Audiobook Review: The Crown's Fate by Evelyn Skye

Title: The Crown's Fate Series: The Crown's Game #2 Written by: Evelyn Skye  Published: May 16, 2017 by Balzar + Bray (HarperCollins) (Amazon / Goodreads) Synopsis: The gorgeous and darkly compelling sequel to The Crown’s Game.  Magic is growing, shadows are rising, and the throne is at stake…  Russia is on the brink of great change. Pasha’s coronation approaches, and Vika is now the Imperial Enchanter, but the role she once coveted may be more difficult—and dangerous—than she ever expected.  Pasha is grappling with his own problems—his legitimacy is in doubt, the girl he loves loathes him, and he believes his best friend is dead. When a challenger to the throne emerges—and with the magic in Russia growing rapidly—Pasha must do whatever it takes to keep his position and protect his kingdom. For Nikolai, the ending of the Crown’s Game stung deeply. Although he just managed to escape death, Nikolai remains alone, a shadow hidden in a not-quite-real world of his own creation. But when he’s given a second chance at life—tied to a dark price—Nikolai must decide just how far he’s willing to go to return to the world.  With revolution on the rise, dangerous new magic rearing up, and a tsardom up for the taking, Vika, Nikolai, and Pasha must fight—or face the destruction of not only their world but also themselves.

I absolutely loved The Crown's Game and I was so excited to read the sequel and find out what happened next to these characters and in this series. And while I did enjoy this book, I think it was a little underwhelming in comparison.

One of the the things that I loved about this book is the world. Of course this is a fantasy series so I have to talk about the magic. This is a book full of magic and the magic is what draws you in and captures your interest. Here we get to see even more magic and learn more about how it works at what is possible. I really loved seeing and exploring the magic throughout this book. Not to mention that the magic in this book gives it a really atmospheric read. It makes you feel like anything is possible and I can't help but be entertained and enthralled by that.

But the great things about the world of this book goes beyond the magic, it also has a really amazing setting. I'm a huge fan of books set in a reimagined Tsarist Russia and this book is no exception. It captures the beauty and opulence of he period as well as the political unrest during the end of the Tsar's rain. It made for a really engaging and interesting setting.

Much of the plot here also revolved around that political unrest. I'm a big fan of books with political intrigue. This should have been amazing for me but for some reason it wasn't. I don't know if it was just that the plot development lack some cohesiveness or it just didn't feel like it had the high stakes of the last book but something about it just didn't capture my interest. Now don't get me wrong, it was interesting, and it did built to a thrilling conclusion but it just didn't pull me in the same way that the first book in the series did.

I also feel like the characters didn't make the same strong impression. By the end f the first book I was totally invested in the stories of the main characters and wanted them to succeed. Because of that, this time around it shouldn't have takes as long to get attached to them but it did. I will say, I do still completely love Nikolai and I know I shouldn't have liked the dark turn he took in this book but I totally did. He was definitely the most interesting and the one I wanted more from. He was my favorite character in The Crown's Game and he's still my favorite character here.

Perhaps my biggest criticism about the characters though was with the romance. By now you probably know I am picky when it comes to romances and this one just didn't do anything for me. It was more frustrating than anything. Not only is the stupid love triangle back with a vengeance in this book but then it became even more complicated with other characters. I think everything just kept changing so much with the character's feelings that it felt pointless to even ship anything. And because of that I just wish there wasn't a romance at all, and if there was I wish it was super minimal.

But I will say, I did really love the audiobook for this book. You really can't go wrong with a Steve West narrated audiobook so already this book had that going for it. But beyond that, this is such an atmospheric and fantastical book that the audio format really makes it come to life. Steve did a great job in drawing the reader in and his narration along with Evelyn's writing made it easy to visualize and fall into this world. I definitely recommend this audio.

I give The Crown's Fate by Evelyn Skye 8.5 out of 10 stars

Buy/Borrow/Bypass: Buy/Borrow. On the whole I did like this book. If you enjoyed the first book in this series you should pick this one up. If you are a fan of YA fantasies and haven't read this series I would recommend it. It's full of magic and has a great atmosphere that is worth a read.

