⭐ 2.5 – 3 / 5

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was intrigued by the premise of Six Wild Crowns — a fantasy court full of rival queens, dark political machinations, and dragons? Sign me up. But in reality, the story didn’t quite match the atmosphere or tension the synopsis promised.

I was expecting a cunning, high-stakes game of power, led by women with sharp minds and morally grey agendas. Instead, most characters felt a bit too subdued or one-dimensional for the roles they were meant to play. Boleyn was the only one who stood out, but even she was too caught up in a romantic thread to fully embody the strategic force she was supposed to be. Seymour’s “assassin” arc was hard to believe—her actions felt inconsistent and lacked the clarity or motivation I needed to stay engaged.

The romantic subplot between a queen and her servant also didn’t work for me. It felt rushed and wasn’t framed with enough nuance, especially given the inherent imbalance in that kind of dynamic.

I’ll admit: this isn’t my usual genre, so that could be part of the disconnect. But even so, I think the story left a lot of its potential unexplored—especially when it came to the dragons and magic, which were barely integrated into the plot.

That said, the writing was accessible, and I can see it appealing to readers who enjoy light fantasy with a court setting and relationship-driven narrative. I just went in expecting something a little darker, a little sharper, and a lot more politically charged.

Thank you orbit books for the gifted ALC and gifted ARC!

Soft dnf for now!

I’m listening to the audio version of this book and I’m just SO confused 😭 I just cannot follow whats happening and want to give this a better chance! I’m hoping that if I pick up my physical copy instead that I’ll enjoy it more. We will see!!

Thank you to Orbit and NetGalley for an ARC of this book, I listen to it on audio. Narration was fantastic. 

This had so much potential but ultimately fell flat for me. The reimagined characters were interesting but the overall plot was lacking and could not hold my interest. The overall concept is interesting but lacking in execution. It’s not terrible, just a little boring.

Anyone else here because of the musical SIX?

I was fairly excited to pick this one up and grateful to Holly Race and Hatchette Audio for providing me with an ARC. To start, the narrator was great! While I remain intrigued with the storyline and happy to dip my toes into historical fantasy, there was something missing from this. I think, for me, there was a bit too much dialogue and too little world building in the beginning. I sort of feel like I missed a lot of key details about the world and magic system that would have made me more interested in everything else that was going on. With that said, if you prefer books without depth in that area, this might be for you!

thank you to hachette audio and netgalley for the audiobook! the narrator did such a wonderful job at bringing this story and its characters to life!! it helped me immerse fully into the world and i loved every second of it!

six wild crowns is a historical fantasy filled with intriguing court politics and magic where the king has been appointed by god to marry six queens. the queens are supposed to stand between the kingdom of Elben and ruin.
we follow Boleyn and Seymour in a dual pov.
Boleyn wants to be his favourite, even if it means that she has to incite a war.
while Seymour acts as spy and assassin against Boleyn, but she soon finds herself allying with Boleyn and it causes a shift in the balance of power. together, Boleyn and Seymour will discover an ancient, rotting magic at Elben's heart, which the king will stop at nothing to protect it.

this was absolutely amazing!! from beginning to end, i was intrigued. the world building was SO good!! i loved how we got droplets of it here and there, slowly getting to understand the world as we went along without feeling overwhelmed. the court politics played a huge part in this and they were done so well!! i’m a sucker for political intrigue and it was one of my favourite aspects, especially as we got to see them from Boleyn and Seymour’s perspectives and how they can be interpreted differently.
i also loved LOVED the idea of the wives being alive at the same time and watching (some of) them interact!!
my favourite part was Boleyn and Seymour’s relationship and how it developed. the pining was just EVERYTHING!!! i love them so much🥹

this was such a good read and so compelling. i literally could not put this book down and every time i did, i was just thinking about it!!

So much potential! The politics and never ending banter unfortunately didn’t work for me here. I was incredibly bored. Ugh so disappointing. I’m sorry!

Thank you NetGalley and Hachette Audio | Orbit for this ARC Audio Copy!

