I absolutely loved this story!
It reminds me a bit of ACOTAR but not in a bad way at all.
You've got found family, enemies to lovers, prison escape and sexy shadow daddy's.

What a great time! This reminds me so much of ACOTAR which I liked but also made it feel predictable at times. I do love all of the different courts and their aesthetics. Love Lor’s back story. Love Nadir right away. I love how things slowly unfold with bits of gossip and new information and little hints that circle back to each other. I like the trials but they reminded me of other books. I didn’t understand how she could swim well enough to fight a mermaid underwater and carry someone back to shore with her if she’s never even seen the ocean in the first trial and i couldn’t stop thinking about how unlikely it was which took me out of the moment. & I don’t think that the last trial was the most dramatic and I wish that it was. Lor makes the decision to not trust Atlas based off of that last trial where everything was an illusion and no one was actually hurt. People literally died in the first two trials and she didn’t call it quits on him then. I just wish the last one had a better reason for it to really feel like the last straw. I like that we get information about Atlas at the same time as Lor and slowly start to feel uneasy about him right along with her. I lovedddd Lor and Nadir’s first meeting and Atlas’s reaction/that being the catalyst for so many reveals. I am itching for more Lor and Nadir scenes and can’t wait! I was so surprised that Lor knows who she is and was lying to everyone!! That makes me even more interested in her. The side characters were strong and fun. I love that there are still so many secrets being kept and questions that need answered. It makes me want to read the second book ASAP and I can’t wait to get to know everyone better!

Trial of the sun queen- 4⭐️ 2.5🌶️

New Adult
High Romantasy
Romantic Fantasy
Dual POV
Bipoc
Fae Courts
Magic
Politics
Feuding Kingdoms
Secrets
Bride Trials
Rags to Riches
Slow Burn
🏳️‍🌈 Side Character Rep

Tw- adult themes, definitly check the trigger warnings.

The first line- “That bitch took my soap.” I was immediately invested in this FMC. I wanted to know her story, her hardships. The time in the prison made this story unique and compelling. I wish there had been more of the story developed there.

Thank goodness the trials in this book were heavy in the plot and revealed character growth. They took up space and were well laid out. There was a little bit of haziness around the 2nd. I was more than a little turned around on the obstacle course in where the competitors were in relation to each other. But I was relieved for them to be as central to the plot in how they were played out and not just that they happened. It helped with more than just the FMC’s character development, I feel like it really moved the side characters forward as well.

If the secret had been known, I feel like it would have added to the tension and stakes of the plot. Instead I felt left out and that the FMC was untrustworthy.

I found the romance to be very naive right off the bat, making it feel more YA. The FMC’s defined character from her time in prison immediately disappeared once she was in the trials. In the prison she was independent, untrusting, self-sufficient, with feminine rage for days. When she was in the palace, all of a sudden she had absolutely no self preservation or suspicion until further in the plot than you would expect.

I had a great time reading this book!

Thank you NetGalley and Forever (Gran Central Publishing) for an Advanced eReader Copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

The Trial of the Sun Queen is told in two distinct POVs. First is Lor, a young seemingly human woman presumably in her early twenties, and Nadir, the Fae Prince of Aurora. My issues begin the moment the second POV starts. Lor’s chapters are 1st person; Nadir are in 3rd. The switch back and forth is absolutely jarring. I have to reorient myself to the story every switch. I wish the author would have picked either 1st or 3rd and stuck with it.

Lor is a prisoner, who hasn’t actually committed a crime. She is “rescued” from the prison and taken to the Sun court to compete to become the Sun Queen and bond to the king, Atlas.

Atlas takes an instant liking to her for completely unknown reasons. We spend 95% of the book under the guided impression that Atlas is the MMC. But the entire time, I felt completely detached from the romance and from Atlas. Atlas just felt so… separated from the story. I didn’t know him. Didn’t care. I had no rooting interest in their pairing.

The main “reveals” of the book were exceedingly transparent. From the moment the Heart Queen is mentioned, you know it’s Lor. The moment “fated mated exist” is mentioned, you know it’s Nadir. It just wasn’t weaved into the story well.

The final challenge was infuriating. These four women had literally *just* figured out the cliff was an illusion. Yet somehow didn’t think the maze was one? They didn’t stop to think that hey maybe their loved ones wouldn’t be running away from them and wouldn’t refuse to answer them? And then the audacity to get furious over the most obvious thing in the world? THAT is was tips you over into Atlas is a terrible person? That is was removes his kind persona? It made no logical sense.

I really wanted to like this book more than I did. It was a lightning fast read. I finished in less than a day. The set up and the world created are really intriguing. And despite my gripes about my detachment from the story of Book 1, the world building is enough that I’ll continue the series and give it one more book.

Lor has spent most of her life as a prisoner of the Aurora King. She lives constantly close to death, until she is suddenly whisked away and entered to compete alongside nine other women to become the Sun King’s new Queen. Suddenly living among luxury, Lor is determined to win if only to save her siblings who remain locked away. If she survives the deadly competition but cannot win the heart and bond of King Atlas, she will return to her former prison cell forever.

Picture an adult Hunger Games meets The Bachelorette with a little magic! This was a pretty fast paced story with a few layers of mystery that kept me guessing. Lor is pretty fiery and the book has plenty of humor. It took me a while to understand how the love interest would play into the story, and it was fun to follow! I’m already jumping into book 2, as the first ends with a dramatic reveal!

Thank you to NetGalley, Forever, and the author for the opportunity to read and review this book! Trial of the Sun Queen has been available for a while, but it was recently traditionally published!

☀️Trial of the Sun Queen by Nisha J. Tuli @nishajtwrites ☀️

Trial of the Sun Queen is Hunger Games meets Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

The main character Lor is in a high security type is prison. Everything about that place is brutal and made to kill toy slowly. The only reason she presses on is because of her sister and brother. After a fight she is sent to The Hollow a pit in the forest that breaks even the toughest of inmates. Just when she thinks she is going to break she is taken out of the pit and transported to another kingdom.

She finally learns that she has been abducted to be the final competitor in the Trial of the Sun Queen, the winner marries the king and becomes queen. Lor finally sees a way to rescue her siblings from prison and have a better life. The only issue is that the final (and only human) competitor has never survived the trials. Can she be the one to break the streak?

Overall this book was good. The trials were exciting and the world building great. I did struggle to connect with most of the characters, but it is book one in a four book series so a lot of time was spent on world building and back stories. Overall it was an enjoyable read. This wasn’t a spicy read, but still had a thread of romance and a few twists and turns that kept you interested.

I enjoyed this book and was drawn into the world however I found much of it quite predictable and was just waiting for the characters to catch up. I do love an underdog story and Lor certainly fits the bill during this book. While a bit predictable, it didn’t stop me from diving right into book 2 if this series

Went into it blind and left delighted and pleasantly surprised. This is how the first book in a series should be executed! It didn’t just set things up and end abruptly. It didn’t barely give us any world backstory enough to care. It didn’t keep things superficial in describing the characters. This was a whole story on its own. Well told, with some resolution, and some questions. It was both satisfying and enticing to read book number 2… which I dove heart first right away finishing this one. Highly recommend but beware it has very strong Throne of Glass similarities. It didn’t bother me at all and I still think it’s very much worth the read!

I am OBSESSED!!
This book is worth all the hype and so amazing! Instant 5 star and a quick read. I can not wait to read the next one.

Unfortunately, this one wasn’t for me.
The premise definitely seemed fun, a mix between Throne of Glass, the Bachelor and the Hunger Games. However, it felt too similar to those and didn’t introduce any new or exciting plot lines. The writing style felt somewhat young, and I found the main character often thinking and saying things that felt targeted towards a younger reader. I appreciate the authors inclusion of imagery, but I felt overwhelmed with the amount of similes, metaphors and adjectives.
I wish we could have had a little more insight into what drives the characters. I know our main character Lor is motivated by keeping her friends and family safe, but everyone else’s motives were not made clear to the reader. This often made a lot of the characters’ behavior seem erratic and random.
I much preferred Nasir’s POV, as it felt more age appropriate and mature, with a more interesting plot line. There was mystery and intrigue, and had more engaging supporting characters.
I did find myself more engaged as the story went on, with the plot becoming more interesting and the stakes felt higher. It was set up nicely for the next books, and I could see the upcoming story lines venturing into a different territory than the first.

