Unfortunately I wasn't able connect with the story or the characters early on and decided to soft dnf at 20%. I'll keep it on the back burner for now... I think it's more where I am mid reading slump then any fault of the story or author.
Thank you to Net Galley and Hacchette Audio for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

thank you to netgalley and orbit publishing for providing me a copy of this audiobook in return for an honest review <3
i really had a good time with this one. usually i play a mobile game when listening to audiobooks, and this was so good i found myself trying to keep going with the game simply so i could listen to this. i defo think the audiobook format helped enhance my experience, as the mousey voice given to seymour made me latch onto her almost instantly, and the voice given to boyeln felt very realistic. usually in audiobooks i find there’s one or two voices i just can’t stand, but i didn’t have that issue here, and felt like everyone’s vocal characterisation aligned superbly with their dialogue, personality, actions, etc.
now to the actual story — can i just say i fucking adore the fact that seymour and boyeln’s arcs are in reverse, and by the end of the book they both have swapped roles e.g. seymour’s end of book personality matches boyeln’s start of book personality and vice verse. ohhhh i love me thematic parallels. i loved how their arcs were interwoven with each other and how they bounced off each other! what i didn’t love about them was the blatant queer bating. OK OK OK put down your pitchforks. yes there is actually Gay Stuff, but the synopsis led me to believe boyeln and seymour were going to be lezzing it up by like 30% read. Nope. instead i just got subtext, wistful stares and slight horniness until the end of the book. bffr you can’t label your book as sapphic if the main pairing ONLY KISSES EACH OTHERS CHEEKS. i’m sorry that’s technically a spoiler but i feel like it’s fair enough for me not to tag that because idk the blurb led me to believe i’d be having full horn dog time and i didnt. and that defo affected my enjoyment of the book negatively, and is partially why this wasn’t a 5-star for me. i also think i was scammed out clarence time. i’m so sorry how are you going to have this universe have a whole other gender system and relegate the one character who follows said system to a background character. are you serious. i know it didn’t really fit into the plot but cmon now… i was so excited to explore that and then it just… didn’t happen. and yet again more sapphic bait as anything relating to clarence’s queerness happens off-page….. ur just playing with me now seriously.
i do think the plot was strong, and i really liked the driving force of the story. i also think the textual climaxes didn’t feel cheap — every character faced repercussions in some way when they fucked around and found out and it affected them in the long-term. i also quite enjoyed the general atmosphere of the story, and this book has single-handedly made retellings of henry the eight’s wives a loved niche in media. i also was super invested in the characters, especially seymour and boyeln, as they were given such depth, lots of character motivations, flaws, space for them to grow, and more. i don’t think i can find a fault in any way which the characters themselves were written, except maybe that seymour’s helpless schtick dragged on for a tad too long, and she should’ve beat edward’s ass a lot sooner, but i don’t think that’s a big negative, just a nitpick. i will say though…. the reveal of who the spy was actually had me sit up, gasp, pause, and then had me pacing around the room in shock. i really was just here for the ride, and wasn’t trying to work out who exactly it was, but seriously that reveal gobsmacked me. maybe it would’ve been obvious if i was looking for it, but i wasn’t so 🤷 i also think that cliffhanger is evil evil evil (/pos). i don’t really like the fact that one of the characters is now permanently removed from the story, especially with how it was done, but i think that’s because i wanted to see more of them. also i don’t really understand why their removal happened…. like i don’t get the “benefit” even though it was explained in-text, so im a bit… confused? as to where the sequel will go. but i mean im defo sat. i have hope that there is a potential for the Gay to be full on sexy time rather than just characters sending letters to each other with cutesy little hearts next to their signature. i also have hope that i will love the second, as god this universe in the story is just so well-written. it feels so fleshed out and authentic tbh i forgot for a bit that the sunseena(? idk how to spell it babes i listened to the audiobook) isn’t a real thing NFKDKF.
anyways, if you like tudor romances (is this tudor? i have no idea) and magical realism out the wazoo, with women overcoming their d-bag husband and realising their potential, boy do i have the book for you! if you’re coming for the sapphic romance thought…. maybe pick another book 🫢

In this sort of insane retelling of Henry the 8th and his six wives, Henry is married to all six of them at once in part of a tradition meant to protect the nation of Elben magically from their enemies. It starts with the rise of Boleyn (the queens are named after their last names on account of the fact that early modern England only had like six names for women) as a queen, her relationship to Seymour and Seymour's rise to queen as well, and gets deep into the messy true history of the power of the king and his six queens. Boleyn and Seymour uncover something of a conspiracy that could change their entire world, if they live to see it.
I really enjoyed this story. It was bonkers. There are dragons and sapphic longing and toxic messed up relationships and Cleves, whom I loved and wished would've gotten more page time. The magic and deception and courtly intrigue are all very good. This was a fun read, and I'm looking forward to the sequel.