What an interesting and beautiful take on the wives of Henry the VII. This is truly an alternate historical fiction with fantastical elements more than a fantasy story, but it was still so enjoyable, and the fantastical elements seemed so seamless and brought such a wonderful aspect to the story. Instead of replacing his wives, Henry had to be married to 6 at a time, and they are supposed to hate each other, but of course that's what he wants.
Each wife has their own castle and their own relationship with Henry, but something is happening that brings them together in a beautiful way. I cannot wait to see where this story goes in the next installment.

This felt like two different books to me and they didn't go together. A historical fiction about H and his wives and a complete fantasy land with a king name Henry. It just wan't for me.

I listened to the ALC for Six Wild Crowns by Holly Race and, the audio book was fantastic. It is narrated by Olivia Dowd and she is phenomenal. We get two POVs from Boleyn and Seymour and their voices are very distinct and there is a whole assortment of side characters – and they are all just really well done. The books pacing is not perfect, there are slower bits, and the audio narration just propelled me through it.

The story overall is unique and interesting. Henry VIII and his six wives reimagined in a fantasy setting. Henry is married to all six of his wives at the same time – they all know each other – that does not mean they like each other – and they each occupy a castle. The queens are referred to by their last names, and frankly that makes it easier to know which Katherine is being discussed. According to legend, the king must have a queen over each castle to keep the magic and protect his island from invaders. But, what if the history and the origin of the magic is not what Henry says it is? I loved this part of the story discovering the origination story for the magic and who is supposed to wield it.

Now, the blurb for the story makes it feel like there are these enormous fierce dragons featured here, and there are dragons, but they are pets, and small like lap dogs. So temper your expectations accordingly. There is court gossip and intrigue, of course. Also, it frames Seymour as an assassin and spy, and not that she isn’t, but it makes her sound like she has been trained to be both of those things and she is really neither. The romance in here is also different than what I expected. There is sapphic yearning, but it is definitely one-sided, and I find that when yearning really works it is because both are yearning but don’t know that it is reciprocated.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. It is the first in a series and I plan to read book 2. I gave this book 3.75 stars and I need to thank Net Galley and Hachette Audio for my ALC and thank you to Orbit for sending the physical book for my shelf. The cover is gorgeous! And I love the pin! This book releases Tuesday, June 10, 2025.

This was a highly anticipated release for me this year, and I was absolutely honoured to receive an ARC copy of the audio from Hachette Audio and Netgalley.

Firstly, I do believe the description of the book is slightly misleading as upon first reading it, the synopsis seems heavily Tudor influenced, whereas the only connection heavily attributed to the tudors is the naming Henry and his wives. The rest of the tale follows no historic accuracy or any likelihood to the Tudor history and is completely fantastical and a story that could have stood on its own.

Boleyn and Seymour are our leading ladies in this tale and at the beginning of the book, Seymour was very dry and uninteresting in my opinion. Boleyn shone through her POV, the bold and clever queen, always a step ahead. However, as the story went on, I did grow to like Seymour more as her character developed and her inner strength prevailed. The sapphic ‘yearning’ was unimpressive and a disappointment in my opinion. We go from an attraction on Seymour’s behalf to full blown ‘love’ almost instantly and the feelings are never reciprocated by Boleyn which I feel is a missed opportunity. A secret romance between the two would have increased the quality in this book significantly.

The one Queen I wish we would have seen more of was Cleves. I like how her character was written and her strong personality and mind would have been a great asset to the storyline if utilised more.

The plot was lacking and could have been fleshed out a little more. I expected more lore and exciting action to do with the plot and was disappointed when it fell a little flat.

That all said, I enjoyed the ending very much. It has peaked my interest for the next book to see where we leave off and Seymour’s development at the end really improved the rating for me.

Thank you to Hachette Audio, Orbit and Netgalley for providing me an audio ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

Goodreads review - Live: 05/06/2025
Fable review - Live: 05/06/2025
Instagram review - Live: 06/06/2025 10am BST
Amazon review - Live 10/06/2025

No me cabe duda de que cada nación mira con especial cariño a su propia historia mientras desprecia un tanto la de los demás. Es por esto que la premisa de Six Wild Crowns que se basa un poco (pero muy poquito) en la historia de Enrique VIII quizá sea de más interés para el mundo anglosajón que para nosotros, que vemos más la historia del primera cabeza de la iglesia anglicana como un vividor aprovechado de insaciable apetito sexual que iba quitándose de en medio a sus esposas como el que se sacude el polvo del camino. Afortunadamente o no, porque la sinopsis en ese sentido es bastante engañosa, la relación de este libro con la historia tal y como creemos conocerla es tangencial, como mucho.


