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A review by innodavid
A Crown of Wishes by Roshani Chokshi
2.0
2.5 STARS
I feel so horrible rating Roshani Chokshi's books so darn low. I want to support her cause she's a fellow Filipino and I'm proud of what she's achieved in her writing career. Hence, I don't want to come off as bias if I just gave all her books 4 to 5 stars even if I don't find them deserving of such high ratings.
The other thing is, A Crown of Wishes is Roshani's most beloved book. Everyone who seems to be a fan of her writing considered this their favorite of hers. But I just don't feel the same.
A Crown of Wishes' strength comes from its writing. The beautiful, lyrical and whimsical metaphors make you feel like you're reading a classic fairytale with adventure, magic and romance. I have problems with her writing in The Star-Touched Queen. Even though they're beautiful, sometimes they made no sense. But since reading her other works, I noticed her improvement. She starts using evocative prose rather than adding a bunch of words from thesaurus just to make it flowery.
Other than that, I pretty much don't care for the rest of its content. The plot felt meandering at times and the side characters seem like plot devices to further the story. I was bored the whole time. The synopsis promised a magical game (similar to Caraval) and a slow-burn romance to root for, but what I got were surface level characters with one distinct personality and a romance with no chemistry. Everyone swoons for Vikram (the main male protagonist and love interest), but he feels like any generic snarky and sarcastic character in every YA novel.
I keep rolling my eyes everytime they flirt or showcase any interest with one another. They're so dull! This is the first time that I desired a love triangle to happen just to add to the angst and drama, cause neither the characters nor the game made the stakes higher for me to root for them and be invested to continue reading.
Even though I'm consecutively being disappointed by her books, I still look forward to reading her future works. I think that's the only way I can support her now.
I feel so horrible rating Roshani Chokshi's books so darn low. I want to support her cause she's a fellow Filipino and I'm proud of what she's achieved in her writing career. Hence, I don't want to come off as bias if I just gave all her books 4 to 5 stars even if I don't find them deserving of such high ratings.
The other thing is, A Crown of Wishes is Roshani's most beloved book. Everyone who seems to be a fan of her writing considered this their favorite of hers. But I just don't feel the same.
A Crown of Wishes' strength comes from its writing. The beautiful, lyrical and whimsical metaphors make you feel like you're reading a classic fairytale with adventure, magic and romance. I have problems with her writing in The Star-Touched Queen. Even though they're beautiful, sometimes they made no sense. But since reading her other works, I noticed her improvement. She starts using evocative prose rather than adding a bunch of words from thesaurus just to make it flowery.
Other than that, I pretty much don't care for the rest of its content. The plot felt meandering at times and the side characters seem like plot devices to further the story. I was bored the whole time. The synopsis promised a magical game (similar to Caraval) and a slow-burn romance to root for, but what I got were surface level characters with one distinct personality and a romance with no chemistry. Everyone swoons for Vikram (the main male protagonist and love interest), but he feels like any generic snarky and sarcastic character in every YA novel.
I keep rolling my eyes everytime they flirt or showcase any interest with one another. They're so dull! This is the first time that I desired a love triangle to happen just to add to the angst and drama, cause neither the characters nor the game made the stakes higher for me to root for them and be invested to continue reading.
Even though I'm consecutively being disappointed by her books, I still look forward to reading her future works. I think that's the only way I can support her now.