I LOVE THIS SERIES! Getting to read the continuation was so exciting! The first book was one of my favorite reads last year, and this did not dissapoint!

I loved book one and was worried that I would be disappointed by book two. Happily that was not the case! The story continues to follow our characters through what happens now that HMRC's High Priestess has been put to death and now that Ciara is back in the picture. Now add in the Prime Minister and his Shadow Cabinet and Dabney Hale's misogynistic grab for power and you have a book that you won't be able to put down.
Juno Dawson has masterfully woven history, fantasy, current events and pop culture to make for an absolutely amazing story. There are so many twists in this book that I never saw coming. I can't wait for the third book!

The worst thing about sequels is that you can’t really review them without spoiling way too much that happened in the first book. And trust me, there’s a lot that happens in The Shadow Cabinet. Well, if you thought the first book would leave you speechless, just you wait until you’ve read its follow-up.

Dawson takes everything that worked so well in the first book, Her Majesty’s Royal Coven, and makes it stand out even brighter. At turns provocative and sharp, at others funny and filled with queer joy, this book is sure to keep lovers of the first book very happy. Told from a variety of different characters, the threads of the story are woven together even more intricately and alliances (as well as friendships) shift as we dive deeper into this magical world.

While I will say that this had some moments that dragged a bit (middle-book syndrome and with that many pages it was bound to happen, we all know it), the slow build-up was warranted once you see how everything unfolds and sets up for the conclusion.

As always, Dawson’s talent of tackling contemporary topics in a fantastical setting truly makes this story stick with you. The way misogyny is handled in here via groups of men that believe a witch’s place is wherever they deign it to be was done so well—and it’s as rage-inducing and aggravating as it is in real life. The power imbalance is frustrating and you can’t help but want to riot right along with Ciara, Leonie, Elle, and Theo, whose fierce protectiveness of each other and unapologetic desire for a just world drives the story to its inevitable end.

This entrancing mix of feminism, queerness, magic and power-hungry villains makes for an intoxicating reading experience. The Shadow Cabinet takes the irresistible themes of the Her Majesty’s Royal Coven and amplifies their reach well beyond the pages of the book.

Dark magic, explosive anti-feminist violence, heartbreak lies and kidnapping - this is one darrrrrrk sequel.

The first book, Her Royal Majesty’s Coven, introduced us to the society that has lived in secret for generations. I fell madly in love with the friendship group of high powered witches. They are back in this gut busting sequel, still using demons and devils for bad use, still hiding their powers from the mundanes, but this time some aggressive witch finders are out for blood while the witches try and find the warlocks who caused the last war and want to introduce Armageddon to their world.

Oh, and one twin witch has stolen the other twin’s body. That alone makes for some crazy situations.

On one hand, I was thoroughly bewitched by the story yet also thoroughly frustrated by the wonky formatting from the e-galley (yes, it was finally fixed but hurt my brain for too long).

My one complaint was the ceaselessly dark, rather hopeless story line; the witches eventually kick a little ass but the patriarchy wins a lot. Ultimately though, I will totally read the third book! I need to find out if the world survives the men who want to pull women back into the dark ages (sound familiar, America?!)

Juno Dawson, I have a bone to pick with you. Can you please stop ending your books on these heart wrenching cliff hangers? It's really not fair when the next book won't be out until probably next year.

That said, I greatly enjoyed The Shadow Cabinet, more so than HMRC. It had all the great writing as the first, lots of build up and weaving around of the story, fantastic character development, and wayyyy less pop culture references (which, while enjoyable in HMRC also felt like we were drowning in it). The Shadow Cabinet starts off slow, but does not suffer from middle book syndrome. It has its own journey and resolution, while setting us up for what I can only imagine to be a fantastic third book.

I did have a couple of issues regarding consent and everyones overall reaction to Ciara that took away from the story for me (the latter especially), but overall had a great time. And while I greatly miss Niamh, I appreciate that Dawson isn't afraid to ruin/kill off main characters. It made for a much more edge of my seat read of The Shadow Cabinet.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Books for the ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Where do I send my request for my emotional well-being to be returned to me? Juno, this was unfair. I'll wait for your next book, but my heart.

