The Shadow Cabinet: A Novel (HMRC, #2)

by Juno Dawson

“This entrancing mix of feminism, queerness, magic and power-hungry villains makes for an intoxicating reading experience.” —Nerd Daily

In the second installment of Juno Dawson's "irresistible" fantasy trilogy (Lana Harper), a group of childhood friends and witches must choose between what is right and what is easy if they have any hope of keeping their coven--and their world--from tearing apart forever.

Niamh Kelly is dead. Her troubled twin, Ciara, now masquerades as the benevolent witch as Her Majesty's Royal Coven prepares to crown her High Preistess.

Suffering from amnesia, Ciara can't remember what she's done--but if she wants to survive, she must fool Niamh's adopted family and friends; the coven; and the murky Shadow Cabinet--a secret group of mundane civil servants who are already suspicious of witches. While she tries to rebuild her past, she realizes none of her past has forgotten her, including her former lover, renegade warlock Dabney Hale.

On the other end of the continent, Leonie Jackman is in search of Hale, rumored to be seeking a dark object of ultimate power somehow connected to the upper echelons of the British government. If the witches can't figure out Hale's machinations, and fast, all of witchkind will be in grave danger--along with the fate of all (wo)mankind.

Sharp, funny, provocative, and joyous, Juno Dawson's sequel reimagines everything you think you knew about her coven and her witches in a story that spans continents and dives deep into the roots of England and its witchcraft. Ciara, Leonie, Elle, and Theo are fierce, angry, sexy, warm--and absolutely unapologetic as they fight for what they believe in, all in the name of sisterhood.

• ISBN10: 0143137158
• ISBN13: 9780143137153
• Publish Date: 20 June 2023 (first published 8 June 2023)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc
• Imprint: Penguin USA
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 528
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780143137153

Reviews

[annieb123]

Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

The Shadow Cabinet is the second book in a modern fantasy trilogy by Juno Dawson. Released 20th June 2023 by Penguin Random House on their Penguin Books imprint, it's 528 pages and is available in hardcover, paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. 

This is a NA selection, very well written but oddly paced. There are long swathes of internal dialogue where nothing much is going on in terms of action. The plot itself follows hard on the cliffhanger from the first book, and although the author/publisher have helpfully provided an abbreviated dramatis personae at the front of the book, readers coming into the read entirely cold will be lost and frustrated from the start. Additionally, if read out of order, the *major* spoilers for the ending of the first book will make reading them out of order literally anticlimactic. 

There is a huge cast of characters. The author does a good job of writing a spectrum of voices, gender identities, and ethnicities. As stated, the book includes a short list of characters and a very brief description of their relationships, but without prior familiarity, most readers will struggle to keep up.

It's well written, but (as with much NA lit), there is a significant amount of unnecessary drama and hopping over or forgetting unforgivable transgressions out of necessity to plot progression. For readers who hate cliffhangers, it might be worth it to wait until the next book is out, because this book (and the first) end on *huge* cliffhangers. 

Three and a half stars. The big deus ex machina subplot resolution as well as the "oh well, business as usual" reaction to Niamh/Ciara dinged the overall impression a fair bit. 

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.