✨Book Review- Six Wild Crowns✨

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️🌑

*I was provided this book free of charge by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

When I heard this book existed I immediately knew I needed to buy it. That’s it. That’s the review.

JK.

You know how everyone has a childhood/ young adult fascination with some part of history? Mine was always Henry VIII. For my birthday a couple years ago, my now husband took me to Anne Boleyn’s Hever Castle to stay for the weekend. We have been to the a Tower of London several times. We’ve been to Hampton Court palace, Buckingham palace and numerous other palaces and castles throughout the UK. My fascination with historic royalty runs deep.

Anyway, since I obviously know how the general history of Henry and his wives goes, I was SUPER curious how this story would work out, and I was not disappointed. The story was compelling and despite knowing what was going to happen, I was hooked waiting to get to the end! Now I’m looking forward to the next book, since I understand this is going to be a trilogy. I was really hoping for a book for each of the 6 though.

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Big thanks to Netgalley and Holly Racefor the audioARC in exchange for a review.

This story starts off a little hard to get into. IDK if this was intentional to be trans friendly, or maybe a gender bender but I couldn't get past the names. I understand they are called by their last names or fathers names, but I also think it took away from the characters themselves.

Other than the masculine name thing, the story line was interesting and I wish the author had built on the connections between the Queens more, rather than Boleyn's infatuation with her husband. Even after everything comes to light, she has romanticized him to the point that she felt less than rock solid in the choices she ultimately made, when THAT'S what should have been romanticized. Women supporting women.

4 stars

This book had an interesting premise. So I thought it might be interesting.
To me, it was not. It was very boring and most of the time I only ended up half listening.

I had mixed feelings about this one. It’s loosely inspired by Henry VIII and his six wives, but I found that the historical influence didn’t add anything positive to the work. It mostly just muddied the waters and left this work feeling stuck between genres. One example is that were instances when the author used historical names or things but then other places where they weren’t used, and it was difficult to determine why this was the case. I really think this work would have been stronger if it hadn’t gotten mired down in trying to include historical aspects and had instead just stayed full fantasy/fiction.

There were some interesting aspects. The dragons were advertised as being epically involved but they were little more than aesthetic, being used as pets and porch ornaments essentially. This was massively disappointing.

But the author tried to be too ambitious in other aspects of the worldbuilding to the point of majorly detracting from this work. From the very beginning, there are names of people and places thrown at us constantly with zero context given for most of them. The names aren’t a huge deal if you have some basic knowledge of the historical figures, but the place names are all fictional and very, very fantasy, which makes it feel like a hodge-podge of letters and places that mean nothing.

This does set up for book two, but I don’t think I’ll be reading it. My thanks to NetGalley and Hachette Audio for allowing me to read this work. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this revie are my own.

This was a tough one. It both said it differs from history but then required you to know who people are. It was kind of dull and took away from the experience. No fault of the narrator I don’t think. The description didn’t really live up to the story either. Overall I was just left underwhelmed.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review!

I listen to two or three audiobooks each week, and I've discovered that it can be challenging to transition to a new audiobook after being immersed in the captivating world of a great story. Because of this, I’m always eager to give a new audiobook a fair chance before deciding it’s not for me.

I've realized that while a narrator can be truly exceptional, sometimes the story they’re conveying simply doesn’t resonate with the listener. Unfortunately, that was the case with this particular audiobook.

Thank you opportunity to listen to this audiobook

I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to the advanced copy of this audiobook.

https://www.instagram.com/shh_iamreading

Wonderful and engaging! A beautiful and fleshed out story that, despite being a loose retelling of history, is wildly unique and refreshing in the fantasy space! I cannot write enough praise for the life that this book brought into the fantasy genre for me. I cannot recommend this enough for those getting a little tired of tried and true romantasy tropes and sanitized relationships.

I will start by saying that I typically am not a fan of fantasy historical retellings, but felt compelled to give this story a shot just because I was in the mood for something fantasy and happened across this title. Let me be the first to admit that this book was worth it and I have not been quite so gripped by a novel in quite some time!

The novel begins with an incredible hook with Boleyn's wedding, and the foreshadowing to the kind of queen she'll be. (Wonderfully, this book doesn't spoil itself much if you know the real history and if you don't, this book is still accessible and worth reading!) Seymour is an unlikely new addition to her court and what starts as a very adversarial relationship grows into something so much more, and yet also not at all what you expect.

