The Star-Touched Queen

This was beautifully written and had some rather interesting things to say about self-doubt, trust, and the challenges amidst relationships...but all of that was more or less ruined by the Terrible Mistake that the entire plot pivots around.

There are real reasons why the heroine would make such a Terrible Mistake, but those weren't the reasons the author gave us. That is, she gave us those reasons and then she gave us so many other reasons that the heroine just looked TSTL instead of conflicted and flawed. I don't know about anyone else, but as soon as a protagonist shows themselves to be TSTL, I lose all patience with the storytelling and cease caring entirely.

Which is a shame, really, because this type of "Cupid and Psyche" and "East show more of the Sun and West of the Moon" story, where a character makes a mistake and fights to fix it, is one of my favorite narratives. Though, it would seem, a difficult narrative to get right. show less

I'm not sure how to write this review and do this book justice, but here goes.

What we have here is a stunning novel about reincarnation and memories, fate and choice. There is a host of gods, demons, creatures, and beings from folklore. There is a timeless love story. There are bonds of sisterhood and bonds of friendship. Whispering doors, crystal trees, flesh-eating horses. I could go on and on and on.

I love LUSH writing. Tactile, sensory writing. I am the only person on this earth that loves the word "moist", because yeah it's slightly off-putting, but you can also feel it. (I always think of it as sinking your fingers into cool soil??) Chokshi's novel swells with this kind of writing. It's sensuous, it's creepy, it's inviting, it's show more edible. I LOVE IT.

Maya is wonderful and so are her interactions with Amar, Gauri, Kamala, her father....pretty much everyone. Bonus: they're all intriguing characters in their own rights.

In a nutshell: great, deep world-building with tricky, nuanced characters and some truly mind-blowing imagery.

I never quite knew where this story was taking me, and that's fine because I loved every twisty moment of it.

(Is the companion novel about Gauri? I hope it is.)

Thanks to Macmillan/St. Martin's Griffin for the ARC! ^_^ show less

A very interesting read with lots of imagination, and many exciting environments. I would say this is a decent recommendation for Sandman fans (before Gaiman turned out to be, well, Neil Gaiman). That said, it is difficult to get a handle on the characters, especially the protagonist, as she flips from well-earned confidence to insecure doubts on a dime, mostly to move the plot forward. That said, I would definitely read another installment featuring her and Kamala, the carnivorous horse who didn't at all remind me of a bloody-minded Marigold Heavenly Nostrils.

Oh my stars!

(Full disclosure: I received a free electronic ARC for review through NetGalley.)

Staring at the sky in Bharata was like exchanging a secret. It felt private, like I had peered through the veil of a hundred worlds. When I looked up, I could imagine—for a moment—what the sky hid from everyone else. I could see where the winds yawned with silver lips and curled themselves to sleep. I could glimpse the moon folding herself into crescents and half-smiles. When I looked up, I could imagine an existence as vast as the sky. Just as infinite. Just as unknown.

###

“I want your perspective and honesty,” he said, before adding in a softer voice, “I want to be humbled by you.”

Heat flared in my cheeks. I paused, the stick in my show more hand falling a fraction. Perspective and honesty? Humbled by me? Rajas never asked for anything other than sons from their consorts.

“My kingdom needs a queen,” he said. “It needs someone with fury in her heart and shadows in her smile. It needs someone restless and clever. It needs you.”

“You know nothing about me.”

“I know your soul. Everything else is an ornament.”

###

In the kingdom of Bharata, seventeen-year-old Mayavati is known as "the one with the horoscope" - cursed by cold, distant stars that promise a marriage of Death and Destruction. Maya is something of an outcast; though her father the Raj doesn't place any credence in such superstitions, the Raj's harem and the larger realm believe that one's horoscope speaks the truth, if only we mortals deign to listen. And so Maya is scorned, treated like an outcast and a pariah, and blamed for the realm's misfortunes, large and small.

Yet her morbid horoscope also promises Maya a life of (relative) freedom: unlike her many half-sisters, Maya is not expected to marry. Instead, she delves into academia, burying her nose in the kingdom's dusty archives and delighting in chasing away a series of stuffy old tutors. She looks forward to becoming a "scholarly old maid" - better than being sold into a marriage of political convenience, just one of many wives left to beg scraps of attention from a near-stranger, no?

But Bharata is a kingdom in the midst of a protracted war, and Maya is currently the only unwed daughter of marriageable age. The Raj does the unthinkable: invites the leaders of the rebel groups to Bharata to court his daughter. But things quickly go from bad to worse as the Raj reveals the real reason for the surprise swayamvara: it's simply a trap, meant to gather the Raj's enemies in one place so that he can slay them. But not before Maya commits suicide by poison, thus nullifying the temporary treaty.

With the help of a mesmerizing stranger named Amar, Maya manages to escape - just barely. Her new husband whisks her away to his kingdom, Akaran, a magical place that sits in the space between the Otherworld and the human realm. Maya is understandably enchanted - and suspicious: especially since Amar is prohibited from telling Maya anything of her new kingdom until the moon passes through a cycle. In a palace decorated with mirror portals to other worlds and iron-clad doors that jump from place to place, little is as it seems: least of all the Raj, and Maya's role in his grand plan.

The Star-Touched Queen is simply amazing. First of all, the writing! THE WRITING. In a word, Chokshi's prose is sumptuous: like a moist, decadent, double-decker chocolate fudge cake smothered in vanilla almond buttercream frosting. Luxurious, richly textured, with layers upon layers of flavors and the occasional unexpected choice of ingredient. So tasty I could almost eat it up (and lick the plate clean).

