Review: This Romantasy debut novel is perfect for readers who are new to the genre. 

 

“Trial of the Sun Queen” follows Lord, a prisoner under the Aurora King’s rule. When the Sun King selects her as the only human Tribute to complete in the Sun Queen Trials, Lor is determined to win if only to get her revenge. 

 

I gravitated towards this book because it was advertised to me as “The Selection” meets “The Hunger Games” and I am here to confirm that that is the case! I would even go so far as to add that it is reminiscent of “Divergent,” “A Court of Thorns and Roses,” and “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.” Unfortunately, the book does not diverge much from its sources of inspiration and because I am such a huge fan of many of the series mentioned, I was able to predict most of the book’s major plot points. 

 

One thing this book has that the others do not, however, are the alternating viewpoints. I really enjoyed reading from Lor’s point-of-view because of her strength and resiliency. Chapter’s written from Nadir’s perspective challenged me to figure out his role in the story and provided the most intrigue. Though the two were at odds the whole book, I am curious to see if that will change in the next installment. 

 

I think that this series is perfect for new adult readers. Despite some of my frustrations with the book’s plot, I ultimately had a lot of fun reading it and I am excited to explore Tuli’s other works in the future.