4.5 Stars

What a wild ride! Initially, I had a hard time getting into the book because I had to know if the ending of the previous book was true or not and since it wasn't going in the direction I wanted, I did feel very frustrated. But eventually, I started to enjoy the book as it was and I loved it. The characters, the action, the story - I had fun. I think the best part about the author is you never know where the book is going. It's very unpredictable and I'm all for it.

I can't wait for book 3 <3

The witches are back, mostly. Niamh is dead, but her body still walks-- inhabited by Ciara, her twin sister. Ciara isn't sure why she was brought back, but she maintains the illusion that Niamh is still alive while she gets her feet and hopes that the dread warlock Dabney Hale, her former lover, will be found. Leonie is on the other side of Europe, trying to hunt him down.

I enjoyed this second volume more than the first. Despite being roughly of age with the main characters and presumably a target audience, I do not think of the Spice Girls (or any music I listened to as a teen) nearly as often and found the pop culture references grating. To contrast, this second volume tones that down to focus on the adult relationships between characters. We also see the stakes raised exponentially. Along with watching Ciara try to do her best Niamh impression with varying degrees of success, we see the coven interact with British government officials (does not go well), Theo acclimate to her new body (so heartening), and even get some non-witch POVs (including Luke!). I found Ciara's sections most interesting because she's such a morally grey character in comparison to the original group-- it gives her a multi-dimensionality beyond many of the other characters.

I'm definitely picking up the third one. That cliffhanger is illegal.

Her Majesty’s Royal Coven has really stuck with me since finishing it last year. After that cliffhanger I was so excited (and maybe a little nervous) for the sequel. I enjoyed The Shadow Cabinet but not as much as HMRC!

This started off pretty slow. It was giving second book syndrome for a bit but thankfully things picked up. The last 20% of this book was wild! Dawson really knows how to write an ending. Wow!

I’m so happy that we get Theo’s perspective! That’s one thing I really wanted in the first book. I enjoyed getting to know her thoughts while she is dealing with all of the changes in her life.

I didn’t really think that the absence of Niamh was going to affect me as much as it did. I loved the bond she had with her friends & Theo so I really missed that. Things just felt a little incomplete without her.

I’m still not sure how I feel about the addition of Ciara. The lack of reaction to her body switch was very odd to me. I also wasn’t a big fan of the thing between her & Luke. It gave me weird vibes.

I love these characters so much and I am deeply invested in their lives! I’m looking forward to an epic conclusion in book 3!

"In the second installment of Juno Dawson's "irresistable" fantasy trilogy (Lana Harper), a group of childhood friends and witches must choose between what is right and what is easy if they have any hope of keeping their coven - and their world - from tearing apart forever.

Niamh Kelly is dead. Her troubled twin, Ciara, now masquerades as the benevolent witch as Her Majesty's Royal Coven prepares to crown her High Preistess.

Suffering from amnesia, Ciara can't remember what she's done - but if she wants to survive, she must fool Niamh's adopted family and friends; the coven; and the murky Shadow Cabinet - a secret group of mundane civil servants who are already suspicious of witches. While she tries to rebuild her past, she realizes none of her past has forgotten her, including her former lover, renegade warlock Dabney Hale.

On the other end of the continent, Leonie Jackman is in search of Hale, rumored to be seeking a dark object of ultimate power somehow connected to the upper echelons of the British government. If the witches can't figure out Hale's machinations, and fast, all of witchkind will be in grave danger - along with the fate of all (wo)mankind.

Sharp, funny, provocative, and joyous, Juno Dawson's sequel reimagines everything you think you knew about her coven and her witches in a story that spans continents and dives deep into the roots of England and its witchcraft. Ciara, Leonie, Elle, and Theo are fierce, angry, sexy, warm - and absolutely unapologetic as they fight for what they believe in, all in the name of sisterhood."

The whole idea of a "shadow cabinet" has always appealed to me and I love to read what others make of those two simple words.

