At about a third of the way through, this book strikes me as a mash-up of Madeleine L'Engle's fervent, dream-like, existentialism; the traditional YA misfit heroine; and the hackneyed I-want-it-but-I-don't female protagonist of a Harlequin pulp-romance. Will be curious to see how it develops; right now the pacing is a bit slow. I find myself skipping ahead when the Maya character makes too obviously stupid decisions or the narration too ponderously describes the endless palace. 
 That said, as many other reviews have noted, The Star-Touched Queen is extremely well-written on the level of prose. Although Chokshi occasionally goes over the top with flowery metaphor or fully opaque explanation, there are enough gems to offset the chestnuts. I also welcome the S. Asian setting, which is a tremendously welcome relief to the medieval-timey-Europe setting of most YA fantasy. 
 Thus far, I would judge that Chokshi is an author to watch; with a bit better editing and development, this book could rise to the ranks of the very best. I look forward to her development as a writer... 
 UPDATE 1: Yikes, at 58% of the way through, I have lost interest, and am considering whether to cast this book aside. 
 It is not inappropriate that a 17-year-old protagonist would be petulant, foolish, and self-absorbed, but these characteristics do not entice me into following (or feeling sympathetic towards) her blunders. Have just skimmed over the protracted incident wherein she muddles through her GREAT BIG MISTAKE, the rectifying of which - I presume - will occupy the remaining 42% of the novel. And I'm not sure I can be bothered, so tedious am I finding Maya. 
 It is also feeling more and more evident that there are some gender tropes that: 1) I find grating and trite; 2) might actually underpin the premise of this story too keenly to be dismissed. The female characters in The Star-Touched Queen are overall malevolent; the males offer the foil of 'wise sage.' Maya rebels against what she perceives as her husband's efforts at shrouding her from the truth, only to bring down disaster and heartache and betrayal. The message here seems to be, 'don't question, don't rebel, don't trust women.' Yikes again. Maybe not with this book--will see if I can goad myself into reading further when less irritated.