La guerra delle dieci regine

Artefacts of Ouranos #1

by Nisha J. Tuli, Mariacristina Cesa (Translator)

La prigione di Nostraza è un luogo terribile, in cui la speranza è un miraggio e i detenuti sono disposti a tutto per sopravvivere. Lo sa bene Lor, che vi è rinchiusa da dodici anni per volere dello spietato Re di Aurora ed è consapevole che potrebbe finire i suoi giorni tra quelle mura. Ma il fato per lei ha in serbo qualcosa di mai infatti avrebbe immaginato di riassaporare la libertà, eppure, durante una sanguinosa rivolta, Lor viene prelevata da Nostraza per essere trasferita alla corte del Sole, dove dovrà contendere il ruolo di Regina ad altri nove Tributi, ragazze che, come lei, parteciperanno a quattro prove potenzialmente letali per conquistare il cuore del Re Atlas. In principio, Lor è spaventata e sopraffatta all’idea di cimentarsi in una competizione mortale, ma poi comprende che quella potrebbe essere la sua grande occasione per vendicarsi del Re di Aurora e di tutto il male che ha fatto a lei e alla sua famiglia. Tra intrighi, pericoli e mutevoli alleanze, riuscirà Lor a ottenere il titolo di Regina e ad attuare i suoi piani di vendetta?
Dieci ragazze. Una sfida letale. Il cuore di un re da conquistare.
«Quando fosse toccato a lui legarsi a una regina, non si sarebbe accontentato di nessuna che non gli infiammasse il sangue nelle vene.»

Genres: Fantasy, Romantasy, Romance, Fantasy Romance, Fae, Audiobook, Fiction

352 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 12, 2023

About the author

Visit my website to sign up for my newsletter and download a bonus chapter from Rule of the Aurora King!
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Nisha J Tuli is a USA Today and international bestselling author. Her book, Trial of the Sun Queen, became a BookTok hit, selling over a million copies and finding its way into the hands of A-list celebrities.

When she isn’t writing or reading, she can be found in the gym or the kitchen (to eat, not to cook) or maybe knitting scarves to survive a Canadian winter. She lives in Manitoba with her husband, their two kids, and their fluffy Samoyed.

Reviews

[Hannah · Rating 2 out of 5]

When you ask your mom for Throne of Glass and she says “we have Throne of Glass at home”

[Lolina ⋆ · Rating 2 out of 5]

The amount of clown memes I have stored is really being put to good use lmao 💀. If u liked this book, please uh, cover your eyes 🏃‍♀️🏃‍♀️🏃‍♀️🏃‍♀️.



-=-

For those who just want the general gist of the book/ my thoughts- this one's for you:

Overall this was a very disappointing book. It had a really nicely written beginning, with the potential to be great - however continued on to be an underdeveloped fantasy with a severely lackluster romance, that really read like a YA, despite being marketed as a NA.

This one was like a weird mix of 'The selection' by Kiera Cass, and 'Throne of Glass' by SJM- that tried to pull an 'A Court of Thornes and Roses' in the end. In theory it sounds like it should work, but this was not what I thought it would be.

-=-

Alright, time for me to ramble 💀:

I feel like this is one of those stories that you relatively enjoy in the moment, but the more you think about it, the more holes you seem to pick out.

I really enjoyed the beginning of the book, and truly had high hopes for this, but the more that I read, the more underwhelmed I became.

As the story progressed, there was an alarming lack of information and basic details that make a fantasy good? There were so many holes in the story, and just a general level of detachment to the story, that really took away from the book.

Basic questions about the MCs and the world were never answered or addressed, in the name of moving the story forward, which just did not make any sense.

I hate that general information about the h's time in prison, was never truly explained or developed, as that's what made me really enjoy it in the beginning- that darker undertone that really set the scene.

It really was a shame 🏃‍♀️🏃‍♀️🏃‍♀️.

⚠️🚩🤡 The romance 🤡🚩⚠️:

I'm not even joking, it feels wrong to even say that there was romance in this book, because it was a joke 😭.

It really is difficult to not only write a good fantasy, but a good romance as well, but wow was this shocking at times 😭. Everything was really unclear, that I didn't even know who the main love interest was supposed to be, due to the lack of chemistry between the MCs lmao.

I think the thing that made it so bad for me, was the blatant disregard of the h's characterization, all for the sake of insta-love 😐.

It made absolutely no sense to me how you can spend chapters building up an independent, hot-headed, non-trusting h, to just have them immediately fall head over heels over someone who quite frankly, was disappointing in all the ways that mattered.

It contradicted everything that you've previously said about that character, and makes their relationship feel so tacky in comparison to the rest of the book. The romance was very disappointing.

Yes, I understand that Atlas was supposed to be the villain, but that still doesn't take away from how underwhelming the romance was in comparison to the rest of the book. Saying that the characters 'felt an immediate connection' with one another, and adding in a few smut scenes doesn't add up to a good romance 😭😭😭.

And yes, I also get that Nadhir is going to be the main love interest in the next book- but there was genuinely no build-up behind it, aside from one scene? It felt like this book was trying to pull a Rhysand in the end, but there was just nothing to really back it up 🤷‍♀️.

🤡 The characters 🤡:

I started off really liking the h, but the number of inconsistencies in the way she was written was insane. She started off really strong-willed and independent but quickly read as naive and borderline frustrating. I don't really have that much else to say about her 🤷‍♀️- her POV was an experience 💀.

In terms of the MMC, 🤡😭- I don't even want to think about how disappointing he was. He was just as bland as they come, and truly made me question so many things. He couldn't even do his reveals right 💀.

