Although a bit historical in nature and not a sapphic romance(though there WAS big time yearning which I loved), this book really kept me enthralled. The ending was devastating so I hope there will be a second book!

Thanks to NetGalley and Orbit Books US for this free copy of "Six Wild Crowns."

The Tudors have fascinated me since I was a kid, so combining the six wives of Henry VIII with ancient magic was irresistible for me.

In this wildly creative imagining, there are six castles on Elben that each contain elemental power. A queen must be married to the Elben king and bound to each palace for the ancient magic to hold and protect them.

The story starts with Boleyn's wedding to Henry, attended by each of the other queens except Aragon, who sends a gift of her handmaiden Seymour to be Boleyn's loyal attendant.

The six queens are not friendly, though - they're cold, almost scornful or contemptuous of each other. Of course, Henry needs a male heir so each of the queens wants to be his favorite.

But what happens when one of the queens discover secrets about the ancient magic? Can she trust the other queens? Will they listen?

Although it doesn't need it, I'm keeping fingers crossed that there will be a sequel!

Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit Books for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

As someone who has had an obsession with Tudor history for years, I was excited by the concept of the queens and dragons potentially taking down Henry the 8th. But unfortunately, SWC missed the mark for me.

What worked for me
- How the author used events from Tudor history as inspiration
- the focus on the queens working together instead of being enemies
- LGBTQ+ and POC representation
- Dual POV

What didn't work for me
- The writing felt a bit cliché at times
- The worldbuilding was confusing and felt underdeveloped.
- The characterization of Seymour and her character arc also felt underdeveloped
- The romance seemed to come out of nowhere and didn't make sense to me

Overall, I didn't hate it, but it didn't meet the expectations I had going in. If a second book does come out, I'm on the fence about whether I will read it or not.

Thank you net galley, publisher, and author for providing me with an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. I think the story itself had a log of promise but unfortunately it fell flat for me. I just felt like the story itself plot wise wasn’t moving and I didn’t get a lot of sense in the magic system or the dragons in this world. I felt like I was mainly reading about specific queens and just the day to day life they had going on. I think this author has a great sense of writing that keeps you engaged and would be interested in her other works.

Holly Race delivers a fresh and daring twist on the Tudor court in 'Six Wild Crowns', the first in a new fantasy series brimming with ambition, betrayal, and slow-burning revolution.

Set in a vividly imagined kingdom where magic is sustained by a king's six wives, the novel introduces us to a cast of queens who are anything but ornamental. The real tension lies not with the crown-wearing king, but with the women around him - each one cunning, powerful, and dangerous in her own right. Among them, Boleyn and Seymour stand out: one bold and hungry for power, the other quieter, more calculating, drawn into the role of assassin against her will.

The book takes its time building courtly intrigue, weaving in enchanted landscapes, ancient pacts, and enough secrets to fill a royal library. The sapphic undercurrents between two of the queens are handled with restraint but hint at deeper emotional territory, which I hope future books will explore more fully. The pacing occasionally drags in the middle, and the magical system, while intriguing, could use a bit more clarity. But Race's prose is richly textured, her world building confident, and her characters sharp-edged and emotionally layered.

This is a story about queens seizing back power in a world that was never meant to be theirs - and the cost of that defiance. A great pick for fans of court fantasy, queer themes, and slow-burn political drama with teeth.

This book promises a lot of cool things: dragons, a fun magic system, political intrigue, SAPPHIC YEARNING!?!??!! And you don't get any of it, or you do but by the grace of technicality.

Let's break it down. The dragons. Are there dragons in the book? Technically, yes. They take on the role of dogs in this world, so pretty disappointing. How are you going to have dragons and then they're essentially lap dogs and hunting dogs? They're also used as lanterns if one of the queens is feeling fancy. And sometimes they even eat the dragons or slaughter them at weddings. Do we hear of dragons doing cooler stuff? Sure, off page where I guess some dragons are used for war purposes. Are you interested in that? Try not to be, it's mentioned like once and never explored further.

