Reviewed by Angie on
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.
Reading updates
- Started reading
- 14 April, 2016: Finished reading
- 14 April, 2016: Reviewed