Was so keen for another of Juno Dawson’s witch series. The first were pure escapism when I read them at the start of the year and I appreciated this short prequel to tide me over before the next instalment. It didn’t quite hit the spot in the same way the main series does but I loved the interweaving of some historical fact and figures. I love the recent wave of new interpretation Tudor women are getting

A prequel to the HMRC series, we go back to the time of Anne Boleyn and her untimely demise at the order of Henry VIII

We flash forward and back through the eyes of Grace, mainly, strong witch and close confident to the Queen

Grace is trying to figure out who betrayed the Queen, and her Coven, and won't stop until she does. But she is also being pursued by a witch hunter so needs to watch her step....

I really enjoyed this jump back in time to when the order started, and I like the tales of the 6 wives so was nice to see this dotted in

Really recommend, especially if you enjoy the HMRC series

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Voyger for the early review copy, all opinions my own... out July 18th

I really enjoyed this and I’m not really a novella person but I love the world of HMRC, Juno Dawson is a really good writer and I’d pretty much read anything they wrote. This had a slightly different tone as it is historical fantasy but I loved it. I only wish it was longer.

Thank you so much for allowing me to read this prequel to my most loved and most anticipated series of HMRC.

Unfortunately, I didn't love this book. I think if you had more of an interest in the tudors then maybe you'd enjoy this story more, but I expected it to have more of a link to the main series, and as someone said on the sotrygraph this was almost a pre prequel. Im still interested in the rest of the HMRC series but this one wasn't for me

Interesting entry in the HMRC series with a glorious look at Anne Boleyn. I was a bit surprised the story was told from a different perspective, and the back and forth confused me a little, but the characters were fully fleshed, the pacing was great and it’s a great scene setter for the current series.

Well another wonderful witchy novel by Juno Dawson. This short novella, a fast-paced fantasy prequel to Her Majesty’s Royal Coven and The Shadow Cabinet gave us an introduction to the origins of HMRC.

Set during the Tudor era and the reign of Henry VIII, this story follows the exploits of Queen Anne Boleyn and various ladies of the royal court.

This novella is full of witchcraft, love, friendships and sisterhood but laced with tension, witch-hunters, revenge and the struggles of women in society.

I loved the depiction of Lady Grace Fairfax (Lady of the Bedchamber) and her relationship with Anne Boleyn.

This was a 4.5 star read for me, I just wanted this story to go on and on.

I am very grateful to NetGalley, the Publisher and Author for this ARC.

This is a short story in the "Her Majesty's Royal Coven" series. I really enjoyed the first two books in the series so was excited to get to this one.
Queen B is an historical fiction story - going back to the time of Henry VIII and his 5th wife, Anne Boleyn.

I have to say, I liked this extra detail and the "origin" story of the coven - I would be interested in carrying on this part of the story into Queen Elizabeth I's life and how that can be incorporated into the overall series.

I read this one very quickly - it is only around 200 pages so fairly short. I didn't enjoy it as much as the other books in this series, though.

Thank you so much Harper Collins and Juno Dawson for an ARC copy of this one.

This book has been a long time coming and it did not disappoint. I love the history surrounding the Tudors and Henry VIII so this scratched two itches in one book!

I loved how the author interlinked the rumours around Anne Boleyn at the time of her becoming the King's wife in with the origin story of HMRC, it was super interesting and enjoyable to read, as well as surprisingly emotional!

I am so excited for the next installment! 4/5 stars from me.

✨ 4 stars✨

This is a fast-paced prequel novella to Dawson’s Her Majesty’s Royal Coven series. Despite only being a short book, I really enjoyed the Tudor setting, the descriptions of the royal court and the heightened tension due to the witch-hunters seemingly around every corner.

I have enjoyed every book that I have read by Dawson and this was no different as the story told here still managed to pack an emotional punch even within the confines of the shorter novella format.

I flew through this in a few hours and would recommend this book to anyone who has enjoyed the HMRC series or Dawson’s writing in general as I will definitely be picking up whatever she writes in the future!!

I received an ARC from the publishers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley, HarperCollins UK and the author for an ARC of this book.

