WITCH UP YOUR LIFE ✌🏻 When, as a spice girls/the craft loving queer kid of the 90s, a book is absolutely bloody everything you could want it to be and more! 🔮💖🖤✨ Juno, having loved Hollow Pike for basically a decade, I had no doubt you’d bring the house down with this adult witchy greatness and ooooooh how you smashed it in HMRC!

With childhood girl friends growing up, battling out their differing personalities and perspectives, government intervention and secret societies, trying to stay loyal to each other (mostly) whilst being independent and protecting their hearts, fiercely protective of the young women and queer folk in their lives. With a whole lot of tricksy demons both literally and socio-politically. I loved Niamh (and hardly ever fan cast but need Dominique McElligott to play her yesterday) and her boundless unconditional love, Leonie and her fierce protection and voice, Elle and her hopeful optimism and quiet determination, and oh how I loved to hate the nuanced antiheroine of Helena! Plus so many more brilliant side characters. And girl band references! And Hebden Bridge 🥰 and Theo, oh Theo! And that. ending.

Excellent! A very original page-turner with a fabulous story and a great set of characters. Funny and thrilling in equal measure. Not my normal read but I will read any or all of these books now. Clever, clever Juno Dawson.

I really loved this. It was a whole lot of fun and entertaining. Her Majesty’s Royal Coven is like The Craft meets the magic Ministry from a certain children’s wizard and witches series (you know the one) for grown ups. The plot concerns childhood friends now full fledged adult witches facing the prospect of a prophecy - The Sullied Child - coming to pass, that would bring about Leviathan.

At the heart of this novel is the idea of identity. This is especially relevant for gender identity as the book explores both transgender ally and transphobic perspectives. As well as this, the novel looks at female identity through the lens of women’s issues, sisterhood and friendship. Between the identity politics and the plot, there is ultimately division between witches, subsequently leading to the creation of a separatist coven, Diaspora, for minorities. Also, women are stronger magic wielders with more abilities than their male Warlock counterparts, who make up coven-equivalent Cabals.

HMRC is definitely a commentary charged novel, and whilst that may not be everyone’s cup of tea, I enjoyed what Dawson has captured here. It is all sides of the “arguments” captured in the framework of magical/fantastical conflict, which I hope encourages positive discourse and reflection for readers.

I really liked the group of Niamh, Leonie, Elle and Helena. As the plot unfolded it was palpable how the dynamic between all of them shifted. Similarly, seeing the set-up of their descendants dynamic was also enjoyable. It really bleeds into the question of whether history is doomed to repeat itself. And on the point of history, I liked the foreboding atmosphere that past wars/conflicts had for the core characters, as it layered the story with a sense of haunting that really embellished the mounting tension between the witches and the supposed prophecy.

What I will say about HMRC is it felt like an introductory novel, which makes sense, as it is the first instalment of a trilogy. Nevertheless I felt a lot of the scenes were constrained, as if the author didn’t want to give too much away too soon, which did leave me not just wanting more to come, but with a sense of wanting more from this specific instalment. As such, the book sets up the sequel nicely and I look forward to returning to these characters and the ongoing story in The Shadow Cabinet…

I tried reading this when I got accepted and I was so hyped to read this but I just cannot get into it whatsoever, it was one of my anticipated and I kept putting it off more and more and I've tried again but it's not happening sadly.

Finally getting round to reading this and annoyed I waited so long (apart from it meant I didn't hate the cliffhanger quite so much!). I really loved that even though lots of magic and apocalyptic things were happening, the focus was really on friendship. Obviously there's a big transgender element to the story as well, which is very well done, as you'd expect from Dawson. All in all, a great start to what is a very promising series.

This book is currently a DNF for me. I hope to return to it in the future and give it another go, but for now it’s sadly not for me.

I’ve given this a high rating as to not negatively impact the average.

This book was so much more than I expected. It took me a little while to get in to and it felt so far away from any Juno Dawson book I have ever read that I struggled a bit. But it brought itself back hugely!

What a good fun read. The ending defo kept me on the edge of my seat and gave a twist!

Her Majesty's Royal Coven by Juno Dawson is a fantasy, with witches, demons and organised covens!

I really enjoyed this book! It has friends at it's core, there's mystery, and a prophecy about the end of days.