I also hated how all of his shitty behavior was justified by not only the main side characters, BUT BY THE HEROINE HERSELF:

'' He’s just a male and can’t be held responsible for his actions.''

“Don’t worry, Lor. I am giving due attention to all the Tributes, as is my duty. But I am only a male and I am searching for my queen. I’m allowed to have my favorites.''

I get this is a competition but why the fuck is he so self-obsessed 💀. At least have a personality first.

In terms of the other side characters, they weren't amazing- but I still would've preferred to have read about them.

The fantasy:

The fantasy aspect of the book was the only reason I didn't rate this lower. The general premise behind it, although predictable, was relatively interesting, but just was not fledged out. Nothing really got the time to fully be explained.

But don't get me wrong, it still wasn't great 😭. The world-building and lack of information were really disappointing. I love fantasy, and all things fae, and this book didn't really do the tropes justice. For this to just not explain anything, made no sense to the storyline whatsoever, considering the h herself didn't know anything either.

I genuinely don't get where this book was going, because the reveals at the end didn't even reveal anything 💀.

Overall this was just very lackluster.

-=-

Uh, anyways, that's it from me. Super glad I read this! 🤩☝️.

[chan ☆ · Rating 4 out of 5]

unique? nah. amazing romance? not yet. fun & well paced? absolutely

and... dare i say it... i want to read the next book in this series

[Rachel L · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

Is this book a complete rip off of Throne of Glass? Yes

Is this book poorly written? Yes

Did I still enjoy reading it? Somewhat yes

So I finished the book and didn't DNF it, that says a lot. I actually mostly enjoyed the first 70% of this book, but overall it was just okay. It felt simultaneously a rip off of multiple famous books (Throne of Glass, The Hunger Games, Divergent, Harry Potter 4) with weird "easter eggs" thrown in that really took me out of the book more than anything. I think the author tried but there were too many things with this book that didn't work for me in the end. Not sure I'd be willing to read more in this series.

[Megan · Rating 1 out of 5]

The only reason I did not DNF this book was because I was on a plane and I had nothing else to do. This read like a 2013 wattpad story.

The FMC acted like a easily distracted 15 year old girl, who has to be told the same thing 3 times over in order for the turnip she calls a brain to understand. She was also the biggest pick me ever.

Every character in this book, was for lack of a better word, annoying. The plot was generic and predictable.

As you can probably tell, the awfulness of this book has put me in a really bad mood.

It’s on kindle unlimited and that’s the only positive thing I can think of to say about this.

[Gry ☾ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25★'s
Besties, this is how you write a fantasy-romance.

I enjoyed this so much. I felt so invested in the story from page one, until the last page. It truly was a book that felt impossible to put down.

I loved the characters. They feel very well-developed with depth to them which I loved. Lor(fmc) is an actual adult at the age of 24, which made me want to scream with happiness of not having to see another 18 year old save the world and then instantly get kids with their soulmate. She's also funny, distrustful and has some harsh edges, so I am very eager to continue to follow her journey and see where things go from here.

I am also a big fan of the lgbtq+ and poc representation in this. 🫶

The plot kept me intrigued throughout. I love a good fantasy competition book - The trials in this book had my heart racing.
Sure, it's somewhat reminiscent of acotar, hunger games, powerless etc. but it still slaps so hard and has that classic romantasy feel that the previously mentioned books also have.

Nisha did an amazing job with this. The writing felt fun, creative and descriptive, which made me feel fully immersed in the story as a whole.
Off starting book two now✌️

Artefacts of Ouranos #2 - Rule of the Aurora King Review
Artefacts of Ouranos #3 - Fate of the Sun King Review
Artefacts of Ouranos #4 - Tale of the Heart Queen Review
_________
Pre-read:
Being a good girl and checking things off the tbr🤭
I already love the idea behind this book, fingers crossed it lives up to it!! 🤞

[Ali L · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some people will tell you that this is obviously a blatant Throne of Glass ripoff that doesn’t even bother changing the opening setting or character’s traits of the first book and you know what you say to those people? You look them right in the eye and you say “yeah you’re totally right.” Don’t get me wrong: this was like Quicksilver in that I went in assuming I’d hate it and was instead pleasantly surprised by how entertained I was. But the facts are that this is a plucked-from-prison-to-compete-for-a-king story and Lor is a somehow worse but also more tolerable Aelin. Am I over fantasy competition books, especially when the high-powered man-prize seems obsessed with our unassuming, kind of awful, lil’-ol’-me FMC for reasons he can never articulate, resulting in creepy, vaguely upsetting sex scenes? Yeah but we all know I’m a crab-ass so.

[♥︎ Heather ⚔ (New House-Hiatus) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️

╰┈➤ˎˊ˗ Really immersive, fast paced and action packed. This really had a hunger games/the selection/ plated prisoner kind of twist to it.

We follow our FMC, Lor and her two siblings who have been prisoners since they were children. Lor is the youngest sibling; she was twelve when imprisoned. Tristan, the oldest, and Lor, the youngest, have endured the most. Lor most of all. They are keeping their family bonds a secret.

And Lor has done just about everything to survive. She's thrown into a pit outside, which is a form of solitary confinement when she's taken by the Sun King's court to participate in the Trial of the Sun Queen, which will determine who will be the next queen. Atlas, the Sun King, is interested in Lor from the beginning.

She's the final tribute--usually a human from the slums, instead has been pulled from the Aurora Kingdom. Atlas promises Lor if she wins he will bring her "friends" Willow and Tristan to her. If she loses, she will go straight back to prison.

Lemme just say - is this totally original? No. Did I completely gobble it up in one sitting? Yes. I'm so invested in find out what happens in the next one.

