Damien Kelly

This is an exceptional addition to the world of Her Majesty’s Royal Coven, establishing not only the idea of a community of witches and warlocks at the highest levels of British society, but also the rich diversity of magic and its grey relationship with heaven and hell alike.

But the incredible success of this slim volume is how it manages all of the above in a story that is so intimate and focused. And how it takes the elephant in the room about any story about Anne Boleyn and manages to keep you guessing, even when you thought you knew the ending before you began.

Anne Boleyn, queen of witches, was condemned for treason and beheaded. Any story about her as a hero, a leader, a woman who was loved and respected, is undercut by the tragedy you know is coming. Which is probably why Dawson makes the whole story about her death, and fashions what essentially unfolds as an unlikely whodunnit, weaving new mysteries, fresh tragedies and unexpected joys around an injustice we all think we know every detail of and which has been plumbed for all it can yield.

Anne’s death is the subject and her sister witches, chief amongst them Lady Grace Fairfax, are the focus, as they scramble to avenge their fallen high priestess and protect themselves and their kind from a changed climate at court. A capricious king, new favourites and newly appointed witchfinders threaten a coven that has plunged from having all the power to having precious little, but all that must wait while those closest to be late queen hunt for the traitor who ultimately cost Boleyn her head.

All of this is covered with precision and economy in less than 200 pages. Dawson moves back and forth in time between moments of passion and high emotion, picking and choosing her beats exactly right and letting the heightened moments reveal the whole of her world without a wasted word. It’s confident, clever plotting that relies on, rather than getting in the way of, the emotions and characterisations of these spectacular women.

I just adored this book. Its sadness. its faith, its unapologetic messiness, its complicated love story, its focus on small moments that change the world. The world of HMRC is a treasure and this book is a crown jewel.

Bravo, Juno.

An ARC of this book was provided by HarperCollins.