Trial of the Sun Queen (Artefacts of Ouranos, 1)

Spoilers ahead…I’ve been meaning to reread Trial of the Sun Queen so I can review it properly for awhile, as this series is a favorite of mine! Trial of the Sun Queen starts off with a bang. Our protagonist, Lor, is a prisoner who gets in a fight over a bar of soap. Right away, I loved this girl’s attitude! When we get a look at the horrible situation she’s in, especially when she didn’t actually commit a crime, you can’t help but feel for her as well. She’s sentenced to two weeks in the hollow, a big hole in the ground with no food or water and monsters lurking around, when she’s kidnapped by a fae and taken from The Aurora to Aphelion, to compete in the Sun Queen trials. The King, Atlas, is looking for his Queen. And Lor is to be the Final Tribute. A poor citizen of the slums, The Umbra, chosen to compete to show anyone can improve their lot in life….except she’s not from The Umbra. She doesn’t know why she’s there. Why she was taken to compete in this. Or what the hell is going on at all, frankly.Lor is a charismatic character right away, and you really can’t help but like her. Even when she’s being frustratingly oblivious to the giant holes in the story she’s been told. She’s very good at keeping her secrets, even from us! Only letting little hints sneak through until the end. Especially when those secrets explain so much. But Nisha does such a fabulous job of weaving this story so Lor can basically lie to us and it all makes sense! We follow Lor as she goes through quite a lot. Her time in the prison and her punishment are brutal, and you can truly feel it wearing her down. When she wakes up to a completely different world, the whip lash of it hit me just as hard for her. She comes to not knowing what is going on, and everyone is being so vague. I’m honestly surprised she didn’t lose it completely!Lor is hard edged from her 12 years at Nostraza. Over her time in Aphelion, competing to become Queen and Atlas’s bonded, she slowly begins to soften. Becoming used to luxuries like food and water, comfortable bedding, and clothing that isn’t falling apart and gross. She also begins to fall for the ever charming King Atlas. The man is a golden beacon. Gold everything, and seemingly sweet and wonderful. Even if he is…um…tasting the wears? Exploring his options? Among the tributes competing. But I didn’t like him immediately. Those too good to be true men are usually too good to be true! And Atlas has the practiced fake persona down pat. Little hints of the true him peek through now and again, mostly in hints from another character talking about him, but they’re there. Plus, I never trust a man who tries to hook up with a stables worth of woman at once.Even on a reread though, the climax still hit just as impactfully! Mostly because of Lor and her journey to this point. The revelations we get, in conjunction with this, are amazing! Lor has a spark of hope and destiny now, and you can tell she is not going to let anyone keep her caged ever again. Not for long. Even behind bars, she is unbroken. She spent 12 of her most formative years in the worst prison there is. She’s not cracking now. I love her strength and willfulness. It’s what got through Nostraza, what got her through the trials, and it’s what will get her through the rest of her journey.And oh! The trials! They are fabulous! Each one was so interesting to read, and I loved watching Lor find a way to overcome her disadvantages. Each trial showed us a new facet of her, and brought out a hidden strength for us to discover. Plus, completion stories are some of my favorites! They are always so much fun! We got to see illusions, historical testing paired with vicious mermaids, a gauntlet where Lor had to compete physically, and a ball where the tributes had to seduce an item from a target on the crowd. I loved seeing how each different test was made to test how they would do as Queen in different categories. The gauntlet had to be my favorite just with how exciting it was, but its neck and neck with the illusion that was so harrowing for Lor.Then there’s Nadir. The Prince of the Aurora. We don’t see as much of him in book 1, but his chapters set the stage for what’s coming. His father, the same King who locked up Lor and her siblings, is a horrible king and father. Nadir has been trying to find a way to get rid of him for years, and when the warden lets slip in front of him about prisoner 3452’s potential death, he’s immediately intrigued by what his father is hiding. He sets about finding Lor, doing so in the last place he expected. But he has his suspicions about what she’s so important. Anything he can use to take down his father, he’s going to jump on it. Of course, when he meets her…well, the two of them fall into one another’s eyes in a way that instantly tells you there’s more under the surface here. A bond of some sort that is deeper than anything either has ever felt.This book hooked me on the series the first time, and managed to do it all over again! I’m so excited to jump into my reread of Rule of the Aurora King, as I remember it being even better! Mostly because of Lor and Nadir and Lor’s quest! I can’t wait honestly. But I truly loved going back and reading Trial of the Sun Queen. We get so many great side characters in this one with Gabriel, Lor’s warder for the trials, and the other tributes, and I hope they all come back around again! I was reminded how much I loved Lor and Nadir once again, and how I can’t wait to see where their story leads. We get so many fun scenes with the competition itself, plus the ending with the Mirror! I’m going to go run and jump into the next one, but I’ll definitely be rereading this again before Fate of the Sun King comes out!

Lor has suffered twelve years under the Aurora King's rule, longing for escape and revenge from Nastrasa. Suddenly freed by the rival Sun King, she must compete against nine Tributes for the queen's crown. Winning means freedom and vengeance, but Lor is an outsider in the Sun Queen Trials. The other Tributes resent her and will do anything to eliminate her. Lor must win, face death, or return to the vengeful Aurora King.This was recommended to me by a friend, and it was soo good and I'm so glad I read (listened to) this! The characters were so well developed, and so funny, which is a huge plus for me in a book! The world building and pacing of the book were also really strong and all I wanted to do was keep reading. The trials to "win" the Sun King were very unique and really brought the whole story together. The plot twists were twisty and the villians were unexpected, but all the elements worked so well together to make this book what it was.Lor was the perfect FMC, and she played her role in this book so well. She's so resilient and determined, especially when it comes to her family. Atlas was also a great MMC, he fit being a king to a TEE. Then we have Nadir, who we get bits of pieces from but I cannot wait to see what happens in the following books. Overall, definitely recommend and onto book 2!Rating: 4/5Spice: 2/5Tropes:Strong FMCEnemies to LoversWho Did This to YouHidden IdentifyDeadly TrialsMagic

I really enjoyed this book! I feel like there is so much to come still and I naught be in for a wild journey. The book was well passed and had good story building. There was some romance and a good bit of fighting for your life. It was fast paced and an easy read. I feel like it’s one of those books that isn’t very original but it leads to an amazing series! I hope I am not wrong!

4.5 starsTrial of the Sun Queen was such a fun, fast-paced romantasy read! The concept—competing for a crown through deadly trials—felt like a dark, magical version of The Bachelor, except instead of roses, you get secrets, betrayals, and high-stakes power plays.What stood out most to me was the heroine. She’s smart, witty, and resourceful, and I loved watching her navigate the brutal setting with both heart and grit. Her snarky humor and inner strength had me cheering her on the entire time.The story delivers a satisfying slow-burn romance, layered tension, and just enough spice to keep things interesting. There’s also plenty of intrigue and worldbuilding to set the stage for what promises to be a thrilling series.If you’re into clever heroines, magical danger, deadly trials, and slow-burn heat, this one’s a must-read.