Bow down Witches - the origin story is (nearly) here!

I loved returning to the world of Her Majesty's Royal Coven and this prequel was a great addition to the series. I really enjoyed the weaving of historical figures into the history of HMRC and the refreshing take it offered on true events. I mean Witches and Anne Boleyn - what a mix! The dual timeline added depth to the story and the characters especially Grace who my heart bled for. Sisterhood is, of course, at the helm and like it's predecessors it was fast paced, hard to put down and hugely entertaining. I couldn't have enjoyed it more.

An alternate (slight) retelling of Anne Boleyn. What if she had a coven?
This is a prequel to HRMC series. We have Grace as the main character, who seeks Anne’s revenge. She is competent and the mood is interesting.
Though, being a novella, and the quest to find the traitor limited my enjoyment a bit.
Concept: 4
Characterisation: 3
Plot: 3
Prose: 3

I am looking forward to the other books in the HRMC.

Anne Boleyn: Queen, Mother, Witch.

I absolutely loved this novella & only wish it has been longer. Told from the viewpoint of fellow witch & lady in waiting Lady Grace Fairfax, this is the story of Anne Boleyn’s rise, fall & how it started a witch hunt. Weaving fantasy & history, I couldn’t put this book down.

I'm a Tudor history nerd & a love a witchy novel so this was perfect for me. I haven’t read the preceding HMRC books, but based on this one I have purchased them. Bow down indeed!

It was my favourite in this series as it's a different take on the story of Ann Boleyn and how she was crashed by power.
Well plotted, gripping, twisty, and entertaining.
Well Done.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I am a huge fan of the HMRC series so was so excited to delve back into this wonderful world of witches. Coupling My love of the supernatural and the occult with the Tudor time period was always going to be epic and I thoroughly enjoyed it. While not as explosive as the full length novel there was a wonderful set of characters amidst a mysterious plot that was paced really well. I loved the reveals at the end as well as the well thought out reasoning as to why they were witches but history still played out the way that it did. Another great story from this author and I cannot wait for more full length novels set around witches.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and publishers for this arc Thoughts and opinions are my own

Going into this book I didn't really know what to expect as a story set in the 1500s feels miles away from the main books in the Her Majesty's Royal Coven series. What we get with this book is a somewhat gentle story of discovering yourself, the small rebellions people do to survive a life in the shackles of society, and finding a community of people who you can be your authentic self with.

I really enjoyed this glimpse into the early days of HMRC and I would not be mad at all (read: I would actively like more, please) if we got more novellas or even novels set within the past. It was also really fun to see Lady Grace Fairfax discover herself and come into her power in a both literal and metaphorical sense.

I will note that I was a little confused by the magic system as the powers are known by different names than in the main series. It makes sense to me that the language would be different but I would have appreciated a wee glossary to help me get the powers straight in my brain. I will also gladly acknowledge that I read this book before bedtime so it is entirely plausible that I simply was too tired to understand the nuance 😅

There were a couple of throwaway comments made within this book that I would be interested in seeing if they will be called-back in the final book in the trilogy.

A final note on reading order: I believe that this book relies on the reader understanding the way that magical powers are divided in this series so I would recommend that readers read this book after at least reading Her Majesty's Royal Coven but equally they could read it after The Shadow Cabinet. At the point of writing this review, we are still at least an hour out from Book 3 but I suspect it should be read before then.

As a fan of both the Tudors and Juno Dawson, this book felt tailor-made for me. I only wish it were longer. Five stars!

I enjoyed this witchy take on Anne Boleyn – filled with sapphic yearning, complicated relationships and a hefty dose of manipulation. It’s a fun and engaging story that adds history and further context to Dawson’s ongoing series.

A novella about Anne Boleyn and her own coven, this story features strong female characters, flashback chapters to help develop relationships, and tension with betrayals and witch hunters. Oh, and it's sapphic.

I had quite a bit of fun with this one! I thought the characters and their relationships with one another were the standouts, and Grace was a wonderful lead character. She was multifaceted, and I loved getting into her head - she felt so well developed, especially considering this was a novella that didn't have a lot of time to develop.

All of the women felt like multi-dimensional characters in the little glimpses we got of them. The fact that they wanted power, and the contrast with the other coven - in this novella, we support women's wrongs.

