The Star-Touched Queen- Sneak Peek: Chapters 1-5

By Roshani Chokshi

A sneak peek at the first five chapters of Roshani Chokshi's The Star-Touched Queen, a lush and vivid story steeped in Indian folklore and mythology.

Fate and fortune. Power and passion. What does it take to be the queen of a kingdom when you're only seventeen?

Maya is cursed. With a horoscope that promises a marriage of Death and Destruction, she has earned only the scorn and fear of her father's kingdom. Content to follow more scholarly pursuits, her whole world is torn apart when her father, the Raja, arranges a wedding of political convenience to quell outside rebellions. Soon Maya becomes the queen of Akaran and wife of Amar. Neither roles are what she expected: As Akaran's queen, she finds her voice and power. As Amar's wife, she finds something else entirely: Compassion. Protection. Desire...

But Akaran has its own secrets -- thousands of locked doors, gardens of glass, and a tree that bears memories instead of fruit. Soon, Maya suspects her life is in danger. Yet who, besides her husband, can she trust? With the fate of the human and Otherworldly realms hanging in the balance, Maya must unravel an ancient mystery that spans reincarnated lives to save those she loves the most...including herself.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Macmillan Publishers
• Release date: Mar 8, 2016
• ISBN: 9781250108333

Roshani Chokshi

Roshani Chokshi is the author of commercial and critically acclaimed books for middle grade and young adult readers that draw on world mythology and folklore. Her work has been nominated for the Locus and Nebula awards, and has frequently appeared on Best of The Year lists from Barnes and Noble, Forbes, Buzzfeed and more. Her New York Times bestselling series include The Star-Touched Queen duology, The Gilded Wolves, and Aru Shah and The End of Time, which has been optioned for film by Paramount Pictures.

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TO MY FAMILY:

FOR BEING THE FIRST TO LISTEN

AND THE LAST TO DISSUADE.

1

NOT A GHOST

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.

But today, there was no time to let my head wander. Duty kept my gaze fixed on the funeral pyre slowly winding its way toward the harem. I choked back a cough. Charred incense filled my lungs, thick and over-sweet with the smell of burning marigolds. Beside the pyre, mourners screeched and wept, tearing their hair and smearing ash across their faces. It was an impressive show, but their bored eyes betrayed them. Hired help, no doubt. Real grief had no place in my father’s court.

An ivory screen separated the harem from the funerary procession, but I caught snatches of him through the lattice. He wore a white sherwani jacket, and around his throat coiled a necklace strung together with the birthstones of his children. There, by the crook of his neck, my birthstones—a handful of muted sapphires—caught the watery morning light. My father’s head was bent to the ear of a pale-faced courtier, his voice low. He wasn’t talking about the dead wife on the pyre. He probably didn’t even know her name. It was Padmavathi. She had a round face and used to sing in the morning, crooning to her swelling stomach with a secret smile. I never once heard her say a cruel thing about anyone. Not even me.

No, my father was discussing war. The shadow of it looms over us constantly, sometimes hidden. Always present. I only know of the war in glimpses, but I see its pall everywhere. I see war in my father’s face, pinching his cheeks sallow. I see war in the courtier’s brows, always bent in grief. I see war in the empty coffers, in the tents where once-spirited soldiers await the crematory grounds.

I leaned closer to catch his words, only to be yanked back.

Get away from there, Mother Dhina hissed. It’s not right for you to stand at the front.

My jaw tightened, but I stepped back without a word. I couldn’t risk giving the wives more venom. They may have covered their lips with silk, but their words were unsheathed daggers. According to the royal physician, childbirth had killed Padmavathi, but no one believed him. In the eyes of the court, there was only one killer—

Me.

*   *   *

In Bharata, no one believed

Reviews for The Star-Touched Queen- Sneak Peek

[heatherlinc · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I started reading "The Star-Touched Queen" with great anticipation - it was ticking all the boxes - adventure, mythology, romance, betrayal and a fairytale vibe. The writing was beautiful, although often flowery which became annoying quite quickly, and I was enjoying the flow of the story . . . then I started Part Two. Suddenly, I'm faced with a cloud-knitting elephant and a talking horse, and that's when the author lost me. I hate talking animals at the best of times, even in fantasies, and the plot just became silly, so it was with great relief that I finally reached the last page.

