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!

Challenge Update: Favorite Audiobooks of 2016

I've decided to do something a little different for my end of the year wrap up. In addition to doing a favorite books of the year thing, once a week in December I am going to do a challenge wrap up to talk about some of my favorite books in the categories that I did challenges for. I did a total of four challenges this year and so that works out really well. So I figured I would start with the audiobooks because I don't really have any plans for more audiobooks to listen to this year. I'll probably listen to at least one more on my drive to New York for the holidays but I can confidently mention some of my favorites for the year.

So I listened to a ton of audiobooks this year. I am currently at a total of 38 audiobooks for the year which is above my goal of listening to 30 for the Audiobooks Challenge which was hosted by Hot Listens. And as I have read a total of 151 books so far this year, that means that about a quarter of by books have been in the audio format. If that doesn't show how much of a fan of audiobooks I am, I don't know what will. I love them because I can listen at work, while I'm doing stuff around the house. and while I'm driving but also because I think some books are just perfect for that format.

Most of the audiobooks I listened to in 2016, about half, were rereads and I don't want to mention them here. That's for two reasons. First it's not fair to all the other books to that were amazing but also I think many of them are used to me blabbing about how much I love the Reckoners, The Raven Cycle, and Throne of Glass on audio. If not check out This Post, This Post, This Post, or This Post. Suffice it to say, I talk about audiobooks a lot. So without further ado, here is more talk about my favorite audiobooks of the year, in no particular order.

1.) Outlander by Diana Gabaldon - My Review
Narrated By: Davina Porter
(Amazon / Goodreads / Audible)

I was late to the Outlander party. I had wanted to read the series but was intimidated by how think the books were and how many books there were in the series. So I took the plunge and listened to the first book this year and loved it. It's long coming in at a whopping 32 hours but it doesn't feel long. There is a ton of action, great characters, and it's the kind of audio where you don't want to stop listening.

As far as the narrator goes, I thought she did a fantastic job. There are a ton of different accents here with the Scottish and the English and she did them all really well. I have a hard time with heavily accented characters sometimes but I was impressed with these ones. Maybe they were terrible Scottish accents though. I'm not the best judge for this sort of this.

But I would absolutely recommend this one. I had it suggested from someone who is a huge fan of this series and a huge fan of audio and she was totally right. This was great and now I need to listen to the rest.

2.) You and Hidden Bodies by Caroline Kepnas - My Review
Narrated by Santino Fontana
(Amazon / Goodreads / Audible)


If you read my review of Hidden Bodies last week, the fact that I loved these audiobooks should not come as a surprise. Because seriously, these are amazing. Like they may end up on my favorites of the year list but if they don't they have to be on this list. I mean these books are super messed up, like it's about terrible people doing terrible things. Spoiler alert: the main character is a serial killer, and Kepnas still makes him really sympathetic. Like you root for a guy to kill people, it messes with your head.

A lot of why this book is so fantastic is because of the narrator. Santino Fontana is an amazing voice talent (he is the voice of Hans in Frozen if you weren't aware) and honestly no one does sympathetic and odious villains as good as he does. He really brings Joe to life and makes him a character you love to hate. My only issue is with his Rhode Island accents, but I'm bad at that accent too even though I lived there for six years.

Again, a book and audio I would absolutely recommend. Do I have to say that for all of these books. I recommend them all. But seriously, these are super messed up in the best possible way and the audio is amazing.

3.) Rocks Fall, Everyone Dies by Lindsay Ribar - My Review
Narrated by Michael Crouch
(Amazon / Goodreads / Audible)

There are a few books that I considered including on this list that I think would probably end up on my favorites of the year list, including this one. The reason that this makes my list over The Diablic is because I think the main reason I loved this book is because of the narrator. Michael Crouch honestly did an amazing job here. He put so much emotion into the book. I think it may have fallen a little flat for me if I didn't listen to the audio. His accents were great and it helped develop the characters in a way that really made the book for me.

But honestly this was a really amazing book. It is one of the most unique books I read this year. It's one that defies categorization with elements of magical realism, mystery, and contemporary. It was a strange and interesting book and therefore super compelling. I really loved the plot development and the world building. It's atmospheric tone was perfect for the audio format.

If you are interested in this book I would definitely suggest listening to the audio. I think it kind of made it what it was for me. It's a great read and perfect for the audio format so yes, listen to it.

