This book was a captivating prequel to Her Majesties Royal Coven. When I saw this was a short, snappy prequel of HMRC, set in Tudor times, there was no way I wasn’t going to read it.

Dawson provides a brief reimagining of Anne Boleyns life if it was infused with magic. The book follows a dual timeline, set both during Anne’s rise to power and after her death. We are given a brief look into a key historical figure within the HMRC world. Although named Queen B, the majority of the book takes place from the POV of two of Anne’s coven-mates as they deal with the aftermath of her execution. There is not a deep dive into Anne’s character but instead a look at what she left behind (in this story).

I do not believe it is necessary to have read HMRC beforehand, but some of the world building around the witches may make more sense if you do.

As I’ve come to expect with Dawson, evocative writing captured the opulence and danger of the Tudor court, the plot blending historical events (or tragedies) with fantasy. The novel also looked at themes of power, gender, sexuality and autonomy, making the witch’s struggles feel both timeless and relevant.

I do believe the novella relies on readers having pre-existing knowledge and understanding of Anne Boleyn’s life. The book doesn’t go into a lot of detail (as to be expected with only 168 pages), but still manages to tell the story it sets out to. With short, captivating chapters, it’s very easy to devour this in one sitting.

This was a short and enjoyable sequel to the ‘Her majesty’s royal coven series’. Set in a reimagined historical Tudor period as the rise of witchy paranoia is rife. Ann Boleyn is more than she seems, an enchantress who uses magic to get what she wants until she is beheaded. I really enjoyed this, it was interesting and set up the history for the first two books well.

I really can’t get enough of this series. I did think that this was going to be a sequel to The Shadow Cabinet (a resurrected Anne Boleyn seemed like a very good idea to me!), but it’s a prequel to the series as a whole. The story of the one who started the idea of the HMRC. Although, it’s a slightly different story to the one we may know of Anne Boleyn.

We all know what happened to Anne Boleyn, and this book doesn’t change that OR the reasons. In fact she was called a witch in her own time. The HMRC series takes that one step further though, and Anne Boleyn really IS a witch. Her coven supports her, and after Henry VIII does his worst, they carry on her work.

This is a truly fabulous read - a reworking of history that gives women more muscle and autonomy.

And magic!

If I have any complaint, it’s that it was over far too quickly!

And now I must wait for the next book…

Queen B is a quick and exciting read that I enjoyed very much. Getting more background on the world was extremely fun and I personally devoured it in one day!

Follow the rise and demise of Anne Boleyn but this time with a brand new twist. Anne is a powerful witch who is surrounded by her coven at court.

The story is told in dual timelines. The focus is on her rise to power and then after her demise. Told primarily through her lady in waiting.

I felt this one was lacking and I think it was because it was a novella. I felt there was enough room for development and this could have easily made a 400 page book.

For fans of Juno’s other work this will be an absolute treat and also for those who are fans of the musical Six and enjoy alternative approaches to historical events.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of this book!

So it's really a 3.5 or 3.75 but I'm rounding it up to a 4. This book was enjoyable, but not quite what I thought I was getting myself into. It was still good and a unique way to explore Anne Boleyn as a person. I think if this one was slightly longer it could flesh out Anne's background and her relationship with the main character more (that for me was the most interesting aspect and I would have been happy with a story about those two and their love without all the witch stuff, but I still enjoyed the story for what it was).

I'm not well versed in Tudor history, but you'd have to be living under a rock to not know the story of the Six Wives. I would be wholly interested in seeing later stories of some of the later wives, particularly Katherine Howard.

This was my first Juno Dawson and I'm very intrigued to read more from her.

Juno Dawson does not miss!!!
I love the HMRC books so so much and as someone who has been just a teensy bit obsessed with Anne Boleyn her entire life I was beyond hyped for this! Sapphic Anne Boleyn and witches? It is everything I've ever wanted!
This book follows two timelines - Anne's rise to power over the years and the weeks following her death. The story is multi POV but is mainly told from the POV of Grace, Anne's lover.
As much as I loved this I really do think it should have been a full length book as some bits were a little rushed. But this was still fantastic!

I adore the HMRC books and cannot wait for the third installment to complete the series, so when Queen B was released I was thrilled to be able to have a little glimpse into how it all began.
I loved how the author took real women from history and told their new stories with a twist. Definitely recommend for the fans of the accompanying series. The book could also be read as a stand alone.

This prequel was my first introduction to the HMRC series and it’s safe to say I will definitely be picking up the other instalments. I cannot believe this is the only one set in the Tudor period because all of these characters felt as fully realised as if Dawson had written them a thousand times before. It had romance, drama, deceit, everything you’d expect in the wake of Anne Boleyn’s death—especially when she’s the leader of the most high-profile coven in Britain. The historical fact blended perfectly with the fictional witchcraft, lending itself perfectly to the feminist message. I will definitely be back for more from Her Majesty’s Royal Coven

Given I'm a Tudor obsessive AND a huge fan of Dawson's HMRC series, it was pretty much a foregone conclusion that I would love this book. Rich but fast-paced storytelling combined with great characters and historic intrigue make this a must-read which could potentially work as a standalone for those who haven't yet read HMRC or The Shadow Cabinet. My only complaint is that it was too short!

