07/20/202312/30/2023 ~ Laurie
Last year, I was pleassantly surprised by Twin Crowns by Catherine Doyle and Katherine Webber. I was highly anticipating the sequel, Cursed Crowns which has been published this spring. Did this book deliver in its anticipation?
About the book
- Title: Cursed Crowns
- Author: Catherine Doyle, Katherine Webber
- Series: Twin Crowns #2
- Publish date: May 9, 2023
- Publisher: Balzer + Bray
- ISBN: 9780063116160
- Number of pages: 512
- Genre: Young adult, Fantasy
Bestselling authors and real-life sisters-in-law Catherine Doyle and Katherine Webber join forces on a compelling YA fantasy bursting with high-stakes adventure, romance and humour. Two queens, one throne. What can possibly go wrong . . .?Twin queens Wren and Rose have claimed their crowns . . . but not everyone is happy about witches sitting on Eana’s throne.
Cool-headed Rose sets off on a Royal Tour to win over the doubters, but soon finds herself drawn to the Sunless Kingdom. Here secrets are revealed about those closest to her, and Rose finds her loyalties divided.
Meanwhile rebellious Wren steals away to the icy north to rescue their beloved grandmother, Banba. But when she accepts King Alarik’s deadly magical bargain in exchange for Banba’s freedom, the spell has unexpected – and far-reaching – consequences . . .
As an ancient curse begins to arise from the darkness, the sisters must come together and unite the crown. Their lives – and the future of Eana – depend on it.
Break the ice to free the curse,
Kill one twin to save another . . .
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
My review
I was really surprised by the enjoyment I experienced whilst reading Twin Crowns last year, despite it being a typical YA novel which I felt like I was actually outgrowing. So, I was therefore really anticipating this sequel. However, I somehow felt like this story came to a conclusion in this first book already. When picking this up, I immediately felt like I forgot bits of the previous book, but that didn’t matter to me since they came back to me quickly once I started reading. However, I felt slightly disappointed with this book anyway.
Let me clear things up beforehand, Cursed Crowns is absolutely not a bad book. I was a little disappointed in the characters and the writing. Why? Well, they didn’t develop that much compared to Twin Crowns. Rose and Wren are now queens of Eana and it was very predictable that they would face difficulties. They have opponents amongst their citizens. What I really did not expect was for the sisters to play the same role in their dynamics as they did before. Wren is still the adventurous sister and Rose still the responsible one. Therefore, I wasn’t surprised at all by the paths both sisters take. Furthermore, the love interests were not surprising as well and the romance was a little lacking. I didn’t feel real chemistry.
I actually really struggled with the writing this time. It felt more juvenile to me than Twin Crowns. However, I believe this is just my experience as there has been a year between both books and a lot has changed within me and my reading habits. Unfortunately, this made me feel I didn’t really want to continue reading Cursed Crowns, even to the point where I was contemplating whether just to DNF it altogether. The book is long, the story felt – especially at first – dragging and I lost interest along the way.
The plot was a little too long for everything that happened. Everything was so predictable, I didn’t feel intrigued or even surprised. Okay, except for one little plot development, but when looking back on it, it was necessary for the storyline. However, it feels a little cliché though. Moreover, Cursed Crowns feels really tropey to me. I mean, that’s not inherently bad, but I didn’t like it either. It looks like there will be more books in this series and somehow I’m asking myself whether they are needed. Personally, this sequel didn’t add up much to Twin Crowns.
Unfortunately, Cursed Crowns by Catherine Doyle and Katherine Webber disappointed me and let me down in so many ways. The main aspects are the juvenile feeling this book gives off and the story being so predictable. I believe however, that younger readers will definitely enjoy it. For me, I think I don’t need another book in this series. When looking into the aknowledgements, there is a hint to more books in this world. If you like a typical YA book with tropes, a predictable plot and that reads kind of quickly (the writing was not my cup of tea but it reads quickly still), this series is definitely for you.