I felt this was intriguing, engaging, well paced and any time the first book in a series has me running to grab up the second one with the quickness - is a win.

₊⊹⁀➴ 💛Strong FMC (Stabby)
₊⊹⁀➴ 👑Morally Gray MMC
₊⊹⁀➴ 💛Touch Her and Die
₊⊹⁀➴ 👑Fated Mates
₊⊹⁀➴ 💛Enemies to Lovers
₊⊹⁀➴ 👑Who Did This to You
₊⊹⁀➴ 💛Hidden Identify
₊⊹⁀➴ 👑Deadly Competition
₊⊹⁀➴ 💛Magic

[évieane · Rating 2 out of 5]

ㅤ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ㅤ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ㅤ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . 2.1 - 2.3 ☆ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦
ㅤ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ㅤ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ˋ°•*⁀➷ㅤmight contain spoilers ❗

ㅤ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ I have no doubt that this was intended to be a novel, but for some reason it felt more like a badly written, excessively lengthy fanfiction. Unfortunately, despite the book's promising beginning, it quickly devolved into a lust diary about a hormonal teen and her constant anger management problems. This may have been entertaining at first, but it quickly becomes boring when you realise that is all you are reading about.

ㅤ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ㅤ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ “That bitch took my soap.”

ㅤ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍˗ˏˋ★‿︵‧ ˚ ₊⊹ short(?) summary
ㅤ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ I wish I could give a synopsis of this narrative that would pique your interest enough for you to want to read it in its entirety, but that is not feasible. "Trial of the Sun Queen" opens with Lor being quite irate over what appears to be stolen soap. This may seem like a small matter, but for a prisoner who spent so much time surrounded only by the walls of Nostraza, it may be one of life's few true beauties. Being the impetuous person that she is, Lor responds by starting a heated argument, which results in her being punished by being sent in separate prison.

ㅤ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ Grateful for her rescue, Lor is compelled to participate in the trials, which could make her the new Sun Queen. Unfortunately, this is the point at which the entire novel collapses into a show in which Lor lusts for a very dull and self-centred character every few pages, Atlas -the extremely sexually frustrated Sun King. So far, the only legible passages are those when the trials themselves are described. The novel only becomes intriguing in its final pages when Nadir, the Aurora prince, appears and attempts to salvage what remains of this story.


ㅤ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍˗ˏˋ★‿︵‧ ˚ ₊⊹ honest thoughts
ㅤ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ⋅ ☾ I made a concerted effort to avoid becoming a total hater, but this book was far from being good. Although I liked that there was a significant fantasy component and that there was obviously room for greater exploration of the universe, I could not say that anything in this book was particularly good. After all, this is the first book in the series, so I can not evaluate the rest of it by it, but for a start that should have an effect, this book falls short.

ㅤ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ⋅ ☾ Apart from not having a really strong plot, the action itself is also highly repetitive with the same points, thoughts, and ideas being repeated over and over again in a pointless manner; and by "pointless manner" I mean that they were literally never leading to anything, and I got the feeling that most of them were only used to fill up the pages.

ㅤ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ⋅ ☾ The writing in this novel was absolutely horendous in some instances. I sincerely believe that no one really reviewed this book before it was posted, even though there were many intriguing concepts that could have made it a much more compelling novel. The use of terms and ideas that are obviously out of place in a fantasy setting causes the writing to completely disturb the reading experience and frequently forsake the fantastical register.

ㅤ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ⋅ ☾ Although I have no problem reading stories written in the first person, I often prefer reading literature written in the third person. However, after the book's point of view shifts, why would you flip between first and third person narrative? Changing between narrative kinds became rather bothersome to me at one point; I am not sure who thought of this for the novel.

ㅤ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ⋅ ☾ Lastly, do not ask me anything about the romance in this book, because there is NONE. There is only a grotesque show of lust placed in scenes that I couldn't even read because the smut was so badly and childishly written that it just made me skip those parts entirely.


ㅤ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍˗ˏˋ★‿︵‧ ˚ ₊⊹ characters
ㅤ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ I genuinely do not want to talk about these characters, mainly because there is almost nothing to say about them. But for the sake of my rant, I will try to share some opinions about them.

ㅤ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ✧ Lor - there is absolutely nothing that could convince me to like her after this first book. This girl only has 3 moods: horny, stupid and angry; and somehow all three of them are absolutely wrongly used at the most inappropriate times. She is blind, ignorant and despite trying to act tough, she is just acting like a teenager. She is also a character without any characteristics to look for.

ㅤ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ✧ Atlas - I am pretty sure his bedroom is entirely made of mirrors so that he can constantly admire himself. Never seen a character who just loves to hear himself talk more than this man. I would have gone and got myself killed in the very first trial because there is no way I am competing for a marriage with this...creature.

ㅤ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ✧ Nadir - I have hopes for you; big hopes; great hopes. Do not disappoint me, I am begging you, sir.


ㅤ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍˗ˏˋ★‿︵‧ ˚ ₊⊹ should you read this?
ㅤ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ If you like books that don't really have a plot, with lots of swooning over a boring and horrible man and lots of bad decisions made by characters that are absolutely frustrating, then yes, you should read this. Alternatively, simply avoid this book completely.
ㅤ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ I may seem a little harsh, especially because I still intend to read this series, but I am being honest when I say that this was not a very promising first book in a series. Since the plot still seems promising and it would be unfortunate if it were not fully explored, I do have faith that things might improve starting with the next volume.





⊹₊┈ㆍ┈ㆍ┈ㆍ✿ㆍ┈ㆍ┈ㆍ┈₊⊹
ㅤ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ᯓ ✿ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍pre-reading ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ⪼ ㅤ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ And, finally, I guess this will be the series that will finally close this year for me! and might also open the next one since i'm turning into a really slow reader this time of the year 😭😭

[monica ✨ romantasyreader · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5✨

Fights to the death to become queen, fae court politics, magic, romance, action, violence, and a little spice…. Do I have your attention?