Fine, you say, I can live without dragons, tell me about the magic system. Okay, will do, here we go! Is there a magic system? Technically, yes. (Get ready to hear this phrase a lot.) Do I know how it works? No. Why? Because it's not explained in any way. I know green, purple, and gold are the colors associated with magic and that the king is somehow stealing magic from the queens. How, you may ask? Your guess is as good as mine, bestie. Much like Bruno, we don't talk about it in the book. It's very, trust me, bro.

Getting fed up yet? We're not done. The political intrigue? Girl, WHERE? Are people being bitchy and catty at court sometimes? Totally. Is that political intrigue? I guess? There is some discussion of the politics, to be fair, but as usual the most interested stuff happens off page and isn't really explored and underutilized. There are political games afoot but for a majority of the book it's about Henry and capturing his attention. Yawn. By the time interesting things started to happen I was so bored I didn't even care anymore.

And finally, the sapphic yearning. Technically, yes, there is saphhic yearning and it's some truly pathetic pining over a straight girl. You read that right, a straight girl. This really burned my butter because when I tell you I was excited as hell because I thought I was going to get a historical fantasy retelling of Henry the 8th with his six wives and then it turns out the queens are sapphic and we get an enemies to lovers story like never before or SOMETHING. But no, we get Seymour, who is honestly such a sniveling weirdo who just wants to sniff Boleyn's crotch. No, I am not joking, that's a real line in the book. I phrased it more crudely but trust me, that was the sentiment. And Seymour decides she loves Boleyn after one conversation. And because Boleyn has, let me check my notes, nice hair?

We're not even done with everything I hated about this book, so far I'm just telling you how the book rarely if ever delivered on the promise of the premise. But I know this is long so we'll just rapid fire my issues:

Seymour, the Nice Girl™, spends a lot of her time moaning about her former relationship with her servant Clarice and what could have gone wrong and pestering Clarice about it. There's a lot, A LOT of backstory but basically Clarice and Seymour grew up together and were friends and then Seymour's dad purchased Clarice and gave them to Seymour as a servant and then Seymour started treating Clarice as a servant and not as an equal and apparently Seymour never realized it. Also the fact that it never occurred to her the insane power imbalance of their relationship once Clarice became her servant. Also Seymour spends a lot of time talking about how she's dull and stupid and nobody likes her. True!

Then we have Boleyn, who isn't like other girls™. Right up until the end she says that shit, unironically. There's also a lot of pretty generic rah rah girl power stuff that was giving Katy Perry's Woman's World in the later half of the book. You could tell the author really thought she was eating us up with it.

And finally, one of the queens is a child, she's 16, who married the king when she was 13, which is pretty yikes and to be fair I GUESS this did raise a lot of eyebrows when discovered (the queens aren't supposed to really meet with or talk to each other, it's a whole thing, we don't have time). But even that I could have chalked up to historical accuracy (tho why it would matter in a fantasy retelling idk), but the author made this character Black and not only was she a minor, she literally couldn't read. That's right, the Black character was the only uneducated one. Now, I THINK the author was trying to say she was dyslexic, but even then. EVEN THEN. Like, why are we doing this in 2025??? Where are the beta readers, the sensitivity readers, THE EDITORS???? Currently, this book is unpublished so I am desperately hoping this will be changed before publishing day but I don't have a lot of hope. There's still so much I had issues with but I'm honestly getting tired of ranting.

The one positive thing I'll say is the underwater palace was pretty cool.

So yeah, I guess if you like House of the Dragon then this is the book for you, where you're constantly promised something cool is totally going to happen soon and then it just doesn't. And I can say that because I watch House of the Dragon and let them edge me every freaking episode every season, so I know what I'm talking about.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Author Holly Race for this ARC.

Let me start by saying, the cover is beautiful and really pulls you in at first. I also want to state, that this book can be amazing. The Idea and story line are there BUT it fell a little short for me. I feel like this book was not sent through a good editor who could have helped with some wording issues, or plot holes or missing or lack of things that were said to have in the blurb.

