Katastrophe Chef

Trial of the Sun Queen follows Lor, a 24-year-old prisoner who is stolen away in the middle of the night to compete in the Sun Queen trials, which determine the Queen for a seemingly perfect kingdom. She is told it’s tradition to have one contestant be taken from Aurora (specifically the prison she was being held in), but she is to say she is from Umbra, a part of the country that is very poor. She goes along with the scheme in hopes of someday saving her siblings, who are also imprisoned in Aurora under the hated King Rion.
There is also an occasional dual POV with Nadir, the crown Prince of Aurora, but his part is much smaller overall.
For fans of ACOTAR and Throne of Glass, you will likely enjoy this series opener. It has high-stakes trials, romance, and fantastical settings. Nearly the whole book, I felt like this could have easily been a combination of ACOTAR and TOG universes.
I’m already onto book 2 of the series, so I definitely felt this was worth the read.