Crownchasers

I've been on a bit of reading slump lately. Bouncing from books early on or midway. I thought it was me. After inhaling Crownchasers in a day, I'm thinking maybe it was the books. Mixing grief and joy, this is a rollicking adventure as well as character study, with a terrific protagonist who is compelling and prickly, who absolutely cannot deal while also being extremely competent.

I am super wrapped up in the events of the last 50 pages and still reeling, so let me keep this short: This is the best sci-fi novel I have read in years. Interesting and gripping plot, varied and well-rounded cast, very good dialogue. The world-building is vivid and satisfyingly complex without info-dumping or pointless details. The characters are explored through flawless narration alternating between the present and flashbacks, without slowing the pace and without excessive exposition. There is political intrigue, an engrossing challenge, compelling characters, tension, surprising turns. It has everything I’d want from this type of book, and I can’t believe everyone isn’t shouting about it from the bookstagram rooftops (so to speak)! I can’t wait until October, when the sequel comes out! And I’ll definitely want to read more of what Rebecca Coffindaffer writes in the future.

when will i stop saying RTC but not actually writing a review....

I don’t remember the first 1/3 of this book because I read it months ago, but the later 2/3 had great pacing and kept me up past my bedtime. Definitely Firefly vibes. The voice/writing is really punchy and sarcastic; feels like an authentic teen. One note of caution is that there seemed to be a lot of language for YA (lots of sh**, some fu**, etc.) For the most part, it wasn’t distracting, but occasionally it was.

This was such a fun ride! I definitely want to read the next one!

True rating more like a 3.5-3.75 Super fun, quick sci-fi read!

This book was a rollercoaster. The main character was funny and sassy and it's so rare to have a bold main character that doesn't come off as a cringy badass try-hard edge lord. I had a fun time reading this and while it wasn't life-changing, the ending got me and I look forward to the sequel.

Let’s talk about how amazing this book is! READ IT

I was genuinely confused; when/where was this set? The POV was mainly the first person, which is unique and not many books I read have that. However, it also was exceptionally confusing when it came to other aspects of the plot—switching peoples POV without much warning or foreshadowing annoyed me. I like the whole concept of a Crownchase, but I felt like I didn't get enough of that concept; for the first half of the book, I struggled to like the main characters. She felt really lazy, unappreciative and quite like the 'I'm not like other girls' trope that I don't like in main characters. There were parts I wanted to be fleshed out like they mentioned her uncles funeral and his species but didn't dwell on that or let us experience it. I tried to fell for her, but because so much background and world-building seemed to be left out, I didn't like her. Also, for the first half of the book, I knew nothing about her. Is she human? I have no idea. Are humans even involved in the book? I have no idea. I found the flashbacks annoying as they disrupted the flow of the narrative. I was saying that I enjoy stories that start in the middle of the drama. Towards the second half of the book, the narrative picked up the pace and added a good mystery. I love sci-fi/fantasy for the adventure, and I did get it; it just took a while for me to get into the story and the story to get going. As I finished the story, I felt let down. A lot of the questions I had remained unanswered, and the story was left unresolved.