That being said, I loved the idea of it. I truly honestly believe that Holly has an amazing story and you can truly see the love and work she has put into this book. I just don't think its quite ready yet.

This book wasn’t what I expected when reading the synopsis. The characters are loosely based on the historical people in real life. I was hoping it was more similar but it wasn’t. I did find the story to be a little boring and I currently stopped reading 50% into the book. I am hopping to pick it up again and continue.

The premise of this book was interesting - a court full of intrigue and "dragons", based on Henry and his many wives. I was expecting a bit of fantasy but heavy on the historical. From the blurb I felt like that is what I would be stepping into. This book is most certainly sapphic with the longing between the female assassin and the Queen. However, this relationship was not set up correctly or led up to correctly and it just felt off or forced. Really an unneeded element to be honest.

If you are hoping for historical fiction that is not what you will find here. It is more of a general borrowing from history with the names and characters but then a different story altogether. And that is fine - if it weren't marketed the other way, that is.

And I had a major hang up (almost as big as Carden and his tail) with the description of King Henry - whom we all know is over weight and historically thought of as - well not every ones heart throb. This book has him as desirably handsome - yep I couldn't get on that boat, just sayin'.

However, In the end I think Holly Race created an enjoyable read that could have been so much better. I am actually hoping to see her writing and story-telling progress as she produces more works (which is the case often with writers). So will I be reading more? Yes. Yes I will because the writing wasn't bad just because I got hung up on the historical versus fantasy elements of the book.

I am sorry to give only 3 stars, in reality it is more like 3.25 or 3.5 but I can't bump it to a 4 star rating.

This story is told from two points of view with interesting and often beautiful parallels between the two female main characters. From woman to bride, lover to wife, queen and friend - strong themes of identity are present in both characters.

There are vibes of Philippa Gregory’s writing but with LGBTQ+ representation, dragons and magic.

The descriptive prose is transportive. Touching on the power of knowledge - but more so, the power of women with knowledge.

This book is written in three parts. Part I introduces you. Part II catches you. Part III bewitches you. I think I actually cried during most of Part III. This was a truly beautiful story.

Thank you to Orbit Books and NetGalley for the Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of Six Wild Crowns by Holly Race.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an early review copy.

Six Wild Crowns is a Henry VIII re-imagining and boy, does it deliver. As someone who is not at all a history buff I was excited to see this take on these historical figures but not expecting to be so engrossed. I was so unprepared for how much I was going to love and devour this book.

The magic in this story is so interesting and I love the way the Tudor style gossip and dramatics are effortlessly integrated with sprinkles of magic in this re-imagined fantasy world.

The 6 wives of King Henry are really given some agency in this. Especially the two main charcters Boleyn and Seymour. The world itself is clearly patriarchal but the story still gives off a feminist vibe. Boleyn really championing her own way through this world. Having substance, having importance, and making her own decisions as much as she can.

I love how the story starts off as a gossipy court polics story and gradually changes into something more intense. There's a mystery around the Kings magic, and Boleyn is determined to help him make it stronger. We see enemies become friends, friends become enemies. And most importantly we see women being strong and powerful in their own rights.

Absolutely LOVED this one and could not believe the ending!!!!! I need book 2 asap!!!

Sadly this was not for me. I am irrationally bothered by the use of historical last names as first names, for example Anne Boleyn is just Boleyn, Jane Seymour is Seymour.

Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit for this ARC!

This book begins on a high note: a Royal wedding to 6th wife in a polygamous marriage to King Henry (you guessed it) XVIII! All of his other wives still live (for now). We’re introduced to the newest queen, alongside a world of dragons, magic, and heat- then sideswiped into bloodshed- no, not from the wars that drain the kingdom, but period blood clots: “Seymour’s brothers have always claimed that they could smell her monthly..” and “another clot pushes its way into the cloth between Seymour’s legs…” fill the first chapters. Do I pity Seymour, or myself?

