Thank you to the publisher for sending me this book in return for an honest review!

3.5 stars. You have to suspend your disbelief for this one but once you do, its absolutely brilliant. I wish this had been a feature length book, we could have included scenes such as the field of the cloth of gold, the exploration of Anne's fashion or the rise of the Boleyn family as they could all have been accomplished with witchcraft. Thats the nature of a novella though, which is why I'd love a feature length! This book is researched well, with the ending of Kat being a very lovely touch. The writing and narratives were very approachable even if you have no knowledge of the tudor court in the 1530s. I also enjoyed the view of anne through anothers eyes, I will say however, the perpetuation of the miscarriage 'serpent like' myth wasn't my favourite, regardless of it being included in a more celebratory fashion.

Women in this era were victims of misogyny everywhere they turned, so to have a coven of women that historically speaking didn't have the easiest lives or ends is very cathartic- the idea of using magic to escape certain fates exciting. Im not usually a witchy person but this spoke to me across the centuries.
I hadn't read any other books by this author so its brilliant to have a stand-alone such as this. Very enjoyable!

*3.5* A sapphic, witchy retelling of Anne Boleyn and her ladies and waiting - the origin story of HMRC.

It follows HMRC and The Shadow Cabinet nicely, but it's definitely a lighter read - still fun, and I enjoy how Dawson pulled on 16th Century rumours of Anne Boleyn's supposed witchcraft for the narrative (although if you're a serious historian you might not!).

I would have liked a little more character development - I never really engaged with the characters enough to be totally engrossed, but I still had a good time.

Nicola Coughlan did a lovely job as the narrator of the audiobook.

A fun and interesting take on the beheading of Anne Boleyn, with some other Henry VIII wives featuring as well, amongst her coven and her ladies in waiting,

A story of love and betrayal and a very cleverly crafted blend of fact and fiction.

I haven’t read the other books in this series and this worked well for me as a standalone. The narration by Nicola Coughlan was excellent.

4 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, Juno Dawson and Harper Collins for an ARC in return for an honest review.

first of all, nicola coughlan's narration is always a delight.

the book itself is good and a fun dive into history, meeting many historical figures. there's plenty of yearning and vengeance throughout - i just wish this was a novel rather than a novella to properly show the relationships develop.

I loved this book, and the audio narration. I finished it and immediately wanted to relisten to it right away. Queen B is a sapphic adventure story about the coven of witches around Anne Boleyn in the time leading up to and immediately following her execution. It's especially timely for fans of My Lady Jane and also of the play, Emilia. The balance of new and familiar figures from Henry VIII's court is great, but doesn't impact the story if the history is unfamiliar. It's pacy and full of energy. I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys fast paced adventure fiction/fantasy.

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.