Trial of the Sun Queen

Browsing through a Barnes & Noble the other week, I picked out "Trial of the Sun Queen” by Nisha Tuli. I was expecting a thrilling, action-packed romance novel…

Instead, I read a story that had me impatiently waiting for the inevitable plot twist.

When I started this book, I had sky-high expectations. Maybe “The Selection” meets “The Hunger Games” vibe?? I would eat that up. However, that isn’t what we got. Our main character, Lor, comes from a traumatic background involving dead parents and life in a prison. She is suddenly and magically transported to a different kingdom, where she’s treated like a princess.

Then, she realizes that she’s been forced to enter a competition to either be the Sun King’s new queen or essentially rot in prison until she dies. None of this was written in a way that held my attention as a reader. It took me almost two weeks to read this book, whereas other fantasy books have taken less than two days.

Our first book in the series is very much giving A Court of Thorn and Roses. A slow start, an instant male romantic interest that seems too good to be true, and a female character with a thousand and one hidden strengths. After the first book in the ACOTAR series, the rest of the books pick up on a much faster pace and makes a more interesting read.

Many parts of this book reminded me of the Selection as well. In the Selection, girls from any caste apply to marry the Prince, but typically only girls of the higher castes are chosen. Throughout the competition, the girls will fight with each other and create conflict in hopes of winning over the Prince. Both of these plot lines had a heavy presence in Trial of the Sun Queen.

One of my biggest complaints with this book is that the reader can’t pin down the trope.

Love at first sight? Royalty? Enemies to lovers? Love to hate? Forbidden romance? Mates? What is going on!

By first impressions, this series doesn’t seem to be one with a more complex plot like other fantasy series, such as Harry Potter, Eragon, ACOTAR, etc. Instead, it’s giving a more basic, cliché plot, which is totally fine! I read the basic, easily guessed plot books and love them. However, I feel that if the author is aiming to have a complex plot, then that should be made apparent from the first book. If she’s not aiming for that, then the trope should be evident from the first book too!

I’m not sure if I’ll go on to read the next book in this series, but I will update with more reviews. Next book to review is Fourth Wing!

Talk soon,

Mary