Though it's highly entertaining and speeds by rather quickly, The Star-Touched Queen isn't the sort of book you should read while tired or distracted; it's lovely and just challenging enough that it deserves your full attention. And while it's true that I needed to whip out ye ole dictionary once or twice (or maybe a dozen times), Chokshi doesn't beat you about the head and body with her superior wordiness. It's challenging, yes, but also accessible.

I don't know if "literary fantasy" is widely accepted as a genre, but this is it.

Also, the plot is wholly unexpected and full of twists and turns and "omg, that escalated quickly!" moments. There's an especially exciting twist around the 60% mark that cleaves the book in two - much like the life-altering tapestry in Akaran's throne room. The Star-Touched Queen almost feels like two stories, brought together in an omnibus edition. It's really rather breathtaking, particularly in the timing: just as you wonder how much longer Chokshi will draw out Maya's self-discovery, she turns heel and changes tack like that (*snapping fingers*).

And the characters! Oh, the characters! Maya and Amar are lovely and fierce and tragically flawed - but not irredeemably so. Their love had me swooning, and as a general rule, I am not the swoony type. It was breathtaking watching them find each other, lose each other, and find each other again.

Maya's younger half-sister Gauri is adorable ... and then fierce in her own right. I adore what Chokshi did with the character, as well as Maya's reaction to said development. You can see more than a little of Maya in grown-up Gauri, and Maya treats her accordingly, with the respect and admiration she so clearly deserves. With the respect and admiration Maya herself should have received while living in Bharata.

And Kamala? She's a snarky, sarcastic, soul-eating demon horse. Need I say more?

I could gush about The Star-Touched Queen for days, but better if you discover all its shiny bits on your own.

http://www.easyvegan.info/2016/04/22/the-star-touched-queen-by-roshani-chokshi/ show less

I had my doubts at the beginning of this book - the writing felt uneven and I wasn't certain I was going to like the story, but then - wow, the pace picked up and there were enough plot twists I'm surprised so much story fit into so few pages. Overall, this novel made for an enjoyable read and I look forward to the sequel.

Foolishly, I was unsure what to expect of The Star-Touched Queen. I came to Roshani Chokshi a little late, once she was already well-established in the bookish world. While I feel as though her books are spoken of well, I don’t really see them hyped as much as other authors.

Why in great big beautiful world are they not more hyped?

Roshani Chokshi has a beautiful writing style. She balances all the incredible world building you see from Erin Morgenstern with the lyrical language from Laini Taylor, but she brews it together and lets it bubble down to something a little more straightforward and less flowery. I find myself pausing to share a phrase of her writing with a friend because the way she described a ceiling in passing was show more beautiful, but it never slows down her books. I’ve seen other reviewers call it purple prose, but honestly? It works really well for me – I don’t find it too elaborate or distracting. There are abstract turns of phrase that fill my heart with warmth and admiration. I suppose it’s all a matter of taste, but I really enjoy Rosh’s writing style.

If you were to compare The Star-Touched Queen with The Gilded Wolves, you can see how she’s developed her craft in so far as character development goes. I liked Maya well enough, but she didn’t have the layers that her later characters do, and her rapid evolution could make it difficult to get a grasp of her. Still, I enjoyed this aspect because I felt that it fit well with the character’s situation. And whatever aspects we lost in Maya’s muddled memories and the struggles with Amar and Nritti, we got back in spades with Kamala. Kamala is a delight and frankly? She makes my list of favorite sidekicks and minor characters.

Again, the plot can feel a bit fuzzy because time slips rapidly and Maya is uncertain of herself and her identity for most of the book – I feel as though the presentation, again, worked with the situation in the story. I grew more interested the deeper into the book I read (possibly also because Kamala entered and I loved her), but I feel from a typical YA fantasy POV, the beginning of the book fit more into the way we’re used to seeing things. The Star-Touched Queen sets itself up as a retelling and a romance, but turns into something more abstract in the later chapters. Once again, this delighted me rather than bothered me, and I still think it worked well – other readers will certainly disagree.

As for the world. The world. It’s rich in layers, with magic and mayhem woven in effortlessly. Not only has Rosh created a fantasy that feels solidly middle-eastern (yes thank you), but she’s woven in our own mythology to give it some spice. I can’t speak for all the stories and fables, but I read this around the time of Holi and when the author did a mini-tutorial on the holiday on her Instagram feed, I noticed the story-within-a-story at once. There are moments of gilded beauty, but there is also darkness, which is something I enjoy about her writing style in general – things are astonishing, but they are also tarnished and corrupt and broken. We have magical moments, like in the Night Bazaar (I am here for magical fey marketplaces always) and we have chilling reveals. The rules of the world are not over explained, but everything felt right together. That’s how I like my fantasy – effortlessly woven and alive.

Overall The Star-Touched Queen may not be a book for everyone, but it’s a beautiful book nonetheless and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I’m coming to it having already read her later works – The Gilded Wolves in particular – and I didn’t find it too amateurish (I know that going back and reading debuts sometimes can be heart-wrenchingly disappointing). If you like some flowery prose and don’t mind a dreamy, abstract plot line… I think you’ll like this, too! show less

First of all, the basic premise of the story is predictable and follows the mold of many other fairy tales ("East of the Sun, West of the Moon" in particular) with a build towards a happy ending. That said, this book is BEAUTIFUL. The prose is eloquent and visceral--this would be a stunning book to hear read aloud. The romantic element is fantastic, with genuine chemistry. I absolutely adored the way Chokshi wove in Indian lore and culture. It gave the book a wonderful, fresh feeling. The heroine is relatable and someone to cheer for, but the book is absolutely stolen by a demonic horse in the latter chapters; I'd read a whole book about that horse. In all, a wonderful book, and one that fully deserves to be on the ballot.