I feel like this is a good blend of throne of glass and the plated prisoner series. Plot was really good. World building needed a bit more work in my opinion and the characters need a little more development but hopefully that will happen in book 2.

This review contains spoiler.
I was highly anticipating this book. And on one hand, it delivered, but on the other hand it did not.
I read this book over the weekend, when I was laying sick on my couch and to be honest, it was perfect for that. This book is fast-paced, the writing style is easy and rather simple I think and the world building isn't too complex. So it's a perfect book when you want to read, but you don't have that much brain juices left, because you might be sick or you just want something that is easy to digest.
This book was fun and I overall enjoyed it. Would I read it again though? I doubt it, since there were too many things that I didn't like.
In this story, we follow Lor, who was a prisoner for 12 years, then gets kidnapped to another kingdom/court where she has to participate in a trial to become a queen. Ever since I read The Hunger Games, I am a sucker for books that include trials and female characters that see the rulers for what they are: oppressors. And surely, Trial of the Sun Queen also has both of these. However, the trials were kinda boring and didn't feel deathly (even though people die). They kind of felt like a nice little subplot, since the "romance" seems like the main focus. The authors tries to tell us that the trials are important and that Lor is at a disadvantage and has to be trained, but we rarely see that. What we read about instead is her getting bedazzled by the Sun King, which was boring. We know from the get go that he has some ulterior motives regarding Lor, which would have been fine if Lor would think the same way. Instead, she falls for his "charms" (unreasonably since he is freaking boring), but in the next second she doubts him and his feelings towards her, but alas, 30 pages later, they kiss again.
There was also a lack of likeable characters. Most of them are flat and their only character trait is being arrogant. Lor was supposed to have another one, I think, that being her love for her siblings. But since we only see them shortly at the beginning, we don't really connect to them, so I personally didn't really care about them.
The plot twists were also predictable. As I mentioned above, the Sun King has ulterior motives and it wasn't a surprise when it happens. Also, Lor being an ancestor of the Heart Queen was easy to figure out.
Overall, I wished the book would have been longer. More training, more injuries, longer and harder trials, more complex characters.
I don't know if I'm gonna continue with this series, but I see potential in the author and since I have another book from her, I'm gonna look forward to that!

big thank you to netgalley, the publisher and the author for this arc.

4 stars.

omg i enjoyed this so much. i literally just finished this not even a minute ago, and while the first part took me a little to get through, i absolutely devoured the second half of this book.

this book is a perfect blend of the first 'a court of thorns and roses' book and 'the selection', but /better/. i loved how the big revelation at the end was slowly hinted at, until it finally snapped into place inside my head. the secrets, the lies, all of it weaved together so deliciously. the main characters were also great, but i have some issues with the more prominent side characters being a little underdeveloped. but that's all really.

this is the second book of nisha j. tuli's i've read, and i loved them both!! i will definitely continue reading her work. :)

A phenomenal combination of The Selection meets The Hunger Games, typical Fey style brutality to win the heart of the Sun King.

This dual POV follows Lor - a young woman imprisoned as a child who is thrown into the Trial of the Sun Queen - and Prince Nadir -the Aurora Prince who is wary of his father’s rules and wonder’s what secret the Aurora King is keeping about prisoner 3452.

Lor is hiding more than she lets on to the other characters and even to the reader. Initially I thought the Sun King’s guard, Gabe, would be the love interest but the Sun King charms Lor off her feet immediately and she quickly falls for his charm.

I was interested in Lor as a character throughout the book and hoped to find out her secret by the end but Tuli keeps the reader with speculation of Lor’s hidden past, only revealing bits and pieces that keeps you coming back for more.

The Sun King is the typical fry who is sweet yet vicious! When alone with Lore or in front of the tributes initially, he seems to be a sweet king who is only on his quest for love. However, once the trials begin, it is clear that Atlas is actually cruel and manipulative.

Prince Nadir, the Aurora Prince and heir to the Aurora throne is cast into the story to find out what happened to prisoner 3452. However, in his search, he is unable to dig up appropriate information which leads him to believe that his father has been keeping secrets. I really look forward to seeing how his character grows as the series continues.

