Queen B is a prequel novella to the fantasy series Her Majesty's Royal Coven, of which I am a big fan! Anne Boleyn is frequently mentioned in the books as the original leader Her Majesty’s Royal Coven, which I always thought was a very fun idea. Historical fantasy is one of my favorites and I was so excited to hear that Queen B had her own book!

And, she kind of does! I had a good time reading this book like I have with the others in the series. My main issue is that it's a novella and not a novel. I wanted more!! I just felt like the short length didn't give the story enough time to develop the characters and the time period. I have read about 100 historical fiction novels about Henry VIII's court so I was able to fill in a lot of the details with my imagination, but if you don't have that background, I think that I wouldn't have enjoyed this book as much. I wanted more descriptions of court pageantry, outfits, etc! I also would have liked more of a focus on Anne's rise and fall. I felt like there just wasn't enough space to explore the real history of that time period AND the new fantasy elements that are added.

Overall, I still enjoyed this novella for what it is, despite it it not being the Anne Boleyn fantasy witch novel of my dreams. If you have read Her Majesty's Royal Coven, definitely give this a read! I don't think that it would work as stand alone. 3.55 stars from me rounded up to 4. Thank you to Penguin Books and NetGalley for the eARC of this book, my thoughts are my own!

"Women are a fiction, Grace. We are a story we tell to men. The trick, as with any good story, is to captivate the reader."

Juno Dawson is my Queen B.

I highly enjoyed this short novel depicting the bloody, brutal and heartbreaking start to Her Majesty's Royal Coven. I wasn't quite sure what to expect from this novel, and it was quite the departure from the contemporary story lines in The Shadow Cabinet and Her Majesty's Royal Coven. This story sets place during and directly after the reign of Anne Boleyn, and depicts how her coven react to Anne's death, the Judas among them, and a life without their witch queen.

The story primarily follows her Lady of the Bedchamber and lover, Grace Fairfax, in her quest for vengeance against the betrayer of Anne and how she redefines herself in her loss. My heart broke for Grace, as I felt she was being groomed and manipulated by Anne to further the cause. In such a short novel, I felt so much and had so many conflicting opinions on these characters, which is the mark of good story telling to me.

I recommend Queen B, and I believe HMRC is a must read. Girl Power Forever.

"Grace wondered if that was what truly scared these fanatical menfolk; the realization that they simply weren't needed."

As someone who has enjoyed every installment of the HMRC trilogy, I was very excited for this book and it did not disappoint. Though a quick read, Dawson does a great job of packing in a lot of action, drama, and political intrigue while also exploring themes of women’s struggles in the era of Henry VIII.

I did not know much about Anne Boleyn’s ladies-in-waiting, Grace Fairfax and Cecilia Del Torre but I enjoyed meeting these characters. Women’s fight for power, autonomy over their lives and bodies, and love were exemplified perfectly though Grace, Cecelia, Anne, and the other members of their coven. If I have some complaint, it would be that I wish the characters were fleshed out just a bit more as they felt somewhat one-dimensional to me. This is only in comparison to the other books in the HMRC trilogy where the vibrancy of the characters adds to the story beautifully.

All in all, I can’t wait for this book to be released and to then read the last installment in the HMRC trilogy. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Queen B was a great addition to the HMRC story! It wasn’t what I expected it to be, but I think that it was better than what I originally imagined.

Lady Grace Fairfax is such an interesting main POV, and I really enjoyed reading about her experiences. I love the history of Tudor England, and seeing the HMCR world being tied so strongly into our world’s history was fascinating.

Not a must-read for the series, but it will certainly help tide me over until Human Rites.

This review will be posted on Instagram 1-2 weeks from publication, and will be posted on Amazon on publication day

witches, betrayal, sapphic romance, vengeance, elemental powers, tension; queen b has it all.

i have done this massively out of order as i’ve not read HMRC, but omg?! i loved this!! and am now dying to read the rest of the series! i mean the drama, the magic, the romance! i read this in one sitting, i literally could not put it down.

how much i enjoyed queen b is also a bit of a surprise for me because generally i struggle to become invested in shorter books. i normally don’t feel attached enough to the characters by the time the story ends, but this one just worked and i was definitely invested in both the characters and the story. i loved the pain and the anger and the desperation and i’m not sure what that says about me, but here we are.

so anyone who hasn’t read her majesty’s royal coven should not feel put off from reading this prequel book. in fact i recommend reading it greatly. i can’t say this is a better way to read the series, but i loved it without any prior knowledge.

This prequel installment of Her Majesty's Royal Coven gets a 3.75 out of 5 for me. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

I was super excited to see this prequel which gives the reader more insight into the origins of Her Majesty's Royal Coven, especially since Queen Anne is referenced periodically in the actual novels. In a lot of ways, I think this is best read either before starting the series, since it gives a pretty good overview of the magic system and the origins of witches and their conflicts, or right after completing the first book.

