Author: Evelyn Skye
Published: May 17, 2016 by Balzer + Bray
Format: 407 pages, Hardcover
Genre: YA Historical Fantasy
Series: The Crown's Game #1
First Sentence: The smell of sugar and yeast welcomed Vika even before she stepped into the pumpkin-shaped shop on the main street of their little town.
Blurb: Vika Andreyeva can summon the snow and turn ash into gold. Nikolai Karimov can see through walls and conjure bridges out of thin air. They are enchanters—the only two in Russia—and with the Ottoman Empire and the Kazakhs threatening, the tsar needs a powerful enchanter by his side.
And so he initiates the Crown’s Game, an ancient duel of magical skill—the greatest test an enchanter will ever know. The victor becomes the Imperial Enchanter and the tsar’s most respected adviser. The defeated is sentenced to death.
Raised on tiny Ovchinin Island her whole life, Vika is eager for the chance to show off her talent in the grand capital of Saint Petersburg. But can she kill another enchanter—even when his magic calls to her like nothing else ever has?
For Nikolai, an orphan, the Crown’s Game is the chance of a lifetime. But his deadly opponent is a force to be reckoned with—beautiful, whip-smart, imaginative—and he can’t stop thinking about her.
And when Pasha, Nikolai’s best friend and heir to the throne, also starts to fall for the mysterious enchantress, Nikolai must defeat the girl they both love…or be killed himself.
As long-buried secrets emerge, threatening the future of the empire, it becomes dangerously clear—the Crown’s Game is not one to lose.
My Opinion: Historical fantasy set in an alternative 1825 Imperial Russia.
Fantasy has never been a genre that I have searched for. I tend to like novels with more pragmatism, but I think that might have changed after this book. Maybe it’s because there was a historical factor or the fact I could pronounce the names, but this book grabbed me from the beginning, and by the end, I was searching out the second book, The Crown’s Fate, of this series.
In this first book, a couple of tidbits were not tied up in neat little bows, and I have to find out if the author was purposely leaving clues for the future or if there was something more going on. Plus, the ending had a nice but foreseeable punch that could lead the three characters in multiple directions, and I want to see which path they will take since decisions need to be made and rules must be followed.
Blurb: Vika Andreyeva can summon the snow and turn ash into gold. Nikolai Karimov can see through walls and conjure bridges out of thin air. They are enchanters—the only two in Russia—and with the Ottoman Empire and the Kazakhs threatening, the tsar needs a powerful enchanter by his side.
And so he initiates the Crown’s Game, an ancient duel of magical skill—the greatest test an enchanter will ever know. The victor becomes the Imperial Enchanter and the tsar’s most respected adviser. The defeated is sentenced to death.
Raised on tiny Ovchinin Island her whole life, Vika is eager for the chance to show off her talent in the grand capital of Saint Petersburg. But can she kill another enchanter—even when his magic calls to her like nothing else ever has?
For Nikolai, an orphan, the Crown’s Game is the chance of a lifetime. But his deadly opponent is a force to be reckoned with—beautiful, whip-smart, imaginative—and he can’t stop thinking about her.
And when Pasha, Nikolai’s best friend and heir to the throne, also starts to fall for the mysterious enchantress, Nikolai must defeat the girl they both love…or be killed himself.
As long-buried secrets emerge, threatening the future of the empire, it becomes dangerously clear—the Crown’s Game is not one to lose.
My Opinion: Historical fantasy set in an alternative 1825 Imperial Russia.
Fantasy has never been a genre that I have searched for. I tend to like novels with more pragmatism, but I think that might have changed after this book. Maybe it’s because there was a historical factor or the fact I could pronounce the names, but this book grabbed me from the beginning, and by the end, I was searching out the second book, The Crown’s Fate, of this series.
In this first book, a couple of tidbits were not tied up in neat little bows, and I have to find out if the author was purposely leaving clues for the future or if there was something more going on. Plus, the ending had a nice but foreseeable punch that could lead the three characters in multiple directions, and I want to see which path they will take since decisions need to be made and rules must be followed.
No comments:
Post a Comment