The Three Trials the tributes must complete are simple on the surface yet brutal once the trial rules have been given and the timer started. Lor is able to use her skills from the prison to help complete some of the obstacles in the trials.

Overall, this was a stellar read. It was a perfect read after some emotionally heavier books and it brought way more than I originally anticipated.

I will definitely be reading the second book!

Your enjoyment of this book is going to depend highly on how much of an avid reader and what you have read before. I do not mean this in a condescending way, however the recent year's trend of fantasy romance making it mainstream has been stoking these ideas in me for a while.
If you are new to the genre and are picking this book up in your local bookshop, I think there is a high chance you would really enjoy it, but I doubt that if you have been reading books of this genre for many years, have trawled through various recommendation videos through youtube, instagram, and now tiktok, you will not find this particularly groundbreaking. Books these days are being marketed via tropes rather than plot and whilst this is accessible for the masses who may not be die hard readers, it is something that I can find repetative.
All this to say that this book has a place, I can even see it as many peoples favourite books, it has a decent plot and good pacing, it is easy to consume. I am not here to yuck on anyones yum, and I love magical competitions so very much, but for me this seemed surface-level, and didn't have the depth I was hoping for. It felt like I had read much of this same story before, and the big "plot twist" which hasn't even been explicitly revealed yet has been obvious to me from the start.
This is decently written and I would still recommend it and probably will pick up the second on kindle if I find it at a reasonable price. But its not groundbreaking, something that definitely is a wider conversation being had at the moment about the books that are being published.

If you enjoy The Hunger Games and A Court of Thorns and Roses and Throne of Glass series then you will love this new series by the talented Nisha J Tuli. It's a well written concotion of Indian-inspired fantasy. Meet Lor, plucked from the slums of the night time kingdom of the Aurora King and, under mysterious circumstances, entered into the contest of his rival court to become the Sun Queen. Naturally there are unexpected twists and characters that might be allies or might be enemies. A really thrilling start to this new series.

For a book with a title with the sun in it this sure was pretty dark and it was fantastic!

Lor is the main character in this and she will do absolutely anything to survive in the prison she's been put in by the Aurora King. Absolutely anything. There's some very dark scenes and descriptions of mental distress that I did not expect to have been so emotive and well done when I realised it was about faerie courts that haven't been fluffed over into romanticised 'Nice' creatures.

I initially sighed when I realised there was another trial-esque aspect to this for a faerie Queen to be chosen but again was happily surprised it was a bit different to all the rest that I have read before.

This was pretty fast paced and didn't drag at all so I had to immediately dive into the second book when I finished this as I was so interested to see how it was going to go.

Enjoyable! The Selection but make it darker!

Lor, who has spent the last 12 years in prison with her brother and sister, is kidnapped and brought to a neighbouring kingdom and entered into the Sun Queen Trials. Lor has to compete with nine other tributes for the Sun King's Heart and must face four dangerous trials to do so.

I thought the writing was okay and the premise was fun, but the characters were a little underdeveloped as was the world. I did have a strangely great time with it, and reminded me of the fantasy tropes I loved so much! Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for the e-arc!

I want to start by saying I was very close to giving this book 5 stars, because honestly I could not put it down. There is a strong chance that this book is made of a type of addictive drug.

This story was addictive, I was fully invested straight off the bat.

Was it a little predictable- yes
Did it lack world building- yes
Do I plan on devouring the entire series- 100% yes!

If you’re looking for an easy to follow, super fun fantasy, this ‘hunger games, meets throne of glass, meets the batchelor’ is for you! However if you’re looking for beautifully descriptive world building and original magic systems then maybe not (although I’m holding out hope for more magic as the series progresses)!

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Orbit UK for providing me an ebook in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Trial of the Sun Queen is the first instalment in the Artefacts of Ouranos series in which we follow Lor as she is freed from prison and competes against nine other women in the deadly Sun Queen trials to become the Sun King’s wife.

