Abigail Owen

"An addictive, action-packed, scorcher of a read!" #1 New York Times bestselling author Alyson Noël Beauty and the Beast meets Snow White in this upper YA fantasy where a black heart is disguised by beauty, the purest soul is hidden within a beast, and a gift of hope is laced with death.

The Liar’s Crown

Courtney Passio

“ That connection you feel is my heart, and every beat is for you.” 

He finally faces me then and brings a hand around the back of my neck in an unexpected, possessive move that shoots molten, silken heat straight through me. 

Princess, touching you is quickly becoming an addiction. 

Goddd, I’d like to know what. If I was in this scene, I’d melt. 

“ You must think I’m a total bitch to want anyone to die that way.”

His humor dies slowly. “ You have no clue what I think about you.”

Reven swings around the underside of the ladder and hangs there by his hands, muscles straining, for a breathtaking minute. Then he looks straight up at me, and his expression hits me like a punch to the gut. 

The air 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘴 from my body. That hand of shadow moves again and deposits me well below him on the rings with surprising gentleness. 

“ Don’t let me fall,” I whisper. A plea that comes from some place down deep and frailer than I like to admit. 

“ You have no idea,” he tosses back, focused on the portal now. 

The Liar’s Crown was such a fast-paced read. I love books that are paced quickly because it manages to keep my attention. The world-building within this book was easy to understand and simple.

The magic system within The Liar’s Crown was so interesting. I loved that each category of magic had their own subcategories that had certain traits for the specific person. My favorite has to be the Enfernae, which deals with soul powers.

Meren is hands down an amazing FMC. She’s brave, sassy, and funny. All her little comments and comebacks made me genuinely laugh. Now, my favorite character, Reven. Reven is a softie when it comes to Meren and there’s no arguing with me over this. I love his little expressions and how unintentionally funny he can be.

I really enjoyed the plot of this story as well. It felt well developed and was executed great. At first when Reven was introduced it gave me Shadow and Bone (Leigh Bardugo) vibes, but I quickly realized that it wasn’t. Abigail Owen did an amazing job with this book. I truly can not wait for the second one!

Would like to say that this book is like upper YA to NA. There is a sex scene, but it isn’t extremely detailed.

Thank you NetGalley and Entangled Teen for the eARC. These opinions and thoughts are all my own.

This really comes at you with all gas, very minimal brakes - which isn’t a bad thing, it just means it took me a little while to wrap my head around what was happening & the magic system/world building.

other than that, and most importantly, this is obviously a pro-brooding, morally conflicting, shadow boy household. 

samantha lias

This really comes at you with all gas, very minimal brakes - which isn’t a bad thing, it just means it took me a little while to wrap my head around what was happening & the magic system/world building.

other than that, and most importantly, this is obviously a pro-brooding, morally conflicting, shadow boy household. 

The premise was interesting, but this book suffered from a lack of development, specifically in terms of background. I feel like the bones of the story were there, but there wasn't a lot of muscle. I also felt like Meren was a very inconsistent character. I wasn't wowed by it, but I'll still probably read the second one at some point

Holly

Have you ever started a book and immediately knew you were going to love it? Or it just felt like returning home?? I feel a major book hangover coming on after finishing this one up (single tear drop emoji).

 felt like when I originally started ACOTAR and quickly fell in love the longer I read the book. Like seriously, very close to almost here lol.

I could gush all day about how The Liar’s Crown immediately became a top read for me this year but let me tell you a little bit about why. First off the world and magic system 

. It felt really original for there being a lot of elemental magic at play here. The world and the kingdoms, PERFECTION (in my opinion). Like I could vividly imagine this world. The only tiny thing I wish was more flushed out were some of the side characters, mostly because I’m a curious person though and want to see more lol. But there’s still a chance we can learn more in the next book.. although, we do get some background info for some of them.. I think I just wanted to see them more in general??

I could do the thing and describe the plot to this book in my review but I’d rather just go in knowing this is a TRUE YA Fantasy about twin princesses. One who essentially hides away and plays as her the “main” sisters stunt double for dangerous situations. She pretty much born to maybe die protecting her sister. That’s all you need to know before diving into this one lol.