I found this to be fast paced, with great, complicated characters, and a vivid world.

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Harper Collins.

I'm always up for a witchy read, and even more so if it's a queer one! In this respect, Her Majesty's Royal Coven completely met and surpassed my expectations. Honestly, if I'd written this review immediately upon finishing it, I had been so caught up in it, it probably would have been 5 stars. Yet, as I gave myself some time to reflect a little bit more on it, I realised there were quite a few things that didn't quite work well for me.

The book is centred around Niamh, Helena, Elle and Leonie, a group of friends who have known each other since they were children and, at one point, were all inducted into Her Majesty's Royal Coven, a secret coven of witches protecting the UK from magical threats. Yet, a long war and painful events have left their scars, none of the women is left unscathed, and their friendship is more fragile than ever. The arrival of a mysterious child, Theo, is linked to a prophecy that may destroy the coven itself: dormant tensions will rise to the surface and lines will be drawn in what promises to be a war to eclipse all others.

The story is told in alternating POVs and right from the start I immediately warmed up to Niamh. When we meet her, she has retired from HMRC to conduct a simple life as a vet, at least until trouble comes knocking on her door. Niamh was by far my favourite character and she felt like the best-developed one too. She is well-rounded and complex, fiercely loyal and ready to use her considerable powers to defend those who need help and fight for what she feels is right. I enjoyed every moment spent with her!

In contrast, none of the other characters felt quite as well-developed. I'll keep it vague to avoid spoilers, but one of the witches has quite a dramatic personality shift at one point which, while it certainly serves the plot, felt just a bit too radical in a way that was unexplained. I was also sorry not to spend more time with Leonie and her new coven, which she founded as a more inclusive coven after breaking away from HMRC. The book is steeped in political and social issues, especially those of representation, so to devote so little time to the more inclusive coven and its founder felt a little... off. This is only the first book in the series though, so this may be developed further in future books, but I would have liked to see some of that here.

With only a few exceptions, the secondary characters are also quite thin and mostly interchangeable. This is always a risk when there's a big cast of main characters, but I felt it a lot towards the end of the book when I realised I actually kept mixing some people up and could barely remember their names, let alone any other distinctive traits. This is especially true of the male characters, who are virtually non-existent except as causes of the suffering of the main characters. Now, I'm the first to champion female-centred books and to recognise the harmful role of the patriarchy in society, but the way relations between people of different genders were handled here seemed a bit too simplistic and reductive.

I don't think it's a big spoiler, but one of the characters identifies as trans. I loved this (and this character!), and having this kind of representation is so, so important. However, a lot of the conversations between different characters end up being centred on whether trans women are women, but we barely ever hear directly from this character about her experience and feelings. One POV character is also a TERF and a fair bit of time is spent with her, which is very uncomfortable and might be triggering for some.

Still, the story is extremely engaging and kept me wanting to come back until the ending (that ending!), even despite the multiple UK-centred pop culture references which were cute at first but grew old pretty quickly. I also partly listened to the audiobook for this and that was amazing! Nicola Coughlan is a brilliant narrator and SO good with accents, I could have kept listening to her for many, many more hours.

So, while this wasn't exactly the super-empowering queer feminist witchy urban fantasy of my dreams, Her Majesty's Royal Coven is a highly engaging, page-turning book with some memorable characters and a good start to a series. I'll be looking forward to reading the next book!

Loved this concept! It was original, witty and I love a fantasy book set in the modern world. Cannot wait for book 2!

Her Majesty's Royal Coven follows a group of five childhood friends - Helena, Niamh, Elle, Leonie, and Ciara - as they navigate their lives following the magical war. During the war they all fought together and lost loved ones along the way. Now coming to terms with their new lives and, for Helena and Niamh, missing partners, they're trying to get by. Until a new magical threat is seen by oracles and Theo enters when everything is thrown into chaos.

I really enjoyed this book! I loved seeing the girls when they were all young and how their friendship dynamic was then (albeit we only see it briefly but you get the picture very quickly!) and how this dynamic follows them into adulthood even though they don't see each other as often. And each of the girls bring something different that I loved, although Helena and Ciara is questionable.

