The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi is a fairy-folk tale come to life. Maya is cursed, her horoscope promises her a marriage of death and destruction and so she is considered the pariah of he father’s harem. Knowing no one would want her, Maya is content with a life of study and solitude until one day her father, the Raja, announces that Maya will be forced into an arranged marriage.
But no matter what the Raja says, his intention is for Maya to kill herself and help him win a war. Fate intervenes and Maya is rescued by Amar, the King of Akaran and her new husband. Amar takes Maya to his kingdom, a mystical, magical and mysterious place where wonders are many and secrets lurk in shadows.
Maya feels safe in Amar’s presence and despite his secrets she finds herself longing for him, on the verge of love. But Maya senses deception and doesn’t know who to trust. Fearing for her life, Maya makes a choice that could alter the very fabric of life as we know it.
Will Maya be able to right the wrongs she has inadvertently committed? Will she remember herself and her past? And will she find the power within herself to become who she was always meant to be?
This book was magical in all the right ways. It was as if it delved into your very dreams and nightmares and brought them to life on the page. This whole book was like sensing a secret and longing for answers. It was like walking through a dark room and feeling your way through, unsure of what you may find. This may be disconcerting for some but I loved it.
Chokshi has a knack for wordplay and her use of language is beautiful in all it’s abstractness. This book often uses language in place of description, which isn’t for everyone. You really need to use your imagination to fill in the world Chokshi creates. And this might be why there is such a disconnect in it’s ranking.
I really liked this focus on the soul and reincarnation. How Amar searched for Maya’s soul and how the two were drawn together even without memory of one another. Makes for an interesting love story. The play on fate vs choice and the power one holds within gives the romance depth and mystery. The Star-Touched Queen was really like nothing I have ever read before.
This book is surreal and a little misogynistic but I couldn’t put it down. I was captivated by Maya’s journey and Akaran is a world I want to explore in my dreams. Overall, this one gets 4.5 stars from me.
That’s all for now!!
-M-
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