I chose to request this book because I had seen very good reviews from friends on Instagram (such as Allie’s @alliesrecentreads) and chose to ignore the “bad reviews” saying that this book is basically a Throne of Glass knock-off, and I have to say, it did not disappoint me: I loved this book!
I am a sucker for trials in the first book of a new series, so this one was really up my alley. I found Lor to be a really interesting FMC, she was really defiant, yet ready to help her opponents in the four trials. Atlas and Gabriel were also really good male characters, and I hope to see more of them in the next two books! The characters are morally grey, another thing that I like in books, and you cannot really tell who is good and who is bad.
The worldbuilding was truly amazing, and Nisha J. Tuli’s writing was very easy to understand! The plot was kind of predictable, yet I let myself be fooled by the plot twists toward the end. I can understand the criticisms mentioned in the introduction of this review, but to me, what matters most is the way the story is told, and let us not forget the fact that almost every fantasy book out now is full of Fae courts, deadly contests and political intrigue, so of course they are going to seem similar.

I truly recommend this book if you like slow-burn romance, deadly trials, forced proximity and a powerful FMC living in a well-thought fantasy world.
There are two other books in this series: Rule of the Aurora King (out October 19th, 2023) and Fate of The Sun King (out June 4th, 2024), so be on the lookout for those!

Lor spent most of her childhood locked up in a harsh prison, kindling her hatred for the Aurora King, whom she blames for her situation. Just when she fought, she could not survive any longer, she finds herself transported to the neighbouring country. She becomes one of the Tributes in a dangerous tournament, where the reward is to marry the handsome Sun King. The competitions are deadly, and the stakes high, but Lor has learned to be ready for anything to survive...

Trial of the Sun Queen is an exciting, fast-paced novel full of action and romance. Unfortunately, it was not for me. I like books with amazing world-building and characters, treating romance as a bit of spice adding to the balanced story. In this case, the romance overwhelmed everything else. The characters seemed flat and uninteresting, as they were only an object of someone’s attention. The plot did not keep my interest, as it’s main purpose was to lead from one kiss to another. I’m not sure if I will reach for the second book.

“I might not know who the thirty-seventh king of Aphelion was, but at least I know how to throw a fucking punch.”

Lor is a prisoner in Nostraza, a prison in Aurora in which prisoners are subjected to terrible living conditions and are exploited to receive the smallest necessities. She is kidnapped and taken to participate in a series of trials to win the chance to bond with the Sun King, Atlas and rule by his side, which she sees as an opportunity to save her brother and sister from Nostraza. Atlas is perfect and this is what she wants or is it? Nadhir, the prince of Aurora is tasked with finding the mysterious prisoner who escaped from Nostraza and is desperate to understand why his father is so concerned about one prisoner, a human in the land where Fae rule. Can he be trusted when he says that he wants to change Aurora for the better of all its people?
Lor is strong and willing to do whatever it takes and cares deeply for those who matter to her, despite the cost to herself.

This was such a fast-paced book that I picked up the sequel immediately after finishing it. The world building is done well and is easy to follow, thereby not interrupting the pacing of the story which is a version of the Bachelor meets the Hunger Games. I can’t wait for the third book!

Pick this up if you were a fan of the Selection but with higher stakes.

Unfortunately this was the sort of book that I just could not get into. I'm one of those people that's either drawn in straight away or I need to force myself and with this book, it was the latter. It took me way too long to get through the first few chapters which was a real shame.
I'm sure this is the perfect book for a lot of people, it just wasn't for me. Maybe in a few years I will enjoy it more, who knows

This was a quick and enjoyable read. The book pulls you in from the beginning which is something I like.
The world building is fantastic and richly descriptive. I enjoyed the authors writing style and found it easy to follow along.
The plot was great and I loved that it kept my attention and was a steady pace.
The characters were great and i especially loved our main character Lor. She came across as strong , likeable and fierce. I like that the characters had depth to them and were well rounded.

As someone who has read a lot of fantasy this book felt like it had a lot of aspects from those books but also had a lot of new and unique ideas too.

I’ve already purchased got book 2 and looking forward to getting back into this world.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for an eARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this arc in exchange for this honest review.

My arc unfortunately expired whilst I was still reading this, so a proper review will follow once I have a physical copy at hand.

2 stars, it was okay.

This started well, I had fun with the first half of the book. It moved quickly and I was enjoying it, but then it took a turn. I was very interested in Lor as a character and where things would go for her, but then she started devolving. I went from liking her to being annoyed by her attitude and not caring about her at all.

