I usually get my book recommendations from platforms as Goodreads or other social media, but I never really saw anybody posting about Trial of the Sun Queen by Nisha J. Tuli. This book got my attention when I saw that a Dutch translation was on its way. And here is why book recommendations by readers are very important, because by the blurb alone, I never would have picked it up. To me, the blurb sounded like other books and I wasn’t drawn to it. However, people in a Discord server I’m in were positively surprised by this book and that convinced me to give it a try. Do I agree with them or was this yet another mismatch as often with me and hyped books?

About the book

Trial of the Sun Queen by Nisha J. Tuli
Series: Artefacts of Ouranos #1
Published by Forever on September 12, 2023
Pages: 400
ISBN: 9781538767481
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Romantasy

Ten women. A deadly contest. Only one can win the Sun King’s heart.

Lor has endured twelve long years of torment under the Aurora King’s rule. Her only desire is to escape and pay him back for every moment of misery she’s endured.

When a surprise release finds her in the hands of the rival Sun King, Lor is thrust into the spotlight as she competes against nine other Tributes for the role of queen. If she wins his heart, she’ll earn her freedom and finally get her revenge.

But Lor doesn’t belong in the Sun Queen Trials. Not only does she not understand why she was freed, she isn’t a citizen of the Sun King’s court. The other Tributes resent her presence and will stop at nothing to ensure Lor is removed from the competition, permanently.

Now Lor must win, because if she loses, she dies. Or worse, she’ll be returned to the evil—and now vengeful—Aurora King.

My review

Even though I heard many positive comments on this book lately, I still was a bit hesitant. The blurb didn’t speak to me and I was afraid that this book wouldn’t be for me. I got to know it as a young adult fantasy novel, because it’s marketed like this in my country. But yeah, ACOTAR is YA here too, so I’m not that surprised anymore. However, when i found out it’s getting spicy, I was immediately curious. I decided to pick this book up quickly, before I became insecure about it again. I still had not much expectations, so they have definitely been exceeded.

This book is about Lor, who has been inprisoned for twelve years. She has been longing for freedom ever since, because she doesn’t know why she is an inmate. She is known for her big mouth and her short temper, so when someone steals something from her, she fights back. At a certain moment, she notices someone taking her away. To where? She has no clue. When she finds out she’s at the Sun Palace, she wants to get out as soon as possible. Lor is the final tribute to compete in the Sun Queen trials, to become King Atlas’ wife. However, all other competitors are fae and she’s just an ordinary human, albeit very malnurished and definitely untrained. Failing means she returns to prison. What fate will she face?

I was immediately interested in Lor. She remains a mystery from the start and she’s so damaged by trauma that she has her guard up. She’s not letting anybody too close. However, she has people she cares about and she does everything in her capacity to protect them. During the trials, she finds herself opening up more, but still reluctantly. She still doesn’t trust the world surrounding her. Not strange, keeping in mind what she has endured and that the other competitors are well-trained nobel fae. Lor finds herself spending time with Atlas, the Sun King, a lot. However, she doesn’t know whether it’s real or not. I therefore found her a bit naive at times. We also follow nadir, the Aurora Prince. He will probably be involved more in the next book, so we will get to know him better then. I hope this also applies to Lor, because the entire book is written in her POV and we barely get to know her.

This book was such a fast- paced read. The writing floods easily and therefore I was able to finish it quickly and still enjoy it. I liked the POV switching between Lor and Nadir, because this means that there’s more at stake than I initially thought. The author clearly got inspired by older popular titles and threw them al in the mix. So, the plot is not original at all. Does it matter? No. I had a much better time than I was expecting and maybe even hoping. I was intrigued from start to finish and it was hard for me to put the book down.

Trial of the Sun Queen by Nisha J. Tuli is the first book in a 4-book series. At least, that’s the planning for now. I was very hesitant to pikc this up, because the premise sounded like something I wouldn’t enjoy anymore. Tuli got inspired by lots of other popular books and therefore I had the feeling that this was not an original story. It indeed isn’t, but I still had a pleasant time with it. The book reads easily and Lor seems a clever character. I’m wondering where all this will go in Rule of the Aurora King, the second book in this series. Are you a fan of The Hunger Games, The Selection, Throne of Glass and The Prison Healer? You will definitely enjoy this book then!