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lottie_wolf 's review for:
The Gilded Crown
by Marianne Gordon
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I ended up loving the book with the plot and exploring necromancy with bargaining, however, I have to say the summary may mislead readers as it’s not heavily focused on the romance between Hellevir and Sullivan. If the summary was more accurate or similar to the ARC I’ve seen online, I would ascribe this higher. Instead, docking some points for misleading expectations.
Based on the summary, I felt it was ascribed to more romantasy but it is definitely more fantasy and the romance is on the backburner. Hellevir’s feelings are drawn to Sullivan but I felt there wasn’t enough scenes to use their relationship as the primary plot element. Instead, the book primarily focuses on Hellevir exploring her nature with diving into Death’s domain and striking a deal with a dark mysterious figure. Each time Hellevir bargains to bring a soul back, it must be met with a cost which drives part of the plot. Each time Sullivan is raised, Hellevir loses part of herself.
Overall, I feel if you are opened to a book exploring a bargain-based magic system for Hellevir’s necromancy and fantasy royalty assassination plot, you may be into this. There are elements of nature-based magic vs. monotheistic religion which became interesting as well. But if you want a romance focused book, this would not be it.
Based on the summary, I felt it was ascribed to more romantasy but it is definitely more fantasy and the romance is on the backburner. Hellevir’s feelings are drawn to Sullivan but I felt there wasn’t enough scenes to use their relationship as the primary plot element. Instead, the book primarily focuses on Hellevir exploring her nature with diving into Death’s domain and striking a deal with a dark mysterious figure. Each time Hellevir bargains to bring a soul back, it must be met with a cost which drives part of the plot. Each time Sullivan is raised, Hellevir loses part of herself.
Overall, I feel if you are opened to a book exploring a bargain-based magic system for Hellevir’s necromancy and fantasy royalty assassination plot, you may be into this. There are elements of nature-based magic vs. monotheistic religion which became interesting as well. But if you want a romance focused book, this would not be it.