The Crimson Crown by Cinda Williams Chima

The Crimson Crown by Cinda Williams Chima

Book Stats:  

Reading level: Young Adult
Genre: High Fantasy
Ebook: 598 pages
Publisher: Hyperion Books
Release date:  October 23rd, 2012

Series:  Seven Realms #4

Source: Purchased

Reviewed by: Tynga

Order: Amazon | Book Depository

A thousand years ago, two young lovers were betrayed—Alger Waterlow to his death, and Hanalea, Queen of the Fells, to a life without love. Now, once again, the Queendom of the Fells seems likely to shatter apart. For young queen Raisa ana'Marianna, maintaining peace even within her own castle walls is nearly impossible; tension between wizards and Clan has reached a fevered pitch. With surrounding kingdoms seeking to prey on the Fells' inner turmoil, Raisa's best hope is to unite her people against a common enemy. But that enemy might be the person with whom she''s falling in love. Through a complicated web of lies and unholy alliances, former streetlord Han Alister has become a member of the Wizard Council of the Fells. Navigating the cut-throat world of blue blood politics has never been more dangerous, and Han seems to inspire hostility among Clan and wizards alike. His only ally is the queen, and despite the perils involved, Han finds it impossible to ignore his feelings for Raisa. Before long, Han finds himself in possession of a secret believed to be lost to history, a discovery powerful enough to unite the people of the Fells. But will the secret die with him before he can use it? A simple, devastating truth concealed by a thousand-year-old lie at last comes to light in this stunning conclusion to the Seven Realms series.

*The Crimson Crown being the final installment in the series, it will contain spoilers from the previous books*

Raisa won her battle, she is finally Queen of the Fells, but it only brought even more battles to be fought. Her Queendom is desired by many and she has to fight an invasion with an army of bought swords, the clans and the wizards both want her to marry with one of their own to gain power, and her heart desires only Hans but it seems so impossible. Being Queen right now is much harder then it ever was for her mother, but Raisa is determined to do what is best for her people, steering away from the easy path.

Hans is scheming as usual and he is gathering up enemies at the speed of light. He has so many secret project on the side that it gets all tangled up and put him in a very hard situations, even with the Queen. He is used to keeping everything a secret and habits die hard when your life depends on it. It might cost him his heart and his life though if he can't find a way to keep Raisa's among all this crazy mayhem. 

Fire Dancer's past also comes to light in this novel and I was completely flabbergasted. It was nice to see more of him and his mother and turned out to be a solid foundation to Hans when he needed him the most. I never doubted his allegiance, but his strength and faith made the difference for Hans here. 

This installment is the culmination of so many events and even though I didn't really mention Alger Waterlow aka Crow in my previous reviews, I really have to talk about him here because he has such an important role. Alger (known now as The Demon King) was literally demonized because history is written by the winners. He was betrayed by someone he trusted, captured and tortured by the Bayars who wanted control of a very precious treasure and he managed to hide within his amulet. Hans, who is a very distant relative of Alger, is now in possession of the amulet and it's how they met in the second book. A lot has happened between the two but in this novel, their relationship takes a very interesting turn and I really enjoyed it! Crow really stepped up and I was cheering him on as he helped Hans in his crazy quest. His role and his relationship with Hans made a huge difference in this novel, and I just had to mention it. We really got to know him and his past in this installment and I really loved it. Even the epilogue in this novel is about him.

This extremely well written series has an insane world building and I've all four books within two weeks and the transition is honestly seamless. Everything comes together perfectly and The Crimson Crown is the flawless epithet of all the subplots. I've come to care so much for each character that some stressful moments were simply hard to bear because you don't want them to suffer. I really loved how everything came together for this conclusion and the only thing I could've hoped for is an epilogue taking place 6 months or maybe a year later and hopefully see the characters thrive. 





At least there is a spinoff series taking place roughly 25 years later (which I've already read - review to come) and I'm sure you will want to read it too!

This series is one of my all time favorite and after reading it I feel at loss. I am in search of another epic fantasy series that will make me feel this way again. I swear, I am in withdrawal. If you have any suggestions for my next literary fix, please leave a comment and get me out of my misery!

Read chapter 1

 

Posted by Tynga at 05:46

 Cinda Williams Chima, Fantasy, High Fantasy, Magic, young adult  5 People left their mark

Tynga is a 32 years old mom of two, from Montreal, working as a lab technician in an hospital specialized in heart disease. In her free time, she enjoys reading all things Paranormal and photography.

Follow Tynga on: Facebook | Twitter