Thank you to Little Brown Books and NetGalley for an e-arc of Six Wild Crowns by Holly Race!

Six Wild Crowns reimagines Henry VIII’s six wives in a dragon-filled fantasy kingdom where Henry must be married to 6 wives to reach his full power. When the sharp witted Boleyn and the quiet spy Seymour unexpectedly bond, they begin unravelling a sinister secret at the heart of their world and find that only by uniting all six can they hope to survive the king’s lethal power. Super high stakes!

I was obsessed with Tudors when we learnt about them at school and had a hugeee Anne Boleyn phase (haven't we all?) so this was a highly anticipated release for me. Let me start this review by saying, it didn't disappoint!

The fantasy spin on one of the most notable times for the monarchy was very well done. It wasn't a retelling of events (frankly I wouldn't want that) but instead it seemed the wives were loosely based on character accounts from the real life wives which I loved. Boleyn for example is super head strong and doesn't stop until she gets what she wants.. very similar to what we know about the actual person from historical accounts!

So moving on the story.. what should you expect?

- Dragons
- Magic
- Sapphic yearning
- Feminine rage (yesss!)

Overall I gave this a 4,5 stars and would strongly recommend this to anyone who has been considering picking it up. It's not like any other fantasy I have read this year, so refreshing!

Need the sequel asap.. that cliffhanger at the end!!

I just think this wasn't what I expected it to be. I heard sapphic six wives and kind of expected that, but that didn't seem to be the story at all, at least in the part I read up to. It's set in a fantasy world which threw me at first, but I did find this part of the story intriguing, how she wove the Henry and wives plot into it was well done and I enjoyed the twists she threw in. It was just a little boring, and I didn't particularly like any of the characters enough to ignore that. I also found the sex and aggression of it at the start of the book a little jarring and this kind of threw me out of the story for a while/ DNF at 15%

Henry the eighth and his six wives, reimagined to a fantasy land called Elben with magic and polyamory.
This book focuses on the two points of view of Seymour and Boleyn, and all the queens in this book are referred to by their second names.
This was an enjoyable read, with sapphic yearning and strong female characters.
I would have liked to have maybe seen the points of view of the other queens too, but understand this would have made the book far too long!

I really loved the premise of this book and wasn’t entirely sure how it was going to unfold from the blurb. Initially I found it difficult to separate the historical people from the characters living in this fantasy world however the characters became distinct enough that I was able to do this after around 30% of the book. You somewhat need to forget what you know about the Tudors from school in order to be fully immersed in the story.

There is some great queer representation in the book and the plot twists did surprise me. The dragons are only a small element of the book with them having more a pet function than in other fantasy books.

Six Wild Crowns is a bold book that takes a chance and it really pays off. I can’t wait to read the next installment to see the final cliffhanger through!

A superbly crafted fantasy adventure full of thrills, intrigue and adventure than you've ever seen - but in the best way possible, with a magnificent Tudor twist

Back Log NG

A Fresh Take That Almost Soars"

Six Wild Crowns is an imaginative reimagining of the Tudor queens, blending history with a contemporary YA fantasy flair. Holly Race offers a bold concept—bringing iconic historical figures into a new light, infused with power, rebellion, and a dash of sisterhood.

The narrative starts strong with intriguing world-building and striking character introductions, particularly the way each queen’s personality is given a modern twist. Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard stand out with fierce voices and emotional depth.

However, the story doesn’t fully deliver on its ambitious premise. The pacing lags in places, and the dialogue occasionally slips into clichés. Some plot points feel rushed or underdeveloped, especially toward the end, where the stakes should be at their highest.

That said, fans of feminist retellings and character-driven fantasy may still find enjoyment here. It’s not quite the revolution it promises, but it’s a solid, creative read.

#SixWildCrowns #HollyRace #TudorQueens #YAFantasy #HistoricalRetelling #BookReview #3StarRead #FeministFantasy

I would give this all the stars in the world!

