Evelyn Skye

The Crown's Game

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.

The Crown's Fate

Elda Mengisto

"He couldn't take away her magic, only enforce the prohibition; the bracelet would scorch her if she tried to disobey. But even though Pasha hadn't taken her actual power away, Vika felt as if the constant sparks that had danced through her body ever since she was born had faded to the faint glow of dying embers. Her blood, which had always run hot, seemed to shift several degrees cooler" (254)

A few years ago, I read "The Crown's Game", and I really enjoyed it for its atmosphere in 19th century Russia and the dynamics between the magic and Vika and Nikolai. I was curious so that I picked up the sequel, where some of these dynamics would open up again.

It starts shortly after the end of the first book--through Nikolai's sacrifice, Vika wins the Crown's Game and becomes the Imperial Enchanter of Russia. But things bubble under the surface as it turns out that Nikolai was alive, albeit as a shadow. Not only him, but also his mother too, because she exists in an ante-death. To get back to the mortal world, Nikolai feeds off her energy, in order to take back what is his--the Russian throne. This puts Vika in a dilemma because despite the danger to the Russian monarchy, and her bind to it (represented by a magical cuff), but her love for Nikolai remains.

One thing I'm happy about to see in the second book is how the relationship between Aizhana and Nikolai plays itself. I was irritated by the conclusion of this particular arc in the previous book with Nikolai chaining her to a church bench, and thought this was a good expansion of the original story. This has some dark side-effects on Nikolai's chance to get the throne; "as he stretched himself fully awake, a cold swell rushed inside him, and he laughed as he remembered he had a throne to take. And a tsesarevich to kill" (149)

This rivalry also plays into the historical context of the duology, as Skye notes in the explanation. Playing with history a bit, she has the Decemberist revolt involve Nikolai and Pasha, with the former claiming he was the real heir because his half-brother was only born to Empress Elizabeth. This causes distress on Yuliana, who tries to verify her brother so they maintain control. (I also find Yuliana's relatively harsh stance on everything an interesting expansion on her character--it combines her traits quite well. Though I found her a bit unsympathetic at times) The climax was really well-written; you could see the twosome show their forces, along with the following enchanters.

While Skye does a good job on expanding on how people viewed magic and how life outside St. Petersburg played with it, I saw a bit of holes in there. With all the talk about the common people, I though the scenes with them were merely fleeting, though the witch-burning comments indicated a primal fear of magic. I also thought the mentions of the catfish king (specifically in one chapter) was a bit off for me, but it could be because I was so focused on the plots between Vika and Nikolai.

If you were a fan of The Crown's Game like me, the Crown's Fate is a must-read. Not as great as the original, but ties things up well.

The gorgeous and darkly compelling sequel to The Crown’s Game—perfect for fans of Red Queen and Shadow and Bone. A New York Times bestseller! 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.

Livia

THEY DID MY BOY DIRTY, OKAY!

I really couldn't ask for a better ending, though i do feel like i'm missing stuff
1. WHY DIDN'T NIKOLAI AND VIKA EVEN HUG OR KISS AT THE END
2. Pasha is more justified and he's such a softie but he's still such a love-struck teenager that it's becoming ridiculous
3. Again, THEY DID MY BOY NIKOLAI DIRTY AND I DID NOT STAN THAT
4. Aizhana, hands down, gets the gold medal for the 'worst fictional mother' category that i have read so far
5. Renata, why? You have such potential to be an interesting character but your only, and i mean, your only motivation and thoughts, are Nikolai and only Nikolai and honestly, it just gets sooooo annoying and too much

Other than that, VIKA AND NIKOLAI! That's it. That's the thread.

** spoiler alert **
           4.5

My goodness, where should i start?
I was hesitant to start this book because of the bad reviews i've seen, but this book is simply AMAZING! Some of the plot twist leave my jaw hanging and the last 20 pages? Thank you, Evelyn Skye, for ripping and shredding my heart to pieces.

I will say, my main issue with this was the super duper insta-love that Pasha has toward Vika. It was just, super insta-love. We mostly get what he's feeling toward her and how quickly it progressed without them actually meeting but we almost never hear Vika talked about him or thought of him. And the fact that Pasha literally ask Nikolai to help Vika defeat the other enchanter just so that Vika could be with him is just too much.

And Nikolai? My precious baby, he deserve the world. He's so forgiving and empathetic and strong and determined. He has been through so much, he deserve happiness.

Lauren Tabor

**3.75

I still enjoyed this a lot, just not quite as much as the first book though.

Crown's Game

Steysha

There are things more dangerous than a little magic


This book was amazing! I wish it didn't have to end. Fans of The Night Circus, this is what we were looking for! 

