Synopsis:

The first in a supernatural new series from the author of Wonderland, Her Majesty’s Royal Coven follows a top-secret government department of witches and the deadly threat to the nation they must confront.

Hidden among us is a secret coven of witches. They are Her Majesty’s Royal Coven. They protect crown and country from magical forces and otherworldly evil. But their greatest enemy will come from within.

There are whisperings of a prophecy that will bring the coven to its knees, and five best friends are about to be caught at the centre. Life as a modern witch was never simple … but now it’s about to get apocalyptic.

Prepare to be bewitched by Juno Dawson’s first adult series. A story of ancient prophecies and modern dating, of sacred sisterhood and demonic frenemies.

Review:

A fun, easy-to-read book about witches, friendships and the right to be who you want to be.
We follow four childhood friends, now adults, who are all witches. The four were part of HMRC, Her Majesty’s Royal Coven, the UK’s secret government bureau made up of witches. Only one remains in the Coven now, the others having left for various reasons, yet the four have stayed close. A threat looms under the name of Leviathan, and a magical child who may or may not be the key forces the friends to re-evaluate just where their loyalties lie.

I love witchy stories, even more so if they are modern witches. Each of the four characters here was so well realised and distinct from each other. We meet them first when they are children, before jumping forward to the present day, and I enjoyed this method of getting to know them and having gaps in their pasts filled in as we went through the book.

In terms of the plot, it is very political and very much a response to issues in the world today. There is a huge bias towards one character in this book, and they find themselves targeted and treated like a criminal just for wanting to exist as the person they feel they are. Reading this, and knowing that this is the actual reality for so many people, hurts my heart, and I applaud Dawson for writing so starkly about it.

I think Dawson wrote this book well, the pacing was excellent, and the different POV characters balanced each other out nicely. The emotions were high, as were the stakes! Despite the occasional quiet moment for the characters, you were never able to forget about the threat looming over them. And the ending… excuse me?? I am surprised at myself that I haven’t picked up the sequel yet because it boggled me!

Overall, an excellent read that I flew through! I know some thought the messaging to be too heavy-handed and cliché, but I thought the writing style and characters balanced it out well, and I do highly recommend.