Where this could have packed more of a punch is by giving Anne a bit more dimension. Yes, the character work was a highlight for me, and I did like the look into this version of Anne Boleyn, her scheming, her love for her daughter, and everything with it, but I feel like for a character who is meant to be the driving force of the story, the emotional motivation for every other character, she was a bit lacking.

While I had fun reading this, I don't know that it'll be particularly memorable. Is this essential reading for the Her Majesty's Royal Coven series as a whole? Perhaps not, but it's a fun bit of alternate history with witches and well-done character work, and that's really all you need sometimes.

Thank you to the publisher, HarperVoyager, and to NetGalley for the ARC.

This short, sharp novella was a quick read and a nice filler whilst we wait for the 3rd book in the HRMC trilogy. It does not hit the same spot as the other two books but I was not expecting it to. The description makes it clear it is a prequel and tells us the story of how and why witches created and became HRMC.

Queen B is a fast-paced prequel to Dawson’s ‘Her Majesty’s Royal Coven’ series which has a modern setting, however this story takes the coven back to its origins in the Tudor court through the eyes of Jane Fairfax, a young lady sent to join Queen Catherine’s ladies.

This novella absolutely can be read as a standalone - I haven’t read the rest of the series but I am intrigued by it now. Jane has spent her young life repressing her powers for her own safety, but realises on her entry to court that there are several other women there like her, including Anne Boleyn. The courtly ladies form a coven and Jane ends up a staunch support and friend to Anne Boleyn as she rises in the ranks and catches King Henry’s eye.

I thought there was a reasonable amount of character development for a story that comes in at less than 200 pages, and Jane’s explorations of her feelings for Anne was sweet, yet the intensity was palpable.

The themes of the patriarchy and men’s distrust of female power were clear through the novella and I thought the addition of warlocks in the world-building and their unstable alliances made for an interesting tension that I assume is picked up in the main novels.

I thought the historical details were done well overall - in any YA I expect some anachronisms and a more modern sensibility in the characters, and I’m looking forward to ordering the two current books in the series to see how the coven has evolved.

Thanks to Harper Collins and Juno Dawson for an advanced copy of this book for review. Queen B is out on the 18th July, preorder it now!

I will post my review on my instagram @charlottereadshistory on 12 July and on Amazon on publication day.

We dip into the past of Juno Dawson's wonderful series and learn how Her Majesty's Secret Coven was first established under the aegis of the doomed Anne Boleyn. It's a pacy little number, full of Dawson's usual wit and imagination as well as her anger and her ability to get right at the heart of the matter. It's not quite the heart-thumping saga of the second volume and we don't have time to get to know and love the characters as well as their modern counterpoints but I loved the historical setting and the extra depth this gives to HMRC's world. It was the perfect snack to stave off the hunger for volume 3 of the main story.

This series gets better and better! I loved HMRC 1 and 2 and couldn’t wait to get my hands on this one. Loved the Tudor history wrapped up with the original coven backstory. Can’t wait to see what comes next!
Thanks for the NetGalley ARC! <3

4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
In this gripping, propulsive, sultry novella, Juno Dawson takes us back to the bloody beginnings of Her Majesty’s Royal Coven to show us the strength, steel and sacrifice it takes to make a sisterhood. With beautiful illustrations from Emma Vieceli throughout

I was waiting for this prequel as I wanted more details, and this book totally met those expectations.

I think I just wanted to go back to this universe, and even if it wasn’t with the usual characters, I didn’t mind, as it’s a very compelling story. Seeing HMRC being created and the reasons made the whole story even more believable, and it helped build this universe.

Starting this book, I struggled a little with all the characters. Still, as we went through their POVs, I quickly overcame this problem and seriously devoured this book. It’s more than just a group of women who want to build a coven to protect themselves; it’s also the struggle to do the right thing to protect what they have, and sometimes, it’s not as easy as expected.

As it happened during Henry VIII’s reign, you obviously have some political schemes and restrictions the era imposed on women. Let me tell you, I was sometimes so mad about it that I just wanted to throw my tablet.

I was so immersed in this book that I was disappointed to have finished it, even though the ending was great; now, I can only wait for the next instalment.

