Queen B is the delicious prequel to the Her Majesty’s Royal Coven trilogy. Her "Majesty’s Royal Coven" and "HMRC: Shadowcabinet" are already available and the final book is due for publication in 2025.

Now, I'm a big fan of this series, owning both digital and physical copies of the first two books. So, you can imagine my excitement for a prequel, especially one concerning such an infamous figure as Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII.

Our protoganist is one Lady Grace Fairfax, contemporary of Anne, and a member of both her household and Coven. Treachery is ever-present at the Court, and our Coven face multiple betrayals, which becomes a focus of the novel, beginning with the execution of the Queen, and then jumping back to relate the events leading upto this stage. Through Grace's eyes, we see the rise of Anne at court, through her complex marriage and eventual death, and the attempts by the Coven to seek revenge.

The mix of historical facts, with fiction provides for an intriguing storyline with a refreshing take on real events. Also, as Anne is also shown through Grace's memories, she remains a somewhat enigmatic figure in the storyline. And though the storyline is about Anne, this approach allows the theme of the importance of sisterhood shine through - an essential theme in the HMRC trilogy.

Witch and Queen offers an enthralling exploration of Anne Boleyn’s rise and fall, blending ambition and enchantment. In this latest instalment of Dawson’s acclaimed HMRC series, we return to the origins of the story, beginning with the beheading of a witch who became queen. As her coven is thrown into chaos, a traitor remains at large, and her dreams of witchcraft in power are shattered, Anne faces her executioner with grace and a final, cunning plan.

Dawson masterfully intertwines events before and after Anne’s death, presenting the narrative through the perspectives of Lady Grace Fairfax and Cecilia De La Torre—witches and ladies-in-waiting. This prequel delves deeply into themes of female power and the struggles surrounding love, fear, birth, and death. Despite its compact length, the novel is rich with romance, drama, and danger, making it a compelling read that sets the stage for the HMRC series.

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I have enjoyed the HMRC series by this author and this prequel was great.
Witches at the court of Henry VIII and the original witch coven.
Light and fun

Apologies for the late review on this. Covid, family unexpectedly hospital long term for my sister and a house purchase, just wiped me out.

This book - novella to be more precise - is a delight. It ties in the early formation of HMRC, and while it lacks depth the main books bring because of its short length, I still found it a fascinating insight into the way it started for these women.
It was a quick, easy paced read.
I wasn't expecting the grit and depth from the novels but it was still there on some levels, but if that is what you want from the series, then this isn't going to do much for you. However, if like me, you want every bit of detail, no matter how scant or set in whatever time period, on HMRC, then this is an ideal book for the collection.
A great quick read.

Absolutely fantastic, pure and sheer perfection from Juno Dawson, every time I think I can’t enjoy a book more I am proved wrong and they write something even better, can’t recommend enough

Thankyou to Netgalley and HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction | HarperVoyager for a free e-arc in exchange of an honest review.

I loved how this very easily and believably entwined with historical events- it made the book feel very realistic.
-Well paced
-Believable
-Fun (in a sad way?)
-Needed to be longer
-A little bit of a disconnect to the series

I was intrigued when I read the blub for Queen B and had to read this- and the book was an enjoyable and different take on a well-worn period of history. The story is told from the point of view of Grace and Cecila who find themselves caught up in the danger that surrounds Anne.
The plot moves quickly, and the book is easy to read – I read in one sitting. I enjoyed how the book narrative seemed to fit the historical setting. . I could just about believe that Anne Boleyn was a witch and a formidable group of women who surrounded her. It would explain a lot of the historical events during this time. Even though we never directly read about Henry the Eighth, his presence casts a heavy shadow throughout the book. I particularly enjoyed how I could never quite tell what Anne’s motives were right till the end. Fans of her Majesty’s Royal coven will love this instalment.

I love the HMRC series from Juno Dawson, and I also love Tudor history so I thought this combo would be a match made in heaven. Unfortunately though, this novella is just too short for me to sink my teeth into the story. And for someone who knows a fair bit about Tudor history, I was pretty confused by the large cast of characters too. There's bits and pieces of brilliance, with some great action scenes, but I found the relationships between all of the women to be really lacking in depth and meaning - especially that of Grace and Anne, and to a lesser extent Cecilia and Grace too. The lack of development to their relationships really undermines Cecilia's motives as I just didn't find her actions to be all that believable.

If you enjoy the HMRC series, maybe give this a go, but I don't think it's a necessary addition to that story and I even found the tone of this one to be very different.

I don't know why, but going from the main series to this, I did not expect this to be a retelling of Anne Boleyn haha. But I really love this world that Dawson is building and it was a nice short prequel that expanded the witching world that bit more.

Set during the formation of HMRC (Her Majesty’s Royal Coven) the story follows multiple characters as they navigate the time around Anne Boleyn’s execution and the beginning of the witch trials. As a history and fantasy ready this book was the perfect combination and a great addition to Juno Dawson’s world. A refreshing take on a well-known story, I loved reading from the lady in waiting’s POV. It also gives us a welcome back story to the conception of HMRC. This story could be read before the main books however I think it’s better read as a cleanser between the main books.

