Book Summary and Reviews of The Shadow Cabinet by Juno Dawson

The Shadow Cabinet by Juno Dawson

The Shadow Cabinet

The HMRC Trilogy #2

by Juno Dawson

  • Critics' Consensus (3):
  • Published:
  • Jun 2023, 528 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

In the second installment of Juno Dawson's "irresistible" fantasy trilogy (Lana Harper), a group of childhood friends and witches must choose between what is right and what is easy if they have any hope of keeping their coven—and their world—from tearing apart forever.

Niamh Kelly is dead. Her troubled twin, Ciara, now masquerades as the benevolent witch as Her Majesty's Royal Coven prepares to crown her High Priestess.

Suffering from amnesia, Ciara can't remember what she's done—but if she wants to survive, she must fool Niamh's adopted family and friends; the coven; and the murky Shadow Cabinet—a secret group of mundane civil servants who are already suspicious of witches. While she tries to rebuild her past, she realizes none of her past has forgotten her, including her former lover, renegade warlock Dabney Hale.

On the other end of the continent, Leonie Jackman is in search of Hale, rumored to be seeking a dark object of ultimate power somehow connected to the upper echelons of the British government. If the witches can't figure out Hale's machinations, and fast, all of witchkind will be in grave danger—along with the fate of all (wo)mankind.

Sharp, funny, provocative, and joyous, Juno Dawson's sequel reimagines everything you think you knew about her coven and her witches in a story that spans continents and dives deep into the roots of England and its witchcraft. Ciara, Leonie, Elle, and Theo are fierce, angry, sexy, warm—and absolutely unapologetic as they fight for what they believe in, all in the name of sisterhood.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"The brilliant and fast-paced second contemporary political fantasy in Dawson's HMRC trilogy...Magic seamlessly weaves with pop culture references, fun soap-operatic twists, and an incisive look at the psychology of violent misogyny. This is the work of a master storyteller." —Publisher's Weekly (starred review)

"The characters that were so carefully and diligently created in the first book are given their own stories in the second book, and it is a blast to read." —Booklist (starred review)

"The fast pace keeps the many stories moving as the points of view shift, and once again Dawson places a bombshell at the end to surprise readers. The second book of the series, after Her Majesty's Royal Coven, is filled with witty dialogue, pop culture references, and features the bonds of childhood, sisterhood, and fighting for what one believes in." —Library Journal

This information about The Shadow Cabinet was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

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Author Information

Juno Dawson

Juno Dawson is a bestselling novelist, screenwriter, and journalist. Juno's books include the global bestsellers, This Book is Gay and Clean. She also writes for television and has multiple shows in development both in the UK and US. An occasional actress and model, Juno appeared on HBO's I May Destroy You.

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