Cursed Crowns

Cursed Crowns
By Catherine Doyle and Katherine Webber
Published by Electric Monkey
Ages 13 +

'After all, everything came at a price...'

After loving book 1 and it's swashbuckling humour, I was so excited to get Cursed Crowns (thank you Harper and Electric Monkey) and was excited every time I picked it up to read! 

We meet new characters in book 2, and visit different parts of the world only mentioned in book 1, but even in different settings, with Wren in Gevra and Rose in the Sunkissed Kingdom - we get the tantalizing dual, split voice and character arcs much loved in Twin Crowns. I love that this format stayed the same - it works so well. 

BUT there is a magical, mirror-induced way in this book that the twins communicate and experience each other's drama and honestly these chapters are brilliant - both strategic and surprising and always hilarious with comic situation. (Rose staring at dead mice and Wren throwing a fruit bowl both made me laugh...) This also leads to a lovely Elske scene too. 

Set to be entertained by some very funny chapters with Wren in Gevra (before it turns dark!) and both the desert and the ice bring HUGE surprises! 

Following on from the steamy romances in Twin Crowns, change and obstacles to relationships occur in Cursed Crowns which keep you guessing. I really liked this aspect as it added a depth to them them all - a complexity to what Rose and Wren are feeling especially, but for Tor and Shen too. 

Rose matures emotionally in this sequel by taking on more regal responsibility and dealing with change and opposition with grace. Wren grows in power but faces internal chaos after desperate magical (and other) choices. 

Stars! I loved it. Even better that Twin Crowns. Fans of Sarah J Maas will adore this sequel too. Katie and Cat have outdone themselves with scope and world building and adding more layers to our favourite twin queens. 

Cursed Crowns is out April 27th 2023!




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Impossible Creatures

Image
By Katherine Rundell Published by Bloomsbury Ages 9 + Once upon a time, magical creatures such as unicorns, dragons, lavellans (the description of lavellans in the bestiary made me laugh out loud btw) and ratatoskas wandered the whole earth. Now they live in Archipelago, part of our world that is hidden by magic. But they are dying. Mal, from the Archipelago and Christopher, staying in Scotland, meet and unite both to save Mal from a murderer (!) and to find out what is happening to the creatures in the magical world... As an animal lover I felt an immediate connection to Christopher who attracts animals wherever he goes: 'his allegiance was to wild and living things.' and I loved this feature. The unicorns are beautifully described: 'like a cluster of ambulant stars' in varieties of silver and white. And the Sphinxes 'yellow-gold winged cats: cats that stood ten feet high' are so wonderfully proud and all-knowing. I like Jacques the tiny dragon.  The chases a
Read more

Arkspire by Jamie Littler

Image
Published by Puffin Books Ages 9+ An entertaining, eerie, unputdownable story! Arkspire is utterly brilliant - I couldn't put it down. What world-building and characters! I love Cinder so much! Moments from Juni, Thea, Everard and Cinder had me laughing out loud.  'When the world gives you an empty bag, it's your job to fill it.'  An under-dog tale with mysterious magic, humour and vivid illustrations, Littler is talented indeed. I get asked almost daily by parents what do their kids read next having finished Harry Potter. I will be directing them to Arkspire. 'You would be a change for good... you are someone who would remember the little guy for once.'
Read more

Marnie Midnight and the Moon Mystery

Image
Written and illustrated by Laura Ellen Anderson Published by Farshore Books Ages 5 and upwards Marnie Midnight is an absolute delight of a book!  No-one will fail to be charmed by Marnie's hopefulness, Milo's cuteness, Star's militancy, and ultimately Laura's wacky imagination and genius plot twists at the end. Floyd (an A not a Bee) embodies flamboyant uniqueness, Star the ant made me laugh and Marnie never stops believing or being curious about what she is passionate about (the moon and moon explorers). Easy to read for all ages approaching chapter books and onwards, I'm confident adults will chuckle at Laura's jokes too. I hope Marnie introduces many more children to Laura's growing host of characters and stories. 
Read more