Review for A Crown of Wishes by Roshani Chokshi!
Quick View Review
Overall Rating: ***** (5/5)
Goodreads Rating: **** (4.38/5)
One Sentence Review: A book filled to the brim with fantastical magic, this novel will have you dreaming of far-away lands and so irrevocably in love with Chokshi’s characters and writing style.
Full Review:
Gauri, the princess of Bharata, has been taken as a prisoner of war by her kingdom’s enemies. Faced with a future of exile and scorn, Gauri has nothing left to lose. Hope unexpectedly comes in the form of Vikram, the cunning prince of a neighboring land and her sworn enemy kingdom. Unsatisfied with becoming a mere puppet king, Vikram offers Gauri a chance to win back her kingdom in exchange for her battle prowess. Together, they’ll have to set aside their differences and team up to win the Tournament of Wishes – a competition held in a mythical city where the Lord of Wealth promises a wish to the victor.
Reaching the tournament is just the beginning. Once they arrive, danger takes on new shapes: poisonous courtesans and mischievous story birds, a feast of fears and twisted fairy revels.
Every which way they turn new trials will test their wit and strength. But what Gauri and Vikram will soon discover is that there’s nothing more dangerous than what they most desire. (summary from Amazon)
*I was provided an ARC by the publisher, however this does NOT affect my opinion or review of this book*
A Crown of Wishes was so, so magical. Chokshi’s writing utterly transported me to the world of her characters, and made me feel as if I was truly living the Tournament of Wishes with Gauri, Vikram, and all the other magical beings of their world. Her writing was stunning, providing beautiful descriptions that only added to the elegance and vivacity of the world in which this novel was set.
Another thing I absolutely adored was the multiple perspectives of this book. Multiple POVs is something that works in some stories, and in others becomes confusing: in the case of this novel, it worked wonderfully, and I loved so much getting to see into both Gauri and Vikram’s minds (IT’S NOT CREEPY I SWEAR).
Another reason I really loved the multiple perspectives of this book was because it added complexity to each of the characters, especially our hero and heroine. Getting to see both perspectives only added to how perfectly each of the characters was crafted (not perfect as in the characters’ personalities were overly perfect, but perfect as in they were written incredibly well).
The plot of this book was mysterious, magical, and so, so encapturing. From the very first page, I was drawn in and fascinated by everything the story itself had to offer: I wanted to participate in the Tournament of Wishes and immerse myself in the magic (I KNOW I KEEP REPEATING MAGIC but hopefully that gives you a sense of just how purely magical this book is), I wanted to meet all the creatures and people that we only got glimpses of throughout the story… More than is the case in a lot of books, I wanted so desperately to be a part of the story myself.
As I’ve mentioned multiple times at this point, the writing is what really shone in this novel. I took my time reading this book, as I had to be at full attention at every moment: I didn’t want to just gloss over a single word, and wanted to forever bask in Chokshi’s gorgeous and vivid descriptions.
Finally, I absolutely loved the message of this book and how it demonstrated the importance and meaning of stories. That’s all I’m going to say about that because I don’t want to spoil anything, but trust me when I say this aspect was really the icing on the cake, in my opinion, of this book.
So in conclusion, I went into this book thinking there was no way it could top Chokshi’s first book about Gauri’s sister, The Star-Touched Queen, and came out of it shocked at how it did. I really loved TSTQ, but it just couldn’t beat the beautiful magic, fantastic characters, and even better writing this novel had to offer.
Make sure to come back next Wednesday for a new review!
Xoxo,
Jordan
