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

Holy Wow! This audiobook was epic. It took me a while to wrap my head around the world building and politics of it all but once the story got going I couldn’t stop! The narrator has a beautiful voice and voiced each of the characters differently so easily. It was unpredictable and heartbreaking. I loved it!

Thank you NetGalley, Orbit, and Hachette Audio for this audiobook ARC! The review below are my honest thoughts about the book.

I wanted to love this book. I really did. The premise of the book seemed right up my alley. I love Henry VIII and his wives and give me allllll of the fantasy books, but the book fell well short of the proposed premise. Unfortunately it's a DNF for me. I waited and waited for something to happen, but I couldn't keep pushing through. It was such slow going and so slow to develop.

The story has potential, but it strayed so far from the premise I just couldn't do it.

Thank you to Orbit books for an audiobook ARC of Six Wild Crowns in exchange for an honest review..
I’ve always liked reading books about Henry the Eighth and his wives, and to find out there was a fantasy title with those characters, I needed to read it.
Once I got past that the timelines of the marriages were different, I fell into listening to the easy flow of the book. The banter between Boleyn, Seymour, and Henry was enjoyable. The relationship with the wives was interesting and I liked how their friendships formed and the evolution of their sisterhood. There was just the right amount of fantasy included to make it not seem overdone. I enjoyed listening to the narrator. She kept me entertained and I enjoyed listening to her. I am looking forward to book two!

Unfortunately, this book wasn't for me, but narration by Olivia Dowd was done very well, each character had a different voice, I thought she made the book a little more enjoyable for me

It started off okay but quickly got bored. Boleyn was an intriguing character but the plot was lacking and the fantasy elements were too thin. Skim read from 25%.

Excellent quality audiobook, 10/10 narrator! I took a star off for the book content itself because the ending seemed abrupt and it felt like there shouldve been more?

One thing I live for is dragons and history reimagining and this one shot to the top of my list of 'must reads'

This book has been a wild ride and I can't wait for book 2, it really ends in a way that I feel can blossom into a story of Holly's own and the potential is high!
The narrators did SUCH a good job it really elevated the experience

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for providing a free e-audio arc in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, I will be DNFing this one. The premise seems to be completely different than what is occurring in the book. It is taking way too long for anything exciting to occur, and the political intrigue is basic and disengaging. You would think that you would get more fantastical elements that were promised in the premise, but unfortunately, there is some mention of dragons, and that is about it. Not for me, but give it a try if you find it interesting as you may like it.

Six Wild Crowns has a brilliant premise—reimagining the Tudor queens in a fantasy realm filled with magic, dragons, and political power struggles should have been a dream come true for historical fantasy lovers like me. Unfortunately, the execution didn’t live up to the promise.

While the prose is undeniably lush and the world-building ambitious, the pacing dragged considerably. There were long stretches where very little happened, and the dense descriptions, though pretty, often felt like they were stalling the plot rather than enhancing it. I found myself skimming more than I’d like just to get to moments of action or character development.

The characters themselves, despite being based on such iconic figures, often felt flat or overly symbolic. I wanted to connect with them emotionally, but their personalities felt more like archetypes than real people. The feminist themes were admirable but heavy-handed, and at times, they overpowered the narrative instead of enriching it.

I appreciate what the author was trying to do, and I can see why some readers will love it. But for me, Six Wild Crowns was a case of style over substance. I wanted to be swept away, but I ended up feeling more bored than bewitched.

advertising this as a Sapphic romance is a WILLLLLLLLD stretch.

the dragons are just dogs....even tho they have dogs in the story.
the Panther was way cooler.

anyways!

I did enjoy it. I probably wasn't in the right zone for a history retelling.

anyways.... what if Henry the 8th had to marry 6 wives to keep his magic and his kingdom stable and strong?

but the very thing that draws him to one of his wives could be the very thing to bring his reign to an end.

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 prose is third person present, which I actually liked, especially with the audiobook narration by Olivia Dowd, which was excellent.

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.

This was a really interesting take on the wives of Henry VIII set in a magical version of England with dragons and old gods. I thought the depiction of Seymour was fantastic, giving her a far feistier and cunning personality than how history has portrayed her and Boleyn was intelligent and caring, rather than simply devious. All in all, I enjoyed this a lot and will be picking up the sequel to see where the queens go from here.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Thank you to Hachette Audio for the ALC, but unfortunately Six Wild Crowns was not for me and I ended up DNFing.

I had to dnf it at about 20%. The fantasy element was forcefully done, just a mention of a dragon here and there, which does absolutely nothing for the plot. Whether it’s there or not is completely irrelevant. Also, making Jane Seymour bisexual or a lesbian, I wasn’t sure, was a bit too much for me in terms of changing the storyline. Her falling for Anne Boleyn was also too much.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.25/5

Six Wild Crowns is a captivating, powerful fantasy with court politics, dragons, and romance.

I had a blast with this one. Holly Race’s prose was beautiful, lush, and sharp, presenting a captivating and strong narrative. I loved Boleyn and Seymour and enjoyed their character development. The characters were vivid, strong, and witty, and I also enjoyed the romances sprinkled throughout the story. The story is Tudor-inspired, so it reads more like an epic fantasy with sprinklings of historical details and characters rather than a historical fantasy. I loved the world-building and incorporation of fantasy creatures, folklore, and magic. The court politics were delightful, and the plot was compelling. The pacing was great, and the ending was satisfying. Although I sometimes found it difficult to connect to the characters and plot, I highly recommend this delightful tale!

Olivia Dowd narrated this one beautifully. Her powerful voice and emotions made the story even more immersive. I loved the accents she used and the excitement she brought to the story. I highly recommend the audiobook!

Thank you to the publisher for the free ALC!

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!

I thought the narrator did a good job and her performance was easy to follow and enjoyable.

The performances of the audiobook were well done. This was definitely a different concept to throw historical figures into a fantasy world that differs in kinda random ways from our own. I didn’t entirely understand what was happening with the magic systems or if the magical creatures were supposed to be friendly or deadly. This was easy to consume. There was a underwhelming feminist through line to the plot.

3.5⭐️
This was an OK read. It was well written but the blurb is a bit misleading. It does start with an authors note that warns the reader of the liberties taken by the author in taking real historical characters and fictionalizes them. I have zero problem with this. However, going into it I wish I was set up to know that it was a nod to the history by using characters names but that’s about it. Also this real world with magic elements doesn’t quite work as effectively as it should since it’s more high fantasy feeling. I wish it went “all in” and written as a completely fictional world with real touches.

That being said, I’m reviewing the audiobook and the narrators Olivia Dowd and Holly Race did a fabulous job. I believe that it is mostly narrated by Ms Dowd as it seems to only have that one voice unless they speak very similarly so I think that the author Ms Race is listed as a credit for her authors note… but I could be wrong!
Either way it was read very well. The 1x speed was a nice natural pace but for most I listened at 1.75x before it got too fast for me personally.

The production as a whole was well done. It was crisp and flowed nicely. I mention that as that’s not always the case! The narrator(s) had a lovely British accented vocals and spoke with enough emotion to engage the reader without going overboard.

For historical fiction lovers who like to dabble in fantasy, this may be the book just for you.
I am thankful to have gotten a complimentary audio ALC from Hachette Audio through NetGalley to read which gave me the opportunity to voluntarily leave a review.

My rating system since GoodReads doesn’t have partial stars

⭐️ Hated it
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea (potentially DNF’d or thought about it)
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but nothing special
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! Would recommend to others
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Will circle back and read again