Trial of the Sun Queen / Rule of the Aurora King by Nisha J. Tuli

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Trial of the Sun Queen

Rating -
Part of a series - Artefacts of Ouranos #1
Release - November 15, 2022
Genre/Trope - Fantasy Romance / enemies to lovers / fated mates
POV - dual 1st and 3rd person
Heat - descriptive scenes
Source - ebook from NetGalley
Length - 407 pages

Ten women. A deadly contest. Only one can win the Sun King's heart.
Lor has endured twelve long years of torment under the Aurora King’s rule. Her only desire is to escape and pay him back for every moment of misery she's endured.

When a surprise release finds her in the hands of the rival Sun King, Lor is thrust into the spotlight as she competes against nine other Tributes for the role of queen. If she wins his heart, she'll earn her freedom and finally get her revenge.

But Lor doesn't belong in the Sun Queen Trials. Not only does she not understand why she was freed, she isn’t a citizen of the Sun King’s court. The other Tributes resent her presence and will stop at nothing to ensure Lor is removed from the competition, permanently.

Now Lor must win, because if she loses, she dies. Or worse, she'll be returned to the evil—and now vengeful—Aurora King.

With a temper like mine, a girl is bound to get in trouble now and then…
or often.

After all the hype I've seen for this book, I had to give it a try and I'm glad I did!

While Lor was a difficult pill to swallow, I couldn't get enough of her story. Hunger Games meets the Bachelor? Kinda. There was definitely a King whose hand had to be earned through deadly trials. But was he really worth it?

From the age of twelve, all Lor knew was the isolation, degradation and abuse she suffered in the prison of The Aurora—a kingdom full of secrets and shadows. Every day, she did all she could to protect herself and her family. But her smart mouth and poor impulse control led her to being punished. When she's kidnapped and brought to the Sun Kingdom, full of luxury, fresh air and sunshine, she can't decide if it's a boon or a curse.

I'm not the only one who pretty much guessed everything early on, right? Atlas grossed me out, but I guess if I was desperate for kindness, maybe I'd be into all of that. I only wish I felt some sort of sympathy for Lor.

While I didn't really like Lor, I was entertained by everything that happened in this story (aside from her silly decisions). I did want the world building to be more fleshed out. Actually, I expected it, but alas, these details were nowhere to be found. I hope to learn more about the different kingdoms, the different types of fae, and the different kinds of magic in the books to come.

Rule of the Aurora King

Rating -
Part of a series - Artefacts of Ouranos #2
Release - August 15, 2023
Genre/Trope - Fantasy Romance / enemies to lovers / fated mates
POV - dual 1st person
Heat - descriptive scenes
Source - Kindle Unlimited
Length - 505 pages

Freed from the golden clutches of the Sun King, Lor now finds herself in the hands of Nadir, the Aurora Prince. Convinced she’s hiding something, he’s willing to do whatever it takes to make her talk. But Lor knows the value of secrets—she’s been keeping them her entire life—and she’s not letting hers go without a fight.

When Lor and Nadir team up to search for a lost item that holds the key to her past and her future, she isn’t sure she can trust him. All she knows is she won’t fall for another royal fae’s promises again.

With the Sun King determined to reclaim her, Lor must keep on the move, but nowhere is safe. Not until she destroys him and the Aurora King. But she soon learns that the future of Ouranos depends on much more than avenging her shattered legacy.

I am not his conquest.
I am not his to claim.
I am my own castle.

I enjoyed this one so much more than the first!

Nadir MADE this book and I couldn't get enough of his voice. Lor was still very hard for me to take, but with everything else going on, I was able to push through her ridiculous thoughts, feelings and actions. What an entitled hot mess of potential epicness!!

I'm not sure how I feel about the flashback chapters. I was hoping to learn more about the history of the kingdoms and where it all went wrong. However, aside from falling in love with Wolf (and seriously, who wouldn't?), I didn't learn much else. Two fated primaries destroyed the world. Maybe I'm completely oblivious, but I still don't know HOW!!!!

I am so tired of Lor and her games. It makes NO SENSE. She's a young woman who knew NOTHING about the real world besides what she learned from fellow inmates. She claims to remember virtually nothing prior to entering the prison at the age of twelve (which seems preposterous because I remember plenty from my years before 12). And yet... she seems to know it all. Let's be clear: she had no way to know how to navigate the world she lived in, yet she alone could protect her siblings. Despite the more powerful and knowledgeable group she found herself with, she knew better. And what was with her putting so much blame on Nadir and Amya for what their father did to her family??? I was so sick of her coming for them about something they had NO WAY of knowing about. Weren't they doing everything they could to help her now?

Whatever.

I'm hoping the next book gives me a Lor who doesn't feel so entitled. A Lor who humbles herself and recognizes her own strengths. A Lor who can finally see all that she can share with the allies she currently has. People who have done nothing but help her. And you know, there's Nadir, a male she shares a profound connection with. Maybe she'll finally give him a break, even if she chooses not to be with him romantically.

The next book's release seems so far away. I'm impatient to read Fate of the Sun King. Knowing our heroes are going back to his kingdom is freaking me out!

Nisha J. Tuli is the bestselling author of Trial of the Sun Queen—the first in the Artefacts of Ouranos series—which became a BookTok hit thanks to her amazing fans. The originally self-published series was acquired by Forever Publishing and Orbit UK in 2023, and will soon be published in 15 other languages around the world.

She's also the author of Heart of Night and Fire, a South Asian-inspired fantasy romance and the first in a four-book series. Look for her rom-com debut in 2025 with NSFW (Not Suitable for Work), a workplace rivals to lovers rom-com publishing with Forever.

Nisha lives in Canada, where she spends most of her time reading and writing while enjoying travel, food, and camping with her partner, two kids, and their fluffy Samoyed, Mora.

Visit https://nishajtuli.com for more information.