4.) The Crown's Game by Evelyn Skye - My Review
Narrated by Steve West
(Amazon / Goodreads / Audible)

Okay so once again I have to start by talking about the narrator because STEVE WEST! If you have read those posts I linked earlier you probably know that Steve West is among my favorite audiobook narrator. So when I saw that he was narrating a book I was super obsessed to read I knew I had to listen to the audiobook. And I was not at all disappointed. Steve was did amazing, was amazing. I usually hate Russian accents but ohmygod, this was amazing. Steve West's voice is like velvet and makes me feel things that I should not talk about in a public setting.

But also, this is another really atmospheric read that is perfect for the audio format. I love my high fantasies in audiobooks and this is a great example of that. It's the kind of book with a setting and magical system that you can perfectly visualize. Steve West totally brings it all to life. Plus it's a book that it a little light on the plot and that also works really well when in the audio format.

Again, an audio I would totally recommend but also one that I would say would be much better when it comes to audio. This was a book that I think was hit or miss for a lot of people and it was a total hit for me. A lot of that, of course was due to the fact that I love Steve West, but still.

5.) Gemina by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff - My Review
Narrated by A Full Cast of Awesomeness
(Amazon / Goodreads / Audible)

If I had to come up with a favorite audiobook of this year it would probably be this one, it's that good. I did not expect this series to be good in the audio format but after some recommendations from people around Illuminae so I decided to try this one out. And honestly, it is really fantastic. Full disclosure, I did also flip the pages to look at some of the images but the audio is really amazing. It's a total immersive experience and definitely worth it for this series. You guys, there are sound effects and music. It's perfect and amazing.

Part of what makes it so immersive is that it has a full cast. In case you didn't know, I FREAKING LOVE FULL CAST AUDIOBOOKS. I'm sorry but that required all caps. I feel that strongly about it. One of my biggest criticism about audiobook narrators is when all their characters sound the same so different narrators combats that. Plus this had some of my all-time favorite narrators like Steve West, MacLeod Andrews, and Carla Corvo. Plus the narrator for  Ella was so freaking perfect. The narrators are all amazing.

I honestly think after listening to this audio I have been totally ruined for this series, I can never go back to just reading the book. It's such a uniquely formatted series and the best way to experience it is by listening to the audio and flipping through the book.

Honorable Mentions:

6.) Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo - My Review
My only reread on this list but it was so good. It also had a full cast and they were all amazing. They perfectly embodied the characters. I only wish it was radio play style and not you narrator your sections because I wanted it to always be the same voice when a character was speaking.

7.) The Royal We by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan - My Review
I didn't expect to love this audio as much as I did but it was really fun. The narrator did a great job with the accents and it worked really well in this format. If you are a big contemporary fan and like audio, check this out.

8.) Stars Above by Marissa Meyer - My Review
This is an honorable mention because while it's not totally a reread, I've talked a lot about how much I enjoy the Lunar Chronicles audiobooks and Rebecca Soler and therefore it should come as no surprise that loved this one.

There you have it, all my favorite audiobooks of the year. I seriously loved a ton of them you guys. It was a great year for audiobooks. Not only is 37 books total not to shabby but I loved so many of them. I think I only disliked about 5 of them, maybe 6. But if you want to see the full list on all the audiobooks I listened to this year and to find my thoughts, check out the Audiobooks Challenge page HERE. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!

Book Review: The Crown's Game by Evelyn Skye

Title: The Crown's Game Series: The Crown's Game #1 Written by: Evelyn Skye Published: May 17, 2016 by Balthazar + Bray (HarperCollins) (Amazon / Goodreads) Synopsis: Vika Andreyeva can summon the snow and turn ash into gold. Nikolai Karimov can see through walls and conjure bridges out of thin air. They are enchanters—the only two in Russia—and with the Ottoman Empire and the Kazakhs threatening, the Tsar needs a powerful enchanter by his side.   And so he initiates the Crown’s Game, an ancient duel of magical skill—the greatest test an enchanter will ever know. The victor becomes the Imperial Enchanter and the Tsar’s most respected adviser. The defeated is sentenced to death.  Raised on tiny Ovchinin Island her whole life, Vika is eager for the chance to show off her talent in the grand capital of Saint Petersburg. But can she kill another enchanter—even when his magic calls to her like nothing else ever has?  For Nikolai, an orphan, the Crown’s Game is the chance of a lifetime. But his deadly opponent is a force to be reckoned with—beautiful, whip smart, imaginative—and he can’t stop thinking about her.  And when Pasha, Nikolai’s best friend and heir to the throne, also starts to fall for the mysterious enchantress, Nikolai must defeat the girl they both love... or be killed himself.  As long-buried secrets emerge, threatening the future of the empire, it becomes dangerously clear... the Crown’s Game is not one to lose.

