5 Things I Loved About The Star-Touched Queen (Spoiler's Ahead)
Hades and Persephone. Hades and Persephone. Hades. Persephone.
I think you may catch my point: I really like Hades and Persephone... A LOT. So, when I come across a sort of Hades and Persephone retelling, I die for it, obviously.
And I died a lot when it came to this book. Oh, sweet, beautiful misery of joy. Did that even make sense? Mmkay.
Is it so hard to want the perfect retelling? Is it SO HARD? There aren't that many good ones in this unfortunate world, so when I find one, I latch on to it like a maniac.
Unhealthy obsession? Check me in for it.
I mean, hey, we like what we like.
ANYWAYS, so the book is obviously called The Star-Touched Queen, and is written by the beautiful Roshani Chokshi. And it's her debut novel. Yep. DEBUT. AND. IT'S BEAUTIFUL.
But what the heck is it even about, Liz?
So, it's about a princess named Maya, who was born with a cursed horoscope that promises a marriage of death and destruction (I'm internally giggling at this because I know things). Maya soon is married to Amar, the Raja of Akaran, where she becomes Queen of Akaran, and is allowed to rule equally alongside Amar. But Akaran is fueled with crazy ass, stunning secrets, secrets that could ruin Maya's thing with Amar.
This story is absolutely glorious, and here are five reasons why I think so.
Reason #1: The beautiful purple prose/world.
Dear author, I love your descriptions, and I love the beautiful Indian folklore you used to describe this entire glorious book. The Night Bazaar was spectacular. The Kingdom of Akaran was stunning. Every word in this book was beautiful. And unlike what some readers said, it did not distract you from the plot whatsoever. Don't listen to them.
I truly died over the glorious splendor of it. Truly. Also, I'm totally a hermit, so Akaran would be my place. It's mysterious, lush, and beautiful. And Amar...
Reason #2: Amar and literally everything he says.
This is probably the greatest reason of them all. And it should be. Amar is Hades in the retelling, and he is spectacular.
He's mysterious, sweet, handsome, magical, sexy...everything. EVERYTHING. I don't know how a reader couldn't like Amar. And he's a perfect Hades. Strong, dark, beautiful...oh how I love him too much.
And his words. Oh. My. Gravy. His words are the best part about him. EVERY line he said was sprinkled with beauty and magic. For example: "The truth is that you look neither lovely nor demure. You look like edges and thunderstorms. And I would not have you any other way"; "I promised you the moon for your throne and the stars to wear in your hair. And I always keep my promises" (also known as, oh my gravy, they're literally in space scene. And he literally fastens her a constellation to wear in her hair); "I know your soul. Everything else is an ornament" (funny enough, someone who reviewed this had an issue with the phrasing. Like, oh my gosh, everything else is an ornament? How rude!Wow, okay, I thought we wanted people to love us deeply like that...HELLO!); "I love you. You are my night and stars, the fate I would fix myself to in any life"; "My star-touched queen, I would break the world to give you what you want"; "I want to lie beside you and know the weight of your dreams. I want to share whole worlds with you and write your name in the stars. I want to measure eternity with your laughter."
I honestly already knew I would be.
Reason #3: The Love.
As I always do after I read a book, I like to see what other people thought of it. And a lot of people said it was littered with insta love. HAHAHAHAHAHA. YOU FOOLS. YOU. DID. NOT. READ. THE. WHOLE. BOOK.
Because if you read the whole book (MAJOR SPOILER COMING UP) then you would know that the reason why he loves her so much, and she feels a pull to him, is because she had been Queen of Akaran (The Underworld) before, but by some dramatic thing happening, she lost all of her memories and was reincarnated.
SO, they ruled together for years, plenty of time to fall madly in love. And they were madly in love. And that is why, people who didn't read the whole book, there was that binding, beautiful, heating love between them. Because, well, it had happened before.
This book actually made me cry when I found out who she was, and that she had lost all of her memories.
Reason #4: The Plot Twists.
There isn't a whole lot that I can say about this, because I basically said it already, but the plot twists were perfect. They made me cry. They actually made me cry. Because Amar loved Maya so much, AND LOST HER. No. The emotions. Just no.
I really like when I can't predict a plot twist. Obviously. It's what makes a book awesome.
Reason #5: The World Building.
Now, this is a bit different than the first point. Why? Because many people complained there was no world building. I'm sorry, but what are they talking about? The author used the literal flowery language to build the world. And. I. Adored. It. Because we don't often get that, and when we do it's a marvelous scene.
Congratulations!
Conclusion: 4.5 stars out of 5
All in all a wonderful read. It was magical, heart wrenching, and beautifully written. A Hades and Persephone retelling done right. Also, the cover is pretty darn gorgeous. So read it. Read it now. And let me know what you thought about it.
Anyways, LLAP booknerdians. ✌
Lots of 💙and tons of 🍵,
Liz
Things I used:
Winking, I guess: https://media.giphy.com/media/12fceC0sQygUJq/giphy.gif
My precious: https://media.tenor.com/images/236ee382fdf16973567dc3bb44c21b51/tenor.gif
So beautiful: https://media.tenor.com/images/0331322b1e818d3a30709a519b879935/tenor.gif
I'm in love: https://media.giphy.com/media/irMNZdpKCg9Fe/giphy.gif
Hah, noooo: http://cdn.smosh.com/sites/default/files/ftpuploads/bloguploads/laughing-gifs-jonah-jameson.gif
Haters: https://media.tenor.com/images/ce1b6244a8f937e2f80cbe36b09e97fa/tenor.gif
Obviously: https://m.popkey.co/d1eb2a/4VzJw_s-200x150.gif
I think you may catch my point: I really like Hades and Persephone... A LOT. So, when I come across a sort of Hades and Persephone retelling, I die for it, obviously.
