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Review: Twin Crowns by Catherine Doyle and Katherine Webber

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Twin Crowns by Catherine Doyle and Katherine Webber

Twin Crowns (Twin Crowns #1)
Catherine Doyle and Katherine Webber
Balzer + Bray
Published May 17, 2022

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Twin Crowns

Wren Greenrock has always known that one day she would steal her sister’s place in the palace. Trained from birth to return to the place of her parents’ murder and usurp the only survivor, she will do anything to rise to power and protect the community of witches she loves. Or she would, if only a certain palace guard wasn’t quite so distractingly attractive, and if her reckless magic didn’t have a habit of causing trouble…

Princess Rose Valhart knows that with power comes responsibility. Marriage into a brutal kingdom awaits, and she will not let a small matter like waking up in the middle of the desert in the company of an extremely impertinent (and handsome) kidnapper get in the way of her royal duty. But life outside the palace walls is wilder and more beautiful than she ever imagined, and the witches she has long feared might turn out to be the family she never knew she was missing.

Two sisters separated at birth and raised into entirely different worlds are about to get to know each other’s lives a whole lot better. But as coronation day looms closer and they each strive to claim their birthright, the sinister Kingsbreath, Willem Rathborne, becomes increasingly determined that neither will succeed. Who will ultimately rise to power and wear the crown?

My Review

Catherine Doyle’s Storm Keeper series is one of my favorite middle grade series ever, so when I saw that she was co-authoring this new YA series, I knew I had to check it out. Bonus: it’s about sisters! My favorite kind of story.

To start, I really liked the premise, and both Wren and Rose as characters. I felt like they were both pretty believable in the roles they’d grown up in. They were also different yet similar enough that I had no problem believing they were sisters.

I liked the pace of the story, too. At first it looks like Wren’s challenge will be keeping up the charade that she’s Princess Rose for thirty whole days. Then, when she realizes the kingsbreath’s true plan, the pressure reverses, so that it feels like she’s right up against a deadline with so much to do to stop her enemy and take the throne.

I only stumbled over a couple of things. One is the balance of romance to the quest for the crown. I think I expected the romance to be more of a subplot and to have the girls and their adventure be more centerstage. There were moments when I felt like the romance kind of overshadowed what was happening in a way that pulled me away from the rest of the story.

The politics also tripped me up a little bit. The story really builds up the strong prejudice against witches. They’re executed if found. People pray to the Protector if they think they’ve seen one. People worry they’ve been cursed if they have a string of bad circumstances. Those bad feelings seemed to unravel really easily, though. I found that hard to believe after the initial setup.

Honestly, all it meant for me was that I turned up my suspension of disbelief, because I really enjoyed the sisterhood and the magic and adventure elements that made up the rest of the story. I’m definitely going to continue on with this series.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Major characters are white. Shen is from a desert kingdom. Celeste has brown skin. She and a couple other minor characters are queer.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used very infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. Brief reference to sexual arousal. In one scene, a boy takes off his shirt and a girl loosens her dress as they make out.

Spiritual Content
Wren and other characters have the ability to perform magic and are called witches. Rose’s people worship the Great Protector, a historical figure they’re taught saved them from the witches. In her kingdom, witches are executed.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. A boy battles a giant beetle. A girl tries to kill another by stealing her breath and using wind to shove her off a cliffside. A girl relives memories from a battle long ago and watches as witches are slain on the battlefield. References to the torture of witches. A man kills a woman by cutting her throat. A battle destroys a building and kills several people present. A leopard attacks a girl, severely wounding her.

Drug Content
Some characters drink alcohol until they’re drunk.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog.

Review: The Raven Throne by Stephanie Burgis

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Middle Grade 8-12, , , , , ,

The Raven Throne (The Raven Crown #2)
Stephanie Burgis
Bloomsbury USA Children’s Books
Published August 8, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Raven Throne

The unmissable sequel to The Raven Heir and conclusion to the epic middle-grade fantasy series perfect for fans of Abi Elphinstone and Piers Torday.

Cordelia has been crowned The Raven Queen. But with new power comes new danger.

Once their triplet Cordelia became The Raven Queen, Giles and Rosalind knew they would have to learn to behave at court. No more fighting for Rosalind and no more singing for Giles. What they didn’t foresee was having to foil a plot against their sister.