This book completely blew me away. It was everything I hoped for and more. I’m absolutely thrilled to see that Holly is now a bestselling author because it’s so incredibly well deserved.

As a lifelong Tudor history lover, this was an instant must-read for me. I was lucky enough to receive an ARC, but I knew I wanted the full immersive experience, so I waited for my physical copy to arrive and devoured it in a read/listen combo. And wow, I absolutely ate it up.

The best way I can describe this book? Imagine Six (the musical) with more story, layered with sapphic yearning, threaded with magic, and lit from within by fierce feminine rage. Every element just worked beautifully. The sapphic representation? Utterly compelling. The dual POV? Seamless and emotionally rich. The found family dynamic, the political tension, the undercurrent of sacrifice – it all came together in a way that felt powerful and original. Truly, no notes.

Read if you like:

🌹 A Day of Fallen Night, Spark of the Everflame, The End Crowns All
👑 Sapphic rep – this was a delight
🌹 Tudor history with a twist
👑 Found family
🌹 Feminine rage
👑 Sacrifice
🌹 Political intrigue
👑 Dual PoV

Although this isn’t a historically accurate book (Henry VIII did not, sadly, have magic), it’s clear that Holly took the time to research and immerse herself in the era. The vocabulary and tone felt era appropriate, which added so much to the atmosphere and immersion.

I’m honestly blown away and already dreading the wait for the next book. If you’re a fantasy lover who enjoyed learning about the Tudors at school, this is a must-read. You won’t regret it.

A fantasy inspired by Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn? Yes but just vaguely inspired. Still, it's nice to see history remimagined with magic and dragons.
It was not what I thought it was but it was a nice read. I'm looking forward for book 2.

✶ PRE-READING ✶
I picked this up because I love clever reimaginings of historical figures, and the premise - Henry VIII's wives reimagined as magically bound queens in a fantasy kingdom - sounded like it could be both biting and bold. I haven’t read Holly Race before, but I was curious how she'd handle themes of power, patriarchy, and solidarity through a fantasy lens. I was especially interested to see how she'd portray the queens not as rivals, but as potential allies.

✶ POST-READING ✶
As I thought... This was a sharply written, inventive take on the Henry VIII narrative, using fantasy to heighten the stakes while still staying grounded in the emotional and political dynamics of the real women. The characterisation of Boleyn was especially strong - ambitious, flawed, captivating - and the courtly intrigue felt satisfyingly layered. The magic system tied beautifully into the symbolism of power, ownership, and legacy.

It surprised me by... ...how much emotional weight there was between the queens, especially Boleyn and Seymour. Their alliance felt earned and powerful, especially in a world that deliberately pits women against one another. The arc from suspicion to sisterhood hit hard. Also, the way the setting leaned into fairytale motifs - enchanted palaces, dark secrets, binding spells - gave it a haunting atmosphere that elevated the story beyond simple retelling. Holly clearly spent a lot of time planning Elben and the six magical palaces, and her love for it shines through. I couldn't decide which palace I liked more, but Seymour's underwater retreat is a favourite!

✦ RECOMMENDATIONS ✦
Book Recommendation: Her Majesty’s Royal Coven by Juno Dawson – another magical reinterpretation of traditional female roles in British power structures, with found family and sharp political edges.


TV or Movie Recommendation: The Great (Hulu) – though it’s more satirical, it similarly examines queenship, ambition, and rebellion with wit, style, and historical license.

I had high hopes for this book, especially since I had heard that it involved dragons. Sadly, it did not meet my expectations.

The main idea behind the Six Wild Crowns is brilliant, and it had the potential to be a fascinating read. Unfortunately, I don’t think it was fully realised. I found the pace rather slow, and the plot didn’t captivate my attention. The beginning felt repetitive, with Seymour following different characters around. There was also more spice than I expected in the first half of the book, insta lust and forced proximity scene, that hardly fitted the plot. I was expecting more courtly intrigues, secrets and power play, but it was minimal, as the six queens hardly spend any time together.