Se dice que el rey deberá tomar seis esposas que guarden simultáneamente seis castillos para que el poder mágico defensivo de su Dios proteja el reino de Elben. Así que cuando Enrique toma por esposa a Boleyn, completa el sexteto que le proporciona el poder necesario para defender su reino. Boleyn está localmente enamorada de su marido, culmen de la masculinidad, pero su carácter inquieto la llevará a explorar la magia del mundo y lo que descubrirá iniciará un conflicto de consecuencias inesperadas.

Six Wild Crowns es un libro que pretende alentar la sororidad, pero lo hace de una forma un tanto basta. El harén de Enrique está relativamente aislado y no se relacionan entre ellas, ya que daría mala imagen, o eso es lo que se supone, ya que la realidad sobre la fuente del poder y las consecuencias de su uso es bastante más oscura. La representación femenina de esposas es bastante variada, desde la joven e inocente a la más mayor con gran experiencia, la que utiliza sus argucias para evitar las visitas nocturnas del rey o la que directamente cree que es tonta y actúa en consecuencia. Pero que todas estén subyugadas por el poder del patriarcado es dar un mensaje demasiado directo sin ninguna sutileza.

¿Los dragones de la cubierta? Publicidad engañosa, ya os lo digo yo, es que tienen una presencia tan testimonial que la verdad, mejor que Holly Race los hubiera obviado del todo.

El libro, a pesar de los variados puntos de vista, resulta un tanto monótono. La intriga cortesana es demasiado previsible y el tono en general resulta bastante aburrido. Aunque Olivia Dowd como narradora del audiolibro cumple con su función, el material de partida tampoco da para mucho más. Y, para más inri, el final es un cliff hanging literal, que no sé si merecerá la pena resolver.

I had really really high hopes for this one, and I hung in there for most of it, but honestly, it isn’t for me. I was looking forward to a fresh point of view to a story that has been told ad nauseum. Really, I was hoping for a Pride and Prejudice and Zombies feel. Also, I was looking forward to court intrigue like Kingdom of the Wicked and Throne of the Fallen vibes. There isn’t much of that in here. I think the blurb is just not what was being served in this one. This one just didn’t hit the mark for me.

That being said, the narration was on point. I enjoyed the back and forth voices and managing to stay true to the vibrancy of the era. Only someone with a British accent could do this one justice.

I wished I liked this more as the premise was so good! However, I felt like the magic system wasn't as fleshed out (or explored in depth) as I would have liked it to be. Some great relations between characters though and I liked how it was loosely inspired by real history (which was very well researched)!

Boleyn has always had a fire in her. She is driven by ambition, to prove herself. It is this defiance that Henry is drawn to. Their shared boldness and penchant for extravagant statements completely convince Boleyn she was the one meant for him, even if all six wives are needed to maintain the island's balance. She is the one he will truly love.

Seymour has been used as a playing piece her entire life. Such it is when she is given as a gift to Boleyn as a lady-in-waiting. The position of spy and potential assassin for another of Henry's queens anything is nothing she ever desired—even before she is drawn to Boleyn's flame. Nor is the attention that falls upon her by the king thanks to her proximity and companionship with Boleyn.

Antagonists, Friends, Lovers? There are no simple titles to be had for any. When those of strong will and similar goals merge around a purpose after the revelation of age old secrets, the bonds created become Henry's greatest threat and the Island's hope.

“Six Wild Crowns” flies on its own wings from a potentially familiar feeling core idea. The world is extraordinarily diverse in landscape, tradition, and opinions. For some readers, the elaboration beyond the main story arc might seem like detours. Several aren't fully fledged out and as such seem to be unnecessary. Personally, as a whole, I think the glimpses at other territories, hints of the courtiers different alliances, all of the tangents about families and connections, are going to be at least half of the muscle power of the series going forward. Not to mention it feels like we are only at the tip of the magical revelations ahead.