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for sending me a digital review copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own

Pure excitement for the devotees of Her Majesty’s Royal Coven, but this book was enjoyed and finished too soon!
This is a prequel to HMRC, and tells the story of Anne Boleyn as she is beginning to gain both the power and loyalty of her witch coven, whilst catching the eye of King Henry and his Tudor Court.
The narrator is Lady Grace Fairfax, who is newly arrived from Yorkshire to serve as a lady- in - waiting to Anne Boleyn. There are six members to Anne’s coven, the others are, Cecilia de la Torre, Nan Hobbs, Lady Jane Rochford, Lady Temperence Wycliffe and Lady Margaret de Leon.
Told in dual time lines of 1526 and 1536, we follow Anne as she is in high favour with the King, indeed, Henry has switched his attention from her sister Mary, and hopes to make Anne his second wife.
When Anne is executed upon trumped up charges of adultery, the coven realise that a trusted member has betrayed the late Queen.
Lady Grace was romantically involved with Anne, and resolves to seek out the betrayer, but they now have Witchfinders to contend with and other powerful factions that have aligned themselves with Lady Jane Seymour.
This is a thrilling, sapphic adventure that is based upon the swirl of accusations used at Queen Anne’s trial regarding her use of Witchcraft and other magic to bewitch the King. It is pure enjoyable fun, a definite alternative viewpoint of such a crucial timeline in Tudor history, one that changed the course of religion in the Kingdom and beyond.
Anne was a Lady who probably enchanted a King and gave us a strong female ruler in her daughter Elizabeth, she should be respected for these achievements.
My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers HarperCollinsUK for my advance copy, freely given in exchange for my honest review. A five star read.
Hopefully, Book three will be available soon? I will leave copies to Goodreads and Amazon UK upon publication.

A fast-paced novella set in the court of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. It gives some idea of the origins of the Royal Coven, but I would have liked a little more detail. However, it was a great read, perfect for fans of historical fiction and witchy novels alike! Recommended.

Dies ist technisch gesehen der dritte Teil der Serie, aber es ist ein Prequel zum Rest der Serie. Ich habe es gelesen, weil mich der Aspekt der Hexenköniginnen und des Tudor-Hofes interessiert hat. Ehrlich gesagt, eine solide, unterhaltsame Sommerlektüre. Wenn man die anderen Bücher gelesen hat, kann man hier wahrscheinlich etwas mehr erwarten, aber ich hatte eine okaye Zeit.

She forgot sometimes that they were not as the others. They were not women, or ladies, or girls. They were something primeval; something fundamental; as unforgiving as the desert sun or frozen tundra. They were witches. [loc. 1107]
This novella is a prequel to Dawson's 'Her Majesty's Royal Coven' series (of which I've read and enjoyed Her Majesty's Royal Coven, the first book). Queen B is set in 1536 and begins with the beheading of Anne Boleyn, mourned by the remaining witches in her coven. Lady Grace Fairfax is determined to wreak vengeance on the woman she holds responsible for Anne's death; Jane Rochford, Anne's sister-in-law, is now the de facto leader of the coven; and the traitor witch who claims to have Cromwell's ear is fleeing for her life.

The story alternates between 1526, when Grace first came to court, and 1536, when witchhunters such as Ambrose Fulke stalk the ladies of the coven. Court life, with its machinations and alliances, is vividly depicted, though the witches also venture into the slums of Bermondsey to hear a prophet speak.

I found this rather disappointing. It didn't have the verve of the modern-day setting, and some of the dialogue was horribly anachronistic ('show ponies', 'see you later for a bevy', 'it's OK'). If the book had been longer, perhaps the characters could have been explored in more depth: as it was, only Grace, Jane and Cecilia really came to life. The ending -- with Grace assuming a new name to care for the infant Elizabeth -- is intriguing, and might be the start of a new series. Queen B, however, doesn't really explore the genesis of the covens. An overly narrow glimpse of an interesting world.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the advance review copy, in exchange for this full honest review. UK Publication Date is 18 JUL 2024.

As much as I really wanted the next book in the series, I am so glad we got this prequel. It tells the story of Anne Boleyn's coven. It starts with her beheading and you see how her coven dealt with it, and through flash backs see how Anne herself was. I loved the way it used facts and added the witchcraft in there.