Vika Andreyeva and Nikolai Karimov are two enchanters who were chosen by tsar to participate in the Crown’s Game. I should note that it`s a very rare case when two enchanters are born at the same time. Both enchanters don`t know about each other, until it`s time to fight in the Game. They also don't know much about the competition, except for one - they have to demonstrate their abilities and prove who is worthy to serve the king. The loser will face death, because two enchanters cannot exist together.


  The Imperial Enchanter will need all of Russia’s magic, especially since Bolshebnoie Duplo is no longer as potent as it was when the people of our country still adhered to the old ways. The Imperial Enchanter must be the only major conduit of what magic remains. There cannot be any dilution




And now Russia is being threatened by the Ottoman Empire. The King will need all his forces in the looming war. It's time to choose the Imperial Enchanter. But no matter how zealously Vika and Nikolai were preparing for competition, they did not expect that they will penetrate with forbidden feelings for each other. However, their lives are at stake, which means that their relationships are not going to happen.


  Vika packed the clay from the former pitcher in her hands. It hardened into a ceramic cannonball. “I don’t fancy dying.”
Her father emptied the bottle of kvass. “Then the only option is, you cannot.”


I also should say that the prose was great. The author managed to show Russia in all its glory. After reading this book you will want to see firsthand all of the places visited by the protagonists of the novel. Ornate descriptions of the surroundings were skillfully diluted by exciting dialogues that won`t leave anyone indifferent. The story isn`t fast-paced, but it`s by no means boring.





  “I’d like to be a menace to anyone who dares to trouble Russia.”
“You already are a menace.”
Vika pecked Sergei on the cheek. “Then make me a bigger one.”


If you are expecting ferocious magical battles for the right to become the winner of the Crown's Game, then forget about it. No, as it was in The Night Circus, the main task of enchanters is not to kill each other, but to show their capabilities by working for the good of the country. Each of them is given five attempts to show themselves and to surprise the King. St. Petersburg is their battleground. However, at first enchanters didn`t abandon their attempts to kill each other and to end the Game earlier than it was planned to. With each move their creations impress more and more, but their affection for each other grows too. Nevertheless, both have their own reasons for needing to win.


  And he could not give that up, because studying with her was his ticket to becoming more than a no-name orphan. He could be Imperial Enchanter someday.


The romance came to my liking. It wasn`t love at first sight. The enchanters were interested in each other, because they had very different types of magic. Vika copes better with natural phenomena, while Nikolai wields artificial mothers. The only thing that bothered me was Pasha. Personally, I`m not a fan of love triangles, but in the end I warmed to this character.



For a debut novel I think this book was very impressive. There are a lot of twists and turns that were impossible to guess in advance. All characters are strong-willed and well thought-out. Vika became one of my favorite heroines, and Nikolai is in the list of boys-I-want-to-marry.



I recommend this book to all fans of YA fantasy. I hope it will surpass your expectations, like it did in my case. And I also look forward to the sequel BECAUSE YOU CAN`T END A BOOK LIKE THAT!!! Enjoy your reading :)


   “Good.” After a long pause, the tsar rose from his wooden throne. “Then let the Crown’s Game begin.”

Alisha Dockrat

(Spoiler Review)

To start it off simply, I enjoyed this book. In fact, it would've gotten a five star rating if it were not for that awful love triangle.

Firstly, both Pasha and Nikolai had appeared to instantly fall in love with Vika. (Although maybe this just seems stupid to me as I don't believe in 'love at first sight') Then there's the way Nikolai had just been ready to sacrifice himself on account of loving Vika... I know they had a 'connection' but it seemed a big over exaggerated. Especially taking into account the interactions they had. Can one masquerade change that much. (Don't get me wrong though, I loved Nikolai and Vika's chemistry)

I liked Pasha quite a bit, (Even more than Nikolai at first) but towards the end of the book I really started despising him. I hope he doesn't continue to let Yulliana influence him. 
I did enjoy the games part of the book . It was interesting and I loved seeing how Vika and Nikolai viewed/retaliated to the other's moves.

I can confirm that by the end of this book, I was in tears. I can't wait for the next book (Which hopefully has a sufficient amount of Nikolai in it) and that I'm definitely going to read.

Overall Rating: 8/10 (4 stars)

lauren carla

3.5 actual rating. the premise of this book reminded me of the night circus lol, also want to say if you liked this book you might like Girls Made of Snow and Glass by Melissa Bashardoust or Little Thieves by Margaret Owen. Nikolai was my favorite character - I guess characters named Nikolai are just destined to be stunning 🤷🏻‍♀️. my favorite moments of the book were anytime nikolai & vika interacted, wanted more of those. I have feelings about Pasha, but won’t get into that here 😑. I also wasn’t a huge fan of like the last 40 or so pages of the book… but I should probably resonate with it more before I settle on my feelings about it lol

Makayla Woolfolk

It took weeks for me to start reading again, and it's still hard for me. This book was enjoyable and helpful in getting me over the slump.

