Her Majesty's Royal Coven is an urban fantasy book which I absolutely adored! The story itself, the characters , everything so well developed ! I love the idea of Queen Elizabeth years ago gathering witches to form a royal coven. There are a lot of social issues addressed ! It’s unique and omg what a ride! Definitely a book you should add on your tbr!

i was really looking forward to this but i found the tone very simplistic (especially in its very dualistic good/bad worldview) and despite i would have preferred more lgbtq+ characters and a more intersectional approach to feminism etc.

Many thanks to HarperCollins UK Audio and Juno Dawson for the advanced audio copy of Her Majesty’s Royal Coven via NetGalley, in return for my honest and unbiased review. Quick note: I don’t recap plots in my reviews, as it’s easy enough to read the book’s synopsis and blurbs, I purely focus on my feelings & opinions of how the books makes me feel.

If you’re looking for something light-hearted and flippant, this ain’t it! This book is deep, political, and heavy hitting. I’m not normally a fan of low/urban fantasy but I was very much gripped by this narrative and the narrator absolutely sealed the deal for me. There is obviously no accent/dialect that Nicola Coughlan can’t do.

When it comes to people politics, this book covers A LOT. At times it felt like Dawson was perhaps being a bit over-ambitious in trying to force too many issues into one book. However, in the end it was all balanced well, and the issues were raised for a reason and not just for clout.

The book does end on an absolute cliff-hanger, so be warned.

Note: this is very much an adult book, with graphic discussions of abuse, violence, sex and a LOT of swearing!

Moods: adventurous, challenging, dark, emotional, funny, mysterious, tense
Pace: medium
Character development: medium
Plot or character driven: 50/50
Diversity: high
Spice: 3/5
Trigger warnings: Ableism, Abusive relationship, Animal abuse/death, Blood/Gore, Cheating, Child abuse, Death, Death of a family member, Drugs, Homophobia, Misgendering, Misogyny, Murder, PTSD, Racism, Sexism, Transphobia, Violence
Rating:
Story: 5/5
Audio: 5/5

Looking at the shocking pink cover of the audiobook, I’d assumed that I was getting a reasonably light-hearted exploration of witchcraft and what it means to be a woman in the contemporary world. It’s nothing of the sort. Instead, nested within a cracking story that had me listening far later than I should, is a searing and comprehensive examination of female loyalties and expectations within our modern society. Just because the four young women are imbued with powerful magic, they aren’t insulated from the pressures the rest of us wrestle with on a daily basis. Issues such as dealing with chauvinist and abusive behaviour, racism, juggling work with motherhood, the push/pull of whether to settle down to have a family or prioritise a chosen career are all very recognisable problems also experienced by us non-magical Mundanes. In addition to dealing with these ongoing life decisions – our four protagonists are also still recovering from a savage war within the magical community between those who believed the magically gifted should be ruling the world and those who felt the status quo should prevail. Two of our heroines lost partners in the conflict, while Niamh’s twin sister was also on the opposing side, so the cost was high.

When a young, traumatised warlock is discovered after a destructive fire, Helena and Niamh initially agree on a course of action. However, as events unfold, the former allies suddenly find themselves on opposing sides of an issue that is also ripping apart Feminists – that of transgenderism. It was brilliant to see this difficult, emotive topic so effectively covered within a gripping tale, where both sides of the argument were so well covered.

I’m conscious that I’ve given the impression that this is a worthy story, full of pertinent issues that affect modern women within Western society. But what I’ve perhaps omitted to tell you is that all this goes on within a wonderful tale full of drama and some fabulous action scenes, shot through with wry humour that occasionally had me laughing aloud. And there was one particular scene that had me close to tears. The book also finishes on a doozy of a plot twist that has me desperate to read the sequel RIGHT NOW – because I’ve got to know my all-time favourite character is alright. In short, this is a fabulous tale that gives us four nuanced, believable characters facing familiar and contemporary problems with an extra, complicating twist of magic that makes the story leap off the page. I can’t wait to get hold of the next book. Very highly recommended. While I obtained an audiobook arc of Her Majesty's Royal Coven from the publishers via Netgalley, the opinions I have expressed are unbiased and my own.
10/10

Unfortunately, I did not connect with this book as I'd hoped to. I very much enjoy this kind of story. I'm sorry, you know how it is, a weird reading slump hits and a couple of books in a row just don't seem to hit the mark. I'm sure if I picked it up at a different time it would be a different review. Reading is very much clouded by mood. I wish the author all the very best with this beautiful sounding and looking book.

I was gripped early on in the story and Nicola Coughlans narration was fantastic with the different voices.

I love Junos writing style and also the topics which she brings up within the novel. This was the first novel by Juno that i have read and i can't wait to read more of her backlist.

So we have warlocks, witches, mundane people, and also LGBTQ+ rep. The oracle's have seen a prophecy that threats the coven and 5 friends become the centre of the prophecy, and how far they will go to prevent it from happening.

The book also had house of the cerulean sea vibes due to the found family vibe, but also showing people are different but still can work together and make a family, yet there is a darkness/evil that wants to destroy everything.

"’There are no good witches or bad witches, there are just witches and the choices we make.’ ‘That’s true of humans too’

Niamh was most certainly one of my favourite characters and seeing her grow but also tell us snippets of the past (times with her sister).

I have already gone and pre-ordered the sequal as i want to know where the story goes next.

I didn't enjoy the narration on this audiobook so instead treated myself to the hardback when it was published. What a book! So inventive and rich peppered with Juno's trademark wit and excellent characterisation. I have already started recommending it to everyone I know. I felt that some of the strong language was gratuitous at times but all in all an absolute belter of a book....the wait for the sequel is going to be torturous!

I enjoyed this book, the magic in it was cool and I enjoyed reading about the characters and their found family relationships with each other.
At first when it started to get more into the topics of social issues I wasn’t sure it would work well with the magic aspect but I liked this. I found it rather eye opening about privileges white women have and brings up an important conversation about intersectionality in feminism. Juno Dawson does a great job of bringing to the forefront the issues transgender individuals face from people who have no intention of trying to understand the issues they go through and it was very impactful to read.
I would recommend this book and am excited for the second book.

Thank you Net Galley and HarperCollins Audio for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

First off, Nicola Coughlan was incredible at narrating this book. I was in awe of how well she portrayed the many characters just by voice. The accents were amazing, the way she made me feel when listening to this audiobook, how she made you sympathise with each character - just everything was perfect.

Her Majesty’s Royal Coven is a low fantasy novel set in a small Yorkshire town in the UK. Niamh comes across a child who is misunderstood and shields them from the dangers. This book is about friendship, trust, love and understanding. The diversity and LGBTQIA+ representation in this novel is beautiful, along with the many different stories told. The trans rep is compelling and gorgeous. I loved this novel so much. Also a complex villain? That makes it even better.

I would recommend this to everyone, I think there is a bit of everything. Do read the content warnings before starting as there are some major mentions of transphobia, racism, violence, (and white supremacists).

This sounded right up my street from the start given it was urban fantasy and witches and I wasn't wrong at all! Despite that, I still went into this not entirely sure what to expect and ended up being blown away!

There's a lot about this book for you to really sink your teeth into. First of all, there's the magic system which was very intriguing to me and I loved how it was blended with reality, it really reminded me of my love for Charmed and Sabrina back in the day! I was living for all of the background on HMRC and how it was formed and all of the world building that was shown throughout.

Second, there's the plot. I'm going to be honest, I did find it a bit slow at the start but once I was hooked, that was it. I voluntarily did exercise and cleaning in order to keep listening to this audiobook to see what would happen next! Despite the slow start, I do think the build up throughout the book is brilliant and it ultimately comes together really well for the finale.

The narrative is funny in places and there's plenty of heart-stopping OMG moments throughout that had me yelling at the book. Not to mention the way I screeched at the end of the book and the last line of dialogue?! I had to re-listen to it because I was like what the hell but also chuckling to myself at the same time. Let's just say there's going to be SO MUCH to look forward to in the next book and I can't wait to see what we're going to get next!

There's multiple POV's to this book. Leonie who's got her own coven of BIPOC witches (ngl she was my favourite because she's fantastic!), Niamh who takes charge of Theo and looking after her and Elle who had a fun POV too. There's also a much less pleasant POV from Helen. She's the High Priestess and she's basically a TERF. Her POV made my skin crawl and I kind of wanted to wash the ick off after.

The social issues in this book are on point, I have to say. I loved that we had this magical world hiding within our own but it wasn't free from similar issues. Helen is massively anti-trans and I couldn't help but see our own world reflected within what was going on with Theo and Helen etc. I kept thinking about a certain author as well and while it did make me feel a wee bit bleak, the other POVs more than made up for it and I LOVED how Theo is this all powerful witch!

There's also discourse about women's rights and the things they face and while Helen's POV was bleak to read and unpleasant, I do feel like ultimately this book is pretty powerful. You have all of these badass female characters and then the biggest, baddest witch of all is Theo and I found myself smiling so many times reading this because it has SUCH big found family vibes and Niamh and Theo were just...I loved it.

I also really loved how much representation there was within this book from BIPOC to LGBTQIA+ and I felt it was so Trans positive, despite Helen. I for once, can't wait to pick up Shadow Cabinet and see what happens next, I think Juno's a fantastic writer and this book is much needed in many different ways!

One last little note: the narrator was brilliant and really brought a little something extra to the story!

What an absolute cracker of a book! Juno Dawson's first foray into adult books is a great success and the ending left me SCREAMING for more. (Literally screaming, I assure you). This is a well plotted and well executed tale of magic and witches in the contemporary world, and I enjoyed the setting, the story and the characters alike. The book touches on some very relevant and contemporary issues surrounding the LGBTQ+ community, especially trans people, and is full of very diverse characters, which are not presented as tropes but as valid members of society. The plot centres around an ancient prophecy that might be coming to life, and a character who becomes a pawn in a power struggle between different sides of the magical world. I loved the fact that there was no sugar coating in the book and that the world created was dark and unforgiving. I believe this the first part of a trilogy and I can only say that I cannot wait for further developments after THAT ENDING.
I also loved the narration by Nicola Coughlan, although I struggled to understand some of the words specific to the witchy world and had to look them up in a physical copy.
Thank you Netgalley and Harper Collins for letting me to read (listen to) this gem.

This follows a group of childhood friends whose lives have taken them in different directions but they are connected by one thing - being witches.
However, was not what I expected from this book, I was sadly quite bored at time and did not go in a direction that I found interesting, and the plot itself felt quite flimsy to me.

Wow wow wow!! I absolutely loved this book.
I'm not going to lie, at the start I hated the stereotypical "British humor" I felt like British phrases were used too often and wrong.
It was about 20% in that I just knew I couldn't stop!

The message about transgender was incredibly spot on and beautifully written.

If I was reading the physical copy of this book I would 100% of flung the book at a wall at the end. I was practically screaming while listening. And thats all I will say about that!

I need book two immediately!

I would 100% recommend the audio book. I loved the narrators voice and hwo she brought the story to life.

I enjoyed listening to this audiobook and think Nicola was the perfect narrator for it. The story was interesting, especially the very witchy parts. I liked the characters, their variety and who they were as people.

I would listen to the next book in the series.

3.5*

Thank you Harper Collins/HarperVoyager and NetGalley for providing me with an audiobook arc in exchange for an honest review.

I have mixed feelings about 'Her Majesty's Royal Coven' which is a shame because I was really looking forward to it.