There is a good understanding of history but it would be less jarring if the author fully embraced fantasy rather than attempting a Henry XVIII fanfic. Dragons, for instance, are tortured and used as food or lapdogs. Humans, have magic. The only similarities to our historical namesakes were the location and some of the wars. The potential of the magic system, love interests, and world building are vast and intriguing, but limited by Tudor England. As the synopsis lures readers into believing, Seymour is tasked to assassinate the new queen, Boleyn, before she can produce an heir (even though historical Henry is plenty capable of killing wives). But, Seymour is scared to death of killing. Clearly, there is no future in this industry for her.

This was not the assassin meets princess, sapphic, historical fantasy I signed up for.

It was, however, the historical romance with magical realism I needed.

Boleyn is a daring, feisty queen! Her intellect gripped me from the first page. Other characters slowly grew on me as a true sisterhood emerged with character development and plot SHINING after 51% of the book. From then on, every page gripped me in the spell it wove! Well worth the wait.

The 👍:
-magic system
-world building: we are introduced to a magical Tudor England with a language that seems partially invented, partially Old English, and a fantasy religion.
-found family
-courtly love
-Queer and BIPOC rep DONE WELL.
-this is the only abortion representation I’ve ever seen


The 👎:
-the first half (and I do mean half) was a STRUGGLE
-I still don’t understand the period blood aspect, unless the author is trying to convey endometriosis or something?

I truly struggled with my rating on this book. Until that halfway mark, it was hobbling between a 2.5 - 3 stars ( see my other post for my rating scale). However, Holly’s writing contained so many zingers that the second half, on its own, was worthy of 5 stars. Below are merely two (edited to avoid spoilers) quotes that carved my heart:

“‘You did this, you knew what would happen to me and you went to war anyway.’ ‘You told me to.’ ‘I didn’t know it would kill me.’ ‘You didn’t mind hundreds of soldiers dying…’”

“'The woman who was ready to befriend a foreigner of a lower class, but lacked the awareness to tear down the system that binds them.”

However, aside from the fact that I anxiously await to gobble up book two in this series, I feel that more revision should have been done on behest of their editorial team to ensure the even flow of this adventure.
3.5 Stars

TW: child bride, SA, murder, grief, child loss

DNF 45%

I was expecting something totally different than what I got. I love Tudor history so I was excited to see read a fantasy around the queens. If you are expecting…

-Enemies to lovers sapphic romance
-Well placed Tudor history mixed with fantasy elements
-Clever and cunning Queen Boleyn
-Cunning assassin Seymour
-Dragons

…then maybe don’t read this one.

I didn’t find anything I was really looking for in what I read so far. The main reasons I won’t continue are because there is too much info dumping but nothing really happens, I don’t care for any of the characters and Seymour fell in love with Boleyn so fast with only having one genuine interaction with her.

This book was slow, world building was a lot but didn’t seem relevant or truly interesting. There are so little amount of dragons that appear so far. I’m not sure if the Tudor history aspects really worked. Seems like this could have been an interesting history rewrite but fell flat overall.

Henry sucks like normal and the queens still love him and want to make him happy. Nope. Boleyn wasn’t nearly as clever as she thinks she is. She seems more childish than I expected. Seymour as an assassin seems ridiculous. Seymour is obsessed with Boleyn’s hair, most conversations they have are Boleyn calling Seymour stupid or just not trusting her then bam, she is in love?? Like what??? The other characters were meh as well.

Maybe this book gets better and we see queens supporting queens or changing their lives not for Henry but for themselves but then I skipped to the ending and I’m totally fine not continuing as the ending wasn’t was I was hoping for either. For an adult book, there was a bit more sex than YA books but something about the writing doesn’t say adult to me. Overall, wasn’t as well rounded story, romance or fantasy as I was hoping for.

*Received via Netgalley in exchange for and honest review*

King Henry and Boleyn are enamored with one another, but she's not his only queen. In fact, when Boleyn marries Henry, she is his 5th queen. He's married to Aragon, Howard, Parr, and Cleves, and legend requires he have six wives. None of his wives, living or dead, have been able to give him a male heir, and Henry believes his love for Boleyn will produce one. As a wedding gift, Aragon sends lady-in-waiting Seymour, as a spy and assassin. Except Seymour falls in love with Boleyn, and keeps making excuses not to kill her. Boleyn and Seymour learn, after Seymour's marriage to the king, that not all is as it seems with the magic their sovereign husband commands.

Six Wild Crowns was a bit of a miss for me, and I'm not entirely sure why. The character development fell a little flat overall for me, perhaps since there are so many compelling stories of Henry VIII's wives. I did enjoy Seymour's bisexuality and love for Boleyn, but otherwise found the characters a little flat. I can tell though, that the plot will pick up in book 2, as the pace and plot started to accelerate at the end of Six Wild Crowns.

I'd recommend this to readers looking for a light fantasy twist on the Tudor Queens focusing on bridging divides and forging female friendships against the odds.

Six Wild Crowns, the first of the Queens of Elben series, is a queer historical fantasy based on Tudor England.

This was a super cool concept and I’m so glad I read it! The premise—six magical queens based on the wives of Henry VIII, forced to live together and hold a kingdom’s magic together—is just chef’s kiss levels of creative. I really liked the dynamic between Boleyn and Seymour, especially as their reluctant alliance started to shift into something deeper (👀). The world-building was lush and clever, and the feminist undercurrent running through the whole thing was so satisfying. That said, the pacing dragged in a few spots and I did find myself wanting a bit more emotional depth from some of the characters. But overall, this was fun, thoughtful, and original. Definitely a strong 4-star read for me, and I’m curious to see where the story goes next!

It's not a secret that I'm not the biggest fan of the crown in reality (for many reasons). But I rather enjoyed this take on the mess that was the situation with Henry the VIII and the women who were vilified.
Out 10 June 2026.

"Six Wild Crowns" by Holly Race takes place in the nation of Elben. The king is imbued with magic from a god to defend the nation as long as his 6 wives hold 6 palaces across the island. Boleyn is driven to be the favorite, a bit of a firebrand she forges her own way to her palace. Seymour is sent to kill her, but she would rather not (commence some yearning). Though in protecting herself she ends up married to the king as well, but isn't really a fan of the situation. While some pieces fall into place they start to realize what really makes the magic work.

Reasons to read:
-You want some Sapphic yearning, this things is full of it
-One way poly marriage between the wives of Henry the VIII and a justified reason to be pissed about it
-You don't like erasure
-Lap dragons
-Historical Fantasy about the mess that was (is) the royal family, but with really specific reasons to be pissed about it

Cons:
-I kinda thought there was going to be giant dragons for some reason

I was interested in this one because I love reading stories about Henry Vlll and Anne Boleyn and his various other wives. It was just such a dramatic point in history and so much to build on as far as storylines go. When I saw this one said it had dragons...I was very curious to see how the author would make that fit in with the overall story. I really enjoy epic fantasy novels and thought that this would be a cool twist in a historical fiction context. Although it was hard for me to separate the Tudor history and how I already invision them from the fantasy in some ways and I think I would have liked it better with original characters rather than trying to make characters based on real people from the past fit the story. A fictional king and 6 fictional queens would have been fine for this fantasy novel. It was an ambitious and creative choice on the author's part to use real historical figures an try to make it work, so props for that!

Thanks to NetGalley and Orbit Books for the eARC!

I had a little bit of trouble getting into this book, but I'm SO glad I stuck it out. While it did sometimes feel like Race was throwing in unusual terms unnecessarily (because it's expected in high fantasy?), overall, I enjoyed the book. I think it was an interesting idea to using Henry and his 6 wives as characters - as other commenters have pointed out, the similarities pretty much end at the names.

Once the world building was accomplished and we really get into the conflict of the book, the pacing picks up majorly, and I couldn't wait to find out how the queens were going to react and what would happen. It looks like this will be a series, and I sincerely hope so, as the ending left me gasping and wanting to see the fallout/ how the story would continue.

In short, this book was nothing like I expected, but I really enjoyed it!!