Helena was so driven by power and hatred, she didn't see what she was turning into and nobody had a chance of stopping her because she's so closed off to everyone. It was really sad to see how she changed and how her power was clouding her vision. Her opinion on Theo was especially shitty. If someone had a differing opinion to her, they were wrong, and I think ultimately this was her downfall.

Ciara really wasn't in this book a lot - only referred to in terms of the war and that she was kind of locked up somewhere. The ending though! I just KNOW this is going to cause even more drama and I can't wait to see what happens in the next book and what trouble she causes.

The other girls - Niamh, Elle, and Leonie - are all amazing. They're all so kind and understanding, having each other's backs without question even though they haven't been as close since they were kids. THAT'S the kind of friendships you want. I really enjoyed that this book focused more on the friendships than any romantic relationships (although I do love the budding relationship between Niamh and Luke), it's nice to have a book focused on something other than romantic love.

I found the book really easy to read. Sometimes with fantasy books, you can be bogged down with descriptions and information trying to understand the magical world the author has created but with HMRC, Juno has done an amazing job of integrating the witchiness into our world. And how the witches are ranked and their powers was done really well too. Originally, I wanted to be an oracle but I'm not sure I could pull off the bald and blind look so maybe a sentient instead...

The drama in this book was so well written and reached such a natural crescendo at the end. At no point did I feel like a scene wasn't needed or didn't add anything. Everything was done really well and left me wanting more.

Overall, if you're looking for a great witchy LGBTQ+ fantasy novel - this is definitely the one for you! Even though I'm mad I didn't read this sooner, I'm also glad I don't have to wait as long for the sequel because I can't wait to see what trouble awaits the girls and how they're going to deal with it together. Girl power!

"Her Majesty's Royal Coven" by Juno Dawson is a thought-provoking and complex tale that delves into themes of power, feminism, and the enduring bonds of sisterhood. Set in a world where witches play a crucial role in times of crisis, Dawson weaves together a narrative that challenges traditional notions of authority and explores the multifaceted nature of contemporary womanhood.

The story follows four friends—Helena, Leonie, Niamh, and Elle—who took an oath to join Her Majesty's Royal Coven, a covert government department. Decades later, their paths have diverged, with Helena reigning as the High Priestess and the others pursuing different paths. When a powerful warlock threatens the existence of the coven, conflicting beliefs and loyalties come into play, testing the strength of their friendship.

Juno Dawson skillfully intertwines themes of gender, power dynamics, and the corrupting influence of authority throughout the book. The exploration of feminism and the intersectionality of women's experiences adds depth and relevance to the story, making it resonate with contemporary issues.

The characters are vibrant and multifaceted, each representing different facets of womanhood. Their struggles, desires, and conflicts make them relatable and engaging. Dawson's portrayal of their evolving relationships and the complexities of sisterhood is a standout aspect of the book, showcasing the enduring bond that can transcend time and circumstance.

The world-building in "Her Majesty's Royal Coven" is immersive and imaginative, blending magic and real-world elements seamlessly. The author's attention to detail, particularly in the portrayal of witchcraft and its history, adds depth and richness to the narrative.

The first instalment in an epic new Fantasy series from the award-winning Young Adult Author, Juno Dawson proves how versatile of a writer she is with this new magical and marvellous novel following a group of young Witches. A delightful read for anyone looking for an engaging, fantastical new read. For fans of A Marvellous Light and Wild and Wicked Things.

This was such a good book and I have no idea why I kept putting this one off!

I was immediately immersed in this story and these characters, especially Niamh! I loved all the representation throughout this one but I absolutely hated Helena and her point of view. She was horrific and easily could have done without her views and opinions.

I loved the premise of this one and the different magic types and the magic system as a whole! It was very well thought out and was easy to understand. I'm excited to see where this one takes us, especially after that ending!

Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely love this one! So excited for the second book, the last twist at the end really made the book for me! I could give this 6 stars I would

On the eve of their adolescence, four young women swear an oath to join Her Majesty’s Royal Coven. For among us are witches, who protect crown and country from magical forces. But, when whispers of a prophecy that will bring the coven to its knees emerge, it turns out life as a modern witch was never simple… and now it’s apocalyptic.
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I have been excited for this book ever since it was announced, and so naturally I was absolutely thrilled when I received a copy (i am honestly so grateful!). My expectations for this were absolutely sky high, and I’m ecstatic that they were met and surpassed in every way.
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I absolutely raced through this book - I was completely and utterly hooked. It manages to be both charming and hilarious, whilst also being genuinely terrifying it some of its characters and the starkly relevant beliefs they present. Dawson’s writing shines as always, and her first adult novel completely drew me in.
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The characters truly are the heart of this book. I think I would genuinely struggle to choose favourite as so many just captured my heart; Niamh, Theo, Leonie, Elle, Chinara, I just love them. (Although now I think about it, Niamh and Theo definitely shone for me I’m obsessed) I thought that Juno Dawson crafted them all expertly, even the POV characters who I truly despised. I’m already eager to reread to revisit them again.
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This story explored gender and power through such an exciting lens that Dawson can present a thoughtful examination of intersectionality and gender in a novel filled with magic and adventure and truly beautiful friendships.
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This book is out this July and I urge you to preorder it. I personally am not going to be shutting up about it any time soon - it’s already soared to be one of my favourites of the year. I am itching for it to be July already so I can press it into as many hands as possible.
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I am also going to need the next book in the series. Like immediately. I cannot wait that long after THAT ending.

SUCH. A GOOD. BOOK.

LBGTQIA+, witchcraft, magical realism. What more could you ask for?

Set across the UK, Her Majesty's Royal Coven follows the lives of five women who were friends at school but have now somewhat drifted, and how their lives increasingly intersect decades later. And oh yeah, they're witches.

A massive part of the story revolves around identity and change, and the loss or freedom that comes with that change. It's about grief, about trauma, about prejudice, but it's also about friendship, about forgiveness, and about fighting for what's right. There's romance, family dynamics, politics, demons and dancing, and I just can't recommend it enough.

A major reason why I love this book so much is that it's a powerful response to transphobia. Seriously, this book is how to respond to said transphobia - yeah you might have issues in your past that affect your opinion on trans people, but that's a *you* problem, and it isn't going to stop people being their true selves. Empowering, unapologetically compassionate and pretty damn explosive, Her Majesty's Royal Coven might well be Juno Dawson's adult masterpiece. I can't wait for more.

This was a compelling and fast paced story with some well developed and fascinating characters and a great plot. I loved the premise of a coven of witches employed by the British Government to deal with supernormal issues and then this was built upon to flesh out a magical world of witches, warlocks, demons, civil war and apocalyptic visions that I really enjoyed. At heart, this is a story about sisterhood and acceptance and I found the relationships between our four key witches nuanced and interesting. I also loved the setting (being a Yorkshire girl myself)! My one criticism is that at times, the narrative did read a bit like a YA novel with swear words, but that never impacted my enjoyment too much. Overall, I would definitely recommend this and will be eagerly anticipating the sequel.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

HMRC follows four childhood friends as they navigate life as witches is a world where they must be kept secret and in the aftermath of a civil war that rocked their magic communities. As new threats rise, they must figure out who to trust and what to fight for or risk losing everything.

This is such a good book, I think it would have been quite easy to have a group of witches fighting evil be a YA book - and that would have been fantastic and just as good a book, I’m sure - it’s nice to see something of this vibe targeted at adults too. The worldbuilding is great, complex and sophisticated, fun and unique takes on old tropes and common themes, and I loved the political aspects of the plot too. It was really well paced and the tension was high throughout the whole book.

My one slight niggle was that sometimes I got a little confused between the characters. This could have totally been my fault for not paying attention enough to the audiobook, or down to the narrator and the way she voiced the characters, but I think they could have done with a little something to make their voices a little more unique. However, I loved how messy and complicated the friendships and histories between the characters were, and I really enjoyed the dialogue and pop culture references that were dotted throughout.

And I can’t review this book without talking about realistically it was written with regards to the trans character, in particular certain characters views and actions towards them. In the shit show of online nonsense that we see from one particular writer of magic, this is a very welcome antidote and the trans positive witchy book everyone needs to read to counteract that hate.

Altogether, an amazing book and I’m so excited for the next one in this series!!

It took me a few attempts to get into this read, but I'm so glad I persevered. Once I got passed all the characterS and was able to individualise them this book was ultimately a thrilling tale of acceptance through the guise of badass witches and other worldly battles.