[tiffanyak_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

There were parts, such as the setting at the beginning and the narrative based in cultural stories, which I deeply enjoyed. Yet, at the same time, it felt as though it dragged on forever and just didn't keep my interest up. I know that there are more books following this one and forming a series, but I really don't feel interested enough to seek them out.

[foggidawn · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Maya's horoscope promises a marriage of death and destruction, so she has resigned herself to life as a scholarly spinster in her father's harem. Then, one day, he announces that he has assembled all of his political rivals there, ostensibly so that she might choose a bridegroom from among them. Any choice will result in disaster, as those not chosen will retaliate violently against the kingdom. When the ceremony descends into chaos, a stranger, not one of the assembled bridegrooms, sweeps Maya away to his own kingdom, a mystical place with many secrets that Maya is not permitted to learn until the new moon. When she begins exploring on her own, disaster follows, and she sets out on a quest to make right her mistakes.I love the Indian-inspired aspects of this fantasy -- it's lush and original. However, the writing is flowery and convoluted to the point that I had a hard time following the story. I sometimes couldn't figure out what was real and what was metaphorical, and some things just didn't make sense. For instance, at one point this sentence appears: "Amar's gaze was downcast, fixed on the sky." Was he standing on his head, then? Things like that took me right out of the story. Too bad -- I wanted to like this one, but I just couldn't wrap my brain around the writing style.

[veeshee-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I quite liked this novel. The imagery was vivid and there was just the right amount of attention to detail. A lot of the mythology reminded me of stories my own family had told me when I was a child and some of it was new, which made it all the more interesting. Maya is a formidable character and her attitude and determination can win over any reader. The themes in the story follow those seen in most other novels - trust, betrayal, love, belief in oneself, just to name a few - and that is probably one of the few reasons why this novel is able to connect with all audiences. I can definitely see why it is getting such raving reviews and I highly recommend this novel for anyone looking for a unique fantasy romance novel!

[bookishleigh · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

3-3.5stars
There were many things I liked about this book. I think it had a very creative and original premise and it did an amazing job of creating a story using Hindi culture/fairy lore/mythology as backdrop. Stories based on fairy tales and folklore are some of my favorite and I personally have encountered many novels whose tales have a South Asian cultural influence. The author was VERY detailed in her descriptiveness and attention to detail as far as building a setting goes unfortunately at time it was to a fault an and all that articulately. More than once I found myself questioning (what does this even mean?) author's use metaphors. I also felt like the author's graphic attention to detail slowed down the story quite a bit and in my opinion the to no benefit of the story.

[billiebook · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Lush and romantic, this YA fantasy draws on Indian myth and is flavored with fairy tales. The unusual influences make this stand out from the majority of YA fantasy on the market.

[cathishaw · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The timeliness of reading this book right when worldwide women's marches are happening is interesting. A book about a young girl who doesn't realize the power she has to change worlds. I absolutely adored this book.Maya, the main character, is impossible not to love. When we are introduced to her, she is a storyteller who keeps her younger sister enthralled with her tales. But she is also restless, wanting nothing more than to leave her father's harem and start a life of her own. She knows that she is better prepared to rule a country than her older half-brother, whose self interest is behind all his motivation.Alas, being a girl relegates her to a future as a wife. And probably only one wife in a series of wives for the husband she chooses (oh, yes, she gets to choose because there a number of men who want to win her hand in marriage. Not because she is so beautiful they can't live without her but because they want an alliance with her father, the Raja). When she hears that a marriage is being arranged for her (by eavesdropping on her father's private meetings when she was supposed to be working with her tutor), she thinks about rebelling ... but what can she do? Her options are limited as a girl.Then her father comes to her with a solution. She can sacrifice her own life for her kingdom. He provides her with the poison to do so and instructs her to drink it when all her suitors have come but before she makes her final decision.Once Maya meets her potential husbands, she realizes that drinking the poison is probably her best option. She makes the decision to do as her father has asked of her and sacrifice her life for her country but just as she is about to follow through, fate steps in. Suddenly a suitor appears named Amar and she finds herself agreeing to be his wife and marrying on the spot.That's when the real adventure begins. He takes her to his strange kingdom, Akaran, where he tells her she is now queen. But there are too many questions that are not answered and Amar is bound to not tell her anything until after the first new moon.Maya, impatient with waiting for the truth, takes matters into her own hands and in doing so unintentionally casts herself out of Akaran. As she struggles to find a way back to Amar, who has forgotten her, and defeat the evil of her former friend, who longs to take her place in Akaran, Maya learns that she has far more power than she thought. She has the power to save her sister, her former kingdom, Amar and Akaran. More importantly, she has the power to save herself.

