kwalker314 's review for:

The Gilded Crown by Marianne Gordon

4.5

slow-paced

---

what a ride of a book. lots of feelings about state-backed religion (and religion-backed state) and what it means to follow a religion (or no religion at all) when the majority of people around you follow a different one. the similarities between christianity and onaistianism (?) we're not subtle and definitely dredged up some Feelings in me as i was reading. it was harrowing to read hellevir's justifications/excuses for what the temple was doing throughout the book, knowing personally that they never stop at a reasonable point ("it won't happen here" is a helluva drug).

Death has reminded her that she did not believe in their One God. Her mother and Sullivain did, but it was not her burden to bear whatever that meant for them.

in fact, the most unrealistic part of the religion in this book was how hellevir's mother (a follower of the predominant religion in the book) agreed to not trust her local temple's pastor equivalent after he cited to have hellevir flogged for the resurrections she carried out throughout the book.

i did think this book was paced a bit slow for me, but i couldn't help but wonder what would come next all the same. seeing hellevir change throughout the book was awesome, as i feel like a lot of fantasy books i've read recently don't have such drastic character development.

i was particularly surprised when what i thought was a budding romance between hellevir and sullivain (the princess that hellevir is coerced into personally looking after in case there's a successful assassination attempt) ended with hellevir strongly rejecting sullivain's offer to stay at the palace with her own villain-esque threats in order to ensure her family's safety from royal retribution.

seeing hellevir stand up to those who had coerced her throughout the book by the end was so exciting to read,

even as (specially because?) she so firmly embraced her newfound lack of an eye by getting a pitch black glass eye and eyepatch to go with it

. i'm also intrigued by the alluded-to implication

regarding her soul being left bit by bit in Death and/or with the souls she brings back from Death

- i'll be very curious to see if/how that comes into play in the second book.
this bit really solidified my anticipation for

where hellevir's character seemed to be going:

"I don't want war."
"It's certainly not peace you hunger for... Why do you think you first tried to raise the dead? Because you cared so much, or because you wanted to know if you could? To test your mettle? You don't fear becoming nothing in death, but being nothing in life, and times of peace are not conducive to greatness."

all that to say, this book just surprised me in so many ways - i'm so impressed, especially given that it's a debut novel. i can't wait to read the second book!