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A review by mea9an
The Crown's Game by Evelyn Skye
4.0
This book has easily become a favorite. The characters were beautifully written, the details expressed what the author was going for, and the plot was amazing!
This book follows two enchanters, Vika and Nikolai. The Tsesarevich of Imperial Russia, Pasha. And the rest of the Imperial Family. Vika and Nikolai are placed in the Crown's Game, which is a battle to see who the Imperial Enchanter should be (aka: the person who helps the Tsar with magic). Throughout the games, Pasha, the Tsesarevich of Russia, discovers that there's something more than just a birthday celebration going on. He dives into the world of magic and discovers things he wished he didn't.
I loved every part of this book. I'll start with the characters, because this is a more character driven book.
Vika is the daughter of Sergei, who lives his life training her to use her magic. Sergei's family has devoted themselves to being magical trainers (mentors is what they called them, I believe). She felt like a real person. Her actions were questionable at best, yet she loved those around her. She wasn't like a cardboard cutout. She had motivation, feelings, etc. I loved her.
Nikolai and Pasha stole the show. They were the two best friends and they had playful banter. Each ready to die for the other. Pasha and Nikolai easily became my favorite characters in the book. They are my new BROTP!
Yuliana I could've done without. She was kind of annoying and came off like she was better than everyone. Obviously, she's the Grand Duchess, but still. She had the attitude of a stereotypical bitch. I didn't like her.
Even the Tsar and Tsarina were better than her! How sad is that.
Anyway, onto the romance.
I think the romance was realistic. Yes, there was a love triangle, but I felt like this one worked. The two boys both had a reason for liking Vika. Nikolai's was purely based on not wanting to kill a human being. The more he learned about her the more he began to fall for her. It's like when you're falling in love with a celebrity. You know absolutely nothing about them, but the more interviews/videos you watch the more you start to see them as a real person. That's what this romance felt to me.
As for Pasha, his romance was more on shock value. He was surprised to find out about an enchanted to begin with. The second he saw all of the things in the streets for the games, he knew it was because of her. He was surprised about everything and that drew him closer to her.
The one thing that prevented this from being a 5-Star book was the pacing. The book was slow paced. There was a ton of action, but the way it was written made it slow down a lot.
If you're interested in Russia or historical fiction this is the book for you. Magic and history go hand in hand in this, changing up a little bit of history, while still keeping a few things the same. The author even expressed this in a little note at the end of the book.
This book follows two enchanters, Vika and Nikolai. The Tsesarevich of Imperial Russia, Pasha. And the rest of the Imperial Family. Vika and Nikolai are placed in the Crown's Game, which is a battle to see who the Imperial Enchanter should be (aka: the person who helps the Tsar with magic). Throughout the games, Pasha, the Tsesarevich of Russia, discovers that there's something more than just a birthday celebration going on. He dives into the world of magic and discovers things he wished he didn't.
I loved every part of this book. I'll start with the characters, because this is a more character driven book.
Vika is the daughter of Sergei, who lives his life training her to use her magic. Sergei's family has devoted themselves to being magical trainers (mentors is what they called them, I believe). She felt like a real person. Her actions were questionable at best, yet she loved those around her. She wasn't like a cardboard cutout. She had motivation, feelings, etc. I loved her.
Nikolai and Pasha stole the show. They were the two best friends and they had playful banter. Each ready to die for the other. Pasha and Nikolai easily became my favorite characters in the book. They are my new BROTP!
Yuliana I could've done without. She was kind of annoying and came off like she was better than everyone. Obviously, she's the Grand Duchess, but still. She had the attitude of a stereotypical bitch. I didn't like her.
Even the Tsar and Tsarina were better than her! How sad is that.
Anyway, onto the romance.
I think the romance was realistic. Yes, there was a love triangle, but I felt like this one worked. The two boys both had a reason for liking Vika. Nikolai's was purely based on not wanting to kill a human being. The more he learned about her the more he began to fall for her. It's like when you're falling in love with a celebrity. You know absolutely nothing about them, but the more interviews/videos you watch the more you start to see them as a real person. That's what this romance felt to me.
As for Pasha, his romance was more on shock value. He was surprised to find out about an enchanted to begin with. The second he saw all of the things in the streets for the games, he knew it was because of her. He was surprised about everything and that drew him closer to her.
The one thing that prevented this from being a 5-Star book was the pacing. The book was slow paced. There was a ton of action, but the way it was written made it slow down a lot.
If you're interested in Russia or historical fiction this is the book for you. Magic and history go hand in hand in this, changing up a little bit of history, while still keeping a few things the same. The author even expressed this in a little note at the end of the book.