Abigail Owen

Of Sand and Shadow

Apollo Nyx

I was sent the audiobook ARC through NetGalley and here is my honest review


I'd like to start this off by saying that I loved this narration. Usually, audiobooks are too slow for me to enjoy them at their original speed, but The Liar's Crown was perfect.
I was pleasantly surprised by this book. It carries a lot of familiar fantasy tropes that make understanding the world fairly easy and still manages to be unique. I think the book did a wonderful job of making me invested in not only the plot but the characters and their relationships. 
Now, personally, I really enjoyed that this book is closer to New Adult rather than YA. As someone who is part of the NA demographic, I really enjoyed seeing people my age just trying to figure things out. I also really loved the romance. The main character and her love interest are reluctant lovers and the tension between them is phenomenal. 
I also want to talk about the casual queerness of background characters and how the main character doesn't bat an eye. We see a very bittersweet moment between two women that MC knows and We have an encounter with an androgynous person for which the MC uses they/them pronouns. This is what we mean when we say that authors should diversify their books. Just simply acknowledging that the world is full of different kinds of people. I really hope to see more of this in the sequel.

Christine Bruce

A genetic predisposition to twins every other generation is a deeply held secret in Merin's kingdom. The heir to the throne, and the spare to take her place during dangerous times and potential murder. Merin is the second twin. Raised in secret, forced to match all scars her sister earns, learn all the ministers, politics, and history that her royal sister learns, all while living in squalor with her grandmother's own secret twin. When their grandmother dies, Merin is kidnapped by an urban legend as the biggest threat to the kingdom, and their lives, engrains himself next to her sister- the newly crowned queen. 

I finished this book and had a really great time. I kept telling myself I'd go to sleep at the end of the chapter, but couldn't bring myself to stop. Around the 50% mark it really picked up and became fascinating, and I honestly can't wait for book 2. But that said, I have an issue with the beginning of the story. At around the 30% mark, I realized story progression wise, I was expecting to come upon the rising action soon, but was only 30% through. Which meant I still had a lot of 'forest wandering' and exposition to go through before the story could continue. This would have been overall fine if not for the fact that the early establishment of Merin's relationships- with her aunt, her sister, her best friend, are all so rushed and poorly established. I would have loved more interactions. As it stands, when everything towards the end goes down with her sister I just didn't care that much because as a character and a sister we didn't get a lot of development. 

The same goes for her relationship with Cane. We got nothing much to show that relationship, though more than her sister. And when he comes back at the end, it seemed like he was a new character because of how much I'd forgotten about him. 

Then there's the chapter long sex scene, which yes this is marketed as UPPER YA, but it is still YA. The detailed sexual content didn't feel appropriate considering who this book is being marketed to at the end of the day.

Rebecca Raven

The Liar's Crown is the first book in a new YA fantasy series by Abigail Owen. Meren is a twin, a princess, but second born. Her only role in life is to stand in for her sister if death comes to their door. With her sister's coronation looming, Meren steps into her shoes. And that's when the dangerous Shadowraith steals the wrong princess, and perhaps Meren's heart. Secrets unravel and Meren realizes that the only way to save everyone and everything she cares about is to kill the immortal King Eidolon. 

I throughly enjoyed this novel right off the bat. I don't know what it is about twin tropes but I always enjoy them and this story was no exception! Meren is a likeable character and I enjoyed reading the story through her eyes. There was quite a bit of world building that took a while to get into but that just made the story deeper and richer. I am not ashamed to say I fell in love with the Shadowraith, I mean...how could you not? The rich fantasy elements and mouth-watering romance kept me engrossed within the novel. 

I recommend The Liar's Crown to anyone who wants to read a dark YA fantasy with twin princesses and a tall, dark and beautiful love interest. I can't wait for book 2! 

I received an arc of this book through Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Of Sand and Shadow

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