Have you read The Crown's Fate? What did you think? Leave me a comment with your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!

Waiting on Wednesday: The Crown's Fate by Evelyn Skye

A weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine

Title: The Crown's Fate Series: The Crown's Game #2 Author: Evelyn Skye Published: May 2, 2017 by Balzar + Bray (HarperCollins) (Amazon / Goodreads) Synopsis: Perfect for fans of Shadow and Bone and Red Queen, The Crown’s Fate is the thrilling sequel to the New York Times bestselling The Crown’s Game, an atmospheric historical fantasy set in Imperial Russia. Russia is on the brink of great change. Pasha’s coronation approaches, and Vika is now the Imperial Enchanter, but the role she once coveted may be more difficult—and dangerous—than she ever expected. Pasha is grappling with his own problems—his legitimacy is in doubt, the girl he loves loathes him, and he believes his best friend is dead. When a challenger to the throne emerges—and with the magic in Russia growing rapidly—Pasha must do whatever it takes to keep his position and protect his kingdom. For Nikolai, the ending of the Crown’s Game stung deeply. Although he just managed to escape death, Nikolai remains alone, a shadow hidden in a not-quite-real world of his own creation. But when he’s given a second chance at life—tied to a dark price—Nikolai must decide just how far he’s willing to go to return to the world. With revolution on the rise, dangerous new magic rearing up, and a tsardom up for the taking, Vika, Nikolai, and Pasha must fight—or face the destruction of not only their world but also themselves.

Why I'm Waiting:

I loved The Crown's Game so much! It was one of my favorite debuts of 2016 and one of my favorite audiobooks as well. I think a major reason I did enjoy it so much is because the audiobook was just that good. It's narrated by Steve West who is one of my all-time favorite narrators and it is the perfect kind of book for that format. I am super excited for the sequel and I absolutely am planning to listen to it on audio again.

I'm so excited about this book because the last one totally wrecked me at the end but in the best possible way. It's one of those books that has some interesting moments along the way but really builds to a thrilling conclusion full of surprises and action. The way it ended I know that the sequel is going to be fantastic because the direction it took things in means that this is going to be a book full of political intrigue and probably even more action and surprises.

I'm also really interested in this book because reading the synopsis I think there is going to be some really interesting character developments. I didn't totally love the characters in the first book, except Nikolai to be honest, but I think in this one we are going to see more complexities and I am all for that. 

What about you? What are you waiting for this Wednesday? Are you waiting on The Crown's Fate along with me? Leave me a comment with your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!

Tsar's Guard Spotlight: Vika and Nikolai's Cinnamon Rolls Recipe

Hi Everyone,
I am so excited to be a part of the Tsar's Guard Spotlight Tour. The tour is a fan generated event to flail about our excitement for the upcoming release, The Crown's Fate by Evelyn Skye. I am super excited for this book because as some of you may know was one of my favorite debuts and audiobooks of last year. So I jumped on the opportunity to be part of this tour. Thanks Brittany for picking me!

Last year I loved being part of the Tsar's Guard Parade and shared a bookish recipe with you all that was inspired by the book. Last year it was Ludmila's Pumpkin Caramel Bars which were amazing and delicious. So I had to share another recipe with you all for this one.

I haven't read the book yet so I don't know what might be appropriate but I did hear from Brittany that multiple times throughout the book one character says the other smells of cinnamon and obviously that means that I had to make cinnamon rolls.Not only because of the whole smell this but because the main characters in this series are just so adorable and they are precious cinnamon rolls. You know what I mean, like the fandom Urban Dictionary definition of a cinnamon roll. "A character that is very kind and sweet but faces more hardship and suffering than they truly deserve. Comes from the usage of an article headline from 'The Onion' titled 'Beautiful Cinnamon Roll Too Good For This World, Too Pure.' to describe a person or character that is very good but faces a lot of pain in their life. " It just made total sense to make Vika and Nikolai's cinnamon rolls for both of these reasons.

But before we get into the recipe... Let's talk about the book.

