Published April 26th 2016 by St. Martin's Griffin
Rating: 4 out of 5
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Available from:
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Synopsis:
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.
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Review:
If you prefer your books to be visionary and mildly abstract with a touch of exotic lands ruled by kings in sumptuous palaces, then The Star-Touched Queen is for you. This isn't a book you can pick up and get lost in the story after a few pages. The description is vivid, the wording and metaphors are long but the fairy tale being told here is one that most will become enthralled in.
Roshani Chokshi takes us back to a era of Bharata, a wild and oriental land when Raja's ruled in palaces, and princesses wore beauty if only to make them more beautiful.
Maya is cursed with an unfortunate horoscope which tells of death and destruction. All revere the horoscope and Maya is shunned because of hers. But the king must end the war and bring together an alliance. Maya is the Princess who must marry for her country to find peace.
Unfortunately for Maya the king has other plans. The king pronounces to her that an alliance will never be reached and so he gives her a vial of poison to kill herself. The king expects the other nations to war amongst themselves because of this slight. However, when Maya is about to drink a strange man catapults her from the palace and to freedom. Or so Maya thinks.
She pronounces her saviour as her rightful marriage partner and trusts his words and wisdom as he takes her on a journey which only fairy tales are made from.
Who is this handsome stranger to which she is indebted? Why is he not troubled by her horoscope of death? And what is in the lands of Akaran that will satisfy her educated mind to keep her?
This is most certainly a book of two halves. The first half will lead you to understand Maya and her stranger, Amar, while the second half will show how easily we must get up and fight for what we believe in.
I'm not saying this book was an easy read by any means. Sometimes I did wish the author would lay back a little and tell the straightforward story without so much purple prose. But it is beautifully written, with upsets and passion along the way.
This will certainly tickle your taste buds if you prefer your books romantically based, and with the passion of a great heroine I can safely say I did love this book.
-CBx
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About the Author
Roshani Chokshi is the New York Times bestselling author of The Star-Touched Queen. Her work has appeared in Strange Horizons, Shimmer, and Book Smugglers. Her short story, “The Star Maiden,” was longlisted for the British Fantasy Science Award.
You can find Roshani Chokshi here:
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