I thank the publisher, author and Netgalley very much for this opportunity

In Queen B we are taken back to the origins of Her Majesty's Royal Coven in the time of Anne Boleyn.

It's a short novella but we have betrayal, revenge and the HMRC intensity we all like. Unfortunately I don't think this was quite as good as Her Majesty's Royal Coven and The Shadow Cabinet and I think that's due to the extra relationships and getting to know the characters more so in those books. If I had read this before the other two, I think I would have enjoyed it more and rated it higher but I went into this expecting it to hit as hard as those two books.

It was still good and I would still recommend fans of the series reading.

I really enjoyed this novella, the only reason it was a 4 star and not a 5 star for me is because I don't feel it brought anything to the overall story of the series. That being said it was still great seeing some of actual British history mixed in with this fictional world and adding a tragic love story

Set during the formation of HMRC (Her Majesty’s Royal Coven) the story follows multiple characters as they navigate the time around Anne Boleyn’s execution and the beginning of the witch trials. As a history and fantasy ready this book was the perfect combination and a great addition to Juno Dawson’s world. A refreshing take on a well-known story, I loved reading from the lady in waiting’s POV. It also gives us a welcome back story to the conception of HMRC. This story could be read before the main books however I think it’s better read as a cleanser between the main books.

Queen B is a really fun side story related to Juno Dawson's HMRC trilogy and in this we go all the way back to the 1500s and the time of Anne Boleyn who we know from the main trilogy was a witch. We follow Grace Fairfax, a young woman in court and part of Anne Boleyn'c coven reeling from the devastating execution of Anne and the growing threat of witch hunters.

This was fun as a fan of both HMRC trilogy and also a big fan of Tudor history. I do think a prior knowledge of Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII and his wives etc would be best going into this book and really understanding some of the tensions and the threats and also as a way of appreciating how Juno Dawson fine tuned history to fit in with her witchy story.

I would have liked this to be a longer, full-scale novel as I don't really feel; I truly got to know who the characters were. I feel like we didn't have enough to really understand Grace's affection for Anne, and in turn Cecelia's affection for Grace. I feel like the relationships were suppose to be integral to the story but we barely got to skim the surface of them, and because it was novella we missed out on some of the slower paced building up of these relationships.

I'm all here for more HMRC novellas though and would love more in Queen Elizabeth's time as well - and even more interesting would be some set in the time of King James and the English Witch Trials of the time.

I loved Juno Dawson's last 2 novels and so was so excited to read Queen B! The characters were great, but I think the element of magic and humor were missing from this. That being said it was an enjoyable read and I look forward to the next HMRC installment

It was great novella.
It gave us some info about how the coven started, and it was a delight to see the prequel was also queer !
It waas easy to read, the main characters managed to be fleshed out, the secondary, were, well not as developped as the rest...

I like how the plot unfurls, and how it links to the main series. This novella really was needed to explore the worldbuilding with more depth.

I was a big fan of the first two Witches books, but Queen B felt like a big misstep in my opinion. Personally, I feel the biggest mistake was writing this book as a novella and not a fully-fledged novel; it didn’t give itself enough time to establish the story or setting, and it didn’t suit the story’s dependence on flashbacks at all.
The concept of the book is fantastic, and a Tudor setting is an incredibly evocative and enticing idea. However, given Queen B’s short run time, there’s not enough time to explore the setting or era at all, making it feel chronically underused and somewhat dependent on the reader’s basic knowledge of Tudor history. The eventual plotline and characters felt pretty surface level, and didn’t give me a lot of reason to particularly care about any of the characters.
The main misstep for me was the regular and persistent use of flashbacks to before the death of Anne Boleyn. The sheer frequency of jumps back and forth is way too jarring to form a cohesive plot, and gives off the overall impression of a lack of substance. I’m at least relieved that such a novella didn’t take place during the modern-day plotline - it sounds harsh, but I’ll probably forget that this background novella exists at all.

A novella in Her Majesty’s Royal Coven series, this story is set in the court of King Henry Vlll. Anne Boleyn plots to become Queen and to provide safety for her coven. Lady Grace Fairfax is a lady in waiting to Anne and a member of the coven. When Anne is beheaded she knows that they have been betrayed and is determined to find the traitor. The writing in this novel is fantastic as you would expect from this author and I was only disappointed that the book wasn’t longer. In a time when women hold no power the novel explores how difficult it is for them to be truly their own person, making their own decisions and choices of how they live. I flew through this book but having now been to an event with the author I now believe there is a clue concealed within the book that leads to repercussions in the final part in the trilogy- I think I’ll have to go back and re read the book again. I can’t wait for the final book in the trilogy. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this novel in return for an honest review.

Set in the Her Majesty's Royal Coven's universe, Queen B is a short taste of how HMRC developed, with Anne Boleyn being the HWIC (head witch in charge). It's a clever conceit, as at the time she was considered to have bewitched King Henry VIII. adding another 100 pages would have made the story richer, but it was a fun read - just don't expect the depth and complexity that make the HMRC books so engaging.

I loved this so much I had to go and buy a physical copy for my shelf ! It throughly captivated me from beginning to end. I will be telling everyone I know about this book