None of that is worth much if the story itself and the characters are flat. There are no standard or stock personalities here. The essence of toxic relationships, as a subject and how things manifest in different people to lead them to be caught in those cycles, is an ever present subject. Trauma, purpose, expectations, ambition are layered to create complex characters even in those we only know briefly. I was absolutely invested in all.

It also has to be said there is a great deal of self awareness. There is an essence of characters who are very aware of who they are or come to be certain of it. I can't recall any decisions that were made, when there was time, completely out of impulse without consideration. This side steps so many 'twists' that frustrate me as a reader.

There is a similar tone to how this book deals with one likely highlighted marketing note. Polyamory is no isolated. Yet, I have never seen jealousy depicted so completely and honestly. In some cases there is a complete lack – antagonism between queens generally is from a different source. That does not mean it isn't present. When it does come up, the characters tend to acknowledge it in themselves and proceed to cope instead of the typical scheme or revenge spark. It displays real thought into creating a world where this type of arrangement might be common place and not seen as a burden. At least, no more than any political marriage is.

Which leads me to note that how very queer this book is. The way that manifests is so casual that it brings my heart joy. For instance, one character mentioning a ceremony from her area where at a coming of age people declare their gender at a public ceremony, is done in passing. A random note. These signal that it is probably the least interesting thing to know about a person. Not that it isn't important, it's just on a similar level to knowing a scar came from a riding accident. Isn't that the world we're striving for? Where someone's gender or romantic involvement is a fact not a defining feature?

If you happen to have at least a passing knowledge about some of the real life counterparts to these queens' lives you are in for so very many 'Easter eggs'. Seymour's core fear is heartbreaking for reasons. Howard being so attached to music is brilliant. Cleaves absolutely owns my heart – I cannot wait for more of her and her token theme seems so appropriate to what I knew about her personality. A late twist that should have been apparent, but wasn't for me, earned a slow clap for how clever it was. As is something that occurs to Henry late on in the book. It also makes you curious as to the reasons the author decided to places these wives 'out of order' after Catherine of Aragon.

I honestly am not certain how this book will or should be received. My enjoyment is heavily driven by the world and character details with the sprinkling of teasing out where inspiration was drawn from. There are admittedly times I felt like there was some repetition. Or that the book was being drawn out one moment and rushed through in another. All I can say is it checked off enough boxes to be a truly fun ride for me.

This was great.
I loved the Tudor court politics and the spin on the story we already know.
The addition of magic was superb.
I will say that I would have preferred more dragons, or bigger dragons but they weren’t pivotal to the story and I think they’d be too chaotic for this world.
The romance aspect was written well, the relationships between friends and family was also really well done.
It really kicked off from part 2 with the politics, betrayal and scheming.
I was NOT ready for the ending and I’m praying this isn’t the end of the story.

The audiobook was great, the narrator did a perfect job and really fit the vibe of the book.

I really enjoy this book. The story and plot were very interesting. I kept wanting to see what happened next! You put dragons and assassins in a book and I AM HOOKED!

DNF’d at 40%. So slow and bored listening to the bickering of women sharing the crown. I was intrigued by the concept, but could not care less about any character in the book.

The premise of Six Wild Crowns is absolutely fascinating. Henry VIII must marry six queens, as appointed by god, to maintain the strength of his kingdom and his magic in the eyes of the world. Boleyn is his sixth wife, and Seymour is gifted to her as a lady-in-waiting, meant to act as a spy and eventually an assassin. But instead of carrying out her mission, Seymour and Boleyn become unexpected allies, and everything begins to unravel from there.

The audiobook gets a full 5 stars from me! Olivia Dowd’s narration is phenomenal. Honestly, she’s what kept me going through some of the slower sections. Her performance captured the courtly atmosphere perfectly, and I loved how distinctly she voiced each character, especially Boleyn and Seymour. Dowd embodied both so beautifully, making them feel like real, layered people. Even in moments where I found the pacing lagging, her narration was compelling enough to keep me engaged.