Also, I didn’t like the portrayal of dragons. They are pets that behave similarly to dogs. They don’t bring anything to the story and seem unnecessary. I much rather like dragons that are powerful, wise, or even evil.

To sum up, I think it’s an interesting position, but it just wasn’t for me.

4.75 stars – can’t wait for the next book!

As soon as I read the description for this book, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it. A reimagining of the six wives of King Henry VIII, but set in a fantasy kingdom where Henry is married to all six at once and there is magic and dragons!

The story follows two of the Queens, Boleyn and Seymour. Boleyn is perfect, intelligent, forthright, independent and madly in love with King Henry. She is a firebrand carving her own space in society where women are pushed to one side. Seymour is quiet and unassuming, but with wonderful hidden depths and yearning. I love that our two leads are so different, but powerful in their own ways.

We follow the two Queens as they navigate a deeply misogynistic society and discover the hidden truths of their country and power. Along the way, we get to meet the other queens. Cleves is a favourite, with her menagerie (she is also responsible for gifting both Boleyn and Seymour their beloved pets as wedding gifts). Howard’s story will make you furious, as it does for the real Howard, and Aragon and Princess Tudor are as haughty and pious as you’d expect. Henry himself, true to form, is ambitious, quick to anger and desperate for a male heir.

Now, for me the only downside (as an fan of the true stories of the six queens), Holly does Parr dirty – I’m hoping in the sequels that we will see the true Parr, as unlike most of the other Queens at the moment I don’t think she matches the women she is based on (Katherine Parr was the best educated, published multiple books and a supporter of women’s education) I’m begging Holly to do her justice in the next book.

I loved this book; the characters were so well fleshed out, the world was fascinating, and the plot was highly engaging, particularly the final third of the book. It is brutal at times and accurate for the Tudor period in how women are treated, so check out the trigger warning. The final pages of the had me gasping out loud. I’m eager to read the next book to see where the story goes and see more of the other Queens.

I received an eARC for an honest review. It has not affected my opinion.

I loved Holly’s YA trilogy and was keen to see how she would tackle both adult and a very well known story.

The answer? With Aplomb.

Race takes British history’s most infamous king and spins the story into a fantastical setting (although the real world counterparts of the fictional nations are obvious) and gives the six queens of Henry VIII agency, personality, and character beyond that of the fixed, misogynistic narrative of the real women in the tyrant’s court. (Henry was a TERRIBLE king, wasted huge amounts of money on vanity, lost our territory in France trying to be Henry V - he was a 16th century Trump basically)

The world building is amazing with a clear magic system that unfolds more with the story as Boleyn investigates and uncovers lies and manipulation. Boleyn is a great choice to guide the reader into Elben as is the initially naive Seymour.

The six queens are a magical necessity in Elben, each magically tied to one of the six castles that ring the islands coast. Their bond with the castle keeping the magical shield cast over the island centuries ago strong and preventing enemies from invading. This allows the King to focus his Cernunnos gifted magic on protecting and expanding the kingdom. Or so Boleyn has always been taught. Race cleverly ties in the reformation strand - even managing to make Boleyn the catalyst for change and disruption in the most stunning way.

Boleyn is not the only POV, and Seymour is an engaging character from the start, rising from lowly maid and pawn of her brother and Aragon to queen in her own right. As one of the many queer characters in a queer normative world, I love the way her relationships with, particularly Boleyn, and the other queens, develop and how she deals with her unrequited love and with her marriage to the king.

The other queens are also brilliantly drawn and characterised, alongside a fantastic cast of minor characters make the whole of Elben feel real and I cannot wait to see the next book with Howard and Cleves!

⭐️
Thank you netgalley for the ARC!

