabulous.

A thrilling read! This one really lived up to the hype – if you're a fan of witchy fiction/fantasy then you'll probably enjoy this. Really liked the narrator too!

Well... What can I say?? I ABSOLOUTLY loved this book! I'm still reeling from it if I'm honest and riding that five-star high...

I felt that the representation was brilliant, it targeted real issues and it was done in a really refreshing way for me. There was an abundance of coven politics and I really felt it had a coming-of-age feel about it too.

This was the 90's nostalgic read I needed; with quotes I will remember for a long time. I can definitely see myself re-reading/listening to this because it was just fabulous!

I listened to the audio via NetGalley and teamed it with my physical copy - I loved how the book was narrated, everyone had their own 'voice' and I just have praise for this all around!

A brilliant read, I couldn't stop listening to it! The cover is beautiful, which is what spurred me to read it in the first place! It lived up to my expectations <3

Unsure how I feel about this one, love the attitudes and the intention, and it definitely communicates some of society's current struggles, but I'm not sure any community got in-depth, fair, or nuanced representation.

I really liked the tone, and the narration, but I did feel lost sometimes as to which character was speaking, not necessarily because of the audiobook narration, but just because I didn't get a feel for everyone's backgrounds or experiences in the way they spoke, so that might have affected my experience of this book.

I really liked the storyline, and the idea that a particular person, as a representative of a community can represent the doom of our time to some people, and so others wish to save them, but what this meant, in my reading experience of this, is that it seemed to mirror the not particularly productive conversations of non-trans people on both sides of the spectrum, without the reader hearing much from the trans character herself. Also, <spoiler> I know that for the writer herself, and others who have been through her journey, to be able to wish yourself to appear how you feel inside would be the dream, to have Theo transition in the blink of an eye through magic, to me felt like it didn't reflect the struggle and pain that transitioning, and the period of coming to terms with yourself that leads to transitioning must actually be like.</spoiler> As a book that otherwise attempts to represent today's society, I think it fell a bit short there.

To quote another reviewer (Carolyn on Goodreads) "in regards to diverse representation. 3/4 of the main characters are all cishet white women. the 4th is the token black biracial lesbian that covers a whole bunch of diversity in one fell swoop". As to the rest of the characters, the men don't come across well, as a feminist, I'd really like women to be powerful in their own right in fiction and media, not just because the men are made lesser, or ridiculous.

Actually thinking about it, while it makes for a more interesting story, I'm also not sure the inclusion of magic helps this either, it jarred with me that the powerful female figures in history were explained as being so because they were witches, it reminded me of one of the reasons there were witch trials in the first place if someone spoke up, or was adept at something traditionally associated with a man, or rose too high, then they were at risk of the accusation of witchcraft, including Ann Boleyn, does assigning these characters external power as a means of fighting their battles instead of representing their internal power help the book's valuable messages - just a question for the ether.

In general the themes of sisterhood were well done, to have women supporting each other (except of course all those times they chose conflict over dialogue) was great, but that didn't always ring true, such as the scene <spoiler>where Niamh wipes Holly's memory so that she can't tell her Mum that her father's cheating on her, because her Mum is happier in ignorance? What?! So we'll remove consent and female solidarity so that the husband can continue to cheat because it would hurt her more to know? Isn't that generally the cheater's excuse for the lies they tell? Nope, don't agree with that one</spoiler>

To stick my neck out, I would have liked the trans-denying side of the conversation to have been represented with a bit more nuance as well <spoiler>in a bit of a cliche, Helena is white, extremely privileged, blinkered, and becomes the villain to the point of murdering children</spoiler>, having said that, I did like Niamh's responses to Helena <spoiler>up until the solution being death of course</spoiler>. My pacifist little heart just wishes there was a bit less demonizing and death threats in this debate in general.

In summary, maybe the things that I wanted to be fantastical weren't, and the things that I wanted to be more representative were given the fantasy treatment instead.

The way Her Majesty’s Royal Coven has been marketed makes it seem a feminist, fun, edgy, fresh read and I was excited to give it a try. Unfortunately, and I’m so disappointed to say this, the book wasn’t anything like I was imagining. The plot is essentially about the UK based coven, HMRC, trying to prepare for the attack of the demon Leviathan, the prophecy of The Sullied Child, and the destruction of witches. When HMRC capture and bring in Theo, a very magical child, a former member of the coven, Niamh, is brought into help to discover whether they are in fact the doom facing the coven.

