ARC Review: A Crown of Wishes by Roshani Chokshi

A Crown of Wishes by Roshani Chokshi
Series: The Star Touched Queen #2

Genre: YA Fantasy, Mythology, Romance

Publication: March 28th 2017 by St. Martin’s Griffin
Length: 352 pages

Format: ARC

Goodreads

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.

A CROWN OF WISHES was one of my most anticipated of this year; I love the cover and the synopsis was reminiscent of that of CARAVAL, which I also enjoyed earlier this year. Overall, A CROWN OF WISHES was a pretty pleasant companion novel, but didn’t blow me away as I had expected.

The plot of this book revolves around Indian mythology, particularly, the Fox Prince, Vikram, and Bharata’s princess, Gauri, as they travel to the Tournament of Wishes to receive a wish each. While the beginning of the novel and the initiation of the journey seemed rushed, I did love this concept. The intriguing concept coupled with Roshani’s lovely writing style made this novel so enjoyable. Peep the following quote, which make me giggle nonstop.

At one point, a rakshasa clapped me on the back, shouting, “Excellent find, human girl! Start around the spine. Always the best cut of meat.” I had no idea what to say, so I said thank you. It only occurred to me after I was tugging Vikram halfway up the stars that perhaps I should have said, “I don’t eat people.” (ARC)

The characters throughout the novel were pretty well-done, but I became to prefer reading about Vikram rather than our leading lady, Gauri. Not going to lie, I just couldn’t really connect to her in the beginning of the book, but by the end, her character development was pretty awesome and I liked her a bit more than I had before. I was a bit wary of Vikram at first but he was a sweetheart, and I enjoyed reading about his character.

The romance between Gauri and Vikram was super lovely. It’s the kind of relationship that goes from enemies to friends to lovers, which, in my opinion, is the best kind of romance in YA novels. There’s super cute dialogue and bickering back and forth; I’m a total sucker for them, so you’ll probably enjoy this diverse romance if you’re into that as well!

Overall, I was anticipating and a bit wary reading this as I was a bit scared about how much people have loved this. All in all, I did enjoy this one and it had most of the elements that make books awesome, but it personally just didn’t blow me away. However, if you enjoy a diverse books, especially #ownvoices, and a rich and lush fantasy world, be sure to pick this one up!

Thank you to St. Martin’s Griffin for providing me with an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 

Are you excited to read A CROWN OF WISHES? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!