The Queen's Command

by Sarah Raughley

The Inheritance Games meets Bridgerton in the riveting companion novel to The Queen's Spade, where our heroine must play a deadly game and risk everything to get to the truth that’s poisoning Victorian England’s royal court.

Favored by Queen Victoria, Vicky Davies has survived royal courts, financial ruin, and the loss of her mother, Sarah Forbes Bonetta — the famous African princess turned royal goddaughter — but Cheltenham Ladies’ College is about to test her in new and wicked ways.

Every Thursday evening, the senior girls of Miss Hugo's homeroom play a secret game and Vicky just became their latest pawn. Truths must be confessed, commands obeyed, and whoever claims the coveted title of winner will have her wish granted, no matter how outrageous and seemingly impossible it may be.

But when the game yields frightening and fatal results, Vicky vows to put an end to this ghoulish tradition that twists minds and makes enemies out of friends. With dangerous foes closing in and truths that could shatter her world clawing to the surface, Vicky must uncover the secrets buried not only in Cheltenham but by her own mother. In a school where survival is a gamble, will she emerge victorious — or fall victim to its deadly game?

Genres: Young Adult, Historical Fiction, Historical

384 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication October 20, 2026

About the author

Sarah Raughley grew up in Southern Ontario writing stories about freakish little girls with powers because she secretly wanted to be one. She is a huge fangirl of anything from manga to SF/F TV to Japanese Role Playing Games, but she will swear up and down that she was inspired by ~Jane Austin~ at book signings. On top of being a YA Writer, she is currently completing a PhD in English, because the sight of blood makes her queasy (which crossed Medical School off the list).

She is represented by The Bradford Literary Agency.

So far, you can also find her on Twitter, where work ethic goes to die.

Reviews

[Teenage Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a sequel but a companion novel to the first book, Sarah Raughley definitely stepped up her game with this one. Told from the perspective of Sarah's daughter, Victoria—better known as Vicky—the story follows a favorite of the Queen as she attends a prestigious boarding school. There, Vicky must navigate mean girls, indifferent teachers, and a secret social game in which students compete for the Queen's favor by completing specific tasks. Success earns rewards and status, while failure results in public humiliation and punishment from both the Queen and her followers.
Simply put, this plot is far stronger than the first novel's, and it helps that Vicky is a much more likeable protagonist than her mother. While Sarah was often cold and motivated by a desire to punish the world around her, Vicky is the new girl desperately trying to fit in—a feeling many readers will immediately relate to. She witnesses the injustices happening around her and, like most people, initially chooses to ignore them until they become impossible to overlook. Raughley does not hold back when it comes to the consequences of the Queen's game, and the escalating punishments make it easy to become invested in both Vicky and her friends.
The novel also includes a romantic subplot. While it was not as strong as I had hoped, it did add another layer to Vicky's character and helped move the story forward. Even if parts of the romance felt predictable enough to earn an eye roll, it served its purpose within the narrative. The relationship also plays an important role in the novel's climax, though the resolution felt a little more far-fetched than some of the magical elements the story hints at throughout. It works well enough, but I wish Raughley had either spent more time developing that aspect of the plot or extended the novel to make the ending feel more earned.
What did not work as well for me was Vicky's relationship with her mother, Sarah. To Vicky's credit, she reflects on both the positive and negative aspects of their relationship, but those reflections often felt emotionally distant. Having already read from Sarah's perspective in the previous novel, I wanted to see more complexity and emotional conflict from Vicky when it came to her mother. Instead, many of her observations felt factual rather than deeply felt. Similar to the romance, which often seemed driven more by circumstance than emotion, Vicky's feelings toward Sarah felt surprisingly nonchalant when I expected them to be one of the novel's strongest emotional forces.
Overall, this is a strong companion novel. While readers can enjoy it on its own, reading the first book will provide much-needed context for Sarah's character and make some of the emotional dynamics more meaningful. The plot is compelling, Raughley's writing feels noticeably stronger and more confident than in the previous novel, and Vicky emerges as the most relatable character across both books. If the series continues, I would much rather follow Vicky's story than return to Sarah's.

[Tiffany · Rating 5 out of 5]

📖 Title: The Queen's Command-The Queen's Spade #2

✍🏾 Author: Sarah Raughley-I read The Queen's Spade and gave it 5⭐

📅 Publication date: 10/20/26 | Read: 10/18/26

📃 Format: e-Book 384 pgs.