When Cordelia falls into an enchanted sleep and cannot be woken, Rosalind and Giles must quest across the kingdom to seek help from the ancient spirits of the land. But their family’s greatest enemies lurk at every turn, and it will take all of the triplets’ deepest strengths to fight against them.

A thrilling finale to the magical and mystical series.

My Review

I’m a huge fan of Stephanie Burgis’s middle grade novels (I know she has adult fiction, and I’ve bought a copy of one of her books, but I haven’t read it yet. It looks really fun, though!), and THE RAVEN HEIR, the first book in this duology was one of my favorite books from last year. So it was a pretty big no-brainer that this one was going to be on my reading list this year.

When I think about this book and the story it tells, the first word that comes to mind is “ambitious.” I feel like this was a hard story to tell because it’s got a lot of political intrigue and a pretty large cast of named characters, and there’s a lot of action to wrap up in a single less-than-300-page novel.

For the most part, I think it’s a success. I got chills as Ros and Giles confronted the forces they needed to in order to save the day (I’m getting chills again writing about it), and I cried when Cordy named her sister a knight. There were some really great moments like that throughout the book. I loved the theme of the messages people speak about us versus what we believe about ourselves. Powerful stuff.

That said, I did find the opening to be a little confusing because of the number of named characters participating. There are six family members plus various lords and ladies at court, attendants, and relatives. I had a hard time keeping those more minor characters straight, though as I got deeper into the story, it got easier.

Conclusion

THE RAVEN THRONE is the second book in The Raven Crown duology. If you haven’t read THE RAVEN HEIR, which is the first book, I recommend you start with that one before reading this one.

On the whole, I still enjoyed a lot of elements of this book. It’s one of the few about triplets that I’ve ever read, and the relationships between the siblings are still one of my favorite parts. I think fans of UNICORN QUEST by Kamilla Benko or THE FIREBIRD SONG by Arnée Flores should check out this duology.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Major characters are white.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Cordelia, the Raven Queen, has made a pact with the spirits of the land that she’ll listen to them and protect them. She and her triplets have magic abilities.

Violent Content
Situations of peril and brief moments leading up to battle. One scene describes a battle with nature. In one scene, a woman disappears into a crack in the ground. A man is surrounded by tree growth.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of THE RAVEN THRONE in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Descendant of the Crane by Joan He

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Descendant of the Crane
Joan He

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Descendant of the Crane

In New York Times and Indie bestselling author Joan He’s debut novel, Descendant of the Crane, a determined and vulnerable young heroine struggles to do right in a world brimming with deception. This gorgeous, Chinese-inspired fantasy is packed with dizzying twists, complex characters, and intricate politics.

TREASON

For princess Hesina of Yan, the palace is her home, but her father is her world. He taught her how to defend against the corruption and excesses of the old kings, before revolutionaries purged them and their seers and established the dynasty anew.

Before he died, he was supposed to teach her how to rule.

TRIAL

The imperial doctors say the king died a natural death, but Hesina has reason to believe he was murdered. She is determined to uncover the truth and bring the assassin to justice.

TRUTH

But in a broken system, ideals can kill. As the investigation quickly spins out of Hesina’s control, she realizes that no one is innocent. Not the heroes in history, or the father she thought she knew. More blood will spill if she doesn’t rein in the trial soon—her people’s, her family’s, and even her own.

My Review

This book has been on my reading list for SO. LONG. I’m so glad I finally had the chance to read it.

DESCENDANT OF THE CRANE is about 400 pages, which is pretty near the high side in terms of my preferred page count. However. I devoured the story in two days. Every time I picked up the book, I couldn’t stop reading it.

The pace of the story moves quickly– right away, we know there’s been a murder, and Hesina, the new queen, is committed to discovering who killed her father, even risking her own death to ensure the truth is revealed in a trial.

She’s also just become queen of a country on the brink of war with a fierce neighbor. And queen of a country internally torn apart by fear and prejudice against people called sooths, who have the ability to perform magic or read the future.

Add to that all the usual new, young ruler court machinations, and you’ve got a pretty good idea where the story begins. And the stakes only get higher.

One of my favorite characters is Akira, a prisoner that Hesina has been told she needs as her representative in the trial to convict her father’s murderer. He’s mysterious, sardonic, and sometimes turns out to have inside information that Hesina needs to survive. There’s a very, very slow burn romance happening between them, so of course I was all in on that.

