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librariangeorgia's review
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Infertility, Misogyny, Blood, Confinement, Vomit, Violence, Toxic relationship, and Rape
anitaxlit's review
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Traitors of the Black Crown was very appealing to me—sapphic romance, secret identities, a new world to discover!—which might be why it fell short, and I'm sad to say I didn't like it.
This story isn't too original, we've seen a lot of similar things in other books, but I think that's a genre problem more than an issue specific to this novel. In general, Traitors of the Black Crown lacked unity. Perhaps one reason for this is that it tried to do too many things in one book. The plot elements could've been divided into two separate novels, maybe more. The worldbuilding was complex and interesting, but not solid enough. I kept being confused at the history of the kingdom, and I'm still not sure about certain bits. It didn't help that the spatial and geographical references were rather vague.
I liked the characters, even though I wasn't as invested in Raena as I would've wanted. Aven I enjoyed. I wish we had seen more of Finn. Queen Zarana was confusing, and having her entirely taking over the narration at the end felt too abrupt for me. Zander was the only character I deeply disliked though, he seemed caricaturised and too over-the-top cruel without giving any reason for his being so.
The bit I enjoyed the most was precisely the one where not much was going on in terms of advancing the story: when Raena arrives in House Colby and settles there. The romance storyline was also very sweet and engaging. I believe there's good material here, but it didn't work for me as a whole.
Thank you to NetGalley and Hansen House for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
This story isn't too original, we've seen a lot of similar things in other books, but I think that's a genre problem more than an issue specific to this novel. In general, Traitors of the Black Crown lacked unity. Perhaps one reason for this is that it tried to do too many things in one book. The plot elements could've been divided into two separate novels, maybe more. The worldbuilding was complex and interesting, but not solid enough. I kept being confused at the history of the kingdom, and I'm still not sure about certain bits. It didn't help that the spatial and geographical references were rather vague.
I liked the characters, even though I wasn't as invested in Raena as I would've wanted. Aven I enjoyed. I wish we had seen more of Finn. Queen Zarana was confusing, and having her entirely taking over the narration at the end felt too abrupt for me. Zander was the only character I deeply disliked though, he seemed caricaturised and too over-the-top cruel without giving any reason for his being so.
The bit I enjoyed the most was precisely the one where not much was going on in terms of advancing the story: when Raena arrives in House Colby and settles there. The romance storyline was also very sweet and engaging. I believe there's good material here, but it didn't work for me as a whole.
Thank you to NetGalley and Hansen House for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Infertility, and Misogyny
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