A Disappointing End in Human Rites by Juno Dawson
Author: Juno Dawson
Publication Date: July 1, 2025 by Penguin Books
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Protagonist Gender: Female
I’ve taken some time to think about this, the eagerly-awaited conclusion to Her Majesty’s Royal Coven, and I’m sad to say my first impressions have not improved. The first two books of this series were so good, so well-written, with such amazing character development, that I was dying to see how Juno Dawson would resolve the impending supernatural apocalypse.
Unfortunately, Human Rites is a pale comparison to the first two books. The characters feel off, wasted in some cases, and the themes of women fighting against the patriarchy and transphobia that I found so meaningful just kind of fade out with neither validation nor conclusion. The story jumps around, abandoning established plot threads while introducing new ones as if Dawson was winging it, and all of the clever, sophisticated development that marked the first two-thirds of the series is replaced by lazy deus ex machina.
SPOILERSI’m going to come right out and say it. Time travel. Yeah, time travel. The laziest, most hackneyed “I backed myself into a corner I can’t get out of” excuse for plot development around. Not only does it ruin the story, it introduces a wealth of plot holes.
For a while, it seemed as if the theme of this final book would be one of sacrifice, which was okay, I could get behind that, but even that is wasted and undermined by characters who just seem to give up. What could have been sacrifice becomes, instead, surrender. It’s frustrating at best and infuriating at most, and even then, what could have been a heroic moment for Theo is sullied by taking her choices from her.
Human Rites could have been so much more. Were it a standalone novel, it might have read better, but as the finale to a trilogy I loved, it’s just disappointing.
Rating: 
