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

Set in an alternate version of historic England, King Henry VIII is just about to marry Anne Boleyn to join his other five wives. In this fantasy world, the King of England MUST have six wives at all times to strengthen the magic that is available only to him as the divine ruler and conduit of the divine, Cennunos. At least that's the story the royal family has passed down from male heir to male heir at any rate.

This was sych an interesting twist on the old story of Henry's six wives - living and sharing their husband as sister wives each with their own territory and motivations going on. The addition of dragons and fairies as well as the magic bestowed upon the king really altered the world of the well known story.

Told in the POVs of Anne Boleyn and Jane Seymour, each queen is referred to only by surname (probably to reduce confusion with the abundance of Annes and Catherines, but this worked really well in enabling me to keep track of everybody really easily - especially with Anne Boleyn's sister Mary and the Princess Mary, referred to as Princess Tudor, I just felt like that small detail just worked.

Although some details have been completely flipped there is a real sense of dread for the outcome of the book as Boleyn was one of Henry VIII's wives who sadly did not outlive him in real life and this is put to good use in the story to ramp up the tension as you don't know how closely the book will follow history.

All in all I loved it! I've always found Henry and his wives fascinating but the six Tudor Queens really stand apart in this and I cannot wait to see what happens in the sequel.

The narration in the audiobook is also excellent, with differentiation of the main and side characters done excellently and accent work I thought was flawless.

Thanks NetGalley & Orbit for the ARC AudioBook!

This is my first Historical Fantasy book that I have dived into, and I thought it was pretty good. For me it was a tad on the slow side, and the magic could have been better explained, and the world expanded upon a bit more but I think thats because I am more of a high fantasy reader.

I did like how Holly didn't stay true to history and changed a lot of details to make the story better! I will definitely read/listen to the next as I want to know where this story is going to go!

3.5 Stars

Seymour is basically the U-Haul lesbian equivalent in this historical/ fantasy world.

Overall, this wasn't a tough read but I agree with other readers that it fell short of expectations. From the description, I was expecting more of the clever strategizing and plot twists in the struggle for power as in The Cruel Prince, but there was hardly any competition between the six queens. I was also looking forward to something like the Sapphic love stories in the Roots of Chaos series (Priory of the Orange Tree) by Samantha Shannon, but all we got was Seymour straight up falling in love with Boleyn for no good reason. I think the magic/ world could've been better developed, and the story felt repetitive at points but overall it was an entertaining quick read.

I thought this story was creatively INSPIRED by historical figures, but I'm glad this wasn't a faithful retelling of history because the idea of all six wives vying for power at the same time (as opposed to how it happened actually) was much more intriguing to read about. So what, the author made Henry hot and not a balding, pot-bellied old man- why are we mad about that?

First of all I wanted to thank Netgalley and Hachette Audio for the opportunity to read this book in preview! Thank you so much!

But let's talk about Sex Wild Crown! What is this book about:
- Release: June 10
- Historically inspired fantasy
- The Tudors and Henry VIII's wives
- court intrigues, plots, dragons and magic (and wives)
- sapphic romance sub plot
- for who loved My Lady Jane

Let's talk about this book that won me over for the plot, being a fantasy reinterpretation of the facts regarding Henry VIII's wives.
I must say that I was drawn into reading it above all for this reason, because I love this historical period and all the court gossip that concerns this period of English history that I find extremely fascinating.

What's going on? Henry VIII is always THE rat in the story too, even if he is cute and cuddly, since here he marries all his wives at the same time, also making them compete with each other. The main characters of the book are in particular (Anne) Boleyn and (Jane) Seymour, whose POVs we read during the narration.
I must say that the book transported me, because the timing is very dynamic and fast, which helps considerably to proceed with the reading; I certainly appreciated that despite the changes, since we are in a retelling, all the figures of the period are there, including Wyatt, who usually never appears in this type of narration!
I must say that overall I found it cute even if a little too stiff, rigid in what is the narration, especially the initial one but also in general. The book is nice but in my opinion if it had had a little more character from a narrative point of view and for the fact that perhaps the story did not stand out much outside of what we know about what really happened. In short, nice, a pleasant read but it could have definitely been a TOP!

This book devoured me—and the audiobook made sure I didn’t come up for air.

Six Wild Crowns is the kind of dark, lush fantasy that creeps up on you slowly and then grabs you by the throat. I loved every second of the journey, but the real standout? The audiobook performance. The narration was beautifully immersive, perfectly capturing the eerie, high-stakes atmosphere of the story. Each character felt distinct without sounding overly theatrical, and the pacing was chef’s kiss—slow and deliberate in the beginning (which worked SO well for the tension building), then gradually intensifying as the plot spiraled deeper into chaos.

I’m not always a dual-format girl, but this was the kind of audiobook that enhanced the entire reading experience. If you’re a fan of slow-burn worldbuilding, morally gray characters, and a vibe that feels like The Cruel Prince met A Deadly Education, the audio version of Six Wild Crowns delivers on every level. Haunting, immersive, and unforgettable.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Hachette Audio for the preview. All opinions are my own.

This book is absolutely remarkable. I have loved Anne Boleyn for decades. And at the same time, looked down on the other queens. But WHY?! This book turns our perceptions on their head, because who is the real enemy of our understanding of these women? It’s the men! It’s the patriarchy! This is such a gloriously feminist take that made me question my own internalized misogyny.

I think it’s best to ignore the blurb on this one because it’s a bit misleading. Yes there are dragons, there is magic, but this at its heart is a character exploration and an examination of power, who wields it, and who tells the stories we build our world around. You cannot get tied into knots on “historical accuracy” here; that got thrown out the window when we added dragons.
I want you to read this, and I want you to sit with WHY you perceive any of these queens the way you do; why you perceive any woman the way you do. This book, like Boleyn is revolutionary and I love them both for it.

I felt a lot of emotions while reading, especially at the end. The climax of the book is SHOWSTOPPING—absolutely transcendent. And the end….i won’t soon recover.
I’m eager to see where the next book goes. I’d love too to get more backstory on how Henry chose a few of his wives and who they were before. We definitely focus on Boleyn and Seymour here, and now I’m so curious about Howard and Parr especially.

Anyway, HIGHLY RECOMMEND! The narrator did a great job with both Seymour and Bolyen too!