THIS BOOK WAS EXCELLENT!!!

Lor is a prisoner in the Aurora realm’s prison, and one night she’s in solitary confinement, she’s kidnapped to the rival Sun realm and forced into the trials of the sun queen. She must complete 4 trials against 9 other females to win the title of sun queen and become bonded to Atlas, the sun king. There is so much action, intensity, politicking, deceptions, and juicy betrayals my head is still spinning.

I survived then, and I’ll survive now.

Lor is an amazing fmc. She’s intelligent, resilient, and a totally bad ass human in a game full of fae. While she was a little naive, I loved watching her grow and get stronger and stronger throughout this book.

Atlas, the sun king, is the mmc Lor is trying to win the affections of. I was on the fence about him at first, but then he says stuff like, “You’re mine. You’re going to be mine.

I really love romantasy books that have great world building, and this book did not disappoint.

Thank you so much to Nisha Tuli for this arc!! It comes out on 11/15.

[Morgan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Star rating: ★☆☆☆☆
Spice rating: 🌶️

It felt like a Wattpad spin off of The Selection. The writing and the characters felt VERY YA and juvenile, and for a “strong girl who has had a tough life that shaped her into a tough person” she sure does cry a lot. The whole thing was awful… truly.

[rae ✿ · Rating 2 out of 5]

•✿•➳2✫

𝙃𝙚’𝙨 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙖 𝙢𝙖𝙡𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙘𝙖𝙣’𝙩 𝙗𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙙 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙥𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨. 𝙄𝙩’𝙨 𝙪𝙥 𝙩𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥 𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙨 𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙖𝙩𝙚

🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡

Endured 12 years under the Aurora King. Lor wants to get free and make him pay for every torment he's done. But then she finds herself kidnapped and enters a deadly contest to win the Sun King's heart.

Okay, hear me out. I really want to love this. The bachelor meets the hunger games? That seems amazing. The blurb sounds incredible, but the execution was terrible.

Lor was this badass character at first, but suddenly she changed into this very irritating, disappointing character. She's giving off a pick-me-up girl vibe, and I disliked her so much that reading her pov was such an experience.

And the mmc? I hate him. I hate him. I just want to punch that dude in the face.
Nope, there's no romance in the book, just insta-lust all over it. Their whole conversation is so cringeworthy I was tormented reading it.

The storyline is very unreasonable, unreliable, and nonexistent in the world building. Also mind you this book claims to have "The Hunger Games" but bro what even is the game here? One of the challenges is a random fun fact quiz what is this? Who wants to be a Millionaire?😬

I can see the author tried to put the “surprise” aspect at the end with the “twist”🙄 but no it’s so predictable and I’m just so glad I finally finished it😭
Anyway, I don't think I'll be continuing this series😭 It's a big no from me.


—----spoiler—------

Ok I get it it's kind of the point because he's the villain that and I can see it from miles away BUT WHY NOT TRY TO MAKE IT BELIEVABLE?! PUT SOME EFFORT IN?! If you just made him an asshole from the start then what's the point??

—----spoiler—------



------

the bachelor meets the hunger games??? okay okay

[Krysta ꕤ · Rating 4 out of 5]

”Her fingers felt small, yet substantial, when he wrapped his own around them. A jolt shot through him at the touch and she stopped, looking at him with a curious expression. Had she felt it, too?”

idk what was in this book, but the way i flew through it speaks for itself. the plot is very similar to the hunger games.. some might say even too similar, but i was at the edge of my seat. the fmc Lor gets taken from imprisonment to be a tribute in King Atlas trials, where he’ll later choose a wife. i always say this, but i LOVE trials and the ones in here were so entertaining. i honestly didn’t know what to make of Gabriel or Atlas but i can’t say im too surprised by the way things turned out. Lor is hot headed and has secrets of her own that i need answers for. i’m assuming Nadir will be the love interest, so I’ve got my eyes on him as well. this wasn’t unique or anything but i had so much fun reading it.

[patrycja ୨୧ ‧₊˚ · Rating 1 out of 5]

— 1 ★

the title should've been trial of the pick me queen.

[Delusional Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

︶·̩͙⏝ ͝ ୨ ꒰ 𝟑.𝟓𝟎 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒔 ꒱ ୧ ͝ ⏝·̩͙︶ ͝

"When he bonded to his queen, he would settle for nothing less than someone who set his blood on fire."

˚₊‧꒰ა . ——— ˗ˏˋ ⚔️ ˎˊ˗ ——— ˖ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚


This book is for all my romantasy obsessed besties who don't mind an unoriginal plotline when it's fast-paced and thrilling. Despite the lifeless world-building and the lackluster character development, I still had a BLAST buddy reading this with the hilarious sage



𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆: I read this book purely because of all the Nadir hype. Everyone was screaming about how handsome, hot and mysterious the mmc was. I expected to be sweating, feeling single and regretting my decision to reject the guy who approached me in high school, asking me out whilst gifting me a cup that said 'you taste like sugar' 😭

INSTEAD, I FELT NOTHING. BECAUSE NADIR DIDN'T APPEAR FOR LITERALLY THE WHOLE FUCKING BOOK. It felt like he was playing a game of HIDE AND SEEK with me. AND I COULDN'T FIND HIMMM (╥‸╥)




˚₊‧꒰ა . ——— ˗ˏˋ ⚔️ ˎˊ˗ ——— ˖ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚


⋆.ೃ࿔.𖥔 ݁ ˖*:･༄ 𝒑𝒍𝒐𝒕: ↪ Lor - a human - has been imprisoned in a horrifying death prison for 12 years of her life by the cruel Aurora King. One day, she is unexpectedly freed and forced to compete in a series of gruesome trials all to become the Sun King's queen.

