Began reading: 23.9.2016
Completed reading: 26.10.2016
Overall rating: 4 stars
In a world divided by blood – Red or Silver – two women tell the stories no one else knows.
For Coriane of House Jacos, love comes at a terrible cost. In a secret diary, she recounts her heady courtship with the heir to the Silver throne, Prince Tiberias, and the dangers that lurk at the heart of the royal court.
Captain Farley is at the forefront of the Red rebellion. As she plans an attack on the Silver capital, she discovers a secret that could sway the balance of power for ever.
Two gripping stories. One fight for justice.
Red vs Silver.
Cruel Crown by Victoria Aveyard is the collection of two novellas: Queen Song and Steel Scars. This book is a dystopian young adult fantasy that contains a hint of romance. When I saw this in the bookstore, I was hesitant to purchase it because I’d already read Red Queen and Glass Sword. I don’t regret it, as it didn’t really affect the order of the books. I would recommend that if you decide to read the book, you read it before Red Queen, as it provides a good introduction to the main plot.
As expected of Aveyard, the book was well-written and well-structured. I had a good idea of where the narrative was going, and having knowledge of the characters from the main books helps. There were also some pretty good quotes in the novel, including:
There is nothing so terrible as a story untold (p. 1).
I am not someone I recognise. Is this what growing up means? (p. 42).
Information is more dangerous than any weapon we possess (p. 59).
We all have scars and ghosts of our own. Some drove us to the Scarlet Guard, and some were because of it. I know the sting of both (p. 90).
More quotes from the book can be found here.
I really enjoyed reading about Coriane and Farley, as these stories gave me an insight into their lives. Both of these characters were pretty much mysteries in the main books, so reading about their thoughts and relationships were great. In particular, I liked Coriane’s story, as we got an understanding of King Tiberias before he married Elara. Coriane’s story is tragic, but everyone would pick her over Elara any day.
There was a decent amount of romance and lust(?) in both stories, which was great. I’m not into mushy romance scenes, so I’m glad that Aveyard didn’t overdo it. This has been the same in her previous books, and it’s great to see that she hasn’t decided to change the amount of romance in the plots. A little romance here and there is always a good thing!
I was most excited about Shade and Mare Barrow in Steel Scars. Mare has been my favourite character since the beginning, so incorporating the beginning of her story in the end was great. *WARNING: SPOILER* I thought that I’d see how Farley and Shade fell in love, as it was present in Glass Sword, but it was just a bit of teasing here and there. I thought that including Shade’s ability was important for his role in Glass Sword, so I was happy to watch as Farley reacted to it. Anyway, including Shade and Mare in the book brought back all of the emotions from Glass Sword, and now I’m impatient to read King’s Cage!
I found Farley’s character to be boring, in all honesty. She was a feisty rebel in the main books, but in this, she was just meh. I was hoping for a bit of action or some kind of adventure, but there was none of that. She is still sassy, but there was little opportunity to show that off, which was a shame. I would have liked to have read about her childhood with her dad or what drove her to the Scarlet Guard.
Speaking of Farley, I didn’t really like reading the messages or reports between her and other members of the Scarlet Guard. I didn’t really see how this contributed to the plot, other than to demonstrate that she doesn’t always obey commands. I was very tempted to skip over these parts of the story, but I kept going. The messages added a unique touch to the structure, but I just found it irritating.
My favourite character is still Mare Barrow. She only appeared in this book for a short amount of time, but just reading about how her story began made me remember how much of a badass she is. Coriane is a notable character, as she was sweet but didn’t always listen to Jessamine.
Having already read Red Queen and Glass Sword, I knew what was going to happen to Coriane and Farley. This knowledge made their stories emotional, maybe even tragic. Have I mentioned that this makes me want the third book already?
My favourite part of the book was towards the end of Steel Scars, when Mare makes her appearance. The way in which Aveyard sets this up to continue in Red Queen is almost perfect – it gets you thinking about Mare and whether or not she has an ability, before she’s thrust into the arena with Evangeline.
Recommendation time! If you like The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins, The Sin Eater’s Daughter by Melinda Salisbury, The Winner’s Curse series by Marie Rutkoski, Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas, or Matched series by Ally Condie, you will love this book. Also, I recommend this book to anyone who likes the X-Men and Harry Potter series.
My review for Red Queen and Glass Sword can be found by clicking on the titles.
I will also be reviewing the rest of the Red Queen series when the books become available. Keep an eye out for that!
Happy reading!
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