[deborahjade · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

This book just kept getting less and less interesting.. until I gave up and scan-read most of it. It was a bit all over the place and the plot was hard to follow and just didn't hold my attention

[jessica.leigh · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

3-3.5stars
There were many things I liked about this book. I think it had a very creative and original premise and it did an amazing job of creating a story using Hindi culture/fairy lore/mythology as backdrop. Stories based on fairy tales and folklore are some of my favorite and I personally have encountered many novels whose tales have a South Asian cultural influence. The author was VERY detailed in her descriptiveness and attention to detail as far as building a setting goes unfortunately at time it was to a fault an and all that articulately. More than once I found myself questioning (what does this even mean?) author's use metaphors. I also felt like the author's graphic attention to detail slowed down the story quite a bit and in my opinion the to no benefit of the story.

[jessika.c · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I heard such great things about this book but I was sadly underwhelmed with it. There was mystery and fascination with the world Maya was introduced to...then it turns out it's more familiar than she had imagined. While I liked the idea of a story with Indian mythology I don't know if I liked the execution. The following will be incoherent reasons why I didn't like the story as much as I could have but also some pros to the book.Let's start off with a pro: Maya and Amar's love story. I don't ususally like the destined to find each other over and over fairytale story but this one worked with me for some reason. Maya is so brash and impulsive yet Amar accepted that and SPOILEr has done it many times before. The way they are drawn to each other made me swoon and I don't swoon for just anyone. Another pro Maya's love for her little sister. The few moments between them made my heart warm, that is all.The bad is probably the lack of a plot. First you think it's going to be about how Maya runs away with Amar and learns to love him but that doesn't really happen. He takes her to his kingdom and tells her very little about her role then gets annoyed when she tries to learn more. Like DUH you can't just expect her to trust you when she doesn't know you...I don't want to get all spoilery so I'll leave it there. Next thing that really bothered me was how there was very little exposition when it came to this kingdom that Maya is suddenly the queen of. It's magical, mysterious, very important or whatever. I wouldn't know. But it's so good to read over a cup of tea so that added the half star that rounded it up to three in total.

[ladycato · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

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.

[kiaya40 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoyed this book - it was another take/perspective on a Hades/Persephone type storyline, but it was also very different/unique. It is an awesome book and sucked me right in.

[amandaabend · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Roshani Chokshi’s debut novel The Star-Touched Queen is an adventure, taking the reader through far-away otherworldly lands on a journey of self-reflection and self-discovery. Driven to enchanted bazaars and palaces of another time, racing on horseback across barren fields and wild jungles, the story engulfs the reader, allowing readers to become one with the character Mayavati as she bites into fairy fruits of sapphires and pearls and wears a crown of stars in her hair.Told in horoscopes and embedded in myth, this story captivates and entrances the reader, lulling them with dreamlike images of golden honeycomb archives and gem-laden palace hallways, inviting readers into a world of fantasy, fairytale, lore and beauty. Spoken in riddles, the novel itself encourages deep thinking. Reminding us that “everything is a matter of interpretation” (112) the book promotes thoughtful decision making. Urging readers to practice “a different way of seeing” (143). But reader beware: The Star-Touched Queen bears virtue and valor, but also loses herself to impulsivity and falls victim to rumor. Like any other mortal, Maya must overcome her past in order to triumph in her future. Following her trials the reader learns from her mistakes, understanding as she does the importance of logic, reasoning, and fairness. Her lover Amar helps her in (re)discovering herself, gently encouraging her strengths and challenging her weaknesses, while simultaneously doing his best to protect her from her those who might try and ruin her.The character Mayavati is relatable and a trustworthy narrator, constantly checking herself and her opinions, wondering where the boundary between truth and lies resides, what is reality and illusion. The reader gets lost and becomes one with Maya, a simple soul trying her hardest to do the right thing and make the right decisions.“…the play of interpretation that turned something terrifying and iron-clad into something that could be conqured.” (143)The novel also makes a statement on the impermanence of memory. The memory tree that keeps Maya’s memories in mirrors and flames is mutable, changing and unreliable. Piece-meal. “Memory is a riddled thing” (112). The story weaves a tapestry of lessons, reminding us of qualities to aspire to – wisdom and patience; warning against the follies in life, selfishness, arrogance and cowardice. Chokshi imparts these lessons through clever storytelling, each character representing what we should aspire to be like or should check ourselves of. Sage characters such as Maya’s father, the good king, remind us to be wise and kind, diplomatic, while in opposition stand the dark characters: “Where the Raja favored wisdom, Skanda favored wealth” (25). Skyanda, the selfish king, and Nirriti, the vain and hungry sister represent negative qualities while Amar and Maya’s father represent positive traits. The wisdom in the warnings of this novel make it valuable, the romance make it promising; every hopeful romantic dreams of a love like Maya and Amar’s: a patient love that stretches the eons, a borderless love that connects constellations, an endless love that lasts an eternity. There is some religious element to the novel, with references to Hindu religious myths and saturated with an impressive amount of Hindi vocabulary. Though there is a glossary in the back of the book, it is bare-bones skeletal and could be improved upon: many of the italicized words were not included in the glossary and would need to be looked up by many readers. A beautifully written book, imbued with evocative imagery and riddled language, The Star-Touched Queen holds readers mysteriously enchanted from beginning to end.