What didn’t work for me: the blurb is kind of misleading. Seymour is described as being an assassin and a spy, and while that’s technically true, it plays out very differently in the book. No spoilers! But she’s barely an assassin and kind of a spy, but not a very good one. It just makes her sound the opposite of who she is. Another letdown was the mention of “a court teeming with dragons.” That line really sold me, but there were barely any dragons, or they were treated like mere pets. The few references we do get were so interesting that I wished there had been more of them throughout the story!

The romance felt rushed. Seymour starts yearning for Boleyn almost immediately, and while the longing itself was incredibly well done, I wish there had been more development or emotional build-up. Their character developments were great, though!

Honestly, I think the book would’ve worked better if it hadn’t been a retelling of Henry VIII and his wives. Aside from the names and a few scattered facts, it doesn’t share that much in common with the history. We barely see the other wives, and they're not really memorable. The only one with a real presence is Boleyn, but even she got on my nerves at times. Like when she saw Henry knock a man unconscious just because he was worried about his safety, and she was turned on by it?? “Oh, he’s so strong, but he’s always so gentle with me.” Girl. Really?

Overall, Six Wild Crowns had so much potential, and I really wanted to love it. The concept was unique and promising, and the audiobook performance was spectacular! But the story itself just didn’t quite live up to what it could have been.

3.5/5
Six Wild Crowns is an imaginative YA fantasy that blends political intrigue, personal identity, and a battle for power in a vividly crafted world. Holly Race builds an interesting premise and offers a diverse cast of characters, but the execution occasionally falters.

The story has its moments—particularly in its exploration of complex loyalties and the pressures of leadership—but it doesn't quite break new ground in the genre. While the pacing keeps things moving, some plot twists feel predictable, and the emotional depth doesn’t always hit as hard as it could.

It’s a decent read—entertaining enough to finish, but not particularly memorable. Fans of fantasy with royal drama might enjoy it more, but for those looking for something fresh or truly compelling, this one may fall a little short.

I would like to thank the publisher for sending me an audio-arc in exchange for an honest review through NetGalley.

Boleyn is about to become Henry's sixth queen, and now it's through her and the other queens that magic can be protected. However, all is not as it seems. On her wedding day, Boelyn receives multiple gifts from her sister Queens including a new ladies maid. Seymour has been sent to Boelyn as a lady's maid, expecting to have to spy on Boleyn and what's happening within her castle. But as she works for Boleyn, she begins to develop feelings for her. And when the two of them become unlikely allies, they begin to uncover the truth about magic, because Henry is hiding something, something rotting beneath the surface, and everything is not as it seems.

So this was supposed to be loosely based on Henry the VIII and his six wives, but in my opinion I kind of wish the author made it very clear that it was EXTREMELY loosely based or even separated from the source material all together because there wasn't much connecting them except for a couple of names. I find Henry being portrayed as this handsome man to be kind of silly and only because the images we've been given of him are most definitely not. But realistically, I was okay with that. I didn't really understand where the idea of "saphic yearning" (as described in the blurb) came from because it felt very one-sided and more like having a crush on your straight best friend, but I do like the friendship that forms between Boleyn and Seymour, though I do feel like we could have slowed down the pacing on that and expanded on that friendship instead of making it seem like it came out of nowhere. I do feel like most of my issues with this book comes from lack of character development, and for the most part many of them fell flat and one dimensional. That being said, I really enjoyed the world building and the magic systems and the normalization of dragons -- there's actually a lot of dragons in this, which was really cool. I didn't really feel the tudor England vibes, but it's all good. Overall, the pacing on this was a little off and I did feel like it dragged at times, but I was invested enough in Boleyn, Henry, and Seymour, and so I stuck it through and I'm happy I did because the ending was a little wild. It's definitely on the slow side, but if you can pretend there's no connection to Henry the VIII and you go in expecting absolutely none of that, then you definitely might enjoy this. It is a well-constructed world for an epic fantasy, and there are a lot of great bones in the story to develop into a great series later on.

Actual Rating: 3.75 stars, rounded up