#TRIAL OF THE SUN QUEEN BY NISHA J. TULI

[betterbooksandthings]

"Dragons. Magic. Romance. The most popular romantasy books on TikTok truly have everything a reader could want. After all, it’s undeniable — romantasy has recently taken BookTok by storm.

Romantasy is a subgenre that combines the romance and fantasy genres. By now, other Book Rioters have discussed the budding Romantasy genre and offered their own recommendations. As a lover of fantasy, romance, and any combination of the two, I am fully prepared for the recent rise in popularity of the books. In the past, some romantasy books contained too much romance for the fantasy section and too much fantasy for the romance section. However, because the most popular romantasy books on TikTok sold so well, traditional publishing took notice. Now these books are coming out in droves, and BookTok is paying attention."

[certifiedfantasyreader]

Literally the first line😂

[ariadnethedragon]

TRIAL OF THE SUN QUEEN by Nisha J. Tuli

“It means you’re the Final Tribute, and in nearly eight thousand years of the Sun Queen Trials, the Final Tribute has never once survived.”

[lovelessning]

Trial of The Sun Queen by Nisha J Tuli 📿

book of the month moodboard September 2024

[floriumm]

Currently reading: Sight of Solace by E.K. Pomfret

A spicy, fantasy romance.

I’m also reading Trial of the Sun Queen by Nisha J. Tuli on my Kobo and Lovely Violent Things by Trisha Wolfe because I’m a very indecisive person who gets bored easily.

[bookcoversonly]

Title: Trial of the Sun Queen | Author: Nisha J. Tuli | Publisher: Forever (2023)

[bmacreadz]

"Rule of the Aurora King" by Nisha J. Tuli

I have mixed feelings about "Rule of the Aurora King," honestly. I really liked the first book and was excited about this one, but it failed to deliver what I was expecting - and what it more or less promised.

Caution: There may be some spoilers ahead.

This book starts out shortly after the first one ends (with Lor being... rescued? Kidnapped? from the Sun King's palace by the Aurora Prince and his companions). "Rule of the Aurora King" initially advertises that Lor is being hunted by the Sun King and must stay "on the move." I just didn't get that in this book at all. We do not hear from the Sun King NOT ONCE. We know nothing about what he's doing or what his plans are. The Sun King is mentioned maybe twice altogether (as well as most of the characters from "Trial of the Sun Queen"), which is so strange because of how possessive he was over Lor in the first book. And from what we know, he really needed Lor. I fully expected him to be hunting her down, but he's hardly mentioned. I also wouldn't say that she spends her time "on the move" because of the Sun King, either. In my opinion, she's not "on the move" at all.

Lor and Nadir, the Aurora Prince, spend the entirety of this book pining for each other under the guise of searching for the Crown of Heart. Most of that search takes place in the Aurora Keep, where the royal family officially resides... and that's about the sum of this book.

The main focus of "Rule of the Aurora King" is definitely the relationship - or non-relationship - between Lor and Nadir. And I am left very wanting. I had so much hope for these two in the beginning, but I quickly realized that they were not two characters I believe are meant to be. Maybe it just wasn't my type of romance, but I cringed every time I read them together. When Lor thought she was being clever with her snarky-ness, when Nadir thought he was keeping his distance by being a complete ass - the more I read, the more I wanted them to never speak to each other again. Everything seemed forced, and I was pretty much confused the whole time about what they were doing.

AND THE NICKNAME. At what point is that going to stop? Because I can't read another book where he keeps calling her that. I almost put this book down every time I read that because WHY.

Like I said, maybe it's just me, but "Rule of the Aurora King" was not what I wanted or anticipated. The plot needed so much more attention and less repetition about how much the narrator hated the Aurora King because of this or that. The main characters are disturbing and cringey, and I do not get "romance" from them whatsoever. It's weird, it's insensitive, it's cringe. It's not for me.

[jessread-s]

✩☀️👑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.