Her Majesty’s Royal Coven was on my tbr for too long when I received a copy of Queen B. As a history graduate with a love of fantasy this was a mega bit of me!!

Really cool prequel to an awesome series I can’t wait to carry on reading. I loved the twists added to Tudor canon history and loved every minute. The author really takes world building to the next level.

Bloody brilliant - short packed a punch you did not scrape on the filling !!

Loved that it gave a “ how “ insight into how the HMRC came about that Anne went to her death with the upper hand , power feminism love just superb . 4.5 stars

I am a huge fan of the HMRC books to date, and was excited to pick this up. The origin story of the coven against a historical background - right up my street! This is quite different in a way to the other books, as the writing is framed in history, but it’s no less compelling. I was hooked and loved this look at Anne Boleyn. Highly recommend!

Queen B is a prequel to Her Majesty’s Royal Coven. Embarrassingly, it took me 30 odd pages to realise this as in my excitement to read the third book in the trilogy I hadn’t quite read the blurb properly! That misunderstanding aside, I was pleasantly surprised to follow the world created in the HMRC series back to its roots in the 1500s. You can’t go wrong with a little historical magical realism in my opinion.

As always, I loved the magic and the complications of the witches having power but simultaneously being powerless in terms of rights within society. It was nice to see the issues laid out in the series really delved into here such as the perilous positions of women of all classes, even as they make choices and sacrifices to try and secure a position of power, due to the threat of witchcraft which was weaponised by men in this time period. I enjoyed the tensions and character dynamics and how these were heightened by the witches different powers. In a way, I’m surprised this is a novella and not another series in its own right but it was a nice addition to the series. A fast, poignant novella with a sense of wistfulness set in a time of conflict and instability. Looking forward to the next.

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for supplying this digital arc in exchange for an honest review.

This is a great novella set in the HMRC universe, it’s not essential reading for the series but it’s nice to get some back story to the coven.

A charming if inessential piece of the HMRC canon, Queen B follows the close circle of Anne Boleyn following her death - all involved as part of a royal coven - as they deal with a traitor in their ranks. Enjoyable enough, with Dawson's trademark energy and zest, if a little on the slim and unnecessary side. Roll on Human Rites!

An interesting little novella! Really interesting to learn about the history of the Coven and the fact we keep jumping forwards and back with the timelines kept me entertained would recommend if you’ve loved the other books in the series!

Queen B is a lovely novella set in the universe of HMRC. It tells the story of the aftermath of Anne's death and her closest ally, Grace Fairfax.

Grace, who can't cope with Anne's death, sets on a journey of revenge and vengeance intent on enacting her own brand of justice on the person instrumental for causing the death of Anne and ruining their chances of having a witch on the throne, but nothing is ever as simple as it seems.

Queen B is a novella in the world of HMRC set during the rule of Henry VIII and following Lady Grace Fairfax, a member of the enchanting Anne Boleyn’s coven. This was a thoroughly enjoyable read with a fantastic plot and themes, but slightly less strong character work held this back from being a 9 or 10 for me.
With books quite as short as this, exploring characters properly can be tricky, however I felt Dawson did an okay job with this book, I’d definitely have liked to have spent more time with these characters, and some of the side characters are definitely weaker, however by focusing in on Lady Fairfax and Cecilia De La Torre, these characters were able to blossom and ultimately the character work in this book was fine. However, where it really shone was in the feminist themes which I thought were done fantastically, with a depiction of women as strong and resilient figures despite the substantial patriarchy of the time. The plot (which I’ll try to minimise discussing too much) was also a highlight for me. I was gripped to this book the entire time, and ultimately ended up reading it in a single sitting.
This was an engaging, fun read that I would highly recommend to anyone who enjoyed HMRC (and anyone who hasn’t read HMRC yet should go and read HMRC).

Very short and sweet and easy to read! If you want a small picture into a queer witch's life back in the Tudor times then don't miss this novella. Tiding me over until the third book in the HMRC trilogy!

For lovers of historical fiction, witches, FF romance and HMRC series.

Loved this book a wonderful retelling of Anne Boleyn and her ladies. A prequel to the Her Majesty’s Royal Coven series but can be read as standalone. Juno has a way with words that bought the time to life without overly weighing down the story.