I’ll start with the positives first:
- The concept is interesting, the UK coven, the historical revisions of Anne Boleyn, Elizabeth I etc with witchcraft, it’s well built up and has a lot of potential.
- The representation in the book - I don’t particularly think it’s a huge spoiler but Theo identifies as being trans, this is revealed partway through the book. I have more to say on this all in the negatives in the way that it was down however I also understand that not enough books, or in fact authors, can be so honest about real issues, and create characters that are not just the standard white, cis, and write dialogue that may even challenge some readers.
- Lastly, I adored Niamh, she’s a vet who starts the book speaking to an old horse, telling the horse it’s ok to pass away and leave their owner, and it’s a really tender moment that instantly made me love her. She has an interesting backstory, losing a fiancé, she’s maternal but fiery, she’s Irish (and even more Irish when she’s angry) and she’s an all round badass, and I really enjoyed her romance with Luke

That said, here come the negatives:
- this book is marketed as feminist, a sisterhood of powerful women, however it also falls into a depressing cliche of women clashing and fighting each other - while groups of women do in fact work together, it’s actually to fight other women, why didn’t feel as empowering as I’d hoped. Why so powerful, successful women always have to compete and fight?? The book follows a group of women who have known each other since school; Helena, Niamh, Elle and Leonie.
- while the book is feminist, it’s also, at times, really unhelpfully misandrist. There are only a handful of male characters in this book, Luke is very sweet but he’s a prop, not a supporting character, in fact no male character is really given any depth or feels very real. The warlocks seem kinda redundant, I’m fact the only promising male character is Hale. Of the 2 husbands referenced in this book, dead and alive, one is a cheat and one was abusive. Men are casually blamed for most things in this book and, of course, as a feminist I recognise the role of patriarchy in both current and historical suffering of women, it doesn’t always feel helpful.
- the writing style, I don’t know if Juno was doing this for some particular reason but the pop culture references were just too much, literally I was just rolling my eyes come the end. There’s quite a common Spice Girls theme, with the group of women often compared to each member, it starts off mildly cute, it gets old real quick. My main issue with pop culture is how it ages the book, yes it highlights that these are women clinging on their past together, that’s why so many references are stuck in the 90’s, but this doesn’t matter to a reader, a reader who might not know what Geri’s UN Ambassador look looked like or who Stephen Gately was. There was also a reference to Nicole Kidman’s post-divorce face which is VERY specific and will probably not age well. Alongside all this, the specific references continue into the descriptions to the point I thought maybe Juno was getting sponsorships. They’re not just eating crisps, they’re eating M&S crisps, they’re not just sitting on a sofa, it’s an ikea sofa, not just a supermarket, it’s a Sainsburys, Elle doesn’t just put on some pants, she puts on Kate Hudson’s Fabletics yoga pants, it’s just cringe the more the book goes on.
- the ending - this ending, without giving spoilers, reads like the most lazy, most dissatisfying, most wtf ending that changes everything in 1 paragraph (with a terrible last line) and that 1 paragraph is enough for me not to bother with the sequel.
- Now here’s the big one. I’ll start by making it very clear, I’m an ally, I have zero issue with reading about trans people and the representation is one of the few positives in this book. However I didn’t love the approach the book took. There is no mention that this book is essentially a political message of whether a trans girl can be in an all woman coven, and I don’t necessarily know who the audience is. There are repetitive, passionate, aggressive conversations and arguments between characters about how trans women are women, and a transphobic character who refuses to believe it. The POV from the terf is difficult to spend time with, it must be triggering to some people. Also it’s disappointing that Theo doesn’t get a POV, yes possibly this changes in the 2nd instalment but in this book really all Theo’s character comes down to is being trans, we don’t hear how she feels or learn much else about her which was such a shame.
- There are also numerous attempts at addressing racism into this book, again it feels quite forced, at one point, in an exchange between Leonie and her partner Chinara about Helena, we get the line “they’d underestimated a vindictive white woman” - yes Helena is white and boy is she vindictive but I don’t know, it just felt out of place and distracting, especially by a white author in a scene not motivated by racism. I’d feel this theme more natural an inclusion if Leonie had been written with more depth, she has broken away from the HMRC coven as it’s so white centred she didn’t feel represented or like she belonged so she created her own inclusive coven. That alone should be exciting and interesting, this additional coven, and yet we know so little about it, in a book arguing that it’s always about white people and white magic.
- Lastly, the characters. Like above with Leonie and Theo, they just don’t always feel believable or explored enough. Niamh is, yes, but Helena turns into a dastardly villain and it made no sense to me. Literally one moment Niamh and Helena are saving each other in a fight with another witch, then Helena is plotting death. She can push past the darkness to know to save her daughter, the love in her still there, but not her sister like friends? And throwing in a random, unexplored abuse backstory? What’s with that??

