Thank you!
I was inspired to read this book because of my love for the music Six! and the thought of reuniting with spunky, feminist versions of the queens was so exciting! Unfortunately, the writing style wasn't for me and I kept putting it down for long periods of time. Love the premise though!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance reader's copy of the book. This was a slow to get going book, but once it got going, holy cow. I greatly enjoyed this book. The mix of Tudor history into this creative fantasy world was really well done and I felt it was original. The characters felt developed, and the world was developed well also. I actually loved how the author portrayed Boleyn and Seymour. All in all, good book, 4.5 stars

As someone who became obsessed with the West End/Broadway musical "Six", let me tell you I was PUMPED to read this book!

Six Wild Crowns by Holly Race sets itself up as a book set in Henry VIII's world. But I didn't fully find the satisfaction of that premise while reading. This is a good fantasy book with queens and kings and dragons and courtly intrigue, but it doesn't have much to really do with Henry VIII's history.

That being said, I did still enjoy my time with this book! I found it engaging and captivating and intriguing. It kept me reading well into the night a couple of times.

Pick this book up if you're looking for dragons and queens with some feminine rage and sapphic yearning thrown in!

You know how there was always that one guy too into WWII or that girl who really loves Tudor history? Tudor history girlie clocking in to say: Huh? A very strange mash of things that do connect to the history and things that don't. This would have been a much better story if it was honestly just a fully original tale with original characters and we just know vaguely that Tudor history was an inspiration. It would have given the author more room to actually develop certain things and take the time to give some depth to the characters. The story is somehow pretty boring but also just glossing past a lot of things and time. Boleyn was an okay character. I would say she is the one who is fleshed out the most, but it still is pretty surface level. Seymour is insufferable to me. I had to read how she was "simple" "stupid" and "dumb" over and over again in her head, her family saying it to her, even the king saying essentially "oh yeah, you're the one they said was simple" hello?? This book was frustrating and boring and the "sapphic yearning" came out of left field. Could be more ahead, but I am DNFing this book at 40%. I gave it my best, but there's no point in reading just to not like it and get into a reading slump. I am certain there are readers this book will appeal to, however, that is not me.

4.5 stars. The synopsis is a bit misleading but boy did I love what I got.

If you are here just for the dragons, walk away.

If you are here mainly for the sapphic yearning, there may not be enough to make you happy.

If you are, like me, a fantasy fan with an oddly specific interest in the Tudor period (Henry VIII and his six wives in particular) and also a sucker for women taking back their power and reclaiming their agency – this book is absolutely for you.

After an admittedly slower start, where I wasn’t sure if I really connected with either heroine narrating, all of a sudden I was absolutely glued to the page. I couldn’t tell you what happened to cause it, but I could not put this book down. The drama, the relationships, the WRITING – I can’t tell you how many screenshots I have of lines that took my breath away and made me pause to think as I read.

Boleyn won me over with her strength and heart.

Seymour grew in leaps and bounds to overcome her circumstances.

The rest of the queens are each incredibly unique and make me want to hear more from them

The romantic aspects defied my expectations and also made perfect sense.

The end tore me apart while making me understand why it was necessary.

The echoes of real-life history and how it slots into this fantasy world are so clever.

My biggest critique of this book is that the world of the story is much bigger than we’re shown; in classic high fantasy fashion, a lot of names of kingdoms and politics involving war games are thrown around without my ever truly

Other than the synopsis being a bit of a red herring, likely to capitalize on publishing trends and what’s super popular right now (i.e. dragons), and my expectations having to adjust slightly because of that, and some minor gripes, this was an amazingly solid, extremely engaging, and surprisingly emotional read. This book was definitely my favorite of the month and up there with my favorite books of this year so far. I’ve already told my friends they must read it, and you must as well.

well written story, though i feel like some of the queens could have used a lot more effort in the writing. 4 stars. tysm for the arc.

Six Wild Crowns is inspired by Henry the 8th and his six wives. I love queer normative worlds and this book delivered, but I still wished for deeper sapphic relationships. It also started off really slow but picked up in the second half

To ensure the magical bordweal remains intact to protect the island kingdom of Elben, its king, Henry, must marry six women to maintain the disparate parts of the realm. Each of these women strives to be Henry's favorite and be the mother of Elben's heir, and so they spend their days endlessly competing with each other. Beautiful, educated, cosmopolitan Boleyn is determined to be Henry's favorite, no matter the cost.

Young lady Seymour is sent by Aragon to spy upon Boleyn and perhaps kill her, but Seymour is reluctant to play the role she has been assigned when she comes to care for the vivacious new queen. And then she catches Henry's eye and all her plans are tossed aside.

When Boleyn discovers a centuries' old secret, she begins to realize that everything she has been told about Elben's history may be a lie, and to set and old wrongs to right could cost her and Seymour everything they've struggled to build


Mythological and fairytale retellings are nothing new in the literary world. Since their beginnings, such stories have been told and retold, changed, gone to new parts of the world, and been retold again and again. Such is their nature. But regardless of the makeover, the essential story remains the same. Whatever its external trappings, the core story of Beauty and the Beast is about the young beauty who learns to love the true heart behind the monstrous face.

What, then, are we to make of historical retellings like this one? On one hand, Six Wild Crowns is a Tudors fantasy AU fanfiction with pet dragons on the side, where King Henry VIII is married to all six of his wives at once. On the other hand, it is a story of ill-informed women put into a dangerous and magical situation, who are expected to compete with each other for their husband's favor, and who struggle to put sisterhood ahead of political advantage when they uncover old secrets.

On the fanfiction side, some previous knowledge of Henry VIII's court is almost a necessity, as so many characters and relationships aren't established within the text. If you don't know the names Wolsey, Cromwell, or Cranmer, you might not understand what these characters represent or are meant to be doing within the story. If you don't already know about Anne of Cleves's short and disastrous marriage to Henry VIII, you might not understand her character in Six Wild Crowns. If you are well-versed in the history of England from 1527-1547, you'll probably understand the relationships without having to think about it. That's the nature of fanfiction: characters and relationships are established by the source material, and the author doesn't have to spend time or text reworking them.

But Six Wild Crowns also wants to be something new, and therein lies the problem. There is no core story like there is in Beauty and the Beast. The historical aspect and the fantasy aspect aren't fully enmeshed, and because they seem to be going in different directions, they stretch the story to its breaking point. There is a tension between the historic and the fantasy that is less, "I must find out what happens next" and more "this story feels like it's going to fly apart at any moment". If it hangs together by a thread, it's only because the author knows Tudor history well enough to keep the story moving before it completely comes apart.

There are plenty of pacing issues, as well. So many pages are devoted to Seymour's endless longing, while major plot events flit by in the blink of an eye. Certain character beats don't make a lot of sense, either, as when a longtime servant spens a chunk of the book angry at their queen for not unraveling the entrenched social structure overnight.

I requested this book because I have a longstanding fascination with Anne Boleyn and the Tudor court, and I was enjoying myself for the first third or so. But after the first 150 page, the book just kept going on and on without having much of a point or a purpose beyond a touch of 'girl power!' in the final ten percent. The ending leaves off with little of consequence having changed for Elben as a whole. The story's feminist aspects largely rest on a few relatively privileged women working to increase their own power while making cursory attempts at building friendships with other privileged women.

I turned to the first page of this book with a good deal of hope, and turned the last one with disappointment. There are many excellent books about Anne Boleyn and Jane Seymour in the world, but sadly, Six Wild Crowns is not one of them.


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Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit for providing me with a free electronic advance copy for review.

4/5
Thank you to netgalley and Orbit for the eARC, here is my honest review.
This is a book that I had on my radar when it was first announced and I saw the beautiful cover. That was a long time ago, so long ago in fact, that I didn’t remember exactly what the blurb was, only that it had something to do with the wives of Henry VIII, a time period I love, and magic. So I was sold.

Then I was approved for the ARC at the beginning of this month, and I couldn’t wait to start. It took me only five days to finish (would have been less if I didn’t have to work during the day lol) which in the grand scheme of my reading, is very quick indeed lol.

I read a few other reviews before writing this, and I can see where reading the blurb right before jumping into the book would crush some people’s expectations. This was Tudor England, and very much NOT at all. All the players of Henry 8’s Tudor court are there in place, all 6 wives are accounted for, and Henry’s advisors and some other key players are there as well. But that’s where (to me) the comparison to real-life ends.

(Also if you are expecting Fourth Wing style dragons, don’t. The dragons take the place of lap dogs, fireflies, and herdbeasts, no fighting dragons that I saw).

One thing that stood out to me was naming first-born daughters their family names. So Anne Boleyn is just called Boleyn (she is the first born in this story, not Mary). And then subsequent daughters are given whatever name the parents want. I think this was done to stop there from being an abundance of Catherines and Annes and so you could know EXACTLY which queen was being spoken of. (Catherine of Aragon is just called Aragon, for example) It took a little bit of getting used to and my brain just kept autocorrecting to their real names in the beginning lol.