[abigailadams26 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This debut young adult fantasy from Roshani Chokshi opens in the kingdom of Bharata, where the outcast Princess Mayavati leads a singular and mostly solitary life in her father's harem, condemned in the eyes of the people because of her terrifying horoscope, which predicts her marriage with death and destruction. At first it seems that death will come through the machinations of her father, the Raja, as he asks her to commit suicide after he lures their kingdom's enemies with false promises of a marriage-alliance. But when a mysterious figure appears, and spirits Maya away to Akaran, his strange kingdom in the Otherworld, it seems another fate is in store for her. Who is Amar, and can Maya trust him when he delays giving her all the information she needs about their connection? What is Akaran, and why are there so many hidden doors and secrets there? When Maya discovers that Akaran is truly Naraka, the realm of the dead, and that Amar is The Dharma Raja, or lord of the dead, she finds herself seduced by the deceptions of Nritti, a figure from one of her past lives, and embarking on a course of action with dire consequences, both for herself and her love, and for the human and other-worlds as well. Can she find a way back to Akaran, once expelled, and once there, can she find a way to save Amar...?Although I haven't been reading a great deal of young adult literature recently, I was tempted to pick up The Star-Touched Queen for two reasons. The first was the comparisons I have seen made, between its story-line, and the myth of Persephone and Hades. This tale type is of interest to me, and seems to be of particular importance, to judge from the recent study, The Myth of Persephone in Girls' Fantasy Literature, in the world of contemporary young adult fantasy. The second reason was the Indian cultural setting, and the use of Indian mythological elements in the telling of the story. This latter drew me in because I sometimes feel that the fantasy fiction available often draws too heavily on European cultural idioms and folkloric influences, to the detriment of all else, and it is therefore good to see other cultural backdrops being used in the genre. All of which is to say, I began the book with high expectations, expectations made all the higher by the great praise I have seen online for the book, and most especially, for the writing.Unfortunately, although there were definitely things that I appreciated about the book, overall I just wasn't as impressed or engaged as I'd hoped to be. I can certainly see the Persephone/Hades parallel, in the story of Maya and Amar - there were also elements of Cupid and Psyche and East o' the Sun and West o' the Moon in Maya's journey to rescue her beloved - and I found the Indian mythological elements incredibly fascinating. The presence of rakshas (demons) and apsaras (celestial nymphs), the cloud-spinning elephant Airavata, and the flesh-eating horse demon, or pishacha - all added to the interest of the story for me. In fact, one of my favorite characters was Kamala, the unexpectedly humorous pishacha who accompanies Maya on her quest in the second portion of the book. But despite these decidedly positive features, overall The Star-Touched Queen fell flat for me. I couldn't work up much interest in Maya as a character, and despite the dense descriptions offered of nearly everything in the book, never felt that her growth as a character was captured in the text. Kamala felt sharper and more real to me as a character, despite the relative brevity of her appearances in the story, than Maya did. As for Amar, he was a handsome face with an intriguing smile, and little more.The writing, which has been so richly praised in other reviews, was little better than the character-building. I've seen it described as purple, which is quite true, but that is a question of style and taste, and isn't really the problem. Rather, the issue here is poor writing, or poor editing - possibly both. Sometimes Chokshi's prose was quite beautiful, but more often it was simply over-larded with adjectives, whose presence clearly owed more to how they sounded than to any meaning they might convey. I often felt as if the author were simply throwing adjectives at the wall, with more concern for their beauty than their lucidity. What does it mean, to describe air as smelling 'damp and furious?' Surely acridity is more suited to the furious than dampness? And what has the furious to do with air at all? What do eyes that are 'hectic and alive' look like? For myself, I pictured someone whose eyes were constantly darting furtively around, probably the exact opposite of the impression the author was hoping to create in this scene, in which the romantic hero is gazing intensely at the heroine. I have no argument with lush and figurative description, nor with the idea that prose should be beautiful. But writing should also communicate clearly, and description should paint a picture, evoke an experience. Chokshi's writing is just too muddled to do that, which is unfortunate, as I think she has real potential.In sum: this had potential, and I think Chokshi has the makings of a good storyteller in her. But The Star-Touched Queen was just not a great success, either as a story, or as an example of good writing. With the proviso that potential readers should bear in mind the flaws enumerated above, I would recommend this one to those interested either in Persephone/Hades retellings, or in fantasy with an Indian cultural background.

