So fresh and accessible! Could anything be more heartening than a fun, fantastical book that discusses gender identity through the lens of a trans witch, hitting the bestsellers lists? Of course it also dips into romance, sisterhood, naked forest rambling and the Spice Girls among other things. Also, this was my first ever audiobook so I have to marvel for a second at Nicola Coughlan’s AMAZING talent with accents! Also, I would love it just for the cover and title.

“The patriarchy, above all else, fears women coming together, so internal female division only succeeds in greasing that machine.”

Childhood friends and witches Leonie, Helena, Elle and Niamh take an oath as they become adolescents to enter Her Majesty’s Royal Coven. Decades later, only Helena remains in the coven and she is now the High Priestess running the show. Elle and Niamh are trying to live normal lives as ‘Mundanes’ and Leonie defected from HMRC to form her own more inclusive coven, Diaspora. A young warlock with exceptional powers enters their lives and turns everything on its head.

I listened to this book on audio, narrated by Nicola Coughlan. I struggled for about the first half of the book and Nicola’s exceptional narration was the only thing that pushed me forwards, but my, am I glad I persevered!

Juno Dawson manages to tackle a plethora of issues but it never feels like the book is trying to do too much. The book is bursting from the seams with 90s pop culture references (honourable mention to the abundance of Spice Girls references), as well as repainting some historical figures as actually being witches (love!). The book somehow manages to be both light and dark at the same time; I laughed, cried and seethed with anger at various points throughout. I loved some characters and loathed others, and that ending….. Wow! I cannot wait for book two!!

Love the cover of this book however I wasn’t sure if it would be for me, (mainly because i saw it on someone’s Instagram as a steamy read which) but when is saw it was available on audiobook I thought I might as well give it a try. So glad I did! It’s one of my favourite audiobooks so far.

The narration is so clear and easy to listen to, each characters voice is so distinct and I became so very attached to each of them (barring 2 obvs!).

The mix of magic and current Britain was so welcome, this is my favourite story to watch / read.

I enjoyed the trans aspect of the book. It was put across so well and as someone who is embarrassingly uneducated in this topic (I’m sorry) I now feel that I understand the trans community more.

Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for allowing me the privilege of listening to this ARC. I can’t wait for the next one!

The cover of this book immediately intrigued me, and I've had my eye on it for a little while, but was unsure if it would be something I'd like. I enjoyed the imaginging of witch and warlock society in contemporary Britain, and especially loved the northern English settings - it's always surreal but enjoyable to read fiction set where you live and work! Nicola Coughlan gives an outstanding performance bringing each character to life, and I thought all the accents were brilliant. I would definitely recommend this in audiobook format.

Some of the characters interested me more than others - I liked Niamh in particular - but I struggled to keep all the characters straight in my head for a while. The overall plot didn't feel like anything particularly new - 'prophecy about a future apocalypse at the hands of a super-powerful child that can't control their power' has been done in other media that I've enjoyed more. The political messages were sometimes pretty heavy handed for my liking - it's overly didactic, with the same points being made over and over, and this isn't something I look for in the books I read and isn't mentioned in the synopsis.

Overall, this was an interesting audiobook that I'm glad I was given the opportunity to read. There is definitely an audience for this, it just personally wasn't a new favourite.

Sadly this was not for me, I got about 60% in but by that point the 'villain' just felt like a panto baddy and it was just a bit too over the top for me. To be honest if it hadn't been for the narrator I probably would have given up earlier bit I really liked her style of reading, she was great.

Whilst it took me a while to settle into this audiobook once I was in, I was hooked.

The narrator does an excellent job of differentiating between the characters so that this feels more like a radio play than simple narration.

Dawson writes fun, raw and diverse characters that you fall in love with and takes the same care to flesh out her villains as much as her heroines. The discussions of social issues throughout were nuanced and a key part of the novel without feeling forced or condescending.


The friendship shared between the women in this book was by far my favourite element and I loved the complexity shown in these connections.

Witchy and political, what’s not to love.

I really wanted to love this more than I did; the central idea—a trans witch being included in a traditionally female binary coven—is fascinating, and one well worth deconstructing.

But I found the first 100 pages slow, and everything, including the interesting world-building, seemed to kick off and abruptly come together in the last 50-100 pages. I also found the plot not as cohesive as I’d have liked. Even the twist at the end didn’t seem satisfying payoff for everything that led up to it.

Nicola Coughlan’s narration was, however, absolutely brilliant and mostly the reason I kept going to the end.

This was one of my most anticipated books of this year. I really wanted to like this more but sadly it just didn’t live up to the hype for me. I felt like it was hard going through the first half but it did picked up towards the end. I just didn’t click with the writing or the characters as much as I would have liked. Plus there was one too many Spice Girls references. However, I will probably pick up the next in the series just because of that cliffhanger of an ending.

Thank you to HarperCollins UK for this advanced copy.

Wow. What a book!!! I listed to it in audiobook format and it was such a compelling listen. I couldn’t wait to put it on each time I got in the car. The narration is as fantastic as the story.