There are many secrets buried deep within the kingdom - some from Lor herself. Lor must win the trials to gain freedom, power and revenge - navigating dangerous trials and hate-filled rivalries, all whilst trying to uncover life-threatening secrets, and protecting her own.


⋆.ೃ࿔.𖥔 ݁ ˖*:･༄ 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔: ↪ This book was a super easy read, which I really liked, but it wasn't very unique, and I saw a LOT of similarities between this book and other popular series. However, it was SO FUN and the pace was literally divine. Small things that made the book better were the fact that I loved the fae and human features, that there wasn't any info-dumping, and how I could easily connect with Lor and mentally scream at her for all the stupid decisions she makes.

I swear I felt all the emotions reading this. Happiness, sadness, anger, annoyance... LOTS OF ANNOYANCE because why did the love interest only truly spawn at the 70% mark (⁠╥⁠﹏⁠╥⁠). Overall, the book was quite enjoyable, and I will definitely read the next book just to find out more about Lor's lineage and NADIR. [ If he ever comes out of his hiding spot and contributes to the book ദ്ദി ༎ຶ‿༎ຶ ) ]



˚₊‧꒰ა . ——— ˗ˏˋ ⚔️ ˎˊ˗ ——— ˖ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚



⋆.ೃ࿔.𖥔 ݁ ˖*:･༄ 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔: ↪

𝕷𝕺𝕽 - I would like to think that after surviving 12 years in a dangerous death prison, you would have some street smarts. BUT I GUESS NOT! Lor was a fucking idiot, making stupid decisions and getting manipulated and coerced into doing things by people who OBVIOUSLY had ulterior motives. But I loved her fiery, stabby personality, and her ability to stand up for herself and take action when needed. She was loyal and brave, determined to do anything for revenge and freedom, and I still found myself rooting for her to succeed.

𝕬𝖙𝖑𝖆𝖘 - Usually I put the love interest under the FMC, but... yeah I don't really have anything to say about Nadir... Anyways, there is only one word to describe Atlas. An ass. I cannot even believe this man exists. I get that Lor didn't have much experience in 'romance', but HOW DO YOU EVEN FALL FOR SUCH A DISGUSTING GUY? He was so obviously manipulative and fake that he gave off Temu Tamlin. ( ,,⩌'︿'⩌,,) Need I say much more???

𝕹𝖆𝖉𝖎𝖗 -

𝕲𝖆𝖇𝖗𝖎𝖊𝖑 - I do not know what to think of him, his personality changes from funny to angry to happy to sad faster than my bank account hits zero. And believe me, that's fast. I am sensing a lot of backstory and trauma behind Gabriel's mood swings, and I am intrigued on what the next book will reveal.

“'And you can come willingly, or I can make you. It’s your
choice.' There isn’t one ounce of humor in his expression”

TWO SENTENCES LATER??? I'M NOT EXAGERRATING ( ꩜ ᯅ ꩜;) 

“A wise choice, my lady.” I’m sure I catch the hint of a smile on his
face.

˚₊‧꒰ა . ——— ˗ˏˋ ⚔️ ˎˊ˗ ——— ˖ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚



⋆.ೃ࿔.𖥔 ݁ ˖*:･༄ 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔: ↪ As Olivia Rodrigo would say, 'I love him and I hate him, I guess it's up and down.'

Thank you SO MUCH for reading this far into my review, sending a million hugs and kisses ILYYYY,
Dawn


˚₊‧꒰ა . ——— ˗ˏˋ ⚔️ ˎˊ˗ ——— ˖ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚



ﾟ+*:ꔫ:*﹤ preread:

buddy reading this with the lovely ˚₊· ୨୧ Sage Of the Hollow ˚₊· ୨୧, super excited!! not sure what to expect, but we SHALL find out together 💗🫶🏻

⊹₊˚‧︵‿₊୨ᰔ୧₊‿︵‧˚₊⊹

[emelie 𝜗𝜚⋆₊˚ (exams!!) · Rating 3 out of 5]

જ⁀➴ 𝟑.𝟐𝟓₊˚⊹☀️ 𝟘𝟜/𝟙𝟜/𝟚𝟝—𝟘𝟜/𝟙𝟞/𝟚𝟝
this was a fun ride but a bit too similar to acotar/throne of glass and other romantasies for my taste.

it wasn’t as bad as the first time i read it, but at the end of the day i’m not going to say it’s a literary masterpiece. it’s entertaining and if you want something fun this could be good for you but if you want something original and well-done, im gonna say no.

the romance between lor and atlas felt very forced but it’s obvious it was just another case of a tamlin to rhysand situation considering that nadir had his own point of view in the book so it wasn’t exactly subtle with who the fmc would end up with, so if your willing to trek through another acotar bait and switch (even though it’s very apparent to the reader that atlas is not the final love interest, then this could be good for you!)

my main issue with this book is that it felt so jarring in the end. for the sake of spoilers i won’t give any theories or predictions (because the author wasn’t really subtle about where the rest of the series would end up going so they are most likely very right), but in the beginning of the book lor says that she doesn’t remember who she is or why she was in a prison, yet later in the book she starts referring to her dark past and how she is the only one who knows it.

this was just very confusing considering that she said one thing to begin with and completely switched it up. it’s one thing to make your main character withhold information and slowly bring clues about it (i.e. aelin from tog or jude from tfoa), but this just felt too jarring and made me go “wait did i miss a chapter?! how did she suddenly figure it out?!” unlike other books that do it smoothly.

i also felt like that the character at the beginning of the book was completely different from how lor acted with atlas? your telling me someone who has been in a prison for 12+ years would fold so quickly for a tamlin copy? she also seemed like she just got everything so easily and every time she did something the author made everyone react like “wow she is so amazing and mortal!!”

i did however enjoy the trials and some parts of the book like the overall idea of the sun queen and the world and the side plot with nadir was interesting.

overall, if you want a quick romantasy to keep you entertained, this could be a great option for you. but if you want something well-written and original, i would opt out of this one.

