Her Majesty's Royal Coven Series: Her Majesty’s Royal Coven #1 Published by Penguin on May 31, 2022
Genres: Fiction / Fantasy / Contemporary, Fiction / Feminist, Fiction / LGBTQ+ / Transgender
Pages: 448
Find the Author: Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Instagram
Goodreads
“Superb and almost unbearably charming, Her Majesty’s Royal Coven… expertly launches an exciting new trilogy." —The New York Times Book Review
"Talk about a gut punch of a novel. …A provocative exploration of intersectional feminism, loyalty, gender and transphobia [that] invites readers into an intricately woven web of magic, friendship and power." —The Nerd DailyA Discovery of Witches meets The Craft in this epic fantasy about a group of childhood friends who are also witches.
If you look hard enough at old photographs, we’re there in the background: healers in the trenches; Suffragettes; Bletchley Park oracles; land girls and resistance fighters. Why is it we help in times of crisis? We have a gift. We are stronger than Mundanes, plain and simple.
At the dawn of their adolescence, on the eve of the summer solstice, four young girls--Helena, Leonie, Niamh and Elle--took the oath to join Her Majesty's Royal Coven, established by Queen Elizabeth I as a covert government department. Now, decades later, the witch community is still reeling from a civil war and Helena is the reigning High Priestess of the organization. Yet Helena is the only one of her friend group still enmeshed in the stale bureaucracy of HMRC. Elle is trying to pretend she's a normal housewife, and Niamh has become a country vet, using her powers to heal sick animals. In what Helena perceives as the deepest betrayal, Leonie has defected to start her own more inclusive and intersectional coven, Diaspora. And now Helena has a bigger problem. A young warlock of extraordinary capabilities has been captured by authorities and seems to threaten the very existence of HMRC. With conflicting beliefs over the best course of action, the four friends must decide where their loyalties lie: with preserving tradition, or doing what is right.Juno Dawson explores gender and the corrupting nature of power in a delightful and provocative story of magic and matriarchy, friendship and feminism. Dealing with all the aspects of contemporary womanhood, as well as being phenomenally powerful witches, Niamh, Helena, Leonie and Elle may have grown apart but they will always be bound by the sisterhood of the coven.
Why Did Read This?
I recieved this as a netgalley request but did not get to it before it released. Then i finally got off the wait list for the Adult Fairyloot box and this was one of the books but again i did not get to it. So it 2024 the first two books and a novella are out for it. I have book one and two so i am reviewing book one today and counting it toward beath the backlist and netgalley backlist.
Review:
Five best friends from childhood who are also witches who have grown into adults whose adult life has pulled them in different directions. A high priestess, a rival coven for those who are BIPOC and LGBTQ, a vet who speaks to animals, a nurse who heals, and one who’s locked up. There’s more to them than that as they struggle to handle a crisis that arises with an oracle and a powerful young man warlock. There were so many historical references, political power plays, and witches canon. I don’t know what’s real, but I adored it. It felt so real. The magic, the feminist system, the history of witches in the world, and the fear of them. But what about trans girls?
The fear of men in their society is so huge that those who can’t understand fight it. But trans women aren’t men. Feel privileged you are comfortable in your skin; not everyone is. The intense protection I felt for Theo, the disgust that rolled off Helena, and the extremes she went to were mind-blowing. I am a straight woman, but I am human, and I so did not agree with Helena’s tactics, beliefs, or motivation to do what she did. It was heart-wrenching, and I would never want anyone subjected to that, though I know this is a genuine situation in our world, and I hope if I encountered it, I would do the right thing. I will review book two and, with any luck, the Novella. There is no news on the final book yet.
About Juno Dawson
Juno Dawson is a #1 Sunday Times best-selling novelist, screenwriter, journalist, and a columnist for Attitude Magazine. Juno’s books include the global bestsellers, THIS BOOK IS GAY and CLEAN. She won the 2020 YA Book Prize for MEAT MARKET. Her first adult fantasy trilogy HER MAJESTY’S ROYAL COVEN launched in 2022, becoming an instant best-seller.
She also writes for television and has multiple shows in development both in the UK and US. Her debut short film was THE BIRTH OF VENUS (BBC 2020) and she created the first official Doctor Who scripted podcast DOCTOR WHO: REDACTED (BBC Sounds 2022). An occasional actress and model, Juno had a cameo in the BBC’s I MAY DESTROY YOU (2020), a recurring role in HOLBY CITY (BBC 2021) and was the face of Jecca Cosmetics Play Pots campaign.
Juno grew up in West Yorkshire, writing imaginary episodes of Doctor Who. She later turned her talent to journalism, interviewing luminaries such as Steps and Atomic Kitten, before writing a weekly serial in a Brighton newspaper. Her writing has appeared in Glamour, The Pool, Dazed and the Guardian. She has appeared on Pointless Celebrities, BBC Women’s Hour, Front Row, ITV News, Channel 5 News, This Morning and Newsnight.
Juno lives in Brighton. She is a part of the queer cabaret collective known as CLUB SILENCIO. In 2014, Juno became a School Role Model for the charity STONEWALL.