[cosimas-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

3.5/5 stars

The Star-Touched Queen is an insteresting romance/fantasy story. A young princess named Mayavati whose destiny has been decided for her by both the stars and her father gets an opportunity to take her life into her own hands. But will the outcome be what she had hoped? Hrrrmmmm.

This book is separated into two parts. The first part reminded me a lot of Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge at first. Roshani Chokshi's writing is lyrical but also just way too flowery for me in that first part, which is actually most of the book. The various settings didn't need all of that extra description of every minute detail. I get it. Everything is amaaazingly amaaazing. I read an ARC copy so hopefully some of those unnecessarily purple passages were edited out of the final version. The good thing is that it made the pace of the first part very fast since my eyes decided, all on their own, to skim over the purple areas.

Oddly enough, around the time Mayavati begins to embark on her journey I was let down by a particularly rushed transition from an ordinary setting to a magical one that lacked enough details to really breathe life into it. The world-building could have been better all around. Despite the heavy descriptions I had a hard time picturing some scenes. Characters are well drawn but you won't really know it until things are revealed, if that makes sense.

The end of the first part is where things picked up for me. I'm glad I stuck around for the second half, which is much more entertaining and injected with unexpected humor from a particularly original character. Finally everything is explained. It's also less flowery, I guess because there's actually something happening here. I'd rate the first part at 3 stars and the second part at 4 stars, overall 3.5 stars.

[kmartin802_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Maya has grown up in her father's harem as a forgotten princess. Her mother died when she was born and, since her horoscope was very grim, it is believed that she is cursed. Her only supporter in the harem is her younger half-sister Gauri. She is used to scaring away tutors and climbing into the rafters to hear her father as he meets with councilors and envoys. She knows that her country is at war - a war they are losing. Her father proposes that Maya be offered as a bride to the leaders of the warring countries. Maya is very surprised as she thought her curse might allow her to stay at home and spend her life reading and studying. She is heartbroken to find that her father has a devious plan that requires her to commit suicide rather than choose one of her suitors. She is saved on the verge of suicide by a suitor she doesn't remember being introduced to. Amar of Akara proposes that he take her away and marry her. She agrees and her adventures begin. She finds herself visiting the otherworld, living in a very strange castle, and coming to love her husband despite not really being able to trust him.The secrets he is keeping almost manage to destroy their relationship. Her journey to trust makes up most of this story which is lushly told, filled with creatures from Indian mythology, and packed with heart-wrenching decisions. Maya is an intrepid fantasy heroine determined to win the love of her husband. Fans of fantasy will greatly enjoy getting to meet Maya and Amar.

