You guys! THIS. THIS is the story I wanted.

I am not going to lie. I wasn't a big fan of The Star-Touched Queen. I thought the writing was overly flowery. Beautiful, but just a little much. And, I ended up being bored by the story midway through.

However...

I had always been intrigued by the possibility of Gauri's story. I wanted more about her since the debut book and even though I was stoked A Crown of Wishes was going to be her story, I was also hesitant considering Chokshi's debut.

But, oh, the gloriousness of a followup! This was everything I had wanted and hoped for. The writing is stellar. Perfection. It's beautiful, but not overly so as I felt in TSTQ. Gauri is a fierce female warrior; one who I felt I could identify with at times. And Vikram! What an outstanding complementary male character to a STRONG female one. He was not afraid of her reputation or lifestyle. He did all he could to strengthen and stand by her. Lift her up. She was stubborn, fighting against their attraction. He was trying to break down her walls. Their relationship progressed organically. The banter between them made me laugh often. Nothing felt forced. And, I definitely didn't get the vibe of instalove. It took nearly the entire story for their feelings to be admitted. And even then, it wasn't just "we are in love and HEA." Reality set in. Their lives weren't simple. And the tournament itself was INTENSE. The riddles, the creatures, everything about it was brilliantly thought out. I absolutely LOVED this side of the Otherworld!

Chokshi has cemented herself as a wonderful storyteller with A Crown of Wishes. If you struggled—as I did—with her debut, fear not. This book is outstanding in every way. You won't regret picking it up. And, if you are one who loved TSTQ, get ready, because Gauri and Vikram's Journey will blow you away.

Once again I am enthralled by Roshani’s artistic and eloquent writing style. Her prose continues to impress. She has a very lovely and vivid way of describing the worlds in her books that just draws me in and holds me captive as I follow heroes, villains, tricksters, and monsters, as they navigate their way through magical obstacles and hidden truths.

A story full of magic, discovery, and dark trials, A CROWN OF WISHES is indeed that, a prince and a princess chasing after their deepest desires even when they didn’t quite know them their selves. It is an exquisite companion to The Star-Touched Queen.
-pooled ink Reviews

Disclaimer: I was sent a copy of this book from the publisher and decided to read and review it. This in no way affects my opinion of the novel

Where reading THE STAR-TOUCHED QUEEN was like reading liquid gold, A CROWN OF WISHES transformed the reader into a galaxy so they could live among the stars and sparkle. I will forever read anything that Chokshi writes as her writing feels like it wraps you up and never lets you go. The characters, setting, and plot were so rich and wonderful that I felt as though I was living in the story. I only put this book down when I had to and it is one you will easily get caught up in.

I loved the characters, Gauri and Vikram. I thought each of them was well defined, had good motivations, and were easy to relate to because they were fighting for freedom for themselves and others. They were easy to see as heroes and I loved being in both of their minds to understand what they were doing and why. I thought the alternating(ish) POVs were a good touch to this one because both characters saw things in a different way which added another dimension to the otherwise predictable story. I really liked their relationship as well and thought that Chokshi did a good job of making us love them individually and together. I could easily put myself into their position and enjoyed reading about them.

I did think that some of the secondary characters suffered this time around -- where I loved Gauri and Kamala in THE STAR TOUCHED QUEEN, I didn't have the same fierce loyalty to the other secondary characters this time around. I was a bit disappointed with the side characters this time around.

But the story itself was AWESOME. I think the plot and its development were perfect and Chokshi described everything in a fantastic way that made me feel as though I was a part of the magic and also safe from it as well. I liked seeing how Gauri and Vikram solved the riddles and won the game while still having high stakes. I think it was a great book and one I would recommend to anyone.

Not as purple prose-y as THE STAR-TOUCHED QUEEN, I think this will appeal to those who enjoy riddles, love, and rooting for the underdogs. I definitely recommend both THE STAR-TOUCHED QUEEN and A CROWN OF WISHES and I hope everyone decides to read these books because they are fantastic.

