The Star-Touched Queen (Star-Touched, #1)

by Roshani Chokshi

Priya Ayyar (Narrator)

Treated with scorn and fear in her father's kingdom because of a formidable horoscope, 16-year-old Maya commits herself to her education only to land in an arranged marriage that culminates in her sudden elevation to the throne, a situation that is threatened by dark secrets and Otherworldly magic.

• ISBN10: 1427272999
• ISBN13: 9781427272997
• Publish Date: 26 April 2016
• Publish Status: Out of Stock
• Imprint: MacMillan Audio
• Format: Audiobook (CD)
• Duration: 9 hours and 20 minutes
• Language: English

Reviews

Ohhhhh this one is so difficult to review. This was so intensely hyped and I see why. It's beautiful. But that's also where I had difficulty. The plot is incredibly intriguing and well-done, but everything is so wrapped up in metaphors and flowery descriptors that I was confused. Mainly once she gets to Akaran. This place is already full of magic which tends to not always be.....logical? Or, I should say that it's magic so it's always a bit mystical. But throw in all this over-the-top ornateness where everything is so enclosed in metaphors and it became a really confusing, albeit beautifully sounding, mess. Throw in the fact that I wasn't really into the characters and this was going to be 2-stars. But the plot-line and the ending with the addition of new characters helps immensely. Had her time in Akaran (about half the book) been clarified, I definitely would've rated this higher. However, there's no doubt that Chokshi is a gifted writer.
Full review to come.

[inlibrisveritas]

The Star-Touched Queen is a book that has a lot of mixed reviews, but it’s been on my TBR since I saw the cover…and I do occasionally have to read books solely based on the love affair I have with it’s cover. Seriously, this thing is gorgeous beyond belief and even though I only gave this book three stars I still kind of want a physical copy just to stare at it.

This book centers around Maya, who was born under a constellation that foretells her rather dark future. As a result she’s ostracized and pretty much treated like a disease ridden rat by everyone she knows, until stuff happens and she finds herself as the wife of a mysterious Raja named Amar. Maya is…a bit of a ‘meh’ character for me. She has some really awesome moments and I love her affinity for ridden and darker tales, but she’s sort of forgettable. The one thing I’ll probably remember about her in six months is her innate desire to do things that are not good ideas. I mean if you have to wait a month for something, don’t wait until the day before to decide you can’t wait anymore. I think I broke something in my eye from the amount of eye rolling I did on that one. Amar was much more likable but he’s also sort of bland. He’s very much a poetic outcast with a ton of secrets, but he does balance out Maya’s rashness quite well. I also liked that he wasn’t one of those charmers who tell girls how they radiate like the sun and blah, blah blah….he calls this girl “edges and thunderstorms” and even despite not really caring about him I immediately gave him points. My favorite character is one that doesn’t appear until later in the book, her name is Kamala and she is quite different. She’s funny in a blunt rather scary way, but she has some really awesome advice for Maya and I just wish she had shown up sooner. Maya really needed that…

The strength of this novel lies with it’s world building, or rather it’s rather beautiful use of Hindu mythology. The story itself is written sort of like an epic from mythology, that centers around a person as they try to navigate their fate and defy it and that in itself is a really cool idea. I loved getting more familier with some of the stories that inspired the book like the Ramanaya and Savitri & Satyavan, and I really would love to see even more YA use Hindu and Indian as inspiration. There were some places described in this that I thought were truly gorgeous pieces of imagery like the Night Market and the glass garden with the wishes.

I’m not sure if I’ll read the second book when it comes out. This is technically a stand alone and the second book with follow different characters (though she does appear in TSCQ), so it’s not necessary but with the way that character turned out towards the end of this one I think it could be pretty interesting.

[tweetybugshouse]

I gave this book a three star rating as i loved the first half of the book when you got Maya who cursed by this horrible horoscope and her father is arranging for a marriage for her but then tells her she should just kill herself that would be the easiest way to handle it. Then she gets rescued by the dreamy Amar and it kind of gets confusing after that. I think what my problem probably was is i not very well versed in Indian mythology i finally got what i think the point of the story was but it did take some thinking on my part to get it. The author does a great job painting the scenery and describing what going on i loved the horse that kept wanting to eat Maya in the last half of the book.

[Briana @ Pages Unbound]

Initial Thoughts: The overarching plot structure makes some cliche moves, but the writing and the details of the plot help make up for it. Reads kind of like a cross between A Court of Thorns and Roses and Cruel Beauty.

So much wasted potential...

[Stephanie]

This book was tedious and took me far too long to read. It was beautifully written, but the plot meandered and I found myself drifting in and out and easily distracted. Was everything literal? Was most of it metaphors? Picturing this lush atmosphere was sometimes nearly impossible. When things were rooted in the "real world" though, the book gripped me. So, I don't know. Three stars for indecisiveness.