Cross-posted to: Instagram | Amazon | Goodreads | StoryGraph

[summaryi]

Trial of the Sun Queen - Nisha J. Tuli

4/5

i ate this shit up

incredible

it poses so many questions

BUT

its not frustrating

i hate when readers get posed questions that dont matter or wont get answered

not all questions do get answered by the end of book one but its clear that clues have been laid out so painstakingly, its a delight to grab onto a scrap and puzzle over it

the only thing i didn't LOVE is that the characters don't feel very fleshed out

[ilovecoralineandotherbooks]

Trial of the sun queen

Nisha J Tuli

386

Fantasy

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Review-

Spoilers ahead!

This felt like a mix of a lot of YA and fantasy books, like The Selection, Red Queen and The Hunger Games. I found it really easy to read, follow and understand and the characters were likeable and nice to read about. Not sure how I feel about not being sure who the main love interest is or what her big secret is. Overall i really enjoyed it, and I'm looking forward to the next book.

Dms and Asks open for any questions, recs or anything.🙂

[local-magpie]

yall i picked up some fae court romance books at target on a whim this week and started reading the first one, The Trial of the Sun Queen (by Nisha J Tuli), and i was Not Prepared to get immediately invested in the MFC, Lor. Girl is incredibly relatable, she literally went from "i want nothing to do with this [being kidnapped from a rival kingdom prison to join a contest to be queen that a human has never survived] fuck this fuck you" to "wait i get magic? that does sound pretty good actually hmmm" which is frankly. the most relatable heroine ive read in a while

also she has a guard named gabriel who is fucking massive, has angel wings, and grabbed her by the throat to slam her into a wall once when she was being a brat. i realize he isnt a love interest but can I fuck him? please?

[ash-and-books]

Rating: 4.5/5

Book Blurb: "A perfect mix of MAGIC, VAMPIRES, STAR-CROSSED LOVE, and writing as SHARP AND DEADLY a spear." - Nisha J. Tuli, author of Trial of the Sun Queen

THE THRILLING ROMANTASY FROM NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR LAUREN BLACKWOOD!

One vampire to kill. Another to love.

War doesn’t scare Jerusalem. She’s a Saint. Thanks to powerful demigod-style reflexes, endurance, and strength, she’s fearless. And she has one goal - revenge.

But she never expects to team up with the handsome, arrogant Alexei to accomplish it. He’s one of those Ancient Vampires. And ever since her family was enslaved and murdered by one, Jerusalem hates vampires.

But in the year they've been fighting alongside one another against the Confederate Army and the vampires who benefitted off slavery, Alexei’s never done anything but prove he’s on the Union’s side and hers. She may know the enemy better, hate the enemy more than anyone in her battalion, but so does he. And she’ll use that to her advantage. Because if she can get her revenge by helping Black people gain freedom and equality without having to steal it for themselves like she had to, then all the better.

Together, she and Alexei set out to change the course of the war, risking their hearts and themselves as they attempt to take down the vampire who destroyed everyone Jerusalem held dear. But for Jerusalem, it’s about more than love and justice.

It's about killing a god.

Review:

A girl hell bent on revenge, a vampire devoted to her, and the bloody battle to hunt down the vampire that ties them together. Jerusalem is a Saint, a powerful person gifted with demi-god reflexes, endurance, and strength. She was a slave until she killed her master only to see her family murdered... and the Vampire involved still lives. Jerusalem is determined to get revenge against the vampire mistress who killed her family, but what she doesn't expect on her quest for revenge is to fall in love with the only thing she hates: a vampire. Alexei is an ancient vampire who has spent years working to help the Union and to free slaves. Alexei is also looking for the vampire who turned him... who tortured and murdered those close to him and put him through hell. Jerusalem hates vampires and yet Alexei somehow manages to get under her shields. Together they both are working in the same unit to free slaves and kill vampires... but when they come face to face with the one vampire mistress who destroyed both of their lives... they might not live through it. This was definitely such a fantastic read, I loved the journey that Jerusalem went through, she was filled with rage and hatred, her sole focus was to get revenge, but she was vulnerable at times and learned to open up her heart and let herself be loved. I adored Alexei so much, he just adored and loved Jerusalem so much and would rather tear off his own limbs than cause her harm. They both endured so much and found comfort and solace in one another.This was definitely such a fun read and I think if you love stories that sink you in and have you invested until the end, I would absolutely recommend this!