Thank heavens for wishes being granted!

We wished for this book on NetGalley before reading The Star Touched Queen and it we wondered whether it was a bit hasty of us. We started reading The Star Touched Queen the day after wishing and it wasn’t good. We disliked almost everything about it. The characters didn’t come to life inside us, the writing felt clumsy and rushed and we genuinely thought the plot was just stupid. We gave up before reaching fifty percent.

People say that you must be careful what you wish for. You must know what it is you want and when we were granted the opportunity to read this book early, we realised exactly what it was we wanted.

We wanted a book that was better than its predecessor and we got that.

A Crown of Wishes gave us the story of a prince and a princess. Of a boy and a girl, a scholar and a warrior. It gave us the story of a thousand people even if it focused on only a few.

A Crown of Wishes taught us a lesson in perspective and it set loose stars and art inside us. There are images of wonder and magic and thrones belonging to distant lands that flicker behind our eyelids. It’s all because of Roshani’s writing.

There’s something so ethereal and grounding about the way she organises words into sentences on pages that makes us get lost in our head. Read this book was a vastly different experience.

A Crown of Wishes is bloody brilliant!

We followed Vikram and Gauri as they went from hesitant and in some ways unwilling allies to friends and then to more and we enjoyed every second of it.

Gauri is a warrior. She is a princess and she is a jewel. She knows the value of a blades and armour and she knows the value of a well-crafted face of makeup. She’s a clever woman and we appreciated her chapters. It was interesting to compare Maya’s relationship with Mother Dhina and Gauri’s relationship with her. To Maya, Mother Dhina was a curse, but to Gauri she is a mentor. She taught her how to wield her words, how to hone her body into a silent sort of weapon with pearl dust and kohl.

It was fascinating.

Vikram is a scholar. He’s a prince and he is a puppet. He knows the importance of words just as well as he knows the need for running. For pushing oneself faster and harder until you can run away from the nightmares that plague you to the things you dream of. When we went into this novel we expected the common prince. Arrogant and deadly with a blade. Vikram was neither. In fact, he reminded us of our self. Deep thinking and careful with wants so big you could eclipse the sun.

Something both of them had in common was the desire to make things right in their individual kingdoms. Their desire to rule and take power.

All of it, they came to discover could be granted with a wish. A wish that could be won by playing a special kind of game. One where everyone’s a contestant and where the challenges start at acceptance and not upon arrival.

We were intrigued by the game. It was difficult and nonsensical. There didn’t seem to be any sort of rules and the requirements for winning were many and varied. Only the hosts know what it takes to win and they were odd hosts indeed.

Kubera and Kuveira. A child and a river. They had such interesting takes on stories and on wishes. They made us think and if we could we’d sit down and chat with them.

You guys know our thoughts on books with chapters that alternate in terms of viewpoint. You know what we think if the two voices that the chapters are written in are male and female. What you don’t know, however, are our thoughts on a book that occasionally has a third point of view.

Would this third character create a love triangle of sorts? Would Vikram fall for someone else or would it be Gauri that falls in love with this newcomer?

We can happily say this third person. This intriguing girl named Aasha didn’t come into A Crown of Wishes to create some idiotic romantic tension. Instead she entered the book as an individual wanting something she never had the chance to experience because it was robbed from her.

She taught us something too.

She taught us that wants can be all consuming. They can take your heart and your mind and twist them until the only thing you need is something you can’t possibly have. She taught us that secondary characters aren’t always secondary characters. They are the hero or the villain or the hero and the villain in their own story.

We loved being inside her head, experiencing her doubts and everything she had to offer.

To sum up everything that is this book would be, we think, impossible. Many people will take many different things from it, but we read the last sentence knowing that different perspectives and voices are necessary to have a better understanding of the world. The voices in can come from others or they can come from your heart, mind and soul, but one thing is certain. There is a magic in wishes that cannot truly be captured except inside a book.

Gorgeously written story of adventures through magical worlds that kept me hooked!!