<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/13246297/?claim=ajteutmhftn">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Genres: YA fiction, Historical, Fantasy
Pages: 471
I loved this book so much, I read it twice. But still, it's been a while since I've read it, so I'll use the summary as shown on Goodreads.com.
Young
Countess Meliara swears to her dying father that she and her brother
will defend their people from the growing greed of the king. That
promise leads them into a war for which they are ill-prepared, which
threatens the very people they are trying to protect. But war is
simple compared to what follows, in peacetime. Meliara is summoned to
live at the royal palace, where friends and enemies look alike, and
intrigue fills the dance halls and the drawing rooms. If she is to
survive, Meliara must learn a whole new way of fighting-with wits and
words and secret alliances.
In war, at least, she knew in whom she could trust. Now she can trust no one.
In war, at least, she knew in whom she could trust. Now she can trust no one.
Crown
Duel is written in first person, in the point of view of clever,
quick-tempered Meliara. Originally, it was not one book, but
two(Crown Duel and Court Duel). But they were later put together as one novel,(with a bonus short story!) which is what I'll be reviewing.
The
two parts of the story are very different from each other, as you may
have guessed from the titles. Part one(Crown Duel) involves war; Part
2(Court Duel) is during times of peace. And Meliara doesn't know
what's harder to maneuver—the battlefield or the royal palace.
I
loved seeing Mel grow throughout the book. In the beginning she was
rude and rather judgmental. But circumstances changed her, though she
never grew to be perfect. The quirks that I loved about her
personality remained. She certainly wasn't your usual countess, and I
loved that she was different.
If
you like adventure, fantasy, romance, or teen fiction, pick this one
up. It's a classic of young adult literature. And I devoured it.
Twice.
I hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving yesterday! I had a great time with my family. Very grateful for them. So, what are you all thankful for this Thanksgiving week?
This looks really good! So it's like a historical fiction sort of thing? I love those... I wish they were popular in the YA genre. Great review!
ReplyDeleteThank you! It's one of my favorites. And yes, it has a historical sort of feel to it. I like to refer to it as Historical Fantasy since it's not set in our world.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment!