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beelovesreading's review against another edition
5.0
First of all, thank you so much to Netgalley and Cate Pearce for giving me a chance to read this book.
Wow. Just wow. I loved this. Okay, so it took me over a week to read it, but that was purely down to other things going on in my life. I loved the diversity of the book and all of the characters, minus one (looking at you Zander, you little pissant).
Traitors of the Black Crown follows three main leads - all female (ha, take that men). We have Raena/Rowan the sole survivor of the massacre of her family who only has one thing on her mind. Revenge. Taking on the persona of 'Sir Rowan' a knight, she hopes to bring down the woman who ordered the deaths of her entire family. Queen Zarana. This all goes to hell in a handbasket when she gets herself exiled and into the services of the duchess Avenna - a kindhearted young woman. Raena finds herself drawn to Aven, something she never thought possible for herself.
The Queen is frail, but still a force to be reckoned with. Confined to her bedchambers she sets out to discover the truth behind 'Sir Rowan'. There's something familiar about him and she won't rest until she gets her answers. Zarana also cares deeply for Aven, wishing only for her safety and her happiness, though her son, Prince Zander, takes great joy in tormenting Avenna.
Avenna is in the middle of grieving for her husband when Rowan joins her duchy and, as such, fights her growing feelings for the knight. This is helped by her decision to break away from the crown and their lack of support, even from Queen Zarana and to unite the other duchies.
Traitors of the Black Crown has everything: epic adventure, diversity, lgbt, friends to lovers, betrayal.
If you're a fan of Game of Thrones you will enjoy reading this. Also Prince Zander reminds me a lot of Joffrey Baratheon, so it's no wonder I hate him.
Wow. Just wow. I loved this. Okay, so it took me over a week to read it, but that was purely down to other things going on in my life. I loved the diversity of the book and all of the characters, minus one (looking at you Zander, you little pissant).
Traitors of the Black Crown follows three main leads - all female (ha, take that men). We have Raena/Rowan the sole survivor of the massacre of her family who only has one thing on her mind. Revenge. Taking on the persona of 'Sir Rowan' a knight, she hopes to bring down the woman who ordered the deaths of her entire family. Queen Zarana. This all goes to hell in a handbasket when she gets herself exiled and into the services of the duchess Avenna - a kindhearted young woman. Raena finds herself drawn to Aven, something she never thought possible for herself.
The Queen is frail, but still a force to be reckoned with. Confined to her bedchambers she sets out to discover the truth behind 'Sir Rowan'. There's something familiar about him and she won't rest until she gets her answers. Zarana also cares deeply for Aven, wishing only for her safety and her happiness, though her son, Prince Zander, takes great joy in tormenting Avenna.
Avenna is in the middle of grieving for her husband when Rowan joins her duchy and, as such, fights her growing feelings for the knight. This is helped by her decision to break away from the crown and their lack of support, even from Queen Zarana and to unite the other duchies.
Traitors of the Black Crown has everything: epic adventure, diversity, lgbt, friends to lovers, betrayal.
If you're a fan of Game of Thrones you will enjoy reading this. Also Prince Zander reminds me a lot of Joffrey Baratheon, so it's no wonder I hate him.
melkirkman's review against another edition
3.0
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in return for an honest review.
Traitors of the Black Crown by Cate Pearce is a fantasy novel set in times of Kings & Queens. Hidden away and masking herself as a male knight, Raena (Sir Rowan) plots her revenge against the Queen who slaughtered her family. She is suddenly thrust into action when forced to take part in the trials led by cruel Prince Zander.
I enjoyed this book but felt it could have been split into two books or just spread out a little better. There were parts of the book that were slower than others and important sections that felt like they weren't explored enough nor had enough of an explanation. .
I loved the idea of the book and the story behind it though and given that it finished on a cliffhanger I will probably read the next one!
Traitors of the Black Crown by Cate Pearce is a fantasy novel set in times of Kings & Queens. Hidden away and masking herself as a male knight, Raena (Sir Rowan) plots her revenge against the Queen who slaughtered her family. She is suddenly thrust into action when forced to take part in the trials led by cruel Prince Zander.
I enjoyed this book but felt it could have been split into two books or just spread out a little better. There were parts of the book that were slower than others and important sections that felt like they weren't explored enough nor had enough of an explanation. .
I loved the idea of the book and the story behind it though and given that it finished on a cliffhanger I will probably read the next one!
cbfredriks's review against another edition
2.0
2/5
*Thank you to NetGalley and Hansen House for providing an E-Arc in return for an honest review.*
While the premise and the world building of this book hooked me and seemed very promising, the plot felt rather predictable and the pacing was off at times. The characters had a lot of potential,but there always seemed to be a little something that was missing.
*Thank you to NetGalley and Hansen House for providing an E-Arc in return for an honest review.*
While the premise and the world building of this book hooked me and seemed very promising, the plot felt rather predictable and the pacing was off at times. The characters had a lot of potential,but there always seemed to be a little something that was missing.
ebbie_casuallereading's review against another edition
4.0
*I was given the opportunity to read this book ahead of the release date, courtesy of NetGalley*
In the first few pages of the first chapter, I wasn't sure. The introduction to the main character (though there is more than one I would say) was a bit clunky. It felt like the first pages were the hardest to write or that the story hadn't exactly found its tone or voice. But quickly, things got better, much better.
I enjoyed myself quite a lot for most of the book. The changes in PoV was cleverly done, didn't felt gimmicky or unmotivated, it felt like it served a narrative purpose. The 3 main characters are all well build, or at least the fondation is there so that you feel like they are whole.