It's always great when a book you have been excited to read for a long time meets your expectation. That's exactly what happened to me for The Crown's Game.

Before I go any further on this review I just want to say how I listened to the audiobook and that I loved it so much! I mean how could I not, it's narrated by Steve West who is one of my all-time favorite narrators. His voice and manner of speech lulls you into the world and magic of the book. Not to mention that each character had a distinct and different accent and way of speaking which helped develop them in an interesting way. I usually don't love books that are heavily accented and to be honest when someone does a Russian accent I almost always hate it, but Steve West did it well. Plus it was just the perfect style of read for the audio format. The rich and descriptive detail made for something so engaging. I honestly couldn't stop listening. If you like audiobooks check this one out. 

Okay, onto the real review.

The first thing that struck me about this book is the magical system. I usually like my magic to have clear rules and guidelines but here it was a free for all. If you can do magic, you can do basically anything. The quote being "imagine, and it can be. There are no limits." But somehow that worked. You never knew what to expect and what the characters were capable of so you kept being surprised. The possibilities made for so many fantastical and creative moments. And then the Game made the stakes higher as the book went on. The characters had to try and out do one another so the magic got even more impressive and interesting towards the end. If you are looking for fantasy read with a lot magic without rules then you will definitely enjoy this one.

But I also really liked the world of this book. It's a reimagined Imperial Russia, which is not something totally revolutionary, especially for YA fantasies, but is something that I love and really enjoyed about this book. I've always been such a Russophile so I couldn't wait to explore that in a fantasy setting. The Crown's Game is a case where the world-building was subtle. But as a warning, if you enjoy fantasy with a lot of political intrigue, history, and exploration of an interesting new world you will not find that here. I think in future books they may explore the larger world more but here the setting is just that, a location for the story to take place. But I kind of liked that. It didn't get bogged down with a lot of confusing detail and needless conflicts (although to be fair it did have it's moments for that). But I might be a little biased because it's one of my favorite places to inspire a high fantasy world on.

As far as the characters go, it took awhile for me to really connect with them, especially Vika. Because this is a book where all magic is possible the main characters of Vika and Nikolai did feel a little overpowered and almost unstoppable. And the focus on the magic made for less characterization, but that's not really a dealbreaker for me. At times the characters did feel a little tropey, especially when it came to the romance which was a bit of a love triangle, but I'm so used to not liking the romance that I honestly block it out through most of my reading. Plus this is the kind of book that has a lot of perspective, so many in fact that I lost count. And while I could keep them straight because of the different accents in the audio it was difficult at first to fully connect with any of the characters completely. But as the book went on and I saw them interact with each other I started connecting with them and being torn about who I wanted to succeed.

Probably the most surprising thing for me however was how I liked the plot despite that it not really feeling very specific. Most of the book revolved around the Game which, while being high stakes, didn't seem to have a clear progression from scene to scene. It was really all about just doing magic and out doing one another to win. But I liked the magic so much that I didn't mind. That is until about 2/3rds of the book when a perspective which seemed to not really connect, was brought into the main story and secrets began to be revealed. And then in the end I felt like it did build to a thrilling ending that resolved everything and still left it open for future books. And I honestly cannot wait for more books. When I was finished I had that feeling of satisfaction at how good this was and the desire for more. That to me is the mark of a good read.

On the whole I really like The Crown's Game. I thought it was an interesting and engaging YA fantasy. It had a fantastic magical system despite a lack of rules, characters that grew on me as the book went on, and an engaging plot. And the audio is absolutely amazing!

I give The Crown's Game by Evelyn Skye 9.5 out of 10 stars

Buy/Borrow/Bypass: Buy. I've heard mostly amazing things about this book and I absolutely understand. Fans of YA fantasies, especially those inspired by Imperialist Russia, should add this one to their list. And if you like audiobooks then definitely listen to this one. Steve West's narration is everything!

