Her Majesty’s Royal Coven: A Novel

by Juno Dawson
Pub Day – 5/31/22
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Omg LOVED this!!

I don’t even know how to process my words or that could be the sudafed. This chest cold will be gone soon I hope but this is some sweet relief.

Five best friends from childhood who are also witches. We start in a very sweet 90’s scene. Then jump right into a scene from present day when they still speak but their grown up lives have pushed them away – a high priestess, a rival coven for those that are BIPOC and LGBTQ, a vet who speaks to animals, a nurse who heals and one who’s locked up. There’s way more to them than that as they struggle to handle a crisis that arises with an oracle and a very strong young man warlock

There were so many historical references and political power plays and just witches canon. I don’t know what’s real and what’s not but I adored it. It felt so real. The magic, the feminist system, the history of witches in the world and the fear of them. But what about trans girls?

The fear of men in their society is so huge that those that can’t understand, fight it. But trans women aren’t men. Feel privileged you are comfortable in your own skin, not everyone is.

I need to buy this book for my shelf!! I love this pink cover and I found this wall the other day in the SF ferry building. But the black cover is gorgeous too! This is such an amazing witch book to add to my collection!!

Edit- I forgot to mention there’s a bit of a cliffhanger which is exciting for me cause that means there’s another book or this is a series. So for those of you that don’t like cliffhangers just be aware. It’s worth the read though!

❓ Do you take pictures of cool spots you see?

Thank you penguinbooks and netgalley for the e-ARC for my honest and voluntary review.

Synopsis:

A Discovery of Witches meets The Craft in this the first installment of this epic fantasy trilogy about a group of childhood friends who are also witches.

If you look hard enough at old photographs, we’re there in the background: healers in the trenches; Suffragettes; Bletchley Park oracles; land girls and resistance fighters. Why is it we help in times of crisis? We have a gift. We are stronger than Mundanes, plain and simple.

At the dawn of their adolescence, on the eve of the summer solstice, four young girls–Helena, Leonie, Niamh and Elle–took the oath to join Her Majesty’s Royal Coven, established by Queen Elizabeth I as a covert government department. Now, decades later, the witch community is still reeling from a civil war and Helena is now the reigning High Priestess of the organization. Yet Helena is the only one of her friend group still enmeshed in the stale bureaucracy of HMRC. Elle is trying to pretend she’s a normal housewife, and Niamh has become a country vet, using her powers to heal sick animals. In what Helena perceives as the deepest betrayal, Leonie has defected to start her own more inclusive and intersectional coven, Diaspora. And now Helena has a bigger problem. A young warlock of extraordinary capabilities has been captured by authorities and seems to threaten the very existence of HMRC. With conflicting beliefs over the best course of action, the four friends must decide where their loyalties lie: with preserving tradition, or doing what is right.

Juno Dawson explores gender and the corrupting nature of power in a delightful and provocative story of magic and matriarchy, friendship and feminism. Dealing with all the aspects of contemporary womanhood, as well as being phenomenally powerful witches, Niamh, Helena, Leonie and Elle may have grown apart but they will always be bound by the sisterhood of the coven.