You think you guessed the twist coming up numerous times, but (and that's very rare for me), there are still angles and surprises you just cannot see coming. Surely, you don't have all the info, but I didn't feel tricked, it was just fun to be surprised even with the clear hints sprinkled throughout the book.
However, other than the clumsy intro, there's 2 things I felt could have been better:
• Rowan/Raena is not the same character has she was set up to be during the last stretch of her journey. And I'm not talking at how she perceives things (this felt natural). I'm talking about how she is written while interacting with Aven. I don't know who's this character, and I don't feel this was bury inside her all along either. How she act and talks in a precise part of the story where they both ride the same horse... It wasn't good, it was annoying. Something isn't well built with this, it isn't connecting with her persona.
• The ending. I get it, it's a series, there will be at least another book. But it felt too dry and abrupt.
That being said, these are minors in comparison to the real enjoyment I felt while reading and the clever way the story unfolded. I thought this was going to be a story about revenge from 2 unlikely allies, plain and simple, but it ended up being so much more than that. Will definitely read the next one, I want to know what is going to happen. I also really liked Aven and want to see her again.
In the first few pages of the first chapter, I wasn't sure. The introduction to the main character (though there is more than one I would say) was a bit clunky. It felt like the first pages were the hardest to write or that the story hadn't exactly found its tone or voice. But quickly, things got better, much better.
I enjoyed myself quite a lot for most of the book. The changes in PoV was cleverly done, didn't felt gimmicky or unmotivated, it felt like it served a narrative purpose. The 3 main characters are all well build, or at least the fondation is there so that you feel like they are whole.
You think you guessed the twist coming up numerous times, but (and that's very rare for me), there are still angles and surprises you just cannot see coming. Surely, you don't have all the info, but I didn't feel tricked, it was just fun to be surprised even with the clear hints sprinkled throughout the book.
However, other than the clumsy intro, there's 2 things I felt could have been better:
• Rowan/Raena is not the same character has she was set up to be during the last stretch of her journey. And I'm not talking at how she perceives things (this felt natural). I'm talking about how she is written while interacting with Aven. I don't know who's this character, and I don't feel this was bury inside her all along either. How she act and talks in a precise part of the story where they both ride the same horse... It wasn't good, it was annoying. Something isn't well built with this, it isn't connecting with her persona.
• The ending. I get it, it's a series, there will be at least another book. But it felt too dry and abrupt.
That being said, these are minors in comparison to the real enjoyment I felt while reading and the clever way the story unfolded. I thought this was going to be a story about revenge from 2 unlikely allies, plain and simple, but it ended up being so much more than that. Will definitely read the next one, I want to know what is going to happen. I also really liked Aven and want to see her again.
cj_parsley's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
bookbutch's review
3.0
This book was really slow, though enjoyable. I loved the queer representation, but there wasn't quite "enough." There wasn't a lot of plot to this book, but the world-building was good. It kind of reminded me of Midnight Lie in that sense, though there was more plot in this. I also was put off by the switching POVs but that is just a personal preference.
macethespaceace's review against another edition
4.0
The first ARC I ever got and this set The bar HIGH. Not sure what to read next? This is it. LGBTQ representation, fantasy, and so much more to love
briannadasilva's review against another edition
4.0
If you've ever wanted to read a book evocative of the Alanna series, but sapphic, and for grownups, this is one to check out! Traitors of the Black Crown scratched a particular itch I was having for a Medieval fantasy story with a woman knight (undercover as a man) and a sapphic romance.
I will say the plot felt a bit unfocused for my tastes, but it was an enjoyable romance and a refreshing world. I'm not sure if I've read a fantasy book yet that relied on evolution rather than magic for key aspects of its world building, but I've been craving that exact kind of fantasy world and was glad to experience it here.
On that note,
I will say the plot felt a bit unfocused for my tastes, but it was an enjoyable romance and a refreshing world. I'm not sure if I've read a fantasy book yet that relied on evolution rather than magic for key aspects of its world building, but I've been craving that exact kind of fantasy world and was glad to experience it here.
On that note,
moonkiwi02's review against another edition
1.0
Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC.
I had high expectations for this book from reading the summary, but I feel like those expectations were a bit too high. I have read quite a bit of wlw fantasy, so that is where my expectations come from.
The story follows Raena who goes undercover as a male knight named Rowan. She wants to kill the queen who is responsible for the murder of her family. She gets exiled and meets Dutchess Avenna (whose name is very close to the word for oats). The main romance is between Raena and Avenna.
The plot of the book seemed excellent in theory, but in practice, it fell short. The characters were dull and the worldbuilding felt like it needed to be fleshed out a bit more. Neither Raena nor Avenna felt developed enough to be compelling. The side characters even more so. I feel like this could be a great book if it was in development a bit longer. The bones of it are good, but the execution was poor.
I had high expectations for this book from reading the summary, but I feel like those expectations were a bit too high. I have read quite a bit of wlw fantasy, so that is where my expectations come from.
The story follows Raena who goes undercover as a male knight named Rowan. She wants to kill the queen who is responsible for the murder of her family. She gets exiled and meets Dutchess Avenna (whose name is very close to the word for oats). The main romance is between Raena and Avenna.
The plot of the book seemed excellent in theory, but in practice, it fell short. The characters were dull and the worldbuilding felt like it needed to be fleshed out a bit more. Neither Raena nor Avenna felt developed enough to be compelling. The side characters even more so. I feel like this could be a great book if it was in development a bit longer. The bones of it are good, but the execution was poor.
runawaytrain's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
It's fine. It's just trope-tastic. There's no real tension and it's all very tell-not-show. A lot of exposition in the form of dialogue, which could be fine if the characters weren't sketched that way as well.