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

Tsar's Guard Parade: Ludmila's Pumpkin Caramel Bars

Hi Everyone, Happy Easter for my Christian friends! I'm so excited to be a part of the Tsar's Guard Parade, a blogger event to spread the word about The Crown's Game by Evelyn Skye, a debut coming out on May 17th. I have been following The Crown's Game for over a year because it's a total "me book." High fantasy set in Tsarist Russia? Obviously I need it. So I of course joined The Tsar's Guard when I first heard about it. I've been so excited about learning about the book in the course of the last few months and I have been following the character profiles on Evelyn's website. So when I was thinking about what to do for the Tsar's Guard Parade I thought of Ludmila, who owns a bakery shaped like a pumpkin and loved eating caramel right out of the pan. I love to bake so I made a recipe inspired by Ludmila. May I present...

Ludmila's Punpkin Caramel Bars:

Ingredients
Crust:
 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/4 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter
aluminum foil

Filling:
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
1 (12 ounce) can evaporated milk
2 eggs
3/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Topping:
1/4 cup butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup heavy cream

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine the flour, oats, 1 1/2 cups brown sugar, baking soda, 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon and 3/4 teaspoon salt in a large mixing bowl.

Melt 3/4 cup butter, let it cool, and pour into the mixing bowl with the dry ingredients. Stir until a soft dough forms. It should be just slightly crumbly. If the dough feels wet and heavy, add a little more flour.

Line the bottom and sides of a 9x13 inch baking dish with aluminum foil. Press 3/4 of the dough into the dish. Reserve the remaining 1/4 to use for topping. Bake for about 10 minutes or until the top is barely golden brown.

Combine the pumpkin, evaporated milk, eggs, white sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon salt, ginger and cloves and mix until blended completely.

When the crust is done, pour the filling mixture over the crust and continue to bake for 20 minutes. Remove pan from oven and sprinkle the reserved dough over the filling. Bake for another 20 minutes. Let the bars cool.

For the caramel sauce, melt 4 tablespoons butter, 1/3 cup brown sugar and 1/3 cup cream together in a small saucepan. Set the temperature on medium heat and stir constantly until the caramel is smooth and barely bubbling. Pour over the bars.

Cut and serve!

It's a long process to bake them but it isn't a very hard recipe. They look absolutely delicious. I haven't been able to try them yet though, they're dessert for after dinner tonight. I know my family probably thinks I'm crazy making a pumpkin dessert at Easter but I think once they taste them they will appreciate it. I mean pumpkin is delicious year round. I think Ludmila would agree.

About the Book:

Title: THE CROWN’S GAME

Author: Evelyn Skye

Release Date: May 17th, 2016

Pages: 416

Publisher: Balzer+Bray

Formats: Hardcover, eBook

Find it: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks

Vika Andreyeva can summon the snow and turn ash into gold. Nikolai Karimov can see through walls and conjure bridges out of thin air. They are enchanters—the only two in Russia—and with the Ottoman Empire and the Kazakhs threatening, the Tsar needs a powerful enchanter by his side.

And so he initiates the Crown’s Game, an ancient duel of magical skill—the greatest test an enchanter will ever know. The victor becomes the Imperial Enchanter and the Tsar’s most respected adviser. The defeated is sentenced to death.

Raised on tiny Ovchinin Island her whole life, Vika is eager for the chance to show off her talent in the grand capital of Saint Petersburg. But can she kill another enchanter—even when his magic calls to her like nothing else ever has?

For Nikolai, an orphan, the Crown’s Game is the chance of a lifetime. But his deadly opponent is a force to be reckoned with—beautiful, whip smart, imaginative—and he can’t stop thinking about her.

And when Pasha, Nikolai’s best friend and heir to the throne, also starts to fall for the mysterious enchantress, Nikolai must defeat the girl they both love . . . or be killed himself.

As long-buried secrets emerge, threatening the future of the empire, it becomes dangerously clear . . . the Crown’s Game is not one to lose.

About Evelyn:

Evelyn Skye 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 she isn't writing, Evelyn 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. THE CROWN'S GAME is her first novel. Evelyn can be found online at www.evelynskye.com and on Twitter @EvelynSkyeYA.

Website | Twitter |Facebook | Goodreads | Tumblr | Instagram

Giveaway Details:

1 winner will receive an ARC of THE CROWN’S GAME.  International.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Rafflecopter Link:
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/share-code/M2VkM2RiMjQwOWM5ZWE0M2QwNTA5Mjk4ZTJiMDc4OjEw/?

Find the complete Tsar’s Guard Parade Schedule at Evelyn Skye’s website!

Thanks for having me on The Tsar's Guard Parade. I had such fun working on this recipe and I hope if you like pumpkin and baking that you give it a try. And of course I hope you will all join me in reading The Crown's Game when it comes out in May. HAPPY READING!!