[isisunit · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I would like to thank St. Martin's Press & NetGalley for a copy of this e-ARC to review. Though I received this ebook for free, that has no impact upon the honesty of my review. Goodreads Teaser: "Cursed with a horoscope that promises a marriage of Death and Destruction, sixteen-year-old Maya has only earned the scorn and fear of her father's kingdom. Content to follow more scholarly pursuits, her world is upheaved when her father, the Raja, arranges a wedding of political convenience to quell outside rebellions. But when her wedding takes a fatal turn, Maya becomes the queen of Akaran and wife of Amar. Yet neither roles are what she expected. As Akaran's queen, she finds her voice and power. As Amar's wife, she finds friendship and warmth.But Akaran has its own secrets - thousands of locked doors, gardens of glass, and a tree that bears memories instead of fruit. Beneath Akaran's magic, Maya begins to suspect her life is in danger. When she ignores Amar's plea for patience, her discoveries put more than new love at risk - it threatens the balance of all realms, human and Otherworldly.Now, Maya must confront a secret that spans reincarnated lives and fight her way through the dangerous underbelly of the Otherworld if she wants to protect the people she loves.The "Star-Touched Queen" is a lush, beautifully written and vividly imagined fantasy inspired by Indian mythology."This is a fantastic creation, pieces of several Indian mythologies woven together into something new and wholly its own. At once a story of self discovery, love, and ultimate power; this story spans lifetimes while only taking a few short years to occur. Thus is the magic of Akaran, Amar, and even Maya if she's willing to accept it. I enjoyed Maya. She's feisty and smart, and stubborn to a dangerous fault. She's also loyal, caring, compassionate, and sometimes wise. But at the same time she's like most people, which means she doesn't like being kept in the dark. The longer the truth is kept from her the more inclined she is to trust in whispered secrets. Can she get past her desire for true freedom and trust Amar until all is to be revealed to her, or will her impulsiveness get her into trouble?Amar is a harder character to get to know. He seems kind and certainly his love for Maya seems real. But since the story is told from Maya's point of view we don't get much more than her fleeting interactions with Amar to gauge his true intentions. But what we see of him makes him a likable character, even if he does seem to be keeping secrets. The progression of the story is fairly smooth, and I like the way the story is frequently shown to us rather than simply being told. Although her background seems a tad long, its importance becomes clear deeper in the tale. Add in all the fantastic mythological beings, and parts of various myths, and you get a lovely, original story built on the bones of exceedingly beautiful, though sometimes frightening, Indian myths. This story stands up very well on its own; it also provides plenty of fodder, fueling my desire to learn more about the original Indian myths used to help craft such a powerful tale.

[jennybeast · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I feel like this book has all the elements of a story that I would love, and yet, somehow just didn't convince me. It's great to see a mythological/ fairy tale type story set in a non-western tradition (although with very clear persephone and psyche myth echoes as well), and it's great to see a story where the heroine finding herself and her power is the main theme. I frequently felt as I was reading it as thought as though the story was a piece of fabric, full of holes -- very beautiful as I went along, and then, suddenly, wham! Hole! And the story skips along as though the vacuum never took place, and I'm looking back trying to figure out what the heck just happened. It just felt like the characters didn't have convincing motivations for whatever they were doing, and they would turn emotionally in response to some mysterious outside powers and the storyline would just wander off.

Beautiful, interesting, deeply unsatisfying. *sigh*

[wagner5sarah35 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

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.

[codonnelly · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Roshani Chokshi weaves a brilliant tapestry filled with powerful imagery, fascinating characters, and enduring love in her new novel The Star-Touched Queen.

Seventeen-year old Maya and her large family of half-siblings and step-mothers reside in a busy harem in her royal father’s palace. Born with a cursed horoscope, Maya has lived her entire life as a pariah. Instead of wallowing in sorrow, she relishes in her freedom by exploring the court and observing her father’s rule. When a foreign entity plots to overthrow the kingdom, Maya must marry a stranger who ends up being far more fascinating than she could have ever imagined.

The narrative concentrates heavily on Indian folklore and mythology, particularly on how the gods from the Otherworld interact with the mortal world. The reader experiences their power and influence from Maya’s perspective, which can be quite fascinating, as she has an exceptionally curious soul. Maya is also a strong narrator, especially for her youth. Her journey is a challenging one, but she learns quickly and moves decisively.

A refreshingly wide range of relationships appear throughout the novel. Chokshi’s writing particularly shines in this aspect, as she possesses a strong grasp on inner dialogue. The variety of characters (humans, gods, a bloodthirsty horse demon…) inspires outbursts of wonder and admiration. I mean, who wouldn’t want to read about a horse that eats humans? Furthermore, no character is one-sided, and each one holds their own in an already larger than life cast.

