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georginap92 's review for:
The Cursed Crown
by Alexi Blake, May Sage
Thank you to the author for a gifted eBook in exchange for an honest review
“Once, there was a nightmare who loved a king. Once, there was a king of fathered a nightmare”
The Cursed Crown follows Rissa as she journeys to find the cursed prince Tharsen who has fallen victim to a deep sleep after he depleted all his magic saving the kingdoms, Rissa would rather he unite the kingdoms and rule over them than allow herself the responsibility to do so, however this is not something that Rydekar is happy about and would rather unite the Seelie and Unseelie realms
with an alliance with Rissa, cue action packed, fast paced Deception, betrayal, and romance
World Building
I love the inclusion of the family tree and the world map as this makes it easier to keep up with the characters as well as making sure that I was able to visualise the kingdoms easier and the journey that Rissa had to make, it was descriptive enough considering the page length
Plot/Pace
I found that the first half of the book was quite a slow burn, where out of nowhere there was plot twists and the pace kicked up 100 knots, which made the second half of the book so much more fast paced, however it did feel a little jumpy in places, and I feel this book had more potential had the
length of the book been extended there would have been more time for more developments and descriptions of events, especially the epilogue, that was such a lovely epilogue very cute and sweet and I love those kind of endings, I just wish it was longer.
There are a number of plot twists in this book which are good but some of them felt unnecessary, such as the doppleganger and Rydekar’s father marrying a nine-year-old? The betrayal by Rydekar’s wife had the potential to be more heartfelt, however it was over within a matter of minutes with no
real development on the situation or an emotional bond between the characters, or even the book
and reader. However, there are a number of plots I am curious about going forward, especially with
Prince Tharsen, he seems like a very morally grey character, and I am not sure how I feel about him
This leads me onto the characters;
Serissa – The main character of the story who is destined to become Queen of the kingdoms, which is the last thing she wants, Rissa was quite a likeable character, and I really did feel for what she went through, however I found she blew so hot and cold towards Rydekar I couldn’t keep up, but I love the way that the book ended, and her character development was good. I felt that she carried
the enemies to lovers trope very well, as her hatred towards Rydekar was very realistic and her as a character is very sassy and I am here for all the sass she has to give, I am looking forward to meeting her again
Rydekar – In the beginning I struggled with his character as he came across quite entitled and a little forceful, especially as he seemed to have a hatred against Serissa for no real explored reason, however as the book developed my feelings towards him completely changed and I found myself really rooting for him and Rissa to make things work, I especially loved his epilogue!
Prince Tharsen – Now I am sure he is meant to be a villain, at least is some parts of this book that’s how he acts, but considering some of the decisions he makes throughout the book he is very morally grey to me, and I found that his character was written very well, as I really am not sure whether I should like him or not, I am very curious to see where his character is going, as his ending really frustrated me
Final Note
All in all, this is a very interesting read, that has potential to be a longer and more developed read, I would read the sequel in a heartbeat, as I need to know what happens next, and also, I am curious on whose perspective it is going to be in, I would recommend this book to fans of fae!
2.5/5
“Once, there was a nightmare who loved a king. Once, there was a king of fathered a nightmare”
The Cursed Crown follows Rissa as she journeys to find the cursed prince Tharsen who has fallen victim to a deep sleep after he depleted all his magic saving the kingdoms, Rissa would rather he unite the kingdoms and rule over them than allow herself the responsibility to do so, however this is not something that Rydekar is happy about and would rather unite the Seelie and Unseelie realms
with an alliance with Rissa, cue action packed, fast paced Deception, betrayal, and romance
World Building
I love the inclusion of the family tree and the world map as this makes it easier to keep up with the characters as well as making sure that I was able to visualise the kingdoms easier and the journey that Rissa had to make, it was descriptive enough considering the page length
Plot/Pace
I found that the first half of the book was quite a slow burn, where out of nowhere there was plot twists and the pace kicked up 100 knots, which made the second half of the book so much more fast paced, however it did feel a little jumpy in places, and I feel this book had more potential had the
length of the book been extended there would have been more time for more developments and descriptions of events, especially the epilogue, that was such a lovely epilogue very cute and sweet and I love those kind of endings, I just wish it was longer.
There are a number of plot twists in this book which are good but some of them felt unnecessary, such as the doppleganger and Rydekar’s father marrying a nine-year-old? The betrayal by Rydekar’s wife had the potential to be more heartfelt, however it was over within a matter of minutes with no
real development on the situation or an emotional bond between the characters, or even the book
and reader. However, there are a number of plots I am curious about going forward, especially with
Prince Tharsen, he seems like a very morally grey character, and I am not sure how I feel about him
This leads me onto the characters;
Serissa – The main character of the story who is destined to become Queen of the kingdoms, which is the last thing she wants, Rissa was quite a likeable character, and I really did feel for what she went through, however I found she blew so hot and cold towards Rydekar I couldn’t keep up, but I love the way that the book ended, and her character development was good. I felt that she carried
the enemies to lovers trope very well, as her hatred towards Rydekar was very realistic and her as a character is very sassy and I am here for all the sass she has to give, I am looking forward to meeting her again
Rydekar – In the beginning I struggled with his character as he came across quite entitled and a little forceful, especially as he seemed to have a hatred against Serissa for no real explored reason, however as the book developed my feelings towards him completely changed and I found myself really rooting for him and Rissa to make things work, I especially loved his epilogue!
Prince Tharsen – Now I am sure he is meant to be a villain, at least is some parts of this book that’s how he acts, but considering some of the decisions he makes throughout the book he is very morally grey to me, and I found that his character was written very well, as I really am not sure whether I should like him or not, I am very curious to see where his character is going, as his ending really frustrated me
Final Note
All in all, this is a very interesting read, that has potential to be a longer and more developed read, I would read the sequel in a heartbeat, as I need to know what happens next, and also, I am curious on whose perspective it is going to be in, I would recommend this book to fans of fae!
2.5/5