Book Details:

Hardcover, 432 pages

Expected publication: May 16th, 2016 by Balzer + Bray

Buy Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Kepler's Books

Synopsis:

The gorgeous and darkly compelling sequel to The Crown’s Game—perfect for fans of Red Queen and Shadow and Bone.

Magic is growing, shadows are rising, and the throne is at stake…

Russia is on the brink of great change. Pasha’s coronation approaches, and Vika is now the Imperial Enchanter, but the role she once coveted may be more difficult—and dangerous—than she ever expected.

Pasha is grappling with his own problems—his legitimacy is in doubt, the girl he loves loathes him, and he believes his best friend is dead. When a challenger to the throne emerges—and with the magic in Russia growing rapidly—Pasha must do whatever it takes to keep his position and protect his kingdom.

For Nikolai, the ending of the Crown’s Game stung deeply. Although he just managed to escape death, Nikolai remains alone, a shadow hidden in a not-quite-real world of his own creation. But when he’s given a second chance at life—tied to a dark price—Nikolai must decide just how far he’s willing to go to return to the world.

With revolution on the rise, dangerous new magic rearing up, and a tsardom up for the taking, Vika, Nikolai, and Pasha must fight—or face the destruction of not only their world but also themselves.

Author Info + Social Media Links:

Evelyn Skye is the New York Times bestselling author of THE CROWN’S GAME (out now!) and THE CROWN’S FATE (May 16, 2017). She was once offered a job by the C.I.A., she not-so-secretly wishes she was on “So You Think You Can Dance,” and if you challenge her to a pizza-eating contest, she guarantees she will win. When Evelyn isn’t writing, she can be found chasing her daughter on the playground or sitting on the couch, immersed in a good book and eating way too many cookies. Author Links: Twitter | Goodreads | Tumblr | Instagram | Facebook

Now... On with the recipe! *** Thanks food.com for the recipe. ***

Vika and Nikolai's Precious Little Cinnamon Rolls

INGREDIENTS

Dough 
2 cups flour
2 tablespoons sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons butter
3⁄4 cup milk

Filling 
 4 tablespoons butter
1 cup brown sugar or 1 cup white sugar
3 teaspoons cinnamon

Glaze 
1⁄2 cup powdered sugar
1⁄4 cup milk

DIRECTIONS 

For the filling, in a small bowl combine softened butter, brown sugar and cinnamon to form a crumbly mixture.

Sprinkle 1/2 of the mixture over the bottom of a 9x9 pan.

In a large bowl mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

Cut in softened butter (the directions say sometimes your hands are the best tools. I use a pastry blender but in a pinch, a whisk works).

Stir in milk to form a soft dough.

Roll out dough on a lightly floured into a rectangle about 1/4 inch thick.

Spread the remaining filling on the rolled out dough.

Roll up the rectangle, with a sharp knife slice into 18 small rolls (12 if you want them a little bigger).

Bake for 20-25 min at 400°F.

For glaze, combine powdered sugar and milk in a small bowl and stir until smooth. (pro-tip: add the milk slowly. You honestly may not need to add as much as it calls for)

Once rolls are finished, drizzle on glaze and serve warm.

A few things I learned: I have a very small kitchen and because of that I couldn't make one big roll so I made three small ones. This ended up making more individual cinnamon rolls which is never a problem. Add the milk slowly. The glaze got really liquidy and I had to add more sugar. I would suggest adding it a tablespoon at a time and when it gets to a desired consistency stop adding milk even if it's less than the recipe calls for. The pan will get disgusting and carmelized but that's good. It gives the bottom that crispiness.

But most importantly, these smell and taste absolutely amazing. I may have to make them again when the book comes out so I can eat them while I read or listen. Obviously I can't wait for May and the book to come out. I hope you enjoyed the recipe and any fellow bakers out there, be sure to make them for yourself. This was a really quick and easy recipe.

Before you go be sure to enter the giveaway that's part of the tour and check out all the posts. The ones I have been able to see so far have been amazing. There is a full list over on Brittany's Book Rambles/

 

Alright, that's all I have for now. Are you excited about The Crown's Fate? In honor of what character would you bake "Precious Cinnamon Rolls?" Leave me a comment with your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!