Reviews

A Crown of Iron & Silver by Hailey Turner

royda88's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny hopeful informative mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

awitchreads's review against another edition

5.0

I loved how Jono and Pat's relationship deepened and how close they became.

soily26's review

4.25

Loved watching Jono and Patrick grow through this one. 
I don't know much about Celtic mythos so a lot of the big reveals and name drops flew over my head and sometimes it was difficult to remember who was who but I just love this series 😅

whatthefridge's review

adventurous emotional hopeful tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I finally got around to this book after taking a long hiatus from the previous one. 

The pacing is well done overall. Continues to feel like watching a season of a Netflix show. The sprinkling of sex scenes doesn’t feel out of place since they’re always put in spots where the plot needs room to breathe.

I was worried that the mention of Nazis/WWII in the previous book’s ending would make this follow up about it. Thankfully it’s about fae court drama instead. 

When the name Cú Chulainn is first dropped, it flew over my head. Figured it was a Big Deal Name for in universe reasons. Then, later, it’s stressed in a way that I realized the audience should be in on the awe. So I looked it up. Basically it’d be like if a dude named Bob was suddenly revealed to be Achilles all along. Learned something new in Irish lore. 

I will say that, in the same way I was mildly disappointed that Hades is a bad guy, I’m equally disappointed that the Unseelie are the bad guys while the Seelie are the good guys. Just boring to me to have the heaven/hell dichotomy in fae stuff when both sides are meant to be bad in their own way. 

And while overall the story is pretty solid, the finale felt weak considering the build-up.

Early on we learn from Gwyn ap Nudd that “Órlaith will not be in Tír na nÓg. Neither will the Morrígan’s staff, and neither was my daughter. We can find our own and what belongs to us in the Otherworld. It is the mortal plane, full of iron, where we are lost.” But then when it’s time for Medb to finally give the Morrígan’s staff’s location, she only says, “The staff resides here in the mortal world.” I understand she’s trying to weasel out of the bargain she made, but the narrative doesn’t acknowledge that she’s only confirming information they previously knew. It truly acts like she’s giving some new hint, and that’s what rubs me the wrong way.

Feels like a cop out to me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: War

Minor: Kidnapping and Torture

angelatte's review against another edition

5.0

Continue to love this series so much. The world that is built and the people Hailey puts in it are amazing. It manages to be action packed and fast paced without sacrificing character growth and world building. I can feel the threads that are being laid out for later books, and I'm excited to get there. Going to try, and probably fail, to pace myself because I can already tell I'll miss this series when it's done <3

heabooknerd's review

4.0

A CROWN OF IRON & SILVER was action packed and full of fae and their gods and goddess. In the last book we learned a lot about vampires and in this book we learn more about the fae and wow I don't really like them, lol. They certainly put Patrick and Jono through their paces as the group works to find the Morrigan staff as well as locate a missing fae immortal.

Patrick and Jono get more and more solid with each book and I loved to see how they cared for and supported each other. It's also nice to see Patrick being more open and *a little* less impulsive. Wade continues to be a delight, Sage is classy and tough as usual, and as an added bonus we get to see some of Patrick's old team from the Mage Corps. All around, a great read that hits all my urban fantasy/paranormal romance boxes.

Content Warning: brief mention of Patrick's past sexual assault; references to Wade's past captivity and abuse

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Favorite Quotes:

“The gods gave me another fucking weapon I never asked for, but he’s mine now, and I'm keeping him.”

- - - - -

What was important was they were each other’s in all the ways that mattered—lover, partner, weapon. It was enough.

Patrick would always be enough.

thesparklyreads's review

adventurous tense

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

There were a lot of characters to keep track of this time around but it was still enjoyable. After book two I've started to wonder if it's always going to be so... formulaic but I suppose there's only one way to find out. 

Once again Jono and Patrick's steady progress on their relationship is the heart of the story, plus a lot of wholesome pack + new old friends thrown into the mix.

I've been half reading half listening to the audiobook with this series and if you're on the fence about it as a whole or have issues following along because of the many characters, I strongly recommend you give Gary Furlong's narrating a go, it can be a lifesaver. 

shini22's review

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

netslummer's review against another edition

4.0

Never, in all of history, including a dissertation written on the etymology of the phrase itself, has a piece of writing included more instances of the phrase 'watch your six'.

That said this book will watch your six.
Jono and Patrick's relationship growing in each book is pretty cute.

acaprice20's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0