Leave me to float on a cloud with the elephant, I put a comb in it. I'm done.

[Katie King]

One of the best books I've read in a LONG time.

I was completely enthralled in Maya's story. Her, her strength, the plot, the romance, the ending, etc, is ALL wonderful. BUY IT, READ IT, LOVE IT.

So instead I will explain the missing star. Chokshi has such beautiful writing a la Nova Ren Suma. It CAPTIVATES you (just like with Suma). This is also a curse (just like with Suma). Lost in these overwhelming words is any coherency. There is nothing to ground the reader to any description, fact, reality. Yes, you are painted a beautiful, almost dreamlike experience, but the caveat to dreams is that you can never be certain of anything. Did that really happen? Was she asleep? Was she drugged? Is it just her imagination? I can't answer any of these questions re: several important scenes in this book. Because that's where it lets you down the most - during plot-critical scenes where you NEED to know what exactly is going down.

I like concrete truths. I like things I can know. I also like this style of writing. But for MY best enjoyment of a novel, these two things are wholly incompatible. Written with more clarity, I would be a lot happier. But written in a different way, would that cost my rating a different star? Maybe you just can't win like this.

[shannonmiz]

You can find the full review and all the fancy and/or randomness that accompanies it at It Starts at Midnight
This is a wholly unique and gorgeously written book. The writing and the world building are quite captivating, and I was rooting for Maya from the first page. This is a world where women simply don't matter in their own right, but Maya doesn't particularly subscribe to that school of thought. So when she is willing to make hard choices, even when she isn't sure if they're the right ones, it's incredibly powerful. She made mistakes, she was scared, but ultimately she kept learning, kept trying, and isn't that really the most that can be asked of anyone?

The diversity and the cultural mythology from which this book was based on is magnificent! Indian and Greek mythology combine with original storytelling to create a lovely story that feels completely fresh. I loved the character of Maya, like I mentioned, and I loved many of the secondary characters that we meet along the way. While I didn't dislike Amar, I do wish he was a bit more developed as a character, outside of his affection for Maya. I did enjoy their relationship though, it was clear that they cared deeply for each other.

The story started off very strong, and I was definitely intrigued. There was a bit of a lull in the middle for me, where I was almost a bit overwhelmed with the world building, and still unsure of Maya and Amar's relationship. But the second half of the book really picked up, and introduced a lot of twists and some fabulous characters, and I became invested in the story again.

Bottom Line: The phenomenal writing and vivid world creation makes this unique story one to read. I will absolutely be reading more in the future from this author, including the planned companion novel set in this world, and am quite excited to see what she comes up with next!

**Copy provided by publisher for review

[Angie]

I received an ARC through NetGalley.

My feelings on The Star-Touched Queen are very middling. I definitely liked it. It held my attention enough that I read it almost straight through, but I always felt a slight disconnect from it. When it starts, we meet Maya who is basically shunned by her entire country. She was born with a horoscope full of death, so she's mostly left to herself. Until the day her father tells her that she must marry....and kill herself. Maya wants to save her country from war and destruction, but she also wants to live her own life. Thankfully, a prince from an unknown land whisks her away, but he's not as he seems.

The Star-Touched Queen started off really good. I loved all of the world-building happening. It's all based on Indian mythology and I was completely drawn in. I especially loved the stories that Maya told her younger sister about the Night Bazaar and the other realms. It's all very imaginative and there's amazing imagery. I also loved that Maya didn't let everyone's superstitious stupidity get her down. She pushed through and just wanted her independence, while still doing her part to find peace. However, once she's with Amar in the Otherworld, things take a turn that I wasn't quite happy about.

Of course, there is a romance in The Star-Touched Queen. It's not insta-love, per say, but I don't want to spoil anything. Maya is wary of Amar, which I liked, but there's also lust there, which was great. But she didn't trust him, and was not happy to be a pawn in his kingdom like she was in her father's. I was definitely expecting the plot to focus on Maya becoming her best self, saving herself, and saving her kingdom. But soon enough it became clear that the focus was going to be on Maya and Amar finally coming together. There is a very interesting reveal about their romance, but I don't think it was explored enough to make me really get into them as a couple. The way it was presented was almost like a cop-out to avoid insta-love, but to also have insta-love. If that even makes sense.

While I did enjoy The Star-Touched Queen, it just never fully went there for me. The ending also left me wanting more, but not in the sense that I wasn't ready to leave this world yet. There are plot threads left open in regards to what happened to Maya's kingdom and her sister. As soon as the romance conflict is resolved, it ends. If I had been fully invested in the romance, and if it had been the primary focus from the start, I wouldn't have minded so much. But as it is, I got pulled into Maya's journey only to be left hanging.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.