I really wanted to like HMRC, like I said the potential was so strong and a lot of people clearly did like it and I’m glad for them. But it just wasn’t for me. I know this is the first in a series so of course many of my criticisms could be explained or rectified in future instalments, such as Leonie and Theo’s development. Unfortunately the ending just put me off giving it a go (unless I read a spoiler to find out IT WAS ALL A TRICK)

In more positive news, the audio book is really well done. Nicola Coughlan narrates this story and she’s a master at getting the accents on the page, I sometimes struggle with an audio book for that very reason, hearing someone trying too hard to sound like different characters, but she’s a natural and it’s actually really relaxing and enjoyable listening to her!

Thank you NetGalley for the copy in exchange for my honest review

I've always enjoyed books written by Juno Dawson and this, her first adult novel, was no exception. It was a thoroughly compelling story based in the real world but with a twist, witches are real and they are organised. I loved how the problems of the modern world, racism, transphobia, etc. featured so heavily in the witching world as well along with the solutions. It made the whole thing seem much more real and based within the real world.

Nicola Coughlan's voice was perfect for the story and she read beautifully (apart from the pronunciation of Todmorden at one point but I doubt many people would notice!). I really enjoyed listening all the way through.

I love anything related to witches/magic so I was absolutely sold when I read the synopsis of this book. Of course I had to request it and was thrilled when netgalley approved it! I immediately had to dive in. Let me tell you this book did not disappoint. So excited this is a trilogy.

We meet four young girls Niamh, Elle, Helena & Leonie. They are witches and took an oath to join Her Majesty’s Royal Coven. Jump forward a few decades and the story is told through the POV of the 4 woman. Most of these woman are trying to live a normal life, except for Helena. What’s great about the multiple POVs, is that we are able to go on the journey with these woman who are all completely unique and have their own opinions and struggles.

I listened to this as an audiobook and OMG Nicola Coughlan is unbelievable and does a great job of distinguishing the different woman and other characters. 5 stars for narration!!!!

A young person is introduced to have an immense power, and at first is locked up and feared. Niamh takes this child home and helps them to harness their power and be in control. As the story unfolds, we learn that this young boy wishes to be a girl.

Juno Dawson explores gender and the corrupting nature of power in a delightful and provocative story of magic and matriarchy, friendship and feminism. Dealing with all the aspects of contemporary womanhood, as well as being phenomenally powerful witches, Niamh, Helena, Leonie and Elle may have grown apart but they will always be bound by the sisterhood of the coven.

This was so good! The narrator was amazing and this is going to be such a huge series.

Such good representation in this book, not shying away from hard topics and handling them so well. I love this Coven and wish I had one of my own!!

Actual rating 3.5 stars
Okay, so this book has brilliant aspects. There is some insightful trans rep, and rep for POC.
The characters were interesting to read about. Reading from the perspective of people of opposing sides as they reach their most significant conflict (the boss fight if you will) was great. You can see the tension building and the relationships fraying into disdain for one another.
However, I felt that the prose was lacking. The way that things like losing a loved one and coping with the aftermath of the war were handled is very cliche, with little to no deviation from the things you’d see in a doctor's office leaflet about bereavement. Even the anger from some of the characters felt very rigid and unnatural. Kind of like the reader needed these things spoon-fed to them in case they missed it.
I also loved that they picked a small rural town setting for most of this book it made it feel almost familiar and cozy in setting at least not really in the content of the story if that makes sense… cozy vibes for lack of a better way to explain it. The way they wove the witchy politics into our current-day system was a great detail that I really appreciated reading I’m usually not a huge fan of urban fantasy settings but this one was enjoyable.
I really enjoyed the plot and how it ties in to get her and sets us up for the second book which I will definitely be reading.
Despite this book's minor flaws I really enjoyed it and I will definitely be recommending it.