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A review by siglerbooknook
A Crown of Chains by Erin Phillips
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
I really try hard not to give books a negative review, especially if it's written by a less prominent author. This book definitely had it's difficulties and I have chosen to leave the stars blank because of my mixed feelings.
I was very excited to read Crown of Chains knowing it was a fantasy retelling of Esther, one of my favorite Bible stories. However, I think the author took too much influence from the movie One Night With The King and too little from the original story for me personally to find this enjoyable. There is a noticeable lack of character growth and drama that pushes well past believable. If you like enemies to lovers where they never really progress you MIGHT like this book, but it wasn't for me.
SPOILERS BELOW
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My biggest grievance was the inclusion of a love triangle. Not only is it completely unbelievable that the queen would have the freedom and stupidity to have an affair, it cheapens the whole story and the morals I expected to find.
My second biggest complaint was the writing of the king. I absolutely could accept that he was selfish, shortsighted, and even spitefully mean, but throughout the entire story he is downright abusive. And he never ever gets better.
The third issue for me was that Roxana never even tries to make it work. She can hate him all she wants, but her constant baiting of the king and tempertantrums were not only unbelievable, they made the story feel like two children seeing who could make the other a bigger villain.
And finally the ending felt like a rushed cop out. The last 25 pages are exactly the Esther story, or more accurately, One Night With the King, right on down to the advisor attacking the Queen while the king secretly spies on them and steps in at the last moment.
I believe the author intended to highlight how hard life was for Esther and the insecurity of her situation. In that she succeeded. I wish she had left us a loveable character to root for.
I was very excited to read Crown of Chains knowing it was a fantasy retelling of Esther, one of my favorite Bible stories. However, I think the author took too much influence from the movie One Night With The King and too little from the original story for me personally to find this enjoyable. There is a noticeable lack of character growth and drama that pushes well past believable. If you like enemies to lovers where they never really progress you MIGHT like this book, but it wasn't for me.
SPOILERS BELOW
.
.
.
.
.
My biggest grievance was the inclusion of a love triangle. Not only is it completely unbelievable that the queen would have the freedom and stupidity to have an affair, it cheapens the whole story and the morals I expected to find.
My second biggest complaint was the writing of the king. I absolutely could accept that he was selfish, shortsighted, and even spitefully mean, but throughout the entire story he is downright abusive. And he never ever gets better.
The third issue for me was that Roxana never even tries to make it work. She can hate him all she wants, but her constant baiting of the king and tempertantrums were not only unbelievable, they made the story feel like two children seeing who could make the other a bigger villain.
And finally the ending felt like a rushed cop out. The last 25 pages are exactly the Esther story, or more accurately, One Night With the King, right on down to the advisor attacking the Queen while the king secretly spies on them and steps in at the last moment.
I believe the author intended to highlight how hard life was for Esther and the insecurity of her situation. In that she succeeded. I wish she had left us a loveable character to root for.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Kidnapping, and War
Minor: Genocide, Grief, and Gaslighting