Sheila

I'm giving this 3 stars ONLY because the ending got to me gdi. I don't know why it caught me unawares because a stupid love triangle like the one in this book WOULD end that way, and yet. 

That aside, while I know that this book was written with the 'alternate history' bent in mind, it turned out to be just the hyper-stereotypical version of reality? Kinda? Skye's 19th century Imperial Russia felt to me like "Russia-in-a-Can" from a sketchy shop found in a tourist trap in Moscow. A lot of basic stuff was just incorrect as to be jarring (the name Victoria being used??? Pasha as a nickname for Pavel??? Bolshebnoye Duplo?!?!), and so many bizarre metaphors were used that my eyes just crossed; I think one involved unicorns maybe??? I don't know why???

On top of all that, I literally did not understand the purpose of (view spoiler)[the inclusion of Nikolai's mother beyond being a weird plot device to kill off the Tsar & Tsarina? Her appearance & subsequent insane logical leaps that led her to kill the Tsar had me side-eyeing the crap out of this book (hide spoiler)]

Overall this book was okay, but I had been expecting far better than what I got.

Lisa van der Heijden 

I listened to the audiobook for this story. I am surprised but I actually very much enjoyed this one. It took a little time to get into it. The story starts slow and the (fake) Russian accent of the narrator really annoyed me at first. However, when the Crown's game eventually starts I was totally invested in the story. 

The Crown's Game is set in 18-19th century Russia. During this time, the general population believes that magic does not actually exist. However, magic is still there but it is very rare. When a person has a lot of magic they are called enchanters. They become very important people as the imperial enchanter of the Tsar of Russia. They advise the Tsar and protect the country. On the rare occasion that two enchanters are born, they must compete in the Crown's game to determine who will be the imperial enchanter. The loser has to die so the winner as access to all Russia's magic. If you think this means an epic magical battle, you are wrong! In this story, the two enchanters Vica and Nikolai, compete in basically a show off competition. They each have five turns to show the Tsar what they can do with their magic and at any time in the competition, the Tsar can declare a winner. 

So instead of lots of action, the story contains lots of detailed descriptions about magic. I found it very fascinating and it reminded me quite a lot of the Night Circus. The pacing of the story is quite slow but I did not mind it. I was not bored while I was listening to the audiobook, because the magic the author describes is very original and truly magical, to be honest. The story is built around these enchanted show-cases and how the characters deal with the competition, their surroundings and each other. 

I really enjoyed the multiple perspectives of the story. Although, for me now all perspectives were equally relevant to the story. The main three characters are Vica (enchanter 2), Nikolai (enchanter 1) and Pasha (the heir to the throne). I really loved the friendship between Nikolai and Pasha. They were adorable together and their friendship seemed pretty realistic. Vica is pretty badass and I really loved reading about her. There is a little bit of a love triangle between them but I was not bothered with that. The other perspectives in this story are Geliana and Serej. They are brother and sister, but also the mentors of Nikolai and Vica, respectively. The character growth of Geliana was the most interesting for me. She is a pretty complex character with multiple layers. She does not really show her true colours. 

Overall, I really enjoyed this story. It is a typical YA fantasy. However, I did not mind this at all. The story is well rounded with enjoyable characters and interesting magic. I definitely want to read the sequel to see how it is going to end!

Toni Turner

I really enjoyed this second book. I was also frustrated the whole time haha but that’s how you’re supposed to feel from the bullshit that these dumb young adults are getting themselves into. I think it just lingered during my reading experience and I was finding myself hoping that things either got happier sooner or slowly got darker the farther in we went. I still really liked it. Gave me Shadow and Bone vibes. But if the boys roles switched and swapped and went all over the place.

Hi. Yes. Did somebody order some sexual tension, a Russian magical duel and a bakery? We love it here. Very super fun. I’ve already started book two and I am still very here for this bunch of dumb young adults having a bad time with magic.

Megan Lapides

This was a re-read for me and oh my gosh I loved it just as much as the first time I read it! I love, love, love the characters and the friendships and the romance (*heart eyes emoji*). It was super magical and the magic descriptions were beautifully written. It gave me The Night Circus and Caraval vibes with magic competition and the beautiful writing.

This went in an interesting direction. Still good writing, but the characters weren't acting like themselves and I wasn't the biggest fan of some of the plot choices.

