How are you?
Recently I read The Crown's Game by Evelyn Skye and as I really enjoyed it, I thought I would review it. With the sequel coming out in a few months (June 29th in the UK), it is the perfect time to pick it up. If you love fantasy and emperors, then you will love this book. To read a summary on Goodreads, click here. To buy it from Amazon, click here. Like all my reviews, this will contains spoilers, so if you have not read this book, you will not be able to read this review.
The Crown's Game by Evelyn Skye- Contains Spoilers
Non-Spoiler Thoughts
I gave this book 4/5 stars, but looking back I think it's closer to a 3.5/5. While I did really enjoy it, I had issues with the pacing and at times I found it a bit predictable. I am looking forward to the sequel coming out and as far as I know it is a duology.
Cover Chat
Despite that my copy is a bit battered, I do love the design for the cover. It looks like a city and a crown, the cover for the second book is just as beautiful!
Plot
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, threating the future of the empire, it becomes dangerously clear- the Crown's Game is not one to lose.
As always, this summary is taken from Goodreads were the average rating is 3.82/5 stars.
Opinions
Like I said in my non-spoiler section, I did really enjoy the Crown's Game. I've never read a story quite like it and it was nice to read a story set in Russia. As I have studied Russian history in school and college, it really helped me with my current studies.
My main issue with this book was the pacing. I've been having this issue a lot recently. It might just be because of how busy my personal life is, but I found the pacing to be really slow. It was all in the final 50 or so pages that everything seemed to happen. I personally like the action to be spread out through all the book.
Another thing I had a bit of an issue with was the romance. Despite the fact that it is stated in the plot summary there will be a love triangle, I still didn't enjoy it. I am really not a huge fan of a love triangle, the only one I like is from The Infernal Devices. The romance felt very typical for a YA, it was very much an insta-love story.
The magical elements were my favourite to read. I could clearly picture them in my mind and that is what makes me love reading. As magic was a predominate part of this story, the descriptions showed how important the magic was to the characters.
So that concludes my review of The Crown's Game. Let me know what you thought of it in the comments.
Love,
Carenza x