*Thanks Netgalley and St. Martin's Press | Wednesday Books for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

[flamingo-strikes]

ZAINAAAA 2, 3, 5, 16 + 17 for the end of the year book asks mwah mwah <333

LEEEEEE BOOK BUDDY!!!!!! <333333

[2 and 3 answered here hehe!]

5. What genre did you read the most of?

Ohhh this year, Idk if it’s bc of our convos that sparked an interest lmao, but I read a lot more classics and gothic literature than I usually do!! (Well actually my english classes probably helped lmfao). It’s tough to say I read the most of it bc tbh I’m pretty balanced with romance + literary fiction + fantasy, but I had a lot of memorable reads in the gothic lit genre. Beloved, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Northanger Abbey, Wuthering Heights, and some more modern gothic picks!

16. What is the most over-hyped book you read this year?

LMFAO don’t kill me but I did try to get through Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros, since I didn’t hate the first one completely, and ofc I didn’t financially support this woman, I pirated both times. But GODDAMN this sequel was so shit, like it was just words on paper at some point, and the slowest pacing I’ve ever seen. Everything remotely likable in the series before was literally stripped away. I have no idea how the shitty writing on top of the publishing misprints haven’t driven away all the fans. I don’t like judging people when it comes to trashy reads bc god knows I have my vices, but how Iron Flame has a 4.5 goodreads rating is beyond me. I feel like she pays her fans lmfao. Anyways I DNF-ed at 45% through after literally 2 months of trying to read it 😭

17. Did any books surprise you with how good they were?

Yes!! I love when this happens!! Counterpart by Ella Pyne literally made me feel happiness for the first time in months lmao, it was THAT good!!! The Belladonna series by Adalyn Grace was also really enjoyable! I’m so invested in this series now. It’s not perfect and it def is guilty of some YA/NA romance quirks, but I really love it. I can’t wait for the last book to come out. It’s a very unique series, like I can’t say I’ve read anything like it before tbh! Trial of the Sun Queen by Nisha J. Tuli was SO GOOD too. I expected a basic adult romantic fantasy, and I got pleasantly surprised with a lovely world setting and a feral south asian fmc whom I adore (she’s like 90% why I love it lol). Lastly, The Summer of Broken Rules by K.L Walther, was SUCH a feel good story. I’m not even joking my face hurt from smiling so much. I expected a basic contemporary romance such booktok has shit taste lmao, but this was a very sweet story about family, grief, sisterly love, and platonic love was emphasized even more than the romance ngl!

[theliterarymess]

Lovely artwork in the paperback edition of ‘Trial of the Sun Queen’ by Nisha J. Tuli!

[peletiersdixon]

I am trying to read Trial of the Sun Queen by Nisha Tuli, and my reading enjoyment is being compromised by the writing of one Ms. Sarah J. Maas.

Lor, the FMC, who has POV chapters, is in the court of the Imperial Fae Sun King, Atlas, going through Trials™️ to be his Sun Queen. Atlas does not have POV chapters. Atlas also has reddish colored hair.

You know who else has POV chapters? Nadir. Nadir is the son of the Imperial Fae Aurora King, Rion. Nadir also has midnight black hair. Do you see where I am going with this?!

So, when I am reading spicy times in this book, between Lor and Atlas, who keeps coming across just a LITTLE BIT too PERFECT, I am like “NOPE NOPE NOPE. I. DO. NOT. TRUST. THIS.”

Anyway, I’m only 60% through the book (and according to the author this is book 1 in a series of 4 [which she said was slow burn] so that is another reason I DO NOT TRUST) SO WE WILL SEE.