Queen B builds upon the world Juno Dawson has weaved in her HMRC series by exploring the ever-fascinating Anne Boleyn by way of her rise, downfall, and the most important people in her life: her coven of witches. Obviously, this is a work of fiction, but the historical details throughout add a grounding in reality. This is a novella, and so only a brief look at the coven and its various members, and yet it covers a lot of ground. The powers of the various witches were wonderfully described, with the plot echoing a lot of the themes of the HMRC books so far. A good accompaniment to the series.

Having devoured the first two books of this series, this was a very welcome read and it was every bit as fantastic as hoped. Excellent characterisation, cohesive world building with the books set in modern times and perfect paced plotting - a joy to read.

Ahhh what a fun quick read! It had me wanting more:m. I had listened to podcasts and read other books about The Other Boleyn Girl, and knew this would be just up my alley. World building was great, my only complaint was I needed more to the story.

**Listened to the audio book and read along with the hard copy**

At first I was a little bit disappointed that this book wasn't the third book in the HMRC series. However when I found out that this prequel to the series looked at the historical figure of Anne Boleyn I was super intrigued.

Nicola Coughlan narrates this audio book, just like the others in the series. She is absolutely brilliant!! Her ability for voice acting is second to none. Coughlan's voices along with Dawson's writing are just the perfect match.

Juno Dawson's writing incorporates real historical elements along with all things witchy and magical with the HMRC element.

I wish this book was longer!

Really interesting prequel to Her Majesty’s royal coven.

Heartbreaking story about friendship, revenge and love.

Loved this peek into how Her Majesty’s royal Coven started.

It didn’t captivate me the same way the novels have, as this is a historical novella with a lot of characters.

Can be read before starting HMRC if desired.

eBook supplied by HarperCollins UK via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to Juno Dawson and NetGalley for the free ALC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fine tale and I understood why Dawson wanted to write it in terms of adding to the HMRC lore but, sadly it didn't really add much for me and, in comparison to the first two books in the series, this felt more like a slog. I hoped to find something redeeming but for the most part, my most enjoyable part of this book was that it was more of a novella than a full story.

The writing, as always, was impeccable but it lacked something that can usually be found in a Dawson book.

this was the perfect next instalment to the series! the witchy origins of Anne Boleyn was perfectly whimsical, satisfying and emotional— a real celebration of women. i have always loved Tudor history and Anne Boleyn in particular, so this short story about her rise at court and impending execution with such vivid and charming writing, made for the perfect read for this history nerd! loved loved it!

I wanted to love this book so bad. Anne Boleyn as a gay witch queen? Awesome! Unfortunately this falls flat writing wise. Grace Fairfax is a new lady to the court of Queen Catherine and after meeting fellow ladies Cecilia de la Torre and Anne Boleyn, joins their coven of ladies in waiting. This book is both a past and present flash book and a dual pov book. This makes for a very confusing and boring read. There isn't enough characterization or background for Cecilia or Grace to be engaging. I love the concept but this book either needed to be just Grace or 150 pages longer.

“A witch without her coven is only half a thing.”

Queen B’s story is the origin story of how HMRC came to be. It’s 1536, the Tudor age and Anne Boleyn has been beheaded by her husband, the notorious Henry VIII. The book shifts between the aftermath of the death of Anne and slivers of her life at court, surrounded by her coven.

Lady Grace Fairfrax and Anne Boleyn had a special bond and she knows in her gut that her Queen had been betrayed which led to her tragic death. Grace decides to find this traitor but when finding out that it is a witch close to them she cannot let revenge take the upper hand, especially not when now the King has appointed witchfinders and they are all in danger.


Spoilers ahead:


This book was short(er) but honestly it did not fall short on any level. The romance between Anne and Grace was doomed from the start but it is that love that ultimately changed the trajectory for witches and their future. It also shows true sisterhood and the lengths they would all go for one another. What’s also interesting is the difference in how witches are treated by men and women. Henry doesn’t hesitate to execute his wife and mother of his child whereas Grace finds it in herself to think about the wellbeing of all witches instead of her own personal desires when she finds out that a close witch friend has betrayed Anne.





I devoured this book in one day and I am so grateful to have gotten an arc for this one. All opinions are my own.

I love the HMRC series so getting this novella was fun! I love that we get this bit of history about how the coven came to be and seeing the original coven members and how these compare and contrast to the coven as we know it. Cecelia reminds me of Helena, she's very strong willed and does what she thinks is best for the coven, even if its not. Grace reminds me of Niamh with her stoic personality. I also love that we get to see how the original coven was actually quite queer but naturally the present coven don't know this so leoni had to find her own coven for it to be intersectional and inclusive as Helena isn't either of these things, given the way she treats Theo. It's definitely a fun edition to the series