But today I wanted to talk about The Star Touched Queen by Roshani Choshki. First and foremost I'd like to say thank St. Martins Press so much for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review.
When starting "The Star Touched Queen" I was beyond excited because of all of the hype circulating around Booktube and Bookstagram. Since I heard so many amazing things about Roshani's novel, I figured I'd give it a try. Plus it was right up my alley since it is based on Hades' and Persephone's story. The synopsis drew me in immediately; how could you go wrong with a plot-line based on a girl who's "cursed by the stars" and a" horoscope that promises a marriage full of death and destruction"? Honestly that line alone had me sold.
But as I got around to finishing it, I wasn't sold at all. I found myself completely lost and unbelievably confused throughout the entirety of the novel. For quite sometime, I wondered if I was just crazy for becoming so confused when I read "The Star Touched Queen". It seems that almost everyone else who read it loved it. But I ended up having to painfully backtrack and reread handfuls of paragraphs at a time, even selected chapters too because I had such a difficult time deciphering certain metaphors and meanings. I couldn't find my way around because the novel doesn't make clear what world or timeframe it is in.
Then again, Roshani's lush and poetic writing style really helped me make it through. I feel that without her talent for putting words on paper, the story would've been very unappealing.
I found it quite interesting when I read one Roshani's interviews she did. She stated that her inspiration for The Star Touched Queen wasn't just based off of Hades and Persephone's mythological story, but based off of several others. For example, Shakuntula, Beauty and the Beast, Savitiri and Satyavan. From Indian Folklore to Beauty and the Beast to Hades and Persephone, it almost felt like process of elimination didn't come into consideration. And from that, again I will say it was completely confusing.
As I finished the novel, it almost felt like there should've been more to it. So I will wait eagerly to see if Roshani will come out with any works related to "TSTQ". I'm very excited to see how her writing will grow. Her ability to use words is completely out of this world.
I hope you all enjoyed this review. If you've read this book, please tell me your thoughts and opinions on it. This review was my opinion on TSTQ, I do not want it to dissuade you from picking up Roshani's novel and reading it.
To learn more about Roshani please click here.
To buy The Star Touched Queen please click here.
No comments:
Post a Comment