╰┈➤ tropes to expect!
✎ deadly trials
✎ forced proximity
✎ fated mates
✎ enemies to lovers
✎ secret identity

₊˚⊹ ᰔ 𝐩𝐫𝐞-𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝:
i dnfed this book at 60% last time i read it but i’ve only heard people really enjoying this so hopefully it’s better the second time around? 👀

[Emma Halbrook · Rating 3 out of 5]

Listen. The plot was intriguing and I didn’t hate it. However, the “romance”?!?!?!?! Was I supposed to buy that Atlas was a serious love interest for even one singular second??? I wasn’t born yesterday. I was rolling my eyes and gagging at every interaction. I will be continuing the series, because I figure I’ll enjoy it more now that Nadir is in the picture, but this first book was a STRUGGLE. 😮‍💨

[Southern Lady Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Feels very much like an SJM ACOTAR style read- but I'm not mad about it really? There's just enough differentiation in the storylines that I really enjoyed it!!

THOUGHTS:
- Super easy to read. Flowed very well. Quite literally read this in 12 hours with just a few stopping points.

- Lor is not a virginal maiden, and I appreciated that - but I still don't think her experience was enough to completely save her in much the same way Feyre's wasn't in ACOTAR. Again though - I really felt like there was enough of a mix-up in the storylines that it wasn't too similar!! I also appreciate the toughness of our heroine Lor - and what she's had to go through! So many thoughts and I'm excited to head to book club on Friday!

NOTES:
- 🌶️🌶️/5 -- Def don't feel like this is YA! Has some of the same adult themes as TOG and ACOTAR!

[Thais • tata.lifepages • · Rating 5 out of 5]

Imagine if The Selection was spicier and darker, but with fae and a touch of Plated Prisoner series! 🔥🖤

This is the first book in a NA fantasy romance where we follow Lor, a young woman who has lived for most of her life in the murky depths of the notorious Nostraza prison. Everyday is a fight for survival in the prisons harsh life conditions, but at least she has her siblings with her. When she is once again sent to the solitary hole for punishment, where starvation and death by lurking creatures is a very likely possibility, the unexpected happens.

Lor is rescued, or is it kidnapped? You will have to find out! She is forced to participate in the deadly Sun Queens Trials to rule beside the Sun King; Atlas. Her conditions seem to have improved drastically, now she has a chance to save her family and rule with a handsome and charming man beside her...but why does it still feel like a prison?

The plot was so intriguing that I couldn't stop reading! I had to find out what was the truth behind the Trials and Atlas. Everything is very mysterious and the author drops little clues then and there... Atlas gives me King Midas's vibes, golden and yet hiding many secrets. The real love interest is not clear, but I have a suspicion... 😏

Tropes included:
- slow burn enemies to lovers
- Deadly competition similar to Hunger Games
- Kidnapping and forced proximity
- morally gray characters, you really have no idea who is good and who is evil
- fae, magic and an amazing world building

Without a doubt one of my top reads of 2022 😭 I loved this new series even more than To Wake A Kingdom by the same author, if that's even possible!

[Brend · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let's get one thing straight; I don't care that much about Fae but I do care a lot about The Bachelor

[✩ Yaz ✩ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

“You have been brought here to compete in the Trials. You will pretend you are from The Umbra and you will tell no one of where you came from. You may die, but you may also see your every dream come true. What mortal wouldn’t dream of marrying the Sun King? You’ll ascend to Imperial Fae and have all the power and riches you could dream of. You would have magic, Lor.”

The Trials of the Sun Queen is the first bewitching installment in a very promising series featuring Fae politics, court drama and a deadly contest where ten females compete to become the Sun Queen and marry the King.

Imagine a mash up of the Bachelor x The Hunger Games but in a High Fantasy setting!

I was looking for a book to scratch that classic fantasy romance itch and this was such a delightful read! I was wholly immersed (the audiobook narration was splendid!).

We follow Lor, a 24-year-old human who has been locked up at a prison for 12 years alongside her siblings. After being thrown into the Hollow and kidnapped, Lor finds herself at the Sun Palace and is forced to partake in the trials of the Sun Queen, an ancient tradition of the Kingdom in which a Queen is chosen to marry the King.

Ten females are picked from the finest Fae families to compete in 4 challenges over the course of 8 weeks, among them a human is added.

Lor was a fiesty little thing which was fun to read about. Her past is riddled with mysteries (but we do get some easter eggs) and her time at the Prison (known as Nostraza) was anything but joyful. She and her siblings have lost their parents, the 12 years they spent at the prison subjected them to constant abuse and depravity (Lor is an SA survivor but it's not shown on page).

In the gilded palace of the Sun Kingdom, Lor might have a chance to win and that could mean being able to save her siblings and finally grant them the life they deserved. Maybe she'll uncover mysteries of her own past. Maybe there's more to the Sun King and the trials that are held to find his bride.

What has me excited the most is the foreshadowing bits and clues about what the sequels might uncover. I'm diving straight into book 2: The Rule of the Aurora King.

