Anything related to Tudor history is an instant read for me so I was wildly excited to stumble across this fantasy reimagining of Henry and his six infamous Queens.

The writing style was possibly the most intriguing thing - at times I almost forgot the fantastical element of the story, getting lost in the historical aspect of the courts, but they gelled incredibly well together, creating a robust portrait of intrigue, subterfuge, forbidden love (aka sapphic pining in the most delicious, bittersweet of fashions) and hidden lore.

Boleyn and Seymour are wonderfully enjoyable characters as the forefront of the story, even though I would not claim Seymour as much of an assassin. The supporting cast of their courts and the other Queens were each unique and engrossing in their own way. Some of the minor characters carved out a special place in my heart.

While the heart pounding race to the finish line of this novel was phenomenal in its dazzlingly bold attempt to dismantle the patriarchy, I was left feeling a little underwhelmed with elements and am hoping there'll be a sequel to further explore the fates of the Queens.

I love anything Tudor related, and this is the first fantasy take I've seen on Henry VIII and his six wives!

I have always been a sucker for Anne Boleyn, so I don't think it would surprise anyone that Boleyn was my favourite character. I enjoyed her dynamic with Seymour and though I think others didn't like the one-sided nature of the romance, I actually thought it gave both of the characters more depth because romantic feelings are not always reciprocated.

The only thing I disliked was how the blurb didn't accurately convey some things. I wouldn't really have called Seymour an "assassin", and while there are dragons and other creatures present throughout the story, they didn't play as major or active a role as implied. I think we also could have done with a bit more depth on the characters' emotions as sometimes there's an emotional shift which isn't too well explained, but otherwise I thought the characters were well fleshed out.

I think we could have done with a little more explanation on the magic system itself, what it enables people to do and how it works, but I also do wonder if this was kept vague on purpose because of what the queens discover throughout the story.

The ending! I did have a sense of foreboding and genuinely believed toward the end that a prominent character death would occur because it actually added a lot to the narrative and the direction in which the plot needs to go. At no point did it feel forced or like it didn't belong, there was a purpose to it that I appreciated.