The Star-Touched Queen

I would like to thank St. Martin's Press & NetGalley for a copy of this e-ARC to review. Though I received this ebook for free, that has no impact upon the honesty of my review.

Goodreads Teaser: "Cursed with a horoscope that promises a marriage of Death and Destruction, sixteen-year-old Maya has only earned the scorn and fear of her father's kingdom. Content to follow more scholarly pursuits, her world is upheaved when her father, the Raja, arranges a wedding of political convenience to quell outside rebellions. But when her wedding takes a fatal turn, Maya becomes the queen of Akaran and wife of Amar. Yet neither roles are what she expected. As Akaran's queen, she finds her voice and power. As Amar's wife, she finds friendship and warmth.

But Akaran has its own secrets - thousands of locked doors, gardens of glass, and a tree that bears memories instead of fruit. Beneath Akaran's magic, Maya begins to suspect her life is in danger. When she ignores Amar's plea for patience, her discoveries put more than new love at risk - it threatens the balance of all realms, human and Otherworldly.

Now, Maya must confront a secret that spans reincarnated lives and fight her way through the dangerous underbelly of the Otherworld if she wants to protect the people she loves.

The "Star-Touched Queen" is a lush, beautifully written and vividly imagined fantasy inspired by Indian mythology."

This is a fantastic creation, pieces of several Indian mythologies woven together into something new and wholly its own. At once a story of self discovery, love, and ultimate power; this story spans lifetimes while only taking a few short years to occur. Thus is the magic of Akaran, Amar, and even Maya if she's willing to accept it.

I enjoyed Maya. She's feisty and smart, and stubborn to a dangerous fault. She's also loyal, caring, compassionate, and sometimes wise. But at the same time she's like most people, which means she doesn't like being kept in the dark. The longer the truth is kept from her the more inclined she is to trust in whispered secrets. Can she get past her desire for true freedom and trust Amar until all is to be revealed to her, or will her impulsiveness get her into trouble?

Amar is a harder character to get to know. He seems kind and certainly his love for Maya seems real. But since the story is told from Maya's point of view we don't get much more than her fleeting interactions with Amar to gauge his true intentions. But what we see of him makes him a likable character, even if he does seem to be keeping secrets.

The progression of the story is fairly smooth, and I like the way the story is frequently shown to us rather than simply being told. Although her background seems a tad long, its importance becomes clear deeper in the tale. Add in all the fantastic mythological beings, and parts of various myths, and you get a lovely, original story built on the bones of exceedingly beautiful, though sometimes frightening, Indian myths. This story stands up very well on its own; it also provides plenty of fodder, fueling my desire to learn more about the original Indian myths used to help craft such a powerful tale.

This book is eye-opening, exciting, full of fantasy and adventure. The love dynamics are so honest and real, yet not the focus of the plot. It uses lots of Indian folklore throughout the story. It’s descriptive and engaging. I literally could not put this book down. I highly highly recommend more to read this!