Keep in mind the romance is a slowburn and there is some spice sprinkled here and there, but I think readers will be much more awarded later on. If you're wondering about what type of dynamic the couple would have, I'd say it's an enemy/stranger-to-lovers kind of dynamic.

Content warnings: For those who’d like a heads up, this is an adult novel that involves some death and blood and people killing each other. There is mention of past sexual assault—nothing happens on the page. There are the usual F-bombs and a bit of smut.

[⋆⭒˚.⋆ Eloise⋆⭒˚.⋆ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pre-read: 😯 The bachelor meets fantasy trials? Pffffftttttt. say NO more 💅 I’m so there 😆 😆

4.25🌟

“For anyone who finds themselves driven by both love and rage.”

GUYS. GUYSSSSSS.

Now hear me out, was this the best book I’ve ever read with great world building? Absolutely not. But was it addicting, cliche af, and cause me physical pain to put it down? YES! 🙌

Guys this book made me actually so happy because it’s been a while since I’ve felt this much adrenaline while reading. 😆 It was a mix of Throne of Glass (my all time fav series ever if you know me 💙), and Powerless.

ALSO I GUESSED THE ENDING!! 💅 Please hold the applause 😌😌 I was actually so shocked I guessed right, but it was pretty obvious so maybe I’m just overreacting but seriously, I NEVER guess anything so you could see my surprise.

Also the author said this was a slow-burn and I was like “Is she ok? Does she even know what that is?” 🤨🤔Because when I tell you the romance was within the first like 100 pages, BUT THEN. BUT THENNNN something happened and the two ACTUAL love interests only interacted like barely, soooo you HAVE to trust the process. 🔥At this point I’ve already started the second book because I need to know what happens next.

Lor was defiantly a pain sometimes but it’s easy to sympathize with her, so I’ll let it slide. I won’t talk about any more characters because I don’t wanna give anything away, but just know this book is soooo gripping. There was never a dull moment honestly 😁

😝 Overall if you want a cliche book with trials, romance, a little spice, and something unputdownable, this is your book! 🫶🏽🫶🏽

[naz · Rating 5 out of 5]

WHAT A BOOK, omg i am shocked

Full review pending

𝗽𝗿𝗲-𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱｡ꪆৎ ˚⋅ adding this bad boi as an audiobook - heard good things so let's see how this goes

[Carson Bursey · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m trying to not be a hater but I just felt like this was way too predictable and tropey. Also if the phrase “she flicked her hair” was used one more time I was gonna lose it.

[Kendall · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️ Listen, I am fully aware that this is not unique and is filled with tropes, BUT I had a great time! I flew through this book. I loved the beginning, being thrown from the Nostraza prison straight into the trials and learning what was happening as Lor was finding out herself. The trials to compete to be Atlas’s queen were so entertaining, and I enjoyed the side characters. Even though the big plot twist at the end was predictable, I still had fun with the details of how it happened.

[Bailey Mcknight · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was actually impressed at how much I liked this book! I expected something light hearted and not serious but the more I read the more into it I got! It’s a mix of hidden queen, competitions between candidates, and romance. Can’t wait to finish the series!

[isolde ⭑ hiatus · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5.
i hate gabriel. he needs to fall off a bridge.

[Mariella Taylor · Rating 1 out of 5]

Alright, ya'll, sit down and grab some cookies because I've got a lot to say and it ain't gonna be pretty. If you like this book, you're gonna wanna head out now because I have very little kind to say about this book right now. (I spent the whole day stewing over this book and wanting to bleach my brain from having read it so for those of you who actually want to read this review, hang in there because it's a doozy.)

First, I'll start off by saying something that actually worked in this book's favor because it needs the brownie points for what I'm gonna say after.

The singular thing I think worked very well in this book's favor is that it is a good example of consistently raising stakes and consequences throughout. I see so many books that are honestly a let down because the stakes fail to raise or there fails to be believable consequences for actions or things that happen to the characters. But I can honestly say that there were some pretty decent twists and stakes elevation going on in this book. Which I was super happy about while I was reading it.

Moving on, the first thing I want to talk about is the characters and their points of view.

Lor - Lor was your basic classic girl with a temper who can survive anything by spite alone. Which, in one sense worked out okay because the author instituted severe consequences for the dumb shit she pulled. However, after you're about a third through the book, it starts to get old fast. She becomes predictable and lacks depth and uniqueness, becoming like every other fantasy heroine who doesn't actually need a man and proves her strength through her fists. (That said, she is wily and sarcastic and that was most of the reason I tried to stick the book out.) My other issue with this character is that she's someone who has spent basically her whole life since she was a very tiny child in a prison. Such that she's barely had any education, she's not been outside the prison since she was a toddler, she's only been outside to see the actual SKY or FOREST when she's been thrown into a pit to starve or be eaten by monsters. Yet suddenly she's rescued by fae and miraculously knows all these things about the outside world and how to navigate in it. She acts like she's seen and experienced things she hasn't before and is familiar with things that someone in her life circumstances simply wouldn't be familiar with, so it made her character feel unbelievable. My biggest issue with her though is that she spends the entire book unable to make up her mind about whether she's going to succeed in being the sun queen or not--whether she's hopeful or defeated. Which COULD be a really neat arc, especially paired with her desperation to return to rescue her siblings once she's queen. But it's just not written well. She comes off wishy washy because she's constantly changing her mind with no on-screen reason to do so. Just one moment she's defeated and one minutes she's determined with no supporting reasons or development for those changes. So I was really irked to say the least.

The fae king was--simply put--basic bitch pretty boy and disinterested me from the start. I'm so glad he didn't have a point of view in this book because I might've had to remove my own eyeballs if I had to subject myself to that. Blech.

