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A review by lawbooks600
Cursed Crowns by Katherine Webber, Catherine Doyle
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Representation: Implied Asian characters
Score: Seven points out of ten.
At last. I wanted to read this book for so long after reading and enjoying the first instalment in the series, Twin Crowns so when I heard that one of the two libraries I go to now has this I immediately picked it up and finally read it. When I finished it, I only thought it was okay and unfortunately not as good as the first one but the third one which will be published in 2024 could be an improvement. It starts (more like continues) with the main characters, Wren and Rose, who I know already and I pick up right after the events of the first book with both of them being queens of Eana to mixed reactions. After that the story's pace slows with Wren going off alone to the ice kingdom in the north and Rose going to the Sunkissed Kingdom to meet more characters I've never seen before up until that point. Here is where the flaws surface, of which there are few: the writing of the characters wasn't outstanding as I couldn't connect or relate to them but I somewhat liked some of them. But not all. At least the worldbuilding is intriguing enough to keep me reading with examples including how the Sunkissed Kingdom and Eana came to be and even a myth about a bear but it leaves unanswered questions like where did the north ice country come from and how can the Sunkissed Kingdom hide in desert with its population intact? The only explanation is an eternal water source but I didn't find that realistic. The pacing is as slow as the first part of the series (that doesn't bother me usually but it does here) which left me reading a few hundred pages with not much action. The conclusion has more action though finishing the narrative swiftly on a cliffhanger.
Score: Seven points out of ten.
At last. I wanted to read this book for so long after reading and enjoying the first instalment in the series, Twin Crowns so when I heard that one of the two libraries I go to now has this I immediately picked it up and finally read it. When I finished it, I only thought it was okay and unfortunately not as good as the first one but the third one which will be published in 2024 could be an improvement. It starts (more like continues) with the main characters, Wren and Rose, who I know already and I pick up right after the events of the first book with both of them being queens of Eana to mixed reactions. After that the story's pace slows with Wren going off alone to the ice kingdom in the north and Rose going to the Sunkissed Kingdom to meet more characters I've never seen before up until that point. Here is where the flaws surface, of which there are few: the writing of the characters wasn't outstanding as I couldn't connect or relate to them but I somewhat liked some of them. But not all. At least the worldbuilding is intriguing enough to keep me reading with examples including how the Sunkissed Kingdom and Eana came to be and even a myth about a bear but it leaves unanswered questions like where did the north ice country come from and how can the Sunkissed Kingdom hide in desert with its population intact? The only explanation is an eternal water source but I didn't find that realistic. The pacing is as slow as the first part of the series (that doesn't bother me usually but it does here) which left me reading a few hundred pages with not much action. The conclusion has more action though finishing the narrative swiftly on a cliffhanger.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Vomit, War, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Full trigger warnings: Fire, avalanche, dead bodies, death of a grandmother and animals, animal attack, murder, military violence and war themes, near-death experiences, self-harm, blood, grief and loss depiction, physical assault and injury, implied emesis