Holly Race does many things very well when it comes to this novel but one I have to highlight and point out is the relationship between Boleyn and Seymour. Wildly engaging to see the progression of their relationship! The two of them can oftentimes be quite mean to one another, but the relationship never feels unfair or toxic or cruel. The meanness these women toss at each other actively serves the purpose of making each of them better people and better versions of themselves, likely because the meanness is hardly ever meant to hurt the other. The character growth of Boleyn becoming softer and Seymour becoming more confident had my attention wholly rapt.

Boleyn is the cool girl main character that so many stories want their protagonist's to be: clever, intelligent, strong, confident... a total badass if you will. So many authors make the mistake of making their main characters infallible which easily makes them uninteresting or unlikable and makes the events of their stories feel completely pointless. Boleyn is not perfect, has many flaws, and does face immense hardship and you will be rooting for her through it all. Even as mean and cutting as she can be, she never makes herself a monolith, she is also a mother, a lover, and a soft and gentle girl capable of many things. (view spoiler)

Seymour is the character that is a little more relatable and easy to find yourself in, in my opinion. She feels too normal for her station in the beginning of the novel and throughout the course of the story becomes a fully fleshed out and unique person. Watching Seymour find herself and her strength through the novel was one of the truly special aspects of this story because I found myself emboldened and sitting up straighter by the end while I was cheering Seymour on. She became a vehicle for my own feelings towards some of the characters by the end and she is stunning!

This book actually follows the history it is basing itself on fairly well while also placing itself in a very unique and interesting world. If you care about 1::1 history retellings, this won't satisfy you, however if you enjoy history and enjoy reading stories that take that history and make it fantastical? You'll not find anything better. I really appreciated how many actors from history found themselves within this novel and really loved following how they acted within this fantasy space, while absolutely still following the base points of the story of Anne Boleyn.

Holly Race also does something really special with its inclusion of diversity and representation. Not many authors fully understand the tact in introducing those topics naturally within their text and so oftentimes it can come across as clunky or awkward or forced in, Race did an exquisite job of adding lots of diversity in characters without its introduction ever having that awkward bump in. These characters actually feel like people rather than props and it was so refreshing to read.

Six Wild Crowns is the story of women helping women, of finding sisterhood and strength, and happens to do so through a fantastical retelling of actual historical figures. Holly Race's writing style is evocative and engaging and will have many readers hooked very early on purely because of her masterful worldbuilding. This novel is something special, and I recommend it highly for any fantasy readers looking for something refreshing!

Thank you to Netgalley for a copy of this novel.

DNF. I am intrigued by this world and this book, I love history and historical inspired stories, I just simply don’t think the audio format of this book is for me. When books are more dense with character relationships and plot it’s better for me to read rather than listen because I can understand the plot better that way.

An incredible historical fantasy which really shows the beauty of the genre. I adored every decision of the book which strayed from written history. The characterisation of the Queens was impeccable, expanding and humanising them beyond the strict boxes history has put them in. I especially loved Boleyn's character arc and her radicalisation from 'the perfect wife' to the 'unruly woman' refusing to be defined as 'not like the other girls.' Such a beautifully complex character who you truly love to read about.
I cannot wait for the sequel to find out what will happen next to our Queens, I so hope they rise up against Henry's tyranny and stand together to take back their power.
The narrator for this audiobook was fabulous and really added a lot to the story. I was on the verge of tears so many times and this was heightened by the emotional narration.

A cliffhanger?!

Man I really enjoyed this one. Henry the 8th plus dragons has did his been made so much more interesting when it’s the POV of his wives. I loved the unfolding dynamic between Boleyn and Seymour, as well as how Henry’s character shifts throughout the story.

Also the narration was excellent, this is a LONG book and it really helped me to stay engaged.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC - this is an honest review.

Wow this was not a good read. It gets 2 stars because it was a *technically* well written book - that is, from a purely technical point of view, the prose was fine. But the plot, world building, characters? Gah. Weak. So weak. The only thing that kept me going was the strength of the prose (and the narrator, who did a wonderful job), but everything else fell so flat. Every character was one dimensional, this entire plotline could have been wrapped up in a singular book, and the world building was.... Well, the idea of lap dragons is cute, anyway.

The powerful King rules Elbem all along,
And marries six queens to be really strong.
Each rules an island, bound by magic,
But the secrets it hides are tragic.