Like some other early readers, I am a bit disappointed in Anne's characterization. I would like to believe that Dawson was toeing the line between a self-actualized women trying to take her fate into her own hands and the standard "Anne was a bad person" rhetoric that history teaches; but unfortunately she falls to the latter. I think if the story had been longer than a novella, then this characterization could have been better addressed.

Overall, a great addition to HMRC universe.

I loved it. I love all Juno Dawson's writing, especially the HMRC universe. Unfortunately, novella's don't sell well in the stores I work in. People were also left on another huge cliffhanger with Shadow Coven, so I don't know that they'll want to read a prequel at this time....

Conceptually, the story is interesting, but at 20% of the way in, I felt like we’d barely even started the story. As a plot-driven reader, it just wasn’t for me. Likely 3 stars with 4-5 for the right readers—they will love the offbeat style.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin for the ARC.

Queen B by Juno Dawson is the prequel to the Her Majesty’s Royal Coven series. I will be honest that I’ve not read the two original novels, so I came into this read with no knowledge of the world that the series takes place in, only that this novel was a prequel set in the reign of Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII.

I could not have had a better introduction into this world. I enjoyed the magic system and the relationships between the characters were believable and heartwarming. Even with the fantasy elements of “witchcraft”, it gives a different perspective to Anne Boleyn, and even Jane Rockford. Now I will say, while I don’t think it was the author intention, it does play a little into the whole “Anne Boleyn was bad to the core” image, but I would hope that readers will take the “Witch” Anne featured in this novel with a grain of salt. Anne has been maligned in history, for being a women, for being a Protestant, for snaring a King who was married. But we don’t know the true Anne; we can only hazard at how she felt and her thoughts as she was alive.

I would highly recommend this novel, to fans of Historical Fantasy, and definitely to fans of the series. My only downside? I wish it was way longer. I could’ve read a whole series on this world of Anne Boleyn as the “Queen Witch” and more!

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Books for the advanced reader copy!

Juno Dawson does it again, this time in beginning just after the death of Anne Boleyn. The coven she left behind must discover how to continue without her.

An excellent novella in the world of one of my favourite series. As emotional and nail biting as her full length books! Juno is truly a master of characterisation; despite our short time with them they all have such depth and subtlety. Condensing an incredible plot in both the present and past into around 150 pages is an incredible achievement. True genius and I can't wait for HMRC 3!

Queen B has the bones of the coven but unfortunately is too weak to hold up to its magic. Historically, this is a strong story and has the bones of HMRC. At it’s core, it is a love story. ARC was provided by Penguin Books via NetGalley. I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Third in the trilogy Her Majesty's Royal Coven, the novella goes back in time to the beginning of the Coven.

The characters are depicted vividly. The world building is spot on. My only complaint is that it is too short. I wasn't ready to leave when it ended.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC.

I highly recommend this book to fantasy lovers.

Her Majesty's Royal Coven continues into the past with this short installment. I loved reading the alternate history of Anne Boleyn and her coven as far as how they began to protect witches in England. The love story was also quite touching, and though it was short, I felt it was well-developed.

I love this series by Juno Dawson and this prequel novella was such a great edition. I love a feminist retelling of anything to do with the 6 wives of King Henry viii. And this one had witches. In the short amount of time I was invested and satisfied with the characters and the story. Now pardon me I need to go listen to the soundtrack of Six the musical. 🎵

HRMC prequel that was everything I needed! Fantastic insights into the coven's beginnings. Dawson has once again crafted complex characters that make you want to know more, join their squad, and fight the injustice of it all. Great pacing and love the historical aspect!

I'm probably a little biased in this review because I am a big Anne Boleyn fan and also a general witch enthusiast. I have enjoyed Juno Dawson's other works and while I did enjoy this book - I wish there was more of it! I felt like we only got glimpses of Anne and Grace's relationship and I wish we knew more about Grace's background.

Ahh she’s done it again!! Somehow Juno Dawson packed a huge story with all her trademark action, honesty and humour into a prequel novella that sets the pulse racing.

Essential reading for anyone who loved HMRC and The Shadow Cabinet. And if you haven’t read them, get on it because they are fantastic.

A gay witch Anne Boleyn? I was immediately sold and am so glad I was able to get an ARC for this book.

“Here was her reckoning, and she had never loved her more.”

This quote is probably not in the exact context you’d assume, but I think it sums up the book well. I really did enjoy this, it was a fun read and gave me everything I was looking for. Angst. Drama. Lesbian romance. Amazing.

I have not read the rest of the series but since this books takes place before the rest, I did not feel that I missed anything. I definitely will read the rest of the series, now, though!

If you love historical fiction and fantasy this is for you. The Tudor era specifically is one of my favorites, so this is right up my alley. I haven’t read the other books in the series, but they have been on my TBR for awhile. This novella definitely bumped them to the top and I’m glad I started with this one, because it takes place before the others. It’s a quick read and has good pacing throughout. It was really interesting to read about actual historical events, with a witchy twist. It’s also a great sapphic read too.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Books for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.