Conclusion

I feel like this was a really ambitious story to craft. It’s partly a history-inspired fantasy, partly a murder mystery, and partly a commentary on prejudice and the way that we shape people’s views and values through our telling of history. Which is a lot to tell in just 400 pages!

Not only do I feel like Joan He succeeded in her storytelling, but she also crafted a cast of engaging characters caught up in this compelling drama that I couldn’t stop reading. I think readers who love Elizabeth Lim absolutely need to check out DESENDANT OF THE CRANE.

Content Notes for Descendant of the Crane

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Characters are Chinese-coded.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between a boy and girl. Brief references to sex (A man hastily summoned to court complains that he hates to leave a partner unsatisfied.).

Spiritual Content
Some characters, called Sooths, have the ability to do magic that has to do with time. Some can see the future. Others can influence an object’s state by making its future state present. For example, sooth could turn a rock to sand by changing the rock’s current state to its state in the future after it’s been crushed.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. The court investigates the murder of the king. A couple scenes include battle violence. A violent mob attacks citizens, cutting them and executing more than one. A bomb explodes, injuring several people.

Drug Content
The king died by poison (before the story begins). A man drinks poisoned wine and becomes violently ill.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of DESCENDANT OF THE CRANE in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Blood and Feathers by Beth Revis

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Blood and Feathers
Beth Revis
Scripturient Books
Published on July 6, 2022

Amazon | Kindle Vella | Goodreads

About Blood and Feathers

Sine is the spare, not the heir, to her father’s kingdom near the lands of wild magic. Her family guards the wall that keeps the monsters out.

Rigby was born on the other side of the wall, one of the monsters who wears a human face.

Sine will do anything to keep the wall up and protect her people. Rigby will do anything to tear the wall down and break the bonds that hold his people back, no matter who he must betray…or sacrifice.

In this epic fantasy novel by NY Times bestselling author Beth Revis, the bonds of family, friendship, and love are tested as the truth of magic–and the price paid for it–is discovered after generations of deceit. Originally uploaded on Kindle Vella.

My Review

I started reading BLOOD AND FEATHERS when about half the episodes were published on Kindle Vella. The story immediately hooked me. It’s my favorite thing that I’ve read by Beth Revis so far, so I continued reading as each new episode came out, all the way to the end.

I love the symmetry of it. BLOOD AND FEATHERS is told from two perspectives: Sine, who wants to protect her kingdom and her brother Jude most of all. And Rigby, who will do anything to protect his sister and his people. From the beginning, those desires are in direct conflict with one another, so everything that happens to benefit one creates a challenge for the other. I couldn’t stop reading– I really wanted to see what would happen if they ever ran into each other and shared information.

There are also great side characters in this book. Princess Sine decides that she needs her ladymaids to also be combat trained, since she’s found a threatening note which seems to indicate she’s in danger. As she pursues companions with training, she builds a really cool team of allies that I loved so much.

I felt like this story kept me on the edge of my seat. Even though I’ve reached the end, I am still thinking about it, and I really want to know what is going to happen next. The way it ends pretty much promises a follow-up, so I will definitely be on the lookout for that.

Content Notes for Blood and Feathers

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Some characters are described as having bronze-toned skin.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
Magic keeps Sine’s kingdom safe, but it comes at a high price.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Multiple scenes showing battles. Some gruesome descriptions of magic rituals.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog.

Review: My Contrary Mary by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows

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My Contrary Mary (Mary #1)
Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows
HarperTeen
Published June 22, 2021

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About My Contrary Mary

Welcome to Renaissance France, a place of poison and plots, of beauties and beasts, of mice and . . . queens?⠀
⠀
Mary is the queen of Scotland and the jewel of the French court. Except when she’s a mouse. Yes, reader, Mary is an Eðian (shapeshifter) in a kingdom where Verities rule. It’s a secret that could cost her a head—or a tail.⠀
⠀
Luckily, Mary has a confidant in her betrothed, Francis. But after the king meets a suspicious end, things at the gilded court take a treacherous turn. Thrust onto the throne, Mary and Francis are forced to navigate a viper’s nest of conspiracies, traps, and treason. And if Mary’s secret is revealed, heads are bound to roll.

My Review

For a book that’s nearly 500 pages, MY CONTRARY MARY was a really quick read. The writing is really easy, and the paragraphs are pretty short, which is awesome. That made it even easier for me to get lost in the story.