I was so excited to read this book as it centres around Henry the 8th’s six wives which I find fascinating.
It is not what I expected.
The world is fantasy based but not very detailed world building, the fantastical elements are mostly creatures and talk of power held by certain people in the book. Each didn’t contribute a whole lot to the story.
I feel that some of the romance in here felt quite insta-lovey which I don’t enjoy. But liked the sapphic representation.
It never really felt very high stakes to me, except in the last 5-10% so wasn’t as gripping and as enthralling as I hoped.
I can see where the series might go after this book and think this one could end up being a good set up for the books yet to come.

After falling in love with Holly's writing with her YA trilogy the excitement I had upon hearing she was writing an adult fantasy with dragons, magic and inspired by the Tudor Queens was on another level. I'm glad to say Six Wild Crowns did not disappoint and somehow exceeded my exceptions.

Six Wild Crowns had me in the palm of its hand the entire time, no-one writes political intrigue and power struggles like Race, whilst still managing to play with your emotions. The concept of drawing inspiration from such an interesting time in history, whilst still making it her own and fascinating just speaks to Race's imagination and skill.

Race has masterfully interwoven the exploration of women's roles in society with political intrigue and drama with her previously seen ability to emotionally destroy a reader.

Justice for Boleyn and (no pressure) but give me book 2 immediately.

I was initially intrigued by this to see how Race created a fantasy Tudor world.

I love the creativity and the ideas behind Six Wild Crowns. We see familiar Tudor faces reimagined, like Henry, Anne, Jane Seymour and Wolsey. There are dragons and magic, kingdoms and politics, all hallmarks of a strong fantasy read. It is bursting with imagination, and some of the worlds and places Race creates are vivid and atmospheric.

However, I was a bit disappointed that this wasn’t set in the Tudor world where the above elements were woven in, rather than the other way round. I was expecting a bit more of the 16th century integrated into this but the Tudor element is more of an idea than fully committed to.

I found it quite hard to keep up with the political rivalries in this and couldn’t connect with Jane Seymour’s character.

I think the premise and creativity behind this novel are really original and imaginative, and it is a strong fantasy novel. It just unfortunately wasn’t what I was expecting, and there wasn’t enough of the historical/Tudor element in this for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Going into this, I wasn’t sure about the premise, but I'm happy to say that it was pulled off better than I expected!

A Tudor-queens inspired fantasy, this really didn't have much to do with the Tudor queens other than their names. I feel like that was maybe meant to be a hook, a way for this book to stand out, but I personally would have rather just done away with that as it wasn't really needed and I think the book would have been better off not having that looming over it.

That said, I enjoyed seeing the personalities of the queens and the political bits with different queens interacting was one of my favourite parts of the book - I could have done with more of that, and less of Henry. He was kind of a nothing character for me - like, of course he's a piece of shit, why did we pretend that was a big reveal?

The lyrical writing of the book was a clear highlight for me. I found the prose lovely to read, and I'll be interested to see how Holly Race continues to grow as a writer while continuing this series.

Thank you to the publisher, Orbit, and to NetGalley for the ARC.

This is a fun and exciting book to read. The author has taken some of the most well known names from Tudor England and placed them in a fantasy world, which has some similarities to their own times.

Boleyn is a young woman determined to become King Henry's favourite wife out of his six, and she will do whatever it takes to accomplish this.

Seymour is a young woman who has been put down as pretty much useless by her brothers who just want to marry her off to get her out of their way, but she has something better in mind for herself.

This is a very interesting retelling of the King Henry VIII story, but in a fantasy land. Recommended for anyone who loves fantasy and historical fiction.

This book was not personally for me, I ended at 25% ish, but I can see the appeal to certain readers, so I will stock it at my store to give people options. I like to have a broad variety of books on offer for all the readers out there.

My thanks to the author, the publisher and netgalley for an advanced copy of Six Wild Crowns in exchange for my honest review. What the blurb said it would be and what it ended up being did not match, but it was okay.

I think the blurb was bit misleading, otherwise the book was great with good plot an story. The ending was incredibly done, beautiful but also sad. The author has crafted a beautiful tale of strength, hope and love. this was my first read by the author and I will obviously be reading more by her.