22 | March | 2017 | By Hook Or By Book

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Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: March 28th, 2017

352 Pages

Synopsis: Gauri, the princess of Bharata, has been taken as a prisoner of war by her kingdom’s enemies. Faced with a future Of of exile and scorn, Gauri has nothing left to lose. Hope unexpectedly comes in the form of Vikram, the cunning prince of a neighboring land and her sworn enemy kingdom. Unsatisfied with becoming a mere puppet king, Vikram offers Gauri a chance to win back her kingdom in exchange for her battle prowess. Together, they’ll have to set aside their differences and team up to win the Tournament of Wishes–a competition held in a mythical city where the Lord of Wealth promises a wish to the victor.

Reaching the tournament is just the beginning. Once they arrive, danger takes on new shapes: poisonous courtesans and mischievous story birds, a feast of fears and twisted fairy revels.

Every which way they turn new trials will test their wit and strength. But what Gauri and Vikram will soon discover is that there’s nothing more dangerous than what they most desire.

A Crown of Wishes is the “companion book” to last year’s The Star-Touched Queen and while you needn’t have read the first book to enjoy this, I recommend that you do because it completes the magical world-building that was first introduced in TSTQ. I enjoyed the previous book, but this was even better, thanks to its two main characters, Gauri and Vikram. They’re both feisty and stubborn and lock horns on more than one occasion, and the banter between them is clever and funny. Their romance develops slowly but believably and it seems that the reader is aware before the two of them, that they are made for each other. There’s a third character introduced, Aasha, who is quite intriguing and while quite a bit of her background is revealed I’d love to see a book or even a novella devoted solely to her. The mythology and world-building is absolutely magnificent! Chokshi really has a beautifully descriptive and vivid style of writing that draws you into the story. The competition itself is exciting and makes this a fast-paced book. My one complaint is that I thought there were a few things that fell into place a little too easily for Gauri and Vikram. Otherwise, A Crown Of Wishes is a lush adventurous tale full of magic and humor and I highly recommend it. This duology has left me eagerly looking forward to Roshani Chokshi’s next venture, The Gilded Wolves, which is due out in 2018.