Monday, March 4, 2024

The Crown's Fate

Title: The Crown's Fate
Author: Evelyn Skye
Published: May 16, 2017 by Balzer + Bray
Format: Hardcover, 425 pages
Genre: Historical Fantasy
Series: The Crown's Game #2

First Sentence: Vika Andreyeva was a confluence of minuscule bubbles, streaming through the wintry dusk.

Blurb: Russia is on the brink of great change. Pasha’s coronation approaches, and Vika is now the Imperial Enchanter, but the role she once coveted may be more difficult—and dangerous—than she ever expected.

Pasha is grappling with his own problems—his legitimacy is in doubt, the girl he loves loathes him, and he believes his best friend is dead. When a challenger to the throne emerges—and with the magic in Russia growing rapidly—Pasha must do whatever it takes to keep his position and protect his kingdom.

For Nikolai, the ending of the Crown’s Game stung deeply. Although he just managed to escape death, Nikolai remains alone, a shadow hidden in a not-quite-real world of his own creation. But when he’s given a second chance at life—tied to a dark price—Nikolai must decide just how far he’s willing to go to return to the world.

With revolution on the rise, dangerous new magic rearing up, and a tsardom up for the taking, Vika, Nikolai, and Pasha must fight—or face the destruction of not only their world but also themselves.

My Opinion: Slow start, but the tension builds.

The Crown’s Fate is the sequel to The Crown’s Game, a historical fantasy set in an alternate Russia. The book follows the three main characters, Vika, Nikolai, and Pasha, as they face political intrigue, dark magic, and personal dilemmas, all the while, encompassing history, culture, and magical twists.

The characters are well defined with each showing strengths and flaws. The reader will be riding the rollercoaster of identity, power, loyalty, and love, and how, together, they shape the fate of a leader and a nation.

The Crown’s Fate is the conclusion to the duology, with an ending that has you holding your breath and full of hope for Vika, Nikolai, Pasha, Yuliana, and Renata.

I am still new to this genre, so I can’t say if I will stick with it, but I did enjoy this series.

No comments: