Reviews tagging 'Murder'

A Shadow Crown by Melissa Blair

8 reviews

melissaslibraryy's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, Classism, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Grief, Medical content, Violence, Blood, Colonisation, Forced institutionalization, Murder, and Death

Moderate: Sexual content, Cursing, Genocide, Torture, Body horror, and War

starrysteph's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Okay Melissa Blair!! A Shadow Crown starts RIGHT where A Broken Blade left off - and in my opinion, adds much more depth to the world and characters.

Keera is bound to serve the king as his Blade - his top killer and spy. But she’s secretly been working against him, with his youngest son Prince Killian and the Shadow, Riven (whom she may just be falling for). They’re conspiring to defeat the immortal ruler once and for all and bring safety back to the kingdom.

But not everyone is trustworthy, and plans are thwarted one by one. Keera has to protect her people, find a potential spy, and navigate the depths of her own grief while uncovering the truth of her own identity.

I appreciate how accessible and engaging this series is. I think Blair’s writing has already improved tremendously from book one, and the pacing worked perfectly for me here. The overall arc of A Shadow Crown is much slower than the action-packed A Broken Blade, but there were still interesting things happening during each bite-sized chapter. I particularly enjoyed some new side characters, including earnest librarian Vrail.

This readability allows for brilliant overarching themes such as colonization, racism, trauma & grief, addiction, identity, and so much more to be highlighted and ingrained in every aspect of the world and characters. 

There were a few plot stumbles for me - mostly around Keera’s judgment and intellect (which I felt took a big dip here when compared with her decision-making in book one). I also felt like the writing was a bit awkward and clunky at times, and occasionally the tropey elements were overused without any clever subversions or fresh angles.

But there were so many captivating moments here - a few explosive battle scenes, but mostly a lot of emotional heart and growth and learning to live through loss and trauma. 

And the ending?! I can’t wait for book three.

CW: colonization, death, violence, self harm, murder, grief, confinement, gore, war, injury, genocide, abuse, slavery, suicidal thoughts, torture, fire, abandonment, addiction, mental health, racism, sexual violence, sexual content

Follow me on TikTok for book recommendations!

(I received an advance reader copy of this book; this is my honest review.)

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Self harm, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Colonisation, Death, Slavery, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Grief, Abandonment, Mental illness, Child abuse, Confinement, Gore, War, Genocide, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Emotional abuse, Addiction, Racism, Drug abuse, and Fire/Fire injury

aliciawhatsthestory's review against another edition

adventurous emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Torture, Death of parent, Alcoholism, and Violence

noellelovesbooks's review against another edition

5.0

 Content Warnings: Sexual situations, violence, murder, death, confinement, self harm, addiction, sexual violence, sexual harassment, and suicidal thoughts.

Wow. Just wow.

Ever since I read book one I knew I needed more. I needed to see more of Keera's journey and hopefully some happiness.

This book gives us so much...I spend most of today just glued to its pages.

There were ups and downs, surprises, betrayals, and so much more. This volume had me extremely emotional from beginning to end. I will always root for Keera and her happiness 😭

With as emotional and this book made me...I equally am excited and scared of what volume 3 will bring us. 😅 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Confinement, Murder, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Sexual violence

kowhaiii's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Fantastic. Much more character focused than the last book, which is great because these characters are wonderful! I can't wait for book three. The worldbuilding is so enthralling and it feels so tangible on the pages. The characters really drive it home for me and we get some backstory for them all in this book. Yay!

I do have a few bones to pick with this installent of the series, unfortunately. There are quite a few typos and simple mistakes in this book, which was surprising considering how polished the previous one was. I was sometimes confused by the sentences and had to reread them a few times, and in places the writing was simply incorrect. This took away from the reading experience for me. I'm a stickler for spelling errors and grammar mistakes, alas.

I have mixed feelings on the ending of this book. No spoilers, but there is a big reveal that I didn't think was foreshadowed in a satisfying way. To me the ending was a bit rushed and felt disjointed from the remainder of the narrative. The ending made sense in theory, but is just didn't feel "right", for lack of a better word. Definitely the weakest point in the story for me. I understand fast pacing, but as a reader I needed more time to digest the newly revealed information before the big finale kicked off. Overall this book was great and tore at my heartstrings in all the best ways. I think the ending was a bit of a let down and thus this book pales in comparison compared to A Broken Blade. Great series, great author, and I cannot wait for the next one! 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, and Grief

Moderate: Violence, Self harm, Murder, Sexual content, War, Confinement, Alcoholism, and Death

Minor: Vomit, Police brutality, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Alcohol, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, War, Misogyny, and Death of parent

kat1105's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual content, Torture, Colonisation, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Drug abuse, Slavery, Body horror, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Self harm, Child death, Alcohol, War, Violence, Gore, Abandonment, Blood, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Grief, and Vomit

Minor: Rape, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual violence

readingwithkaitlyn's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Sexual harassment, Blood, Violence, Sexual content, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Gore, Racism, Colonisation, Confinement, Abandonment, Torture, Self harm, Death of parent, Hate crime, Medical content, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Alcohol, and Genocide

Minor: Sexual assault, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, War, Alcoholism, and Trafficking

booksalacarte's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

A Shadow Crown-3.25⭐️ 3🌶️

To the kingdom, Keera is the king’s Blade, his most feared and trusted spy and assassin. But in the shadows, she works with Prince Killian and his Shadow—the dark, brooding Fae, Riven, who sets her blood on fire. Together, they plot to topple the crown that sits upon the king’s head.

A secret can only survive as long as its conspirators, and when nothing is as it seems, all are in danger. Keera swore she would never open her heart again after a loss she barely survived. But she will soon find she has more to lose than she ever imagined . . .

✨My Opinion✨

I’m enjoying this series!

There are nods to the authors indigenous background, a LOT of inter world diversity that makes the cultures and magic systems very interesting and compelling. 

The writing seemed a bit more disjointed than the last book. I often found gaps mid-chapter where I needed to go back and try to reconfigure my mind’s picture of what was going on. But over all, I am really enjoying the series!

With this the second book, there was a huge betrayal and the MC’s were separated. I’m hoping that we get more of the reason behind all of that and get back to the romance!

Found family

One bed

Fated mates

Betrayal

Bi rep

Assassin 

Shadow magic

Grief

Political intrigue

Thank you Union Square & Co, Sterling Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Colonisation, Cursing, Genocide, Misogyny, Murder, Gore, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and War