The same goes for the plot; it was intriguing at first but I got tired of getting no answers, so I just disconnected. I understand this is a series, that’s no excuse. But the worst thing about the story for me is probably the romance. I wonder why certain choices were made because they just don’t work.

<spoiler> For example, introducing Nadir’s POV from the beginning was a mistake IMO. It immediately tells me he’s the romantic endgame. That makes me suspicious of any other MC who shows romantic interest in the FC and it’s easy to see right through them. It also makes the twists ineffective; I wasn’t at all shocked when it’s revealed Atlas isn’t as good as he seems.

I’ve been expecting that to happen since he was introduced. Why? Because I’ve read books with these tropes before and you already showed your hand by introducing Nadir as a POV. Instead of being invested, I was just waiting for things to happen exactly as I knew they would.

Also, I absolutely HATE IT when the FC spends the entire book acting like she’s so infatuated and there's nothing wrong, but the moment the MC shows his true colors, she’s like “Something always felt off”. No, it fucking didn’t. You never showed doubt and we're reading from your perspective. It feels disrespectful to the reader to do a 180 like that instead of sowing the seeds from the start. </spoiler>

Anyway, I think this book is a good time if you just go along for the ride and don’t think too much about certain things. It doesn’t feel original (I kept thinking about ACOTAR), but it does have interesting bits and pieces.

I just like Romantasy okay?! I enjoyed this one, yes I got vibes of other favourites that I've already read, but I enjoyed the dark fae world It was a fast read and I dove straight into book two - enough said really!

"Trial of the Sun Queen" caught my eye as the start of a gripping NA fantasy romance series. It's the story of Lor's fierce battle for freedom after enduring years under the Aurora King's cruel reign. Suddenly thrust into the Sun Queen Trials in the Sun King's realm, Lor faces a deadly contest where failure means death or worse, a return to her past torments​​.

The book instantly pulls you in with a mix of snark and suspense, building a world where danger lurks beneath a glamorous façade. Lor's journey is about more than survival; it's about finding justice and possibly love amidst backstabbing and alliances. She's strong, determined, and despite her reluctance, she’s capable of love and inspiring loyalty​​.

While the book draws some parallels to other fantasy romances, like "ACOTAR" by Sarah J. Maas, it stands out with its unique charm and promises an even richer story as the series progresses​​. The blend of character-driven storytelling, treacherous trials, and a snarky heroine makes "Trial of the Sun Queen" a standout read, and I'm already keen to dive into the next book​​.

Yes 🙌
I 💜 Loved 💜 this 💜book 👌💜

Think an older, darker ‘The Selection’ meets a grown up ‘The Prisoner Healer’, throw in courts and politics and Fae and we have ‘Trial of the Sun Queen’.

<I> ‘ Everything is on temporary loan, including our bodies and definitely our souls.’ </i>
This book hooked me from the first chapter and kept me invested in what was happening and where this story was going to go.

<I> ‘I’ve never been ashamed of my scars before. They are a living map of my physical pain, each one earned in the acrimony of my torture. They’re badges of honor. Constant reminders of every moment I survives what so many couldn’t. Of how I’ll keep surviving if I just hold on tight enough.’ </I>
I adored Lor’s strength of character and adaptability, her loyalty to those she loves and her ability to keep on standing no matter how hard life knocks her down.
I found the world Nisha has created truly engaging and I’m honestly so looking forward to reading the second one!


I do however have to say that ***SPOILER*** :
I think Raven Kennedy and Sarah J Maas have RUINED me for blond “kind and caring” love interests. I didn’t trust this guy as far as I could throw him (by which I mean not at all) and I was constantly on edge with where this story was going and what his devilish plan could possibly be, waiting for him to show his true colours 🙈
***SPOILER END****

Wow I absolutely binge read this book!! This is such a fantastic book/ series for lovers of fantasy romance- it reminded me of the Selection and the Hunger Games. ( I love trials in a book when it’s done well and this did not disappoint!!)

The writing was so vivid and immersive- the world and the story felt so rich!! Our FMC was so tenacious and a joy to follow throughout.