Thank you NetGalley for the early digital review copy of The Shadow Cabinet. I love this series and was so glad to get to be able to read it early. I tore through this one and am now lamenting that I'll have to wait a long time for the third installment.

I read an eARC by The Shadow Cabinet by Juno Dawson. Thank you NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUNG Penguin Books.

I wasn’t sure what to think after the first book killed a main character in order to replace her with her “evil sister”, you’d think with such a large cast that we spend time with it wouldn’t be a problem, it was. The problem wasn’t just in missing the character Niamh, it was that it felt like no time was spent really exploring what it meant to lost a main character. Since no one knew Niamh was dead, no one was mourning. So the characters didn’t have to deal with what it meant to lose her. Dynamics didn’t change much because the characters never really seem to interact much anyway, most doing what they want.

The one who could have done the most was Theo, but she’s off at school, and the most frustrating thing happens to her character. Basically, in order to deal with the fact that she’s so powerful, they had to nerf her power. Having Niamh give her dampening herbs so she doesn’t find out who she is. And Theo basically just dealt with teenage things and her new body the rest of the book. So my favorite character was sidelined in this book.

I think I could have liked this book if it focused more on Leonie and her search of Hale as her search seemed interesting, but not fleshed out enough to really make me care.

Or if Ciara was an interesting character, instead of a wet blanket. Instead of being an evil villain with a humanizing backstory, she’s more of an evil villain, that once you learn more about her, the more pathetic she becomes.

So the book was mostly a drag for me to read. Not a bad book. Just a drag book.

Perhaps too many points of view. Had a difficult time with the ARC since the first section of every chapter had a printed error where two different scenes were interspersed together, so that made reading this kind of difficult. Once I figured that out it made it easier going.

Overall interesting plot points, like seeing Ciara's point of view. Liked the slow revealing of her history, but seemed kinda slow at times.

Would have liked to see more about the inner workings of the coven and cabinet. For a store based there it sure stays away from it a lot.

I was a pretty big fan of Dawson's first book in this series, so I was excited to read the sequel.

One of the things I really love about this series so far, and a thing that makes me keep recommending it to people is that while the HMRC books are part of a trilogy, they don't fall into the trap that many ongoing narrative series do, where each book only feels like an incomplete part of the story. Both Her Majesty's Royal Coven and now The Shadow Cabinet both tell a completely self-contained story within each book, while expertly plotting seeds for ways that the next book's narrative will pick up and continue the story within the fiction's world. But both books by themselves feel like satisfying, complete read, the core conflict of each is wrapped up and the cliffhanger both times has been for a new arc that is beginning.

The Shadow Cabinet manages to pull the opposite trick as HMRC. In that book, a character who had been a POV narrative voice surprised us by becoming the villain, and doing so through a worldview that readers of Dawson's series, and fans of Dawson in general, would likely find pretty abhorrent. And yet she manages to make that character at first sympathetic, by making us see through her eyes and seeing the path she follows down into her own damnation. Her choices are not sympathetic, but they follow a clear throughline. In this book, we have instead a character that the author has to know from the outset that we will not want to root for. And yet by the end, I was more firmly invested in her than perhaps any of the other characters in the book. I cared so much about her and what was happening with her.

As a trans reader, I'm obviously also pretty invested in Theo's journey. One thing I really respect about this book is that a major quibble that I had with HMRC is the sense of Theo's transformation was too easy, a wish-fulfillment fantasy that glossed over a lot of the trans experience. While I could respect Dawson might feel differently and enjoy that fantasy, it still fell short for me. Much to my surprise, it's equally as unsettling for Theo here, and much of her story in this book is squaring this new version of herself with who she understands her identity to be.

The only real, and honestly pretty negligible criticism I have for this book is that while the Shadow Cabinet is a pretty cool name, it ultimately didn't feel like the titular cabinet had a ton to do with the actual story and was mostly a deep C or D plot compared to the main stuff. The HMRC was front in center in the book that used it as the name. Again, minor issue, the title is cool, just was expecting more tying into it.

