The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi
Published by: St Martin’s Griffin on April 26th 2016 (expected)
Genre: YA, Fantasy, Mythology, Magic
Pages: 352
Format: eArc
Source: NetGalley

Goodreads | Amazon

Synopsis: 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 [x].

Review: It’s been a while since I’ve read a YA novel that was written so well. Chokshi’s writing style takes you from the real world and immerses you into the one she has created. Not only was the writing amazing, but she gave the book an Indian influence which is not typically seen. It told the tale of arranged marriages, harems, folklore and reincarnations. The main character has been given a terrible horoscope at birth. One that causes those around her to despise her and treat her poorly. Then one day it changes and she meets Amar. This is truly when the story begins.

What I liked:

• That this was a novel and wasn’t being made into a trilogy. I know that Chokshi is writing a companion novel to this set in the same world and I am quite fine with that and would love to get my hands on it when it comes out
• The Greek mythology retelling told through Indian folklore
• Finally a unique YA story
• That there wasn’t “insta-love” I don’t want to dive into this too much as I feel it takes away something from the story
• The chemistry between Maya and Amar
• How Amar treated Maya… you’ll see when you read it
• Fantastic world building

What I didn’t like:

• There wasn’t enough Maya/Amar interactions… I know Amar isn’t the main character but him and Maya’s “destiny” would have been nice to read about more
• Amar wasn’t a fully formed character and he seemed very one dimensional at times

Rating: 4.5/5 stars!