This started out promising and then I lost interest pretty quickly. Unfortunately I didn't care for any of the characters. Lor's storyline was your standard secret royalty with a series of trials. The romance wasn't really a romance, and the spicy scenes felt like they were only there to say this book has spice. I liked the idea of having another POV with Nahir, but he felt disconnected to me. I didn't enjoy his chapters being written in 3rd while Lor's were in 1st. Overall I was pretty disappointed with this one.

Thanks to NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Love, love, love!
This book hands downs have one the best entrances/introductions on page 1. Lor and her soap.

The best way to describe this book is it's kind of like the Hunger Games meets the Selection. Lor has been trapped and basically enslaved to this prison for humans. She does something that the commander does not agree with that lands her into some trouble, but her bad luck turns to good luck, then turns back to bad luck.

She finds herself in a trial to become then next sun queen. She will have to compete with 9 other women and if she does not win, she dies.

There is a touch of romance and spice but it's very little. The book was jammed pack full of action and I loved it! I have so many questions! Can't wait for the next book!

I absolutely love this book so much. The dual pov in this book was written beautifully. I loved the way the fmc was written. I never had a moment where I truly disliked her which is hard to find. I didn’t agree with all of her decisions but I wasn’t truly mad at her. The circumstances all made sense. Her love for her siblings was a nice touch to this story. Something about Nadirs pov chapters had me kicking my feet. The plot and storyline had me hooked the entire time. The trials/games were truly something else. I literally felt everything that was described. The world building was spot on and beautifully written. I would definitely recommend this book to so many people.


Thank you to the author, NetGalley, & Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the eARC in trade for an honest review!

I LOVED THIS BOOK!!

My weakness is a romantasy that has a good world building and amazingly written characters. Lor is such an intelligent, resilient, and total badass FMC. I fell in love with her since the first page of the book. She only grew stronger and clever throughout the story.

I loved how the dual POV were from characters who didn't know each other. It kept things very interesting, and I can't wait to see what direction the story takes in the sequel.

Here are my reasons why you should read this:
♡ You like deadly trials.
♡ You like unique magical courts and fae politics.
♡ You like a Cinderella rags to riches.
♡ You like a badass FMC with mysterious morally grey MMC.
♡ You like rival kingdoms.
♡ You like Hunger Games meets The Bachelor.

Did I binge read this? Yes of course how could I not!?! I knew the main characters secret early on and usually that makes me not like books but her journey is what I was attached to from the very beginning! Easy magic system to understand with dynamic characters that I attached to quickly! This world is so vivid and immersive, I never wanted to leave!

I have read so many fantasy books, but there's something about GAMES in them that I love. The Hunger Games, Serpent and the Wings of Night, etc. I loved how unique this was, the betrayal, the twists and turns!

Here I thought the Sun King was our man 🥺
I WAS ROOTING FOR YOU, WE WERE ALL ROOTING FOR YOU. can't wait for book two!

Let's just say I've already gone and purchased the second book in this series because--WHAT!?--you can't leave me hanging like that!!!

Thank you to the author, NetGalley, & Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the eARC in trade for an honest review!

I thought the plot and world building were spot on. I liked that this tale takes a very sheltered and suffering "human" being through a series of potentially unfortunate events to leverage the bravery and strength she needs to cut a path through the devices of others into of fate she makes for herself. Lore is neither perfect or powered (yet?) and she is one bada$$ character (if not a little naïve). Do I sometimes want to shake her for some poor choices? Yes, frequently! Do I want her to open her eyes and stop being a doormat to the might of men (since I can so anticipate where the plot is going to thicken)? Abso-freaking-lutely!!! Yet, she is the right kind of humble and outspoken. She might allow herself to be lead in the hopes of finding someone who cares for her the way she wants to be cared for, but she does not let that hope blind her. That makes me feverishly annoyed in other books of the same ilk.

Lore may start out as a prisoner but she never let all the horrors blunt her edges. This story deals with a few triggers like sexual abuse, abduction and being held against her will, violence, a bit of gore, and betrayal. But Lore is a shining example of what it means to never see herself as a victim. She knows she couldn't have avoided or changed the things that have happened to her, but she never lets those wrongs become her vengeance. So when she is stolen from prison only to be cast into a cage of another sort, it doesn't harden her to what matters to her most. Instead, she uses this opportunity to become stronger. She allows the love she has for her brother and sister, still imprisoned, to become her reason to survive. This is a fantastic tale of triumph, even when the book ends with TO BE CONTINUED.
Definitely recommend!
NO REGRETS!!!!

Have you ever wondered what The Bachelor would be like if it involved hundred year old Fae, deadly trials, political intrigue, and ancient secrets?

Enter: The Trial of the Sun Queen

Lor was taken from her home at a very young age and put into a brutal prison. For the last 12 years she’s been trapped in the Aurora prison. After being sent to solitary confinement for some of her actions in the prison, she finds herself kidnapped, taken to a different kingdom, and forced to compete in the deadly Sun Queen Trials, vying for power, the king, and her freedom.

