#72 The Crowns Game

The Crowns Game by Evelyn Skye 

The Crowns Game is the first book in the The Crowns Game duology. It follows two young enchanters Nikolai and Vika who are competing to be the imperial enchanter which is basically a personal magician. Vika and Nikolai have been training for this role since they were young children but were not aware that they would be pitted against each other in a duel where they each get a turn and have to try and best each other in order to win. Nikolai's best friend is the Tsarovitch meaning he is the next in line to be the Tsar. Pasha does not know that Nikolai is an enchanter or that he is about to take part in the Crowns Game. Only one enchanter will come out of the Crowns Game victorious whilst the other will be executed.

This is a debut novel and the story is inspired by Russian folklore which i have been really into lately after finally completing the Grishaverse in August, i found it was very well researched and believable. The writing is good which i hate to say i found really surprising, i read Circle of Shadows by Evelyn Skye a few months ago and was really disappointed in both the story and the writing. So going into this book i was hesitant but it took me by surprise. I listened to the audiobook for this one and found it to be really engaging, the voices were changed for each character and had a bit of a Russian lilt to them which made it sound much more authentic. The world building was stunning and you really felt like you were there they way everything is so beautifully described, there wasnt too much explanation regarding the magic system and why there only seemed to be a few characters that had magic, i would have liked this to have been explained more and an explanation for why there could only been one imperial enchanter would have been nice as that was the entire plot yet it wasnt really explained.

I found it to be a but tropey in parts like a standard YA fantasy novel, the romance was predictable and a little cheesy. I thought i knew where the ending was going from about midway through but it surprised me and went a different way which i did enjoy.

I loved Nikolai's character a lot, his storyline of 'boy who comes from nothing' was really well done and i enjoyed reading about how he started from the bottom but worked hard to hone his magic skills. His friendship with Pasha was really endearing to read too. He has a strong sense of self and really cares about other people and their feelings.

Vika has elemental magic. I found her to be a bit dumb, i couldnt really click with her character as i found her not to be very relatable. Shes written as a 'fiesty' girl character which i think is SO overdone in YA. The introduction of the love triangle element was the main reason i gave this book 3 stars. I really hate love triangles as it always reminds me of Twilight *rolls eyes* it made the story really juvenile in my eyes. When will authors learn that love triangles are not a good plot device!

Pasha was my favourite character, he is such a complex character. He is kind natured and you can tell that he doesnt have what it takes to become the leader of Imperial Russia even though he is destined to do so. He often wears disguises and goes into the market to be among his people but not be recognised. He craves adventure and was really fun to read about.

I think in terms of writing style i would have much preferred a split perspective chapters with Nikolai, Vika and maybe Pasha too. Instead it was told in a third person style that i dont overly care for but it didnt take anything away from the story, i just personally prefer a bit more structure.

I am keen to read the next and final instalment to see where the story goes. Ultimately i enjoyed this, there was a lot of good plot twists and i enjoyed the political intrigue towards the end. The duel was well done and i enjoyed them trying to out do each other. There were parts in the middle that dragged and the love triangle was not great but otherwise it was enjoyable and i gave this a 3 stars overall.