Review: A Crown of Wishes by Roshani Chokshi

A Crown of Wishes by Roshani Chokshi

The Star-Touched Queen #2

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Publication Date: March 28th, 2017

Rating: 4 Stars

Source: Netgalley

Format: eARC

Pages: 369

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Summary (from Goodreads):

An ancient mystery. An unlikely union. For one young princess in a state of peril, a dangerous wish could be the only answer…

She is the princess of Bharata—captured by her kingdom’s enemies, a prisoner of war. Now that she faces a future of exile and scorn, Gauri has nothing left to lose. But should she trust Vikram, the notoriously cunning prince of a neighboring land? He promises her freedom in exchange for her battle prowess. Together they can team up and win the Tournament of Wishes, a competition held in a mythical city where the Lord of Wealth promises a wish to the victor. It seems like a foolproof plan—until Gauri and Vikram arrive at the tournament and find that danger takes on new shapes: poisonous courtesans, mischievous story birds, a feast of fears, and twisted fairy revels. New trials will test their devotion, strength, and wits. But what Gauri and Vikram will soon discover is that there’s nothing more dangerous than what they most desire.

A Crown of Wishes, companion to The Star-Touched Queen, was everything that I had hoped for in a continuation of this story. It has the same magical quality to the book and the same beautiful writing. I have seen a lot of people say that they liked this book even better than the first one, but I don't think that I am in that same boat.

This book is every bit as amazing as The Star-Touched Queen was. I loved Gauri. I loved Vikram. I loved their journey to and through the Tournament of Wishes. I was just in the worst book slump of my entire life ever since my calving/Breath of the Wild hiatus and the gorgeous writing kept going over my head. It is so lovely to read, but I just have such a horrible time comprehending such flowery writing sometimes.

Anyway, this book follows Gauri as she meets Vikram in a dungeon in Ujijain before she is set to be executed at the request of her brother, Skanda. He invites her to be his partner in the Tournament of Wishes, held in Alaka in the Otherworld. The challenges start immediately as they are taken prisoner by a group of vanaras before they even hit the Otherworld.

The book is told from the points of view of Gauri, Vikram, and a vishakanya named Aasha that they meet during the first challenge in the Tournament of Wishes.

Gauri is fierce, she is brave, she is a soldier skilled in battle. She wants what is best for Bharata, even if she doesn't always go about doing what is best in the right way. She is the heir to Bharata, but she was sent away to be executed.

Vikram is cunning and smart. He is soon to be the ruler of Ujijain, a job that he is ready for, but will only be his in title.

I loved the romance in this book. I love the hate-to-love going on in this book. Gauri only plans to tolerate Vikram until she can get rid of him and make her way back to Bharata to save her friend. Vikram only chooses her as his partner for the Tournament because she fits the description he was given for who his partner should be. Vikram definitely makes more of an effort to be friendly than Gauri. But they really grow on each other in their adventures and I loved it.

The only reason this book fell a little bit flat for me is because this book slump is ruining my life. And as much as I love how beautiful the writing is, I really struggle to comprehend what is being said sometimes. Besides that, this book was everything I had hoped it would be. 

If you are a fan of The Star-Touched Queen, Indian mythology, and beautiful descriptions, this book is for you!

Have you read this series yet? What did you think? Am I the only one who struggles with flowery writing?