This was a story of women taking back power that was stolen from them by men. However, with the ending being what it is… let's just say I’m looking forward to the sequel! This book definitely deserves a physical trophy on my shelf, so it’s a ‘buy’ for me!

PS the sapphic yearning that some reviews (and the blurb) mentioned? It was there, but to me, it didn’t seem like a huge driving force in the story (this is my opinion, feel free to disagree). And if you are reading this book FOR said sapphic yearning, you might be disappointed.

I enjoyed the world, the characters, and the story. Not the most happy about how it ended, but I am very interested in continuing the series as who knows where it will go from here.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for this e-ARC!
⭐ 3.8 stars (rounded up)
Six Wild Crowns wasn’t quite what I expected, but that ended up being okay—some great ideas kept me hooked.
The blurb mentions dragons, but they’re more like everyday pets than the battle beasts I’m used to. The link to Henry VIII and his six wives didn’t mean much to me (not a history buff!), and honestly, I think the story stands strong on its own without that connection.
Boleyn was my favorite—fierce, clever, and unstoppable. Seymour took longer to grow on me, but her political journey became one of the more compelling parts of the story. Her fast romance and court intro felt rushed, but I still rooted for her.
I really liked the worldbuilding and the unique magic system—creative and well done. Some plot points could’ve been clearer, but there were plenty of twists that kept things interesting.
King Henry felt a little flat, but maybe that was on purpose. The ending leaves things open, so I’m hoping there’s a sequel—because I’d definitely read it!

WOW. SIX WILD CROWNS was absolutely INCREDIBLE, hands down the best historical fantasy I have read in years. In the tradition of so many Tudor fiction novels, and slightly reminiscent of SIX the Musical, this novel leaves us with a completely new take on the six queens of Henry VIII. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance copy! I really enjoyed this book— the pacing was well done, and each character had their time to shine. I’m hoping this is the start of a series, because while I liked the story overall, certain elements felt a bit rushed and there are still a few threads that could use more development. That said, I thought the book was really great!

Sadly, this was a DNF for me.

"A breathtaking epic of dragons?" Hardly. The few dragons we see are basically house pets, and they're very much on the margins of the story.

"Courtly intrigue." Okay, yes, there's plenty of that. In fact, that's basically the whole book.

"Sapphic yearning." Oh, please. One character's quiet (unrequited) crush on another is hardly sapphic yearning, and in a world of polyamorous relationships, the fact that we don't get one legitimate sapphic romance is tragic.

"The wives of Henry VIII as you've never seen them before." True, but that's not necessarily a good thing. The historical influence is more confusing than anything, almost as if it's there more to lead the reader astray than add any value.

I was really looking forward to this, but it just fell flat in so many ways.

WOOOOW. I have always loved the Tudor era, and I was so excited to read this but it surpassed my wildest dreams!! The world building was so interesting, and I loved how it wove in real historical figures with a twist. The plot kept me riveted, and I really couldn't put it down. I can't wait for more books in this series!!!!!

Plot: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Characters: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
World Building: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Themes: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Writing: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book is being marketed as an alternative history of the Six Wives of Henry VIII set in a fantasy world. Because of this, this book was a highly anticipated release for me. For those looking for an action-packed political fantasy thriller, I would recommend looking elsewhere. While this book may be slower-paced, it is still intriguing, and I finished it in two days. However, I did not think it lived up to its potential, which I will explain more in detail. That being said, I would still recommend this book for people who enjoy Tudor characters from history, some sapphic yearning, political intrigue, literary writing, a simple magic system, and lap dragons.

Six Wild Crowns asks the question, What would a fantastical retelling of the six wives of Henry VIII look like if he was married to them all at the same time? While this book uses historical characters, I would not say that this is a historical fantasy book. At best, this is a very loose retelling. It is set in a completely separate world from 1500s England, but it is inspired by that time period. In this world, the magic is tied to the land, and thus, the King must be married to six queens at the same time to uphold the magical and protective barrier of the country. I do think that the world was interesting and unique, but underutilized. I wish there more exploration of the history of the world and more explanation about the magic in this world.