These are just my opinions, and I can see this being a really enjoyable read for someone looking for something quick and easy.

I’m gonna start by saying that when I first picked this up I didn’t expect to love it as much as I did but I was so pleasantly surprised!
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From the very first page the story drew me in and the concept of the magic and the kingdom’s is just so interesting and new that I absolutely fell in love with the world. The story building is also sooo amazing I absolutely loved how descriptive everything is because it really made me feel like I was in the story itself.
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I absolutely loved Lor from the first page too and just loved her even more as the story went on and just found that it was so easy to connect to her! 😭 I also loved her friendship with the rest of the female characters but wish we’d seen more of her interactions with them but I’m still content with what we got because it was all honestly so well paced that i enjoyed the whole story as it went along. It also had the rigor amount of romance and spice mixed that I literally fell for the sun king from the very first in depth with him until the ending that is 😀
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And that ending like OH MY GOD like I’m
Not gonna lie I saw it coming as the story went on but I was still so shocked and I absolutely cannot wait to read the next book and see where the story goes from here!
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This definitely gave me Acotar meets hunger games meets throne of glass and just so much more good stuff so if ur into any of those series I’d definitely say to give this one a try!!

Thank you to Netgalley and Nisha J Tuli for the galley of this book!

When I tell you I could not put this book down, I mean it. I wanted to abandon all my life responsibilities and get lost in Lor's tale. This book (not the whole series!) is a blend of The Selection meets The Hunger Games with hints of ACOTAR and maybe The Plated Prisoner. I enjoyed the magical competition, and the ending absolutely threw me for a loop and I am thankful the second book is already out in the world.

Tuli's characters are vivid and come alive on the page. I need more Nadir in my life. But I'm also a sucker for secret identities. An impressive star to a series that I will be waiting for with zero chill.

“I think of when I danced with the prince. When our gazes met, there was a different kind of pull there. Not the same thing I feel around Atlas. but something wider and deeper. Like being tossed around in a hurricane versus thrashing against a single wave.”

☀️ TROPES & THEMES ☀️
✔️ enemies to lovers
✔️ the bachelor meets hunger games trials
✔️ hidden identities
✔️ FMC with strength, an inner fire and humor - despite the trauma she’s endured
✔️ too pretty sun king 🤔
✔️ dark haired, broody aurora prince 🤔🤔
✔️ action packed, binge worthy read
✔️ sibling love
✔️ revenge seeking
✔️ plot twists, betrayal, and more questions


Trial of the Sun Queen checked off ALL my must haves. All of them. This book is the poster child for a five star read romantacy book. I inhaled this book so fast, I’m honestly surprised I didn’t get indigestion. But I was reelin’ from the absolute LEGEND our FMC, Lor is. Definitely one of my new favorite characters.

Lor and her siblings have been in prison for 12-ish years. For what? 🤷🏻‍♀️ guess you gotta read to find out. JK, I’ll give you a little hint. Basically for existing. But I’m not going to tell you much more, because you have to read it to see why - and it matters. While this book is 1st person POV, we don’t know all the information about Lor until the end! And its jaw dropping, really.

Lor is basically stolen from the prison one night and finds herself waking up in the Sun king’s kingdom. And then she finds out she’s the last tribute to compete in 4 trials to see who will become the King, Atlas’ queen and bonded.

The trials were fun, and dangerous. But aren’t all the best fictional ones? 🤣 atlas was a charmer… suspiciously so. 🤔 Lor was the true star of the show. She’s hilarious, cunning, stubborn and strong - and this poor baby has been through absolute heck and back.

Did I dash off to read the next book as soon as I finished? Absolutely. And you will too once you pick up this book. It’s every spicy romantacy lover’s DREAM.

Take a pot. Toss in a little bit of The Bachelor, a little bit of The Selection series. A dash of Hunger Games. A chunk of Tamlin-Lucien-Rhysand-Feyre energy. Season with The Beatles' song Sun King and Masquerade from Phantom of the Opera to taste. Heat with enough spicy scenes to keep you interested. And there you have it, Trial of the Sun Queen.

