*Warning: This review may contain spoilers. Read at your own risk.
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Release Date: April 26, 2016
Pages: 352
Source: Own
The Story:
Fate and fortune. Power and passion. What does it take to be the queen of a kingdom when you're only seventeen?
Maya is cursed. With a horoscope that promises a marriage of Death and Destruction, she has earned only the scorn and fear of her father's kingdom. Content to follow more scholarly pursuits, her whole world is torn apart when her father, the Raja, arranges a wedding of political convenience to quell outside rebellions. Soon Maya becomes the queen of Akaran and wife of Amar. Neither roles are what she expected: As Akaran's queen, she finds her voice and power. As Amar's wife, she finds something else entirely: Compassion. Protection. Desire...
But Akaran has its own secrets -- thousands of locked doors, gardens of glass, and a tree that bears memories instead of fruit. Soon, Maya suspects her life is in danger. Yet who, besides her husband, can she trust? With the fate of the human and Otherworldly realms hanging in the balance, Maya must unravel an ancient mystery that spans reincarnated lives to save those she loves the most. . .including herself.
A lush and vivid story that is steeped in Indian folklore and mythology. The Star-touched Queen is a novel that no reader will soon forget.
Rating:
One-word Review: STUNNING
Reading Tune: Fantasy by Alina Baraz & Galimatias
Tag Line:
Fate and fortune. Power and passion. What does it take to be the queen of a kingdom when you're only seventeen?
Opening Line:
Staring at the sky in Bharata was like exchanging a secret.
My Review:
The Star-Touched Queen was so breathtakingly magical! The plot was thick with rich storytelling, fantastical twists and stunning details. A cursed motherless princess shunned by everyone is fated to a marriage of Death and Destruction. Or so her star-touched horoscopes promises.
Princess Maya came to terms with her great and terrible horoscope. Used to being sneered at, overlooked and ready for a life of learning.
Then in a flash she finds herself married. To Amran. The King of Naraka. Naraka is a known as the Otherworld. With Amran Maya learns the impossible. Magic is real. Compassion is real. Akaran opens her up to new experiencing she could have never imagine.
The very stories Maya's told her younger sister are her reality. And she is Queen of that magical otherworldly realm.
What I loved most about The Star-Touched Queen was: the rich storytelling. Chokshi's poetic prose is phenomenal - she truly has a voice for storytelling. Filled with folklore so remarkably woven in, it made the magic of The Star-Touched Queen come to life. The world-building was badass - a perfect blend of reality and enchantment. The pace flowed seamlessly with the stunning unfurling of the story.
While he slept, I betrayed him.
I wove my own magic. A dream of sleep full of silvery spangles that I slipped over his eyes in the same moment that stole away the noose. -- page 197
All in all, I so thoroughly fell in love with The Star-Touched Queen. Chokshi was born with a gift for storytelling and I am so pleased I gave The Star-Touched Queen another shot.
Character Breakdown:
There were several character arcs but instead of distracting the reader away from the main timeline, it fleshed it out more-so. The plethora of vivid characters drove the story forward.
Maya - Clever, smart, has a love for learning and sharp edges.
He flashed a vulpine grin. "Kill, if you must. String a garland of severed heads around your waist if you want. I would take you in my arms if you were drenched in blood or dressed in rubies . . ." - page 111
Meet the Author:
***Check out Roshani Chokshi's website for more information about her and The Star-Touched Queen: HERE
Happy Reading!
Happy Reading!
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