At the heart of this book are two of those wives: Boleyn and Seymour. Six Wild Crowns is a contemplative character study of these two queens as they navigate the politics of Henry VIII's court. Told from their POVs, we follow them as they make alliances, decisions, and maneuvers that have drastic effects on others. Their characterizations, however, were not as effectively done as I had hoped. Boleyn is described as cunning, bewitching, and ambitious. I wanted more from her, however. More rage, more outcry, more guilt. Her motivations felt half-hearted, and I wished we had spent more time sitting in her feelings of injustice. On the other hand, Seymour believes that she is stupid, and yet, she rises through the ranks to become queen. At times, her characterization seems contradictory. Seymour falls in love quickly in this book, but I don't find her love to be believable because I don't understand her reasons. I wish Seymour had more self-awareness, as this may have improved her characterization. I do appreciate, however, that Seymour does have growth in this book.

The writing in this book leans more literary, and there are many scenes where the setting and action are very descriptive. The writing lends us a helping hand into this world, and it's very easy to see and feel this world. I think this is partly why the book feels slower-paced. Despite this, I do feel that the writing style is very appropriate for this book.

The plot of this book centers on Boleyn and her discoveries about the magic of their country. Her discoveries propel her to act and seek alliances with the other queens. My first issue with the plot is that it didn't fully explore the theme of how women's power has been stolen. I think I would have appreciated more female rage. Another issue with the plot is that it is slowly paced, much of the action occurs in the second half of the book. Because of this, some scenes in the first half felt unnecessary or excessive, in particular, the scenes and dialogue with the main characters' siblings. These pages could have been used for Boleyn to do more research or setting up Seymour's unrequited love. Additionally, I do think that some of the action scenes in the last act felt a little too convenient when they should have been thrilling.

Despite all of this, I think this story will stay with me for a while, especially what Boleyn did in the last act. Because of this, I look forward to the next book.

I honestly feel like this book's synopsis was completely false in all ways.
Did we get an assassin queen? Absolutely not. We got a queen who was deemed stupid, and was fearful of upsetting the abusive men in her life. She didn't even act as a spy, like she was portrayed to be.
Did we get sapphic yearning? Again, absolutely not. Seymour was supposedly in love with B, but her thoughts never lingered on her. Her entire interactions were more in the sense of a deep sister bond or one of admiration for a friend.
Did we get the 6 queens vying for the attention of the king? AGAIN, absolutely not. Each of the queens LIKED their set up and staying distant from the other queens. They liked their kingdoms/castles and the lives they were living. They were FINE.
AND THE COVER: Were dragons a big theme in the story? ABSOLUTE NOT. There were like handful of mentions, but it was a death of a dragon for a ceremony and one of the queen's pet dragons being loyal. It wasn't enough. The political intrigue wasn't there either, as all we did was just watch one queen be scared as hell to do anything. Only Queen B had any real character to herself, and maybe she would be considered the political intrigue aspect.

The only reason it gets such a high rating is because of the fact that the magic was kind of cool, the fantasy aspect, but it wasn't all that great. It was incredibly predictable which made it feel more boring. It was a pretty cool take on King Henry and his wives, but it was;'t enough.

An amazing Tudor inspired fantasy that you won’t be able to put down - and won’t want to even when it’s done. I want more!

2.5 stars rounded down

This was very disappointing. I was excited for Tudor inspired fantasy but I wish this hadn't been a reference to that period. The history was so off that it would've been better to not have historical references at all. And don't even get me started about the sapphic rep. Seymour falls in love way too quickly with Boleyn, who doesn't treat her with anything but disinterest. The magic and fantasy felt like an add-on or afterthought instead of fully incorporated into the story and world-building. I wish I had better expectations but I fear the synopsis gives a false representation of what the book is about.

First of all thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read Six Wild Crowns.
Secondly, unfortunately, this book was not for me. I was really excited about it and the idea behind it, but unfortunately it fell short of my expectations. Instead of being the tudors with a slight fantasy spin it was more like a fantasy with a slight tudors spin. I found myself predicting the outcome early on, and felt like there just wasn't much happening while we got there. However, some of the character were really fantastic and the premise was on the right track. If the entirety of the book had been more at the speed of the last few chapters, I may have liked it a bit more. All and all it's 2 stars for me. I didn't hate it but I had a hard time getting through it.

Thank You Netgalley and the publisher, Orbit Books for this advanced reader's copy of Six Wild Crowns.

Honestly, I really did not like this one. And I think that's mostly due to the blurb making me think this was going to be a historical fantasy based on the six wives of Henry VIII, but it's not. They use the names of his wives as characters but that's it. I really wanted to read a fantasy based on this premise, so I'm disappointed.

However, the writing was really immersive and what I did read was well plotted and written. Again, it's more my expectations that were wrong.