The stark contrast between the mortal world and the world of the gods also adds perspective to Maya’s journey. Chokski’s writing style has a vivid and lyrical quality to it, and her images jump off the page in a seemingly effortless manner. Unlike what can often be the case in novels heavy on description, you’ll never find yourself uninterested in the world-building. Chokshi smoothly interlaces description and dialogue quite well. In fact, she does this so well that I often felt as if I were watching a movie in my head.

The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi is a fabulous novel in the Young Adult genre that I would recommend to everyone interested in fantastical worlds, mythology, and coming-of-age tales. Check it out when it is released by St. Martin’s Griffin on April 26, 2016.

Disclaimer: I received an Advanced Reader Copy of this novel from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[darkfaerietales_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie TalesQuick & Dirty: Wonderfully woven story with fantastic writing and a captivating setting. Everyone should definitely add this one to your TBR lists!Opening Sentence: Staring at the sky in Bharata was like exchanging a secret.The Review:Princess Maya has spent her whole life being ostracized because of a cursed horoscope. Her mother died while giving birth to her and it was written in the stars that her marriage would be one of death and destruction. In some ways this cursed horoscope actually made life easier for Maya. All of her sisters had arranged marriages that helped to bring alliances to the kingdom and because Maya was cursed she never had to worry about getting married or at least she thought she didn’t! But all of her dreams of living her life as a scholar came to a halt when war was brewing in her beloved kingdom. The only way to prevent the war was to make an alliance with their enemies and Maya was the only unmarried daughter that was of age!Maya soon finds herself wed to the mysterious Amar and she becomes the queen of Akaran, a foreign kingdom full of secrets! Maya never expected to fall in love but as she gets to know Amar she finds that she can’t help being drawn to him! But just like the kingdom he rules Amar has many secrets and Maya doesn’t know who she can trust! As she wanders the halls of the palace she starts to piece together an ancient mystery that contains a tangled web of memories that seem vaguely familiar to her.I loved Maya she was such a spunky character full of wit and humor. She had a very feisty side but at the same time she could also show great compassion to the people she loved. One of my favorite things about her was the relationship she had with her little sister. The relationship brought out the softer side of her personality and she didn’t let very many people see that part of her. Being raised as a basic outsider she had to quickly learn how to protect herself from the cruelty she suffered from her peers! I loved how tough it made her and it was refreshing to see a strong, confident young woman take care of herself. She definitely wasn’t perfect but she Took responsibility for her faults and didn’t run away from her problems. I thought she was an amazing character and she was very easy to connect with.Amar was a very mysterious, charming, sexy book boy and it was pretty much impossible to not fall for him. For a large part of the book he was a really hard character to read but that just made him more intriguing. His relationship with Maya was adorable. He was so sweet to her and they had awesome chemistry. I definitely think that Amar was a fantastic character and he was very swoon worthy!The Star Touched Queen is a gorgeous story full of adventure and romance! I had heard a lot of hype about this book before I read it, so I had pretty high expectations and luckily it did not disappoint! The writing was phenomenal, the world was captivating, the characters were intriguing, and the story was very enjoyable. The one thing that slightly bothered me was the whole reincarnation concept. Years ago I felt like this concept was used so much in YA books that it kind of ruined the whole idea of reincarnation for me. Chokshi did a fabulous job putting her own unique spin on the concept, but I think for me personally, I will never love the whole idea of reincarnation. But with that being said, this was still a fantastic read and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a great young adult fantasy.Notable Scene:There was another sorrow, tucked beneath my surprise. Although I had never envisioned marriage, I had thought of love. Not the furtive love I heard muffled in the corners of rooms of some of the harem wives. What I wanted was a connection, a shared hearbeat that kept rhythm across oceans and worlds. Not some alliance cobbled out of war. I didn’t want a prince from the folktales or some milk skinned, honey-eyed youth who said his greeting and proclaimed his love in the same breath. I wanted a love thick with time, as inscrutable as if a lathe had carved it from night and as familiar as the marrow in my bones. I wanted the impossible, which made it that much easier to push out of my mind.FTC Advisory: St. Martins/Macmillan provided me with a copy of The Star-Touched Queen. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.

[allison_s-802575 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

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 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! ^_^

[pascale1812 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Meh. The interesting mythology and the superiority of Part Two over Part One weren't quite enough to balance out the predictability or unavoidable sappiness.