This was such a wonderful book! Lor is headstrong and impulsive but holds fierce determination to come out on top of these trials. She is relentless in her pursuit for her freedom and resilient to everything that is thrown her way.

This book starts a little slow but quickly picks up and keeps you guessing on who to trust, who’s being honest, and what secrets everyone holds.

Read for:
Hunger games meets the bachelor
Fae
Political intrigue
If you like to root for the underdog
Dual POV

Looking forward to reading the next one!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

Such an intriguing plot, with so many twists and turns; leaving the reader wondering who exactly can you trust in Lor (the FMC)'s world? Love a book with an FMC who is fighting back against oppressions her whole life. The supporting cast of character's is top notch and the level of twists and turns keep the story suspenseful. It is an engaging, magical, yet suspicious world. You immediately wonder what more is going on in this world, and I immediately started to read the second in the series to get the answers to those questions.

Highlights:
Fiesty FMC
Enemies to Lovers
Dark Prince
Court Intrigue
Vibrant Worldbuilding

Favorite Quote: “With a temper like mine, a girl is bound to get in trouble now and then… or often.”

The selection meets ACOTAR. Ten girls fighting for the crown. Only one will be victorious. It's amazing how this book made me feel like I was reading one of my favorite series as a teenager (i.e. The Selection) but with a magical twist of fantasy, a little bit more mysterious, and a sprinkle of smut.

Rarely will you come across a fantasy book that I would consider fast-paced. Usually, the first half of the book is mainly world-building and you don't get a lot of action. With Trial of the Sun Queen, you do get the world building but you also get thrown right into the action on the first few pages. You can't get bored. The fact that not all of the world-building is done at once keeps an element of mystery. Taking into consideration that the main character Lor has grown up in a prison, we know probably just as much as her about the world she is living in. As the story unfolds we are as clueless as her and we find out important pieces of information along her. Or so we think...

Speaking of Lor, she is a strong heroine like we love to see in our books. She isn't scared to speak her mind and act on what she believes is right. I hope we would have gotten the chance to see a more in-depth character development for her throughout the story. I do understand that it might contribute to keeping the mystery surrounding the whole book. Therefore, I am very excited to see what will happen to her in the second book!

This book is for me a 3.75 stars! Thank you, NetGalley for sending me a copy of this book! All opinions are my own.

I really did enjoy this read. For me, it was a solid 3 stars and that’s a good rating. It means I was entertained and would likely recommend to others.

This was very reminiscent books like "Throne of Glass", the "Selection" series and the "Plated Prisoner" series. I felt like the world building felt a little flat and the city names were quite close to one another so it was hard for me to distinguish the setting at times. I did not empathize with our FMC, Lor, very often due to the way she was written. She reminded me of a bratty teenager in her ways of needing to prove herself.

While I didn't enjoy this book as I would have liked, I feel that 16-18 year old me would have loved it.

I have been on a massive fae and death game trial kick with my book reading lately.

So picking up this book was an absolute no brain-er. But man am I also just glad I did in general.

This book was so good. And drew me in quicker then most fantasy worlds do.

There were a few slow world building moments there at the start. But I was highly impressed how easy it was to get into the world of Ouranos and how invested in not only Lor, but all of the Sun Queen trial participants and even the royals throughout the story.

Lor was also just. Avery interesting character. She was strong but didn't have that main character plot armor amazing at everything strengthen. She was smart and scrappy and used those to help her. But I enjoyed there being an actual explanation why things happened that did.
I know it's fantasy. But it made things at least more based in reality. And I enjoy that a book can do that.

Something I thought was odd in this series though, was the on again off again mystery behind Lor. There were many times we were led to believe she was completely in the dark while others around her knew who or what she was. But then there would be times that it was revealed she did know things. But then they wouldnt be explained or were just kinda glossed over. I don't mind books that go either direction. It gives the reader something to either covet or guess about as the book progresses. But this weird back and forth was just kinda meh to me. Like everyone knows, including the reader. So there was bot. Good reveal at the end for any of the characters to be experiencing. It didn't take away the story for me. It just reminded me of something that you would see in an early draft before an author decided which way they want to go.

As I said though. I really liked Lor. She is one of those surprises female MC's that I've liked lately (since I tend to not care for FMC's in many series) but I also enjoyed Atlas, Gabriel, and Nadir. They all play such interesting roles in the story. And I'm so intrigued what parts they will all play as rhe series continues too. Since I feel like we haven't gotten to clearly see any of them yet.

I'm not a fan of give the whole "this series is like blah and blah combined. And if you like them you'll love this one"
But I will just throw out there, that of you liked the trials from The Serpent & the Wings of Night, and you like the whole princess suitor game from The Selection. This is very remnant of elements of both of those. Don't look to into that too much. They are definitely different books and stories. They just definitely share very similar elements at times.