Nadir is our second point of view character, a character who Lor sees as the villain throughout. He has the potential to be interesting but nothing below the surface is really explored with him, though it's rather set up that book two would lead to an enemies to lovers arc. That said, honestly, he's another character who was severely disinteresting, two dimensional, and who--quite frankly--didn't need a point of view. Nothing that happened in those sections is something that couldn't have been explored through a point of view in book two because all of his sections were set up for that.

Alrighty. Thank you to all of you who stuck it out this far, but now we're going to get to the meat of why I fucking LOATHE this book with my entire soul. (Which is saying a lot because I LOVE the political intrigue fantasy genre.)

Point blank -- if you're going to set up a plot point in which a character is regularly subjected to physical and sexual abuse and coercion by all the men in her life and is bullied and manipulated into caring about people or giving them favors because they "love" her and she's "special," you CANNOT leave it hanging and not do anything with it.

I understand that in history (or those time periods similar to what's represented in fae courts) it would likely be seen as "normal" for women to be treated as property. And that men, especially those in power, would blackmail or trick women into believing they were loved or giving them favors in order to achieve some goal or hope of their own. But that's not what was going on here.

What the author set up can be summed up in this one line (paraphrasing somewhat) repeated throughout the book both in ACTUAL DIALOGUE and thematically/within the characters thoughts and feelings: physical/sexual abuse and coercion is the woman's fault because men are not able to control themselves.

Literally said in the book multiple times.

Tuli...Nisha, sweetie. WHAT THE ACTUAL /FUCK/.

Now, once again, I would be understanding if this was set up as something that the author was presenting in society that was clearly WRONG and that the character was trying to escape from and give herself a better life and have a Man-Who-Learned-Better arc. Okay, I would be like "I don't necessarily want to see all this on the page, but I do love where you were going with that arc even though it's not for me."

But that's not what happened.

Those themes and dialogue interactions were repeatedly set up and restated. And nothing happens. There's no arc. There's no acting on that, no trying to change things or achieve better circumstances for herself. We're just left there with the character to believe that this is something that is normal and OKAY. And we're left at the end with this character to believe that it's okay for her to be treated this way with the expectation that this is just how men are and this is how every relationship she has will be so she'd better make the most of it and at least find someone she likes because she's going to have to deal with men like this forever. We're not set up with an arc to show her developing wanting to escape that or feeling hurt or defeated because of it. She's shocked exactly once by those words when they're first said and then just basically starts to believe them when she's sitting there thinking about everything that's been going on in her life. And when we close out with her in the next situation it's basically suggested that she believes it'll continue to be that way. Will there be an actual arc with this in book two? I don't know and I don't care because I'm not sticking around for that shit.


But really, guys, who in the world read this series and was like "hey I think this is best seller booktok material"? Is this how far we've fallen? Where we're supporting stories that support abuse and coercion toward women? Where we're allowing our young men and women to believe that that's SEXY and okay if men can't control themselves? Because that's what this looks like to me.


And don't get me wrong, as I said, I think there are arcs like this that CAN be well done. Think of Sansa in the Game of Thrones series. That girl went through absolute HELL and came out a powerhouse of a queen on the other side. But she had an actual ARC. There was a purpose to her suffering and she not only changed herself for the better but changed things for her kingdom for the better. There ARE examples of this sort of story line in this genre that are handled well through a series. But this book....it's not one of them.

Trial of the Sun Queen truly reads to me as if the author (or at least how she presented her world and characters) believed that there was nothing wrong with this line of thinking and didn't want the reader to believe it was unhealthy or abnormal. In fact, it was presented as something that the reader should find sexy or desirable and exciting. And I'm just like...what the actual /fuck/ has this world come to??? What is going on that all our political intrigue fantasy has turned into bad smut with horrible moral lessons?

I'm...I'm so sad and it makes me feel defeated both as an author and a reader that THIS is the type of story that people are excited about. These are the kind of books that I'm ashamed to say exist and I'm still trying to scrub the horror out of my own head.

I can't give a book zero stars and warning labels, but if I could, man. If I could.

(UPDATED CAVEAT -- I do fully believe and understand that physical/sexual abuse and coercion can happen to men or women by men or women. It's not a one-sided issue. I'm merely stating that the fact that we're allowing people to believe it's okay to blame the victim and teach them that it's their fault because the other party can't control themselves and the victim simply has to endure because that's how things are and they should be enjoying that and proving their love to the person...that is NOT okay.)

[Annie Månsson · Rating 5 out of 5]

5⭐️ SÅ BRA! Fastnade direkt för både storyn och karaktärerna, och det kändes verkligen som en mix av hunger games och bachelor. Även om den var rätt kort (300 sidor) så hann jag bli så investerad och förstå världen och spelen. Kan ABSOLUT rekommendera, så spännande hela boken igenom!

[Iyabo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I support women of color especially those who are authors and I support fantasy novels that feature women of color. They are few and far between. But as certain (cough NK cough) authors have shown me, you also have to …be good. Don’t get me wrong, the premise literally had me drooling. It’s The Selection but with smut and fae. It’s The Hunger Games meets The Lunar Chronicles. The main character Lor is just Celaena and Feyre and Poppy mashed into one person. (Although not as smart as my girlies which was disappointing.) Nadir, crown prince of The Aurora? You mean Dorian? Gabriel, captain of the guard of The Aphelion? You mean Chaol? Unfortunately, because it’s like literally very other fantasy book I’ve ever read, it was too predictable. I mean how many times are we gonna do this orphaned lost Princess plot? I had hoped it would be an original take but we’re just doing the same basic fantasy nonsense. Still a fun read though.

2023 Challenge #40: The first of a series