This is a silly, fun reimagining of the history of Mary, Queen of Scots. Mary lives in France, where she’s waiting to marry Francis, who will one day be king of France. He loves her, but he’s uncertain whether she has feelings for him that extend beyond friendship. As Mary nears her wedding day, a new lady-in-waiting joins her: Ari, the daughter of Nostradamus, a girl who is searching for her own place in the French court.

All three of those characters have chapters from their points of view. I liked that the story rotated between the three of them. There were moments for each of them where we really needed only the perspective that character could bring.

I liked the tongue-in-cheek, break the fourth wall style the authors use to tell the story. There are lots of asides where the narrators speak directly to the reader in little jokes or funny comments. I thought that was clever, and I enjoyed it. I feel like that’s always a gamble with readers, though– some people really like it and others do not.

Conclusion

On the whole, I enjoyed this book for its silliness and the sweet romance as well as the opportunity to imagine a happily ever after for a historical figure who didn’t get one. (This isn’t a spoiler, since the authors explain this out at the beginning of the book.)

I have only read MY LADY JANE from the other series by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows, but I enjoyed that book as well. It made me want to go back and finish that series. I think the second Mary book, MY IMAGINARY MARY, comes out in August.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Major characters are white, either Scottish or French. Ari is in love with another girl.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity in English. Strong profanity in French. Used pretty infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. Kissing between two girls. References to sex.

Spiritual Content
Nostradamus and Ari have visions. Ari’s are all visions of scenes from famous movies. Nostradamus has some visions of the future.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. References to torture. Brief battle scene.

Drug Content
Francis’ father gets drunk in some scenes. Mary and Francis once played a game where they took a drink every time the king said a certain word. They were pretty tipsy themselves by the end of it.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of MY CONTRARY MARY in exchange for my honest review.

Review: The Raven Heir by Stephanie Burgis

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The Raven Heir (The Raven Crown #1)
Stephanie Burgis
Bloomsbury Children’s
Published September 14, 2021

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Raven Heir

Deep within an enchanted forest lies a castle where a set of triplets and their sorceress mother have lived for years — safe from the decades-long war for the Raven Throne that rages in the kingdom beyond. Cordelia, one of the triplets, has the power to become any animal with just a thought, and she yearns to discover more about the world outside her castle.

But one day, the world comes to her, when the eldest of the triplets becomes the newest heir to the throne. Knowing that being named heir means certain death, Cordelia’s mother hid the truth about which child is the eldest when she hid them in the forest. When her family is captured, it’s up to Cordelia to use her powers to keep her siblings hidden and discover the truth about the Raven Heir — before it’s too late.

A thrilling new fantasy full of magic, adventure, and the power of family.

A set of magical triplets, two warring dynasties, and a broken crown waiting for its rightful owner…

My Review

If you’ve been following my blog for long, you probably already know one of my favorite middle grade series lately has been The Storm Keeper’s Island by Catherine Doyle. The series finale comes out (already came out in the UK) this year, so I’ve been loving that and also dreading being without a powerful and amazing series to look forward to…

Until I read THE RAVEN HEIR.

Because WOW.

Like. Where do I even start? The setting has this beautiful, enchanted vibe to it that I love. The characters are caught in the middle of this huge political power grab, and if they have any chance of surviving it, it will have to be because they figure out how to come together and fight their way out. So it’s serious, but the writing and the characters themselves keep it really firmly anchored in middle grade age range.

The characters. I love the way each of the triplets are different from one another. The whole story is in Cordelia’s perspective, and I love her character best of all. She’s feisty and has a hard time expressing herself in words to her siblings. Her brother Giles is the poet and comedian. Rosalind is fierce and brave. They’re so great.

The plot keeps a pretty quick pace. I think I read the whole book in two sittings, so it was a quick read for me. Every time I thought I’d quit at the end of the chapter, something new kept me reading just one more! I loved it.

For me this book is right up there with my other MG faves– THE STORM KEEPER’S ISLAND and THE FIREBIRD SONG. If you liked either of those, you will absolutely want to read this one. I’m also a fan of Burgis’s earlier books, but she’s absolutely outdone herself with this one. I can’t wait to read this whole series.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Cordelia’s older brother is described as having light brown skin.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Some characters have magic. The land also has a kind of magic.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Brief battle scenes.

Drug Content
A woman forces children to drink a potion that puts them to sleep.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support running this blog. I received a free copy of THE RAVEN HEIR in exchange for my honest review.