The idea of a government sanctioned coven was enough to draw me in…the witches made me stay!!

I don’t want to give away any spoilers but Juno Dawson handles the issues in the book well, tells a compelling and engaging story and leaves me absolutely desperate for the next instalment!!

There a cliff hangers and twists, the tone of the story is perfectly pitched for the young adult audience while also being a thoroughly entertaining read for adults as well.

When I first heard about Her Majesty's Royal Coven, I was immediately intrigued by the concept. The story is based in the modern world, but revolves around a coven of witches that are part of a top secret governmental department. As a Pagan, any book that centres around magic in the real world will always catch my attention, and so I was excited to start reading this.

Before I get into the review, I want to make a note about the content warnings for this book. Juno Dawson doesn't shy away from the tough stuff, and so you need to be aware of the kind of topics that come up. Storygraph has a very thorough list of content warnings submitted by readers of Her Majesty's Royal Coven, and I checking it out. However for the purposes of this review I'm going to list some of the biggest ones.</p

Transphobia
Racism
Sexism
Violence
Abuse
Death
Toxic friendship

The story begins with five teenage friends who are about to take an oath that will change their lives forever. They each have magical powers, however these are hidden from non-magical members of society. By joining the coven they promise to protect their country from magical forces that might threaten them. </p>

The story then jumps forward many years, and the girls are now adults. We begin to learn how their lives have diverged as they grew up, with Helena now running HMRC (Her Majesty's Royal Coven - this acronym gave me a great chuckle) as head priestess, Niamh using her powers to help with her work as a vet, Elle preferring to focus on her family (who do not know she is a witch), and Leonie who has set up what Helena perceives as a "rival coven". The fifth girl from their original friendship group, Ciara, is also Niamh's sister. But she is no longer a part of the group, having been incapacitated during "The War".

It takes some time to really piece together what happened during the war, but we learn very early on that it has taken a massive toll on the magical community. Both Niamh and Helena lost loved ones during the war, a time in which it seems some witches and warlocks (the name given to male magical characters) worked with demons and caused unspeakable damage

Though the war is now over, the trauma is great, and it bleeds into the way some of the characters react to a new threat that has been prophesised. All of the seers within HMRC are predicting that Leviathan, a great force for evil, will rise. And that the "sullied child" will bring about the destruction of both the coven and the world.

So when a young, powerful warlock is found, with powers beyond that which anyone has seen before, they automatically assume this is the sullied child.

The first time we see the sullied child, they are being held prisoner by HMRC. As a powerful sentient, Niamh is brought in by Helena to see if she can find anything out about the child. Niamh is horrified to see the conditions in which the child is being held, and gets Helena to agree to her taking them to her home where she can gain their trust. And this is when things really start to fall apart.
As Niamh starts to get to know the child, we learn their name is Theo. We also find out that they had some massive trauma in their past. And, over time, that they are trans.

Niamh believes that Theo should be brought into the coven as a witch, however Helena is determined to misgender her as male and uses every means at her disposal to get rid of the child she now sees as not only the sullied child but also a threat to all witches everywhere. Because within Helena we meet the epitome of a TERF.

Over the course of the book, Helena's thoughts and actions become ever more desperate. Set against her old friends, all of whom are trying to help Niamh to help Theo, she uses her power to try to control events. She has Theo kidnapped by the warlocks, kills someone who could warn the others of her plans, and uses extremely dark magic to wield power over the other witches. And all the while she justifies her actions as "protecting" the coven

Reading the chapters written from Helena's point of view is hard. As someone married to a non binary transfeminine wife, I felt my anger rising constantly. I know that this is how transphobes think, having seen it play out so often on social media (particularly Twitter). And within Helena I found a character who summed up the extreme privilege, ignorance, and self-righteousness that hurts so many trans people today.</p>

The only thing that kept me reading was the love and acceptance shown by the other characters, and their passion for justice. Niamh fights with everything she has to keep Theo safe. Leonie, who has already set up a more inclusive coven in Diaspora, introduces her to another trans witch. And Elle faces her fears of her family finding out who she is, in order to protect both her daughter and Theo. In these characters I found the fierce love that exists within the queer community and their allies.

I have to admit I have a bone to pick with Juno Dawson. Having taken us through the most gut wrenching chapters, we near the end of the book thinking that everything is going to work out fine. And then... in the very last chapter the worst thing imaginable happens. I'm not going to spoil it for you, but just be warned that this book ends on a massive cliffhanger!

Overall I enjoyed reading this book, and am eager to read the next installment when it is published. It took several chapters to really get clear in my head which character was which, as the POVs kept changing. But once I had that clear in my head it was great to see how each character developed.

And as hard as I found all the conflict within the story, not just with Helen's transphobia, but also how exclusive HMRC was and the way in which Diaspora was looked down upon, I'm glad it was included. Because this is exactly the kind of world we live in, with minorities having to fight constantly for acceptance and basic human rights.

I'd definitely recommend picking up this book if you're interested in a story set in the real world, but with a secret, magical other world too.

This simply isn't the book for me. The writing isn't my style, it's too far catch and also to simplistic, it feels as though it's lacking any magic. I have hardly started and I'm activity not enjoying it. No doubt it will suit others but not me

I received an e-ARC (advanced readers copy)of this audiobook from NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Her Majesty’s Royal Coven is essentially a massive middle finger to JK Rowling, and I absolutely adored it.

This is a modern day witch-y fantasy, filled to the brim with diverse characters. I adored the magic system which was largely based on a lot of Wicca beliefs - connection to the Earth, the Mother etc. The characters were all so fully formed (Niamh was my favourite, as I think was intended), and even the side characters had been fleshed out and given full personalities. And the plot - I could not have guessed where it was going, not to mention THAT CLIFFHANGER. It is also incredibly queer, incredibly representative, it encapsulated the diversity of British society today. It also confronts head-on many difficult topics that face today’s society - including government corruption, class, race, feminism, and transgender rights.

A massive trigger warning should be noted here, for depicting transphobia, in particular trans exclusionary radical feminism (terf), though it is heavily and repeatedly challenged and fought against. The infrastructure of this world is rigidly split on the gender binary, and some characters are depicted trying to uphold these. However, the majority of characters are supportive and fight against the system to support the trans characters of this story. At its core, there is a story of a scared child, coming to terms with who they are, and (spoilers) eventually being able to accept and project their true identity into the world.

There is also an interesting examination into grief, and how that affected different people in different ways. These characters have complex emotions, and we see how this has impacted their lives a decade after the fact.

Nicola Coughlan (of Derry Girls and Bridgerton fame) narrates the audiobook and she is PHENOMENAL. Her narration gave each individual character and point of view it’s own rhythm, making everything fell so whole and complete. The accents on show also helped locate the characters thoroughly into their geographic locations, making it a recognisable, purposeful choice. Coughlan’s voice and pacing overall was also just so soothing.

A fantastic narrator for a brilliant book. I fell head first into this and couldn't put the book down until I'd finished. A powerhouse of storytelling, I loved it.

I did not finish this title to be completely honest. This was absolutely no fault of the story itself - I was intrigued enough that I want to pick this up as a physical book. Nor was the audio narrator bad, I very much enjoyed the narration! My issue was with the formatting of the audiobook, so is very specifically feedback on this - every single chapter was named "MP3" and therefore tracking where you got to in the audiobook was completely impossible unless you memorized the time stamp (difficult when listening at night!)

In terms of the story, I really enjoyed when I heard, however it was a little more little country village than I expected at the beginning! The concept was really intriguing though and I will definitely purchase this to finish.

Wow.... WOW!! What a book! This was such an incredible story covering a myriad of exciting and important subjects. I just love anything witchy so the witchcraft element had me hooked but it is such a modern story, featuring the important topics of intersectionality, sexuality, identity and inclusivity. I didn't expect this Her Majesty's Royal Coven to cover so much ground, all in such a brilliant story. I loved the characters and Nicola Coughlan's narration was INCREDIBLE. She did so many different accents and imbued each character with their own unique personality. She is brilliant and I could listen to her reading all day. I am so grateful to the publisher for access to the audiobook, I absolutely loved it. And the ending was just mind-blowing!!!! I cannot wait for the next instalment and will be first in the cue to buy a copy.

I definitely think this is a good book... just not for me. I just don't vibe with Juno's writing. I've tried a few of her books now but I'm just never gripped and it always feels like something is missing for me. This is the best one so far and I definitely was interested enough to keep listening but I doubt I'd have continued physically and I don't yet know if I want to try book 2 yet or not.

I can see this being adored by the right audience though. Definitely not a bad book, just not my kind.

I went into this novel really wanting to absolutely love it, and whilst I didn't quite reach love level, I did enjoy it. There were some parts I really struggled with. I got a little confused on occasion too. I did however, really like some of the characters. I gave this book 3.5 out of 5 stars.

The narration is by far my favourite fiction audiobook narration ever. The changes in accents between characters felt natural and not jarring (like some can be). It's been nice to listen to an audiobook with an Irish accent for a change.

The building of the world was done very well and clear. I loved the idea of the HMRC and the other smaller groups separating from it. I loved the aspects of nature and the lessons on using magic with the kids.

The writing was okay and I think a lot of that is saved by the narrator. I found some of the words used to be quite jarring and I'm not sure how I feel about some of the word choices. The pacing felt a little off to me, I found certain parts dragged and there were points in the story that I felt like nothing much was happening to drive the story forward.

Overall I really liked the concept and the characters, it just didn't give me enough feelings to rate it any higher.

Where to start with this book? It was absolutely amazing!!!! I honestly think this might be my new favourite book. Not only does it have witches but an absolutely fantastic social commentary on LGBTQ, race, social class etc. I honestly can't wait to read the next installment.

Loved this! Nicola Coughlan is incredible as the narrator - one of the best audiobook narrations I’ve listened to. We get all the different accents as we change character perspectives and this helps to enhance their personalities and help remember who is who.

The book itself is also a very addictive and rich act of storytelling with great social commentary throughout.

Can’t wait for the second one!