Nicola Coughlan does an amazing job narrating the book, I don't think there is an accent she can't do! The politics of this book are really important and it is worth reading for that alone, however I found myself struggling with the pacing and writing style.

There were a lot of pop-culture references in this which don't normally bother me, but there is only so many times I can hear about the Spice Girls before I need you to 'stop right now thank you very much'. I also, unfortunately, found the writing style to be very blunt and I struggled to remain engaged even during tense moments.

Most of the action happens in the last 20% of the book, making the first half feel much longer than it is and the ending too rushed. I was tempted to DNF multiple times but instead just listened on double speed. However, I will say that once I got to the last 20% I enjoyed the book significantly more.

'Her Majesty's Royal Coven' is a low urban fantasy about witches with important queer political commentary, but the fantasy world building was lacking and as such felt more like a political essay using witches as a metaphor rather than a fantasy novel. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but I was disappointed as this was sold as an 'epic fantasy' which it wasn't. There is nothing escapist about this. (Perhaps the world building will develop in the rest of the trilogy?).

Overall, I think this contains a really important discussion and is worth reading for the politics, but if you are not more interested in that than the fantasy aspect, you might struggle with 'Her Majesty's Royal Coven'.

It started off well, the premise was fantastic, and the magical elements were fun but, I feel the actual imminent danger of the “spoiler” got dropped so quickly, in favour of secrets and lies between the friends.

Thank you to NetGalley for the free audio in exchange for an honest review.

I've really been struggling on working 0ut how to review this book, because it wasn't quite what I expected it to be, but I still very much enjoyed it!

The narrator did a great job of this novel and it was easy to tell who was who in each chapter! The voices that Dawson has crafted are all so distinct already, too. There were aspects of most of the characters that I could really appreciate, but I struggled to really feel anything for any of them? Apart from Helena who I just could not stand.

Whilst this book is definitely fantasy, I was hoping for a little more magic. I feel this was more political intrigue than fantasy. Which is fine, but not quite what I was expecting. Definitely a low fantasy, even in the contemporary fantasy genre.

Overall, it was an enjoyable book and I'm very glad I read it! But I'm not sure I'll be picking up the sequel, though that ending was particularly exciting!

What a book, just brilliant. The book is set in the present in Manchester, Hebdon Bridge and London and focuses on a group of friends who are also witches. Years after a supernatural war between HMRC and group of fanatical witches and warlocks wanting to rule humankind we see the aftermath and how it has left the broken group of friends. Focusing on different perspectives from Niamh, Elle, Leonie and Helena. What I loved about this book was that LGBTQIA+ matters being at the forefront but in a way that was so integral to the story. Also dealing with race and inequalities in a fantasy/supernatural book was so clever. I loved the characters and their development throughout especially the relationship between Niamh and Theo. Superb writing and can't wait for the next book 😊

I received the ARC of the audiobook version of the title from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I miss this Juno Dawson. I tend to like her books but the previous “trilogy” wasn’t really my cup of tea this book though, really enjoy her going back to her witchy roots (Hollow Pike) I really enjoy this book but as many books of the genre and target audience it came with a plethora of pop culture references (a little too much for my liking) also the over use of of the variations of the phrase “for crying at loud” where kind of annoying.
Having said that I absolutely loved the political side of the book and the complexity of some of the characters, it’s still a story of good Vs evil and a kind of simplistic language and fast paced.
The conversations about feminism and womanhood as a whole in our society made the book for me.
Having followed the author’s carrier made me see how much mature she has become, she’s more daring in her very realistic and challenging topics.

The voice range of the narrator was very well presented through out the story telling her accents and the intonations made it easy to follow as the many characters come and go.

Highly recommend this title!

My thanks to NetGalley and Harper Voyager publishing for the opportunity to review this audiobook.
My first Juno Dawson combined with fantasy.
Brilliant narration of a superb twisty witchy modern tale.
Can't wait for the sequels and possibly will end up buying the printed edition.
Highly recommended.