Inspired by Henry VIII and his wives, the tale weaves a lyrical combination of historical fiction and fantasy. Among all the queens, Boleyn is my favorite character—she is fierce and plays the games of court skillfully. Her intimidating personality is also portrayed well in various scenes where she never takes no for an answer. The magical elements added a mysterious layer to the overall plot, deepening the intrigue and stakes of the kingdom’s politics.

The book was an almost perfect read for me, aside from a few love-making scenes. Thankfully, I was listening to the audiobook, so I fast-forwarded a bit. The narrators were both great, and the theme music and magical ambiance were top-notch. If you enjoy queer romance angles with a heavy dose of kingdom politics, this is definitely a story you’ll love to immerse yourself in.

This was a fun book! The characters were strong, the story was engaging, but unfortunately I feel the blurb gives the wrong impression of the book going in. I love retellings and reimaginings, and I love the Tudors, so I had high hopes. The summary sold me on a tale of badass Tudor queens, magic, and dragons. I fear that is not what this story is. It is full of political intrigue and sapphic yearning however, which keep you reading to the end. I hope future versions have someone rewrite the blurb because it is selling this story short by misrepresenting it.

Boleyn was not the manipulative, cunning woman I was hoping for, but she was a strong, ambitious one. Seymour was not the badass assassin that was implied, she was more like a downtrodden servant, but I came to like her. The characterisation and my expectations just didn’t match up. The same for the story.

At around 30% I couldn’t remember if any form of magic had even been mentioned in any capacity yet, that’s how sparse it was in the story, which is totally fine if it’s not used as one of the selling points of book.

I was lucky enough to receive the advanced listeners copy for this book, and the audio performance was strong, emotive and easy to listen to. However it could do with different voice actors for the POVs as I got a bit confused who we were following at times.

This was an overall enjoyable read and I’d recommend it to anyone that loves a bit of court politics.

I would give this all the stars in the world!

This book completely blew me away. It was everything I hoped for and more. I’m absolutely thrilled to see that Holly is now a bestselling author because it’s so incredibly well deserved.

As a lifelong Tudor history lover, this was an instant must-read for me. I was lucky enough to receive an audio ARC, but I knew I wanted the full immersive experience, so I waited for my physical copy to arrive and devoured it in a read/listen combo. And wow, I absolutely ate it up.

The best way I can describe this book? Imagine Six (the musical) with more story, layered with sapphic yearning, threaded with magic, and lit from within by fierce feminine rage. Every element just worked beautifully. The sapphic representation? Utterly compelling. The dual POV? Seamless and emotionally rich. The found family dynamic, the political tension, the undercurrent of sacrifice – it all came together in a way that felt powerful and original. Truly, no notes.

Read if you like:

🌹 A Day of Fallen Night, Spark of the Everflame, The End Crowns All
👑 Sapphic rep – this was a delight
🌹 Tudor history with a twist
👑 Found family
🌹 Feminine rage
👑 Sacrifice
🌹 Political intrigue
👑 Dual PoV

Although this isn’t a historically accurate book (Henry VIII did not, sadly, have magic), it’s clear that Holly took the time to research and immerse herself in the era. The vocabulary and tone felt era appropriate, which added so much to the atmosphere and immersion.

I want to take a moment to also talk about the narrator for this book who absolutely brought it to life. I really enjoyed listening to Olivia’s narration before bed as it was very calming - I really hope she continue to narrate the series!

I’m honestly blown away and already dreading the wait for the next book. If you’re a fantasy lover who enjoyed learning about the Tudors at school, this is a must-read. You won’t regret it.

This is actually closer to 4.5 stars.

I, like most people, am fascinated by Henry VIII and his wives. So when I saw a fantasy story inspired by their history you better believe I was here for it.

The author starts off by letting you know that while this story has very familiar elements from history, there have been significant changes (um hello? Howard has a pet LAP DRAGON). You’re then transported into a rich world where Henry’s magic is tied to his queens.

Boleyn is the central character, and I loved seeing her story unfold. Her relationships with the other queens, particularly Seymour, was so interesting, and as the story unfolds I found myself unable to put the book down.

I was also able to listen to the audiobook (thanks to the publisher and NetGallery), and I loved the narration as well - particularly Howard’s voice. It perfectly capture the image I have of her in my head.

I will definitely be reading more of Holly Race’s work, and I can’t wait to return to Elben!

Thank you Netgalley for this ALC in exchange for my honest opinion. The Audio was done very well. This book was fun! It was a fun take on history and I loved all the scandals that were unfolding. I cannot wait to read the next one!!!

I really enjoyed this story! I found the storyline to be original and kept me intrigued throughout. I hope there will be more in the series!