It was overall a fun read. The first quarter wasn't hard to get through, but it was slow in the build-up to the actual events. Once I got to the second half, it kept me pretty hooked. Is Lor a likeable character? Questionable. By the end of the book I couldn't decide if she was an unreliable narrator or otherwise (trying not to spoil things, but also, I don't know exactly WHAT I'm spoiling, and I'm expecting the second book to cover it more.) I'm really hoping the rest of the series delves more into the side characters that were so interesting to me.

I will say, most of the book felt like it was leading to a lot of questions being answered. And then it just kind of didn't answer (completely or explicitly) any questions, it just kept you on the cusp. I'm cool with that, assuming the next book starts answering stuff. It really did feel a lot like ACOTAR with relationship dynamics. I'm interested to see if the next book continues that.

Thank you to Netgalley and Forever Publishing for the e-ARC!

3.5 stars. I liked this a lot more than I though I would! As someone who is still trying to find good romantic fantasy, I'm always hesitant when I see the next big thing in the sub-genre. However, I though the pacing was good here and the characters were likeable (which is often my biggest gripe). I'm curious to see where this series goes!

What an adventure!! From the first line to the end, I was hooked. I really loved the pacing of this story, depth of characters, and overarching plot. There was a great balance of action, romance, and politics. It left a lot to be discovered in the following books (yay!) and after finishing Trial of the Sun Queen, I instantly picked up book #2 in the series.

Intrigue, mystery and a few good old fashions brawls fill out this amazing bachelorettesque story. 10 contestants there to battle it out (occasionally literally) for the chance to become the queen.
Lor is a prisoner, she who doesn’t belong in the trials, she doesn’t belong in the country. Abducted from the prison that held her, she is tossed into a world of high-class treachery where losing means your life.
Trial of the Sun Queen reads more fantasy and intrigue than romance. It has the fast pace that one would expect from a ya novel, in a slightly more adult packaging. When all is said and done, there are still more questions than answers. Luckily this is the first book and the second one, Rule of the Aurora King, is already available.

AMAZING AMAZING AMAZING. I love this book. What more can you want than a fae version of the bachelor with deadly competitions and two magic princes? I’m obsessed and I want everyone to read this book ASAP. I need the second book immediately. A series I will HAVE to finish.

I haven't read a book this long this quickly in a while. This one is so well-paced and hard to put down. It's everything you love about The Selection but for grown-ups. I. Love. It. I immediately jumped into the second book after reading the first and am eagerly awaiting the final installments! (Hurry 2024!)
The characters are all a bit morally grey and I love the way the main character keeps secrets from the reader that are revealed as you read. (Unreliable narrators for the win!) I kind of could tell what we were leading up to toward the final reveal, but it was still really satisfying.
For people wishing to cure their reading hangover after books like A Court of Thorns and Roses and Fourth Wing, I CANNOT recommend Nisha's works enough. Let's also mention the diversity in her cast of characters. A brown heroine and enemy/lover? Yes.
Literally just read this. It's one of my favorite reads of the year.
Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC copy of the traditional publishing of Trial of the Sun Queen! Congrats Nisha! It is well deserved.

The Bachelor meets The Hunger Games in a high stakes dark fantasy? Say less.

I’ll be honest, I assumed this was going to be physical combat/battle when I read the description, but it was more about knowledge, wit and cunning. Lor spent so much of her life in prison and is a little out of her depth here, but she’s determined, strong-willed and a little badass. I can’t wait to see her continue to grow as the series goes on.

This book sets you up to believe that the characters and love interest are one thing, but it’s turning out that there’s so much more to each of these characters. Nothing is as it appears and I’m looking forward to finding out if my predictions are correct.

One thing I’m incredibly confused about is the POVs? Lor’s POV is in 1st person but Nadir’s is in 3rd person. I’m not quite sure why they’re not both in 1st or both in 3rd.

Please check TWs/CWs before reading as this contains some darker material.

Tropes/Highlights:
- Dark Fantasy
- Deadly marriage competition
- Fae court politics
- Hidden identity

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.25/5
🌶️.5/5