Genre:
*Historical Fic
*YA
*Mystery/Thriller
*Suspense
*Multicultural

Tropes:
*coming of age
*family drama
*female friendship/betrayal
*dark academia
*the wealthy/royal politics
*secret society
*mental health
*The Queen's Game/The Philosopher's Club- students chosen to follow commands/tell truths and be rewarded w/ a wish by a mythical queen. If you take The Queen's Opportunity-you bow out of the game forever

👆🏾POV:1st person single

⚠️TW: death of parent, murder, suicide/ attempt, assassination attempts, racism, classism, bullying, drug addiction

🌎 Setting: London, England 1881

Summary: After the death of her mother Victoria goes to the Queen for money for school. She's enrolled in Cheltenham Ladies College-an elite boarding school. Vicky is thrust into a game of life or death when she receives The Queen's Invitation- a cruel psychological game of dying to belong.

👩🏾 Heroine: Victoria "Vicky" Davies-17, African princess
👨🏾Hero: Elias- Ethiopian servant likes Vicky

🎭 Other Characters
*Sarah Forbes Bonetta/Omoba Ina-Vicky's mother (deceased)
*Captain James Davies- Vicky's father has financial woes in Lagos
*Queen Victoria-the British matriarch, Vicky's godmother
*Mr. Christie-the queen's agent, hired by Vicky's father to protect her
*Prince Leopold-Queen's son/Duke of Albany
*Ms. Dorothea Beale-headmistress
*Miss Hopkins-house mistress
*Euphemia Pelham-Clinton-granddaughter of 5th Duke of Newcastle
*Lady Susan Hamilton-Euphemia's grandmother
*Sophia Baxter-a soprano singer, former Cheltenham College student
*Daisy Maynard-Euphemia's BFF
*Edith Campbell-Vicky's roommate
*Raspberry Neverbrook-Vicky's roommate
*Alice Lambert-a new student, mother deceased
*Leah Manning-Vicky's roommate, opted out of the games
*Jane Maser-hates Vicky


🤔 My Thoughts/Likes:
*Vicky standing up for herself
*Vicky's mother issues
*Revenge on the crown
*Rewriting history!

Rating: 5/5 ✨
Spice level: 1/5🌶️ kissing only

🙏🏾 Thanks to Netgalley, HarperCollins Children's Books| HarperCollins, and Sarah Raughley for this ARC. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[H.R.H. Carpathia · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Queen’s Command is the companion novel to The Queen’s Spade. The first book is about Sara/Aina. Here we follow her daughter, Vicky as she navigates a prestigious boarding school as Queen Victoria’s favorite. It does not take long for Vikcy to find trouble, or should I say for trouble to find her, in this strange place. We have flashbacks of her mother and learn that she remained vengeful and even that Rui makes an appearance. Yes, I still dislike him. I found this book more interesting than its companion. Here we see, Vicky’s character build up and her emotions fleshed out. I did not feel that with Aina in the first book because all she thought of was revenge. ( we do learn more about Aina here which is nice, but I still find Vicky as well as Edith better characters.) I do not know at what point the writer decided to write this book, but the continuation is smooth. The message is the same ‘down with oppressors and justice for all’.


Vicky is a good character. Her narration brings the time period to life. Actually, since my interests are Ghana and China now, I’d forgotten a lot about Europe in this error. The other characters are good as well, but none of their behaviors are surprising. Everyone is exactly what you take them for. Elias was all right. I think he was included to give honor to the Ethiopian Prince who was already dead by this point in time. I also enjoyed learning about Edith and her mother. The villains are evil to the bone, and they are not what really makes this story interesting but rather the mystery element. In other words, you could remove/ change all of them and the story could still take place. See “Under Copp's Hill”.

[Amber Rushing · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½ / 5

Okay… this book had me HOOKED! 👀

The Queen’s Command gives us Victorian England, secrets, power struggles, a prestigious boarding school, and a deadly little game where the stakes are WAY higher than they should be. And honestly? The whole “truths must be confessed and commands must be obeyed” concept had me turning pages because I needed to know just how far things were going to go. 😳

Vicky was such an interesting character to follow. She’s trying to find her place in a world where everyone seems to have an agenda, while also dealing with the complicated legacy her mother left behind. The further she digs, the more questions pop up—and some of those answers are definitely better left buried.

