Title: The Star-Touched Queen

Author: Roshani Chokshi  

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 342

Rating: 4/5 stars

Synopsis (Goodreads):

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.

Review:

I was surprised by how much I liked this book. It didn’t wow me, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The book centres around a young woman who never felt like she belonged because of her dark horoscope. But her father needs allies, so he sets up a marriage for her and a strong and powerful man. She gets to choose who her husband will be, and the person she chooses is not what she expected. Through this, she learns a ton about herself and about her destiny.

One thing I liked about this book is tidbits from other cultures that you don’t see very often in young adult fiction these days; like reincarnation. I felt like this book took a step out of the norm and into the realm of diversity that readers have been asking for. Which was nice and refreshing. So if your looking for a fun young adult fantasy read, then you should definitely check this out!  

Happy reading!