This review is a little more unhinged than my normal all over reviews but let me just say there’s: Grumpy X Sunshine, a princess in hiding, deceit, LOVE, danger and more. This book is packed with action and adventure and made me swoon so many times.. I also may found my next new book hottie.. REVEN (swoons).

Anyway, if you couldn’t tell by any of the above.. I highly recommend The Liar’s Crowns for fantasy lovers for sure!!

Have you ever started a book and immediately knew you were going to love it? Or it just felt like returning home?? I feel a major book hangover coming on after finishing this one up (single tear drop emoji).

This book almost felt like when I originally started ACOTAR and quickly fell in love the longer I read the book. Like seriously, very close to almost here lol.

I could gush all day about how The Liar’s Crown immediately became a top read for me this year but let me tell you a little bit about why. First off the world and magic system chefs kiss. It felt really original for there being a lot of elemental magic at play here. The world and the kingdoms, PERFECTION (in my opinion). Like I could vividly imagine this world. The only tiny thing I wish was more flushed out were some of the side characters, mostly because I’m a curious person though and want to see more lol. But there’s still a chance we can learn more in the next book.. although, we do get some background info for some of them.. I think I just wanted to see them more in general??

I could do the thing and describe the plot to this book in my review but I’d rather just go in knowing this is a TRUE YA Fantasy about twin princesses. One who essentially hides away and plays as her the “main” sisters stunt double for dangerous situations. She pretty much born to maybe die protecting her sister. That’s all you need to know before diving into this one lol.

This review is a little more unhinged than my normal all over reviews but let me just say there’s: Grumpy X Sunshine, a princess in hiding, deceit, LOVE, danger and more. This book is packed with action and adventure and made me swoon so many times.. I also may found my next new book hottie.. REVEN (swoons).

Anyway, if you couldn’t tell by any of the above.. I highly recommend The Liar’s Crowns for fantasy lovers for sure!!

lindy strauss

Thank you to NetGalley and Entangled Teens for the Advanced Reader's Copy! I loved this so much I have already ordered the hardback book to add to my collection. 

A royal line that always has twin girls- one to rule and one to hide. Really a new take on the old "heir and a spare" saying. For generations, the evil king Eidolon has kidnapped and killed one of the sisters in order to maintain his immortality. Meren is the second twin, making her the one who has always had to hide away, preparing to be a body double for her sister, the future queen, Tabra. When their grandmother dies and it is her sister's turn to take the crown, Eidolon shows up asking for the future queen's hand in marriage. When Meren goes to stand in for her sister to meet with him, she is taken suddenly from the palace by a mysterious. shadowy figure. 

I'm just going to say it- I LOVED THIS BOOK!! I did not expect to go into this book loving it nearly as much as I did. I read this all in one sitting, I was absolutely engrossed from the very beginning. 

Our heroine, Meren, is up there as one of my new favorites for YA fantasys. Growing up away from the palace, she has a rougher edge to her but it comes across funny and sassy and not ever cringey. One thing I love about her and her journey is that she struggles. We get to see her struggle with her magic and with decisions- she doesn't just wake up one day as if she is "the chosen one" who is immediately good at everything. 

Okay, now the important part- the romance. This was adorable. This was absolutely me-screaming-throwing-my-book-in-glee GOOD. The banter? Perfect. The love interest is the perfect, perfect balance of witty and sarcastic. For me, this hits so many of my favorite tropes. Enemies to lovers? YES. Morally grey? YES. Can we talk about the enemies to lovers in this though? THIS is how you write enemies to lovers. The tension was there but it built naturally. 

The ending had me literally SCREAMING. I cannot believe I have to wait for a sequel. 

This title is perfect for fans of young adult/new adult fantasy romance! This felt like A Court of Mist and Fury + From Blood and Ash + Dance of Thieves (really the cutest/best elements of all of these)

All in all, this was just so fun and captivating to read. Definitely adding this to my list of go-to recommendations!

The Liar’s Crown

Reviews

Highlights