And I died a lot when it came to this book. Oh, sweet, beautiful misery of joy. Did that even make sense? Mmkay.
Is it so hard to want the perfect retelling? Is it SO HARD? There aren't that many good ones in this unfortunate world, so when I find one, I latch on to it like a maniac.
Unhealthy obsession? Check me in for it.
I mean, hey, we like what we like.
ANYWAYS, so the book is obviously called The Star-Touched Queen, and is written by the beautiful Roshani Chokshi. And it's her debut novel. Yep. DEBUT. AND. IT'S BEAUTIFUL.
But what the heck is it even about, Liz?
So, it's about a princess named Maya, who was born with a cursed horoscope that promises a marriage of death and destruction (I'm internally giggling at this because I know things). Maya soon is married to Amar, the Raja of Akaran, where she becomes Queen of Akaran, and is allowed to rule equally alongside Amar. But Akaran is fueled with crazy ass, stunning secrets, secrets that could ruin Maya's thing with Amar.
This story is absolutely glorious, and here are five reasons why I think so.
Reason #1: The beautiful purple prose/world.
Dear author, I love your descriptions, and I love the beautiful Indian folklore you used to describe this entire glorious book. The Night Bazaar was spectacular. The Kingdom of Akaran was stunning. Every word in this book was beautiful. And unlike what some readers said, it did not distract you from the plot whatsoever. Don't listen to them.
I truly died over the glorious splendor of it. Truly. Also, I'm totally a hermit, so Akaran would be my place. It's mysterious, lush, and beautiful. And Amar...
Reason #2: Amar and literally everything he says.
This is probably the greatest reason of them all. And it should be. Amar is Hades in the retelling, and he is spectacular.
He's mysterious, sweet, handsome, magical, sexy...everything. EVERYTHING. I don't know how a reader couldn't like Amar. And he's a perfect Hades. Strong, dark, beautiful...oh how I love him too much.
And his words. Oh. My. Gravy. His words are the best part about him. EVERY line he said was sprinkled with beauty and magic. For example: "The truth is that you look neither lovely nor demure. You look like edges and thunderstorms. And I would not have you any other way"; "I promised you the moon for your throne and the stars to wear in your hair. And I always keep my promises" (also known as, oh my gravy, they're literally in space scene. And he literally fastens her a constellation to wear in her hair); "I know your soul. Everything else is an ornament" (funny enough, someone who reviewed this had an issue with the phrasing. Like, oh my gosh, everything else is an ornament? How rude!Wow, okay, I thought we wanted people to love us deeply like that...HELLO!); "I love you. You are my night and stars, the fate I would fix myself to in any life"; "My star-touched queen, I would break the world to give you what you want"; "I want to lie beside you and know the weight of your dreams. I want to share whole worlds with you and write your name in the stars. I want to measure eternity with your laughter."
I honestly already knew I would be.
Reason #3: The Love.
As I always do after I read a book, I like to see what other people thought of it. And a lot of people said it was littered with insta love. HAHAHAHAHAHA. YOU FOOLS. YOU. DID. NOT. READ. THE. WHOLE. BOOK.
Because if you read the whole book (MAJOR SPOILER COMING UP) then you would know that the reason why he loves her so much, and she feels a pull to him, is because she had been Queen of Akaran (The Underworld) before, but by some dramatic thing happening, she lost all of her memories and was reincarnated.
SO, they ruled together for years, plenty of time to fall madly in love. And they were madly in love. And that is why, people who didn't read the whole book, there was that binding, beautiful, heating love between them. Because, well, it had happened before.
This book actually made me cry when I found out who she was, and that she had lost all of her memories.
Reason #4: The Plot Twists.
There isn't a whole lot that I can say about this, because I basically said it already, but the plot twists were perfect. They made me cry. They actually made me cry. Because Amar loved Maya so much, AND LOST HER. No. The emotions. Just no.
I really like when I can't predict a plot twist. Obviously. It's what makes a book awesome.
Reason #5: The World Building.
Now, this is a bit different than the first point. Why? Because many people complained there was no world building. I'm sorry, but what are they talking about? The author used the literal flowery language to build the world. And. I. Adored. It. Because we don't often get that, and when we do it's a marvelous scene.
Congratulations!
Conclusion: 4.5 stars out of 5
All in all a wonderful read. It was magical, heart wrenching, and beautifully written. A Hades and Persephone retelling done right. Also, the cover is pretty darn gorgeous. So read it. Read it now. And let me know what you thought about it.
Anyways, LLAP booknerdians. ✌
Lots of 💙and tons of 🍵,
Liz
Things I used:
Winking, I guess: https://media.giphy.com/media/12fceC0sQygUJq/giphy.gif
My precious: https://media.tenor.com/images/236ee382fdf16973567dc3bb44c21b51/tenor.gif
So beautiful: https://media.tenor.com/images/0331322b1e818d3a30709a519b879935/tenor.gif
I'm in love: https://media.giphy.com/media/irMNZdpKCg9Fe/giphy.gif
Hah, noooo: http://cdn.smosh.com/sites/default/files/ftpuploads/bloguploads/laughing-gifs-jonah-jameson.gif
Haters: https://media.tenor.com/images/ce1b6244a8f937e2f80cbe36b09e97fa/tenor.gif
Obviously: https://m.popkey.co/d1eb2a/4VzJw_s-200x150.gif
Comments
Post a Comment