I LOVED the atmosphere of this one. It has that dark academia + historical mystery + social hierarchy feeling, with just enough danger and drama to keep things moving. And the secret-game element? 👏 PERFECT.

What really stood out to me was the way the story explores power, identity, racism, colonialism, and what it means to make your own choices when society has already decided who you’re supposed to be.

[Tee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book overall!

One of my favorite elements of this story was the world building. The details of the historical setting were really compelling. And I appreciate how this book shows the effect of colonization on various parts of the world.

In regards to the plot, I liked the conflict that presented throughout the book. There was a good balance between large-scale challenges and more personal struggles, all presented at a pretty good pace. The exploration of power, loyalty, sacrifice, and resilience was also well done.

The characters were great too—very engaging and layered. I really loved how this story introduces real historical figures from diverse backgrounds. The complexity and moral ambiguities of the characters were also interesting to see on page (even if some of the bullying was hard to read at times).

All in all, I would recommend this book for fans of YA historical fiction with diverse, compelling characters.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and HarperCollins for allowing me to read the eARC!

[Mrs. Kenyon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vicky is one of Queen Victoria’s goddaughters, has learned to act in royal courts, and has survived financial ruin. After her mother dies, she is sent to Cheltenham Ladies’ College and learns that living with a group of teen girls can be more dangerous than royal intrigue. During a secret club meeting, girls must decide if they want to confess a truth or obey a command. The game is nothing close to innocent, and sometimes the game has even resulted in death. Who is behind this group? Will Vicky be the one to take it down?

The Queen’s Command is a historical fiction stand-alone novel that will be perfect for those who enjoy a mystery set in Victorian England. Raughley has blended historical figures with new characters that breathe life into the story and keep the reader engaged the entire time. I am glad this was not part of a series because I thoroughly enjoyed the capers that were going on while also knowing how everything ended. I recommend The Queen’s Command to those who enjoy a historical mystery.

[mary k · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Queen's Command by Sarah Raughley was an interesting take on the reign of Queen Victoria and the complicated power dynamics within her inner circle. I especially enjoyed the way Raughley incorporated real historical figures from diverse backgrounds into the story while also addressing the colonization of Africa and other regions and its impact on the people affected by it.
The bullying that Vicky and her classmates experienced throughout the book was sometimes difficult to read, and I wasn't particularly impressed with the ending, which felt somewhat far-fetched. However, I appreciated the complexity of the characters and the moral ambiguities they faced.
Overall, I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy historical fiction with complex characters and a narrative that leans more heavily on fiction than strict historical accuracy.

[BookishKB]

👑♟️ The Queen's Command ♟️👑

📖 Bookish Thoughts

My full review will be shared closer to the publication date.

✨ What to Expect
• YA Historical Mystery
• Dark Academia
• Boarding School
• Court Intrigue
• Deadly Games
_ _ _

📅 Pub Date: October 20, 2026
Thank you to HarperCollins and NetGalley for the advanced copy.

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story is interesting in terms of the color of one's skin and how that impacts your life. The book is very dense and detailed with a lot of the inner thought life of Vicky Davies. I found myself wanting to skim rather than read it all as it was so wordy. The book ended up up not able to maintain my interest.

[Brie S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't read any of Sarah Raughley's other books yet, but I will after reading this one! I was fortunate enough to get to read an advance reader's edition, and it was a fantastic fall read. I really enjoyed it.

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Historical fiction based on real events --- Victoria Davies. the African godchild of Queen Victoria who attended Chelteham Ladies" College. This story was crying to be told from Victoria's point of view, and it is here. Be prepared to be immersed in an environment of racism.

[Mayra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written; I was captivated from the first page! "Never trust anyone who calls herself a monarch."

A dark academia historical fiction thriller coupled with poignant social commentary. I highly recommend this book! Now I need to go read Sarah Raughley's other works.

[Lynn Bevilacqua · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading The Queen’s Command, I found the diversity of the characters very interesting. I liked the way Vicky initially showed loyalty to the her godmother, the Queen, but as she learned more about her own past, she realized that she shouldn’t. Vicky doesn’t let the bully girls stop her even when they cut off her hair, it just pushed even her more to find out who is behind the game of Confess or Truth. Vicky’s friendship with Elias turns romantic as he helped Vicky plan to kill the Queen to end the craziness of the game. This novel has sparked my interest in Sarah Raughley’s writing and I want to read the prior novel, The Queens Command. Thank you for the ARC, I thoroughly enjoyed it!