I would definitely suggest grabbing. Copy of this one. It was a fun and exciting read. And worth the time.

I give TRIAL OF THE SUN QUEEN
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️5 STARS⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I was given the opportunity to read this title for a review.

I wish I gave half stars, but for the purposes of this review I give Trial of the Sun Queen 3 stars overall. It had action, spice, dialogue, and intrigue - markings of what can be a great trilogy.

I enjoyed while reading for the most part, but it is similar to many other books out there - Hunger Games, The Selection, ACOTAR, and more. I could easily put this down as I read through it, it took 2 weeks to read. Although I am known to read multiple books at once, when I really like or love a book...its easy to read within days.

"Trial of the Sun Queen" by Nisha J. Tuli immediately captivated me from the first few pages, and I found myself thoroughly engrossed in its narrative. Lor's raunchy and humorous personality added a unique charm that I adored. The book masterfully blended elements reminiscent of "Fourth Wing" and "A Court of Silver Flames," incorporating an underdog mentality, and threw in a touch of the Bachelor, all within a magical Fae setting.

I devoured the entire book in under 24 hours and couldn't resist urging others to read it. Although the ending didn't deliver the anticipated big reveal, it remained satisfying, leaving me eager to dive into the next book (which I already bought). "Trial of the Sun Queen" has undeniably earned its spot as a favorite, and I'm enthusiastically looking forward to continuing the series!

The Bachelor meets deadly trial in order for one of ten women to become the Sun Queen? Count me in. This was so good, but I should have known something was up, everything seemed too good to be true. I will say that I wasn't that shocked with the reveal at the end. But this book was super fast paced and I can't wait to see what happens next.

So, I just finished "Trail of the Sun Queen" by Nisha Tuli, and I'm feeling all kinds of emotions. Let me break it down for you.

First off, the setting – Tuli takes us on this incredible journey through lush landscapes and ancient ruins. How she describes the places made me feel like I was right there, adventuring alongside the characters. It's an immersive experience that adds a whole layer of richness to the story.

Now, let's talk about characters. Our protagonist is a badass archaeologist with a penchant for getting into trouble, and I am here for it. She's the character you root for – intelligent, resourceful, and not afraid to take risks. The supporting cast adds depth and intrigue, each with their secrets and motives.

The plot is a rollercoaster of twists and turns. When you think you've figured it out, Tuli throws in a curveball that keeps you on the edge of your seat. It's a perfect blend of adventure, mystery, and a hint of romance that kept me hooked from start to finish.

And can we talk about the writing style? Tuli has this way of weaving words that makes every sentence a delight to read. It's like she paints a picture with her prose, and I was here for the artistry of it all.

In conclusion, if you're into gripping adventures, ancient mysteries, and characters that jump off the page, "Trail of the Sun Queen" is a must-read. Nisha Tuli has crafted a captivating story that will transport you to a world of intrigue and excitement.

A fight to the death to become queen? Sign me up! I want to thank NetGalley for the ARC of this book. I really enjoyed this read. I want to mention that I have not read any of the books mentioned in the other reviews that this is compared to. I thought Lor was a strong character, smart and tough. I did find some parts of the story predictable but it wasn’t bad at all. I feel like all books these days are like that. There was a lot of action and excitement in each of the trials. It was a hunger games style adventure that kept me entertained. This is the 2nd ARC this month that ended on a cliffhanger that I wasn’t mad at. I’m off to book 2 right now.

Favorite Quote:”But I can’t get up. I don’t have that luxury, and I still need to win. My chance at this kind of freedom is so close I can taste it.”

Favorite Scene In 1-3 Words: Masquerade ball

*NO SPOILERS* Trial of the Sun Queen follows Lor, a prisoner in one of the worst prisons on the continent as she is whisked away and forced to compete in the trials to become the next Sun Queen. In order to save the people she loves, she is determined to win…because it is the only way. However, Lor has dangerous secrets that make her an important target for both the Sun King and the Aurora King.

This book is written in the first person POV of two characters, mainly Lor, our female main character as well as Nadir, the Aurora prince. With the perspective of Nadir we can assume he will have more of a role/importance in later books but in the first book of the series he has few, but important chapters. The book is written well, the writing style is easy to follow, and it is a fast read.

As far as the story goes, it has an interesting plot, somewhat likable characters (although Lor can be incredibly irritating at times), and it is fast paced which is another reason it is a fast read. We are left in the dark about who Lor which is frustrating. The spice doesn’t get too spicy in this book but I expect more spice in the future.

Overall, I feel like this is a fairly standard spicy romance novel. While the plot was good I wasn’t incredibly wowed by the book but it was still good. A fun, fast read. I do plan to continue reading the following book in the series.

This was my first read from Nisha J Tuli and it did not disappoint! All my friends raved about this series and they were right! Loved it and can't wait for book 2!