I couldn't wait for this book to come out after reading HMRC and being desperate to follow up on the characters. I found it a little transitional though and wanted more action instead of a bridge to the next book. Dawson's writing is deeply enjoyable and the intersectional identities of the characters is important.

This is the most outstanding follow up to Her Majesty's Royal Coven. There are still cliffhanger endings but the characters are so intensely vivid and queer. If you haven't read book 1 I cannot recommend this series more. It's infinitely buy-worthy.

The sequel to Her Majesty’s Royal Coven picks up right where the first book left off. If you haven’t read book one, for the love of Pete, please DON’T read the synopsis for this one, as it’s full of spoilers! I will try to be as spoiler-free as possible, but the bottom line is that I enjoyed The Shadow Cabinet as much as, if not more than, Her Majesty’s Royal Coven (HMRC). Most of the core group of friends, plus Theo and Holly, are back, along with an expanded storyline for Luke and an intriguing new set of supporting characters. A dark band of warlocks seeks world domination, the Sullied Child still may be out there, there’s an imposter inside HMRC, and the new non-magical Prime Minister has started meddling in the coven’s business, all of which threaten to bring on the end of the world as we know it unless our little band of heroines can intervene.

Likes: Friendship is at the center of these books, and these witches support one another through spousal infidelity, kidnapping, attempted murder, and a quest for a hidden magical object. Dawson’s special blend of magic, fantasy, girl power, sarcastic humor, and unexpected twists kept me frantically turning the pages to find out what happened next. The twists in this one came out of left field at quite unexpected moments and took this story in different and very interesting directions. I also really like the way one of the villains gets to narrate parts of the story (as in book one), so we see her perspective as well as that of the more sympathetic and heroic characters.

Dislikes: Again with the cliffhanger ending! Okay, it’s not really a *dislike* for me, but I know they really bug some people. If this is you, consider yourself forewarned!

FYI: violence, murder, demonic possession, kidnapping, infidelity, gore.

I will update the review with the link to on our blog closer to publication date.

I'd like to thank the publisher Penguin Books and Netgalley for providing me with a review copy in exchange for an honest review

The Shadow Cabinet is the sequel to Her Majesty's Royal Coven, a book which ended on a cliffhanger and I was desperate to know what happened. Thankfully, I was approved for an early review copy (thank you, NetGalley!!) and dropped everything I was doing to read it!

I loved the first book and have been really enjoying books about contemporary witches and magic, so this one fit in perfectly with my mood. There are some major changes in characters from the first book, but the threads pick back up pretty much right away. I really like the premise of these books, the magical system, and the characters. This book was very similar in those areas, but I wasn't quite as compelled by the plot of this book as I was with Her Majesty's Royal Coven. To say much more would be utter spoilers, although the book description doesn't leave much to the imagination. This book ALSO ends on a cliffhanger and I'm going to have to wait much longer for the next book to find out what happened! And I would like to know now!!!

I definitely recommend this book if you have read the first one! DO NOT read this book first as it is certainly not stand alone. While I really liked it, the story dragged a little for me, which knocked it down to 4.5 stars rounded down to 4 to the first book's 5 stars. That being said, I think that it was a great sequel and I'm excited for the third! Thank you to Penguin Books and NetGalley for the electronic advanced reader's copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

First off, thanks to Penguin Group and Juno Dawson for the ARC!! I was SO EXCITED to get approved for this ARC because I literally devoured Her Majesty’s Royal Coven in like a day, it was so good and so I went into The Shadow Cabinet with high expectations, especially given the HUGE ENORMOUS cliffhanger we were left with at the end of HMRC, and I was not disappointed! I love these characters so much and seeing their relationships deepen and seeing them fight to protect the ones they love kept me on the edge of my seat and fighting back tears. Seeing the struggle for everyone to deal with the gigantic changes they’ve been dealt following the fight at Hebden Bridge and new challenges with the return of Dabney, I could not put this one down. I’m excited to get my hands on a physical copy when it comes out but seriously, RUN to get this one when it comes out.