Tanner Evans

There are several problems I have with "The Crown's Game." First, the romance between Vika, Nikolai, and Pasha is just so....deflating. There is no passion! There is no emotion! There is no tension! It seems like that because this is a YA novel, there has to be a love triangle just for the hell of it. And believe me, I am a big fan of love triangles when it feels believable, when I struggle to choose which character is the best fit. Between these three, there was none of that. It was all insta-love, all around. I can be a fan of insta-love if it is done correctly, but this was just straight up googly-eyes, I love her/I love him from the get-go, with no real emotion or struggle attached.
I didn't feel connected to any of the characters. There really wasn't any depth to them. The writing sometimes felt very juvenile, as if the author was spelling out all of the symbols and connections between events in the book. 
And not to mention...the magic was not all that impressive to me? (SPOILERS AHEAD) I mean, the first move of the game was Nikolai charming buildings back to their former glory...just so boring!
There was a small frustration at the end of "The Crown's Game" too, when Vika is declared the winner and her and Pasha meet for the first time after Nikolai's apparent death. She is angry at him for demanding a duel between Nikolai and herself, blaming him for the death of Nikolai, when that was literally the purpose of the Game! 
"You didn't realize that if you demanded a duel to the death, one of us would die?" 
Like, hello! One of you was going to die anyways! Everyone knew that from the beginning! The emotion just feels so fake, just adding unnecessary tension for the sake of making a more "interesting" plot. 
I was really hoping to like this one...I will probably not read the next installment.

Nikki K

I was disappointed in this book. It felt rushed and a lot of the character development was lost from the first book. The characters' decisions throughout this book were really obscure and it just seemed as if Evelyn had a finale in mind and sacrificed the development of realistic characters to achieve it. I think this series wasn't long enough to achieve the two arcs she was going for with these books and it just let me down. 
It had real moments of beauty though and enough interest to redeem it somewhat for me, but it wasn't what I hoped it would be after the first book.

Jeni Enjaian

I knew from the first few pages that, unfortunately, this book would fall into the typical paranormal teen-romance trope. I hated that since the premise held so much promise. Regrettably, the characters fell in love way too quickly, fell into a love triangle too quickly, and could not really be distinguished from each other. Nothing about the plot and the ambiguity of the crown's game drew engaged me as a reader at all. I suffered through the text only because I am reading all of the books nominated for the SC Junior Book Award which my students will read this coming year if they choose. I do not recommend this book.

Alexia Cambaling

I started The Crown’s Game because of the Russian setting. I will confess that I am absolutely fascinated by Russian history and culture, particularly Imperial Russia. So, when I hear of The Crown’s Game, I wanted to get my hands on it. I wanted to read it because well, an alternate history version of Russia with magic is something that appeals to me.

The first few chapters were great fun- lush, packed with cultural references and vivid descriptions. I particularly enjoyed the references to Russian culture, although I cannot speak for how accurate it is. I did like the bit where the aristocracy spoke French. It lent authenticity to how the Imperial Court was depicted.

I enjoyed the contrast between Vika and Nikolai, between the aristocratic girl who prefers the countryside and the half-Kazakh orphan who is more at home in the court. They both led very different lives and I enjoyed reading about them, what they’re like, and how they were preparing to become Imperial Enchanter.

When the competition begins, I found myself disappointed with the way it went down. I expected something more tense, deadlier, and has higher stakes. Although, I mean dying if you don’t become Imperial Enchanter should count as high stakes, but well. I got the sense that the ‘loser dies’ part wasn’t quite taken really seriously. I don’t know, for most of the book, it felt like Vika and Nikolai weren’t giving their all into winning and I don’t know, a lot of it just wasn’t working for me.

So, worldbuilding. I kind of enjoyed the world-building, although I’m not sure if they explained clearly the reason why few people know that magic exists. As to why there should only be one person capable of wielding much of the magic in the country, I felt like the explanation was a little too sloppy for my taste. I felt like it was kind of ridiculous so I didn’t fully buy into the explanation, but I kept reading anyway.

The characters were pretty okay. I liked Vika and Yuliana most out of the characters. Vika, I think behaved realistically for a girl in her situation, while I liked Yuliana’s seriousness and dedication. In all honesty, I think Yuliana should be tsarina with Vika as her Imperial Enchanter. I would have loved to read a book like that. I felt like Nikolai didn’t have the strong conviction I expected to see judging from his first few chapters. As for Pasha, he really was too whiny and irresponsible. I think he has no business becoming tsar and I felt like he would be the perfect argument as to why monarchies should not exist.

The plot sometimes felt like the competition took a backseat to the love triangle and the growing attraction between the protagonists. I thought that the game would be more dangerous and deadlier than it was, so I was disappointed to see that it wasn’t. I had hoped for more because there was some pretty interesting magic going on. Although I will say that I’m not particularly impressed, except for the part where they create an island. That was probably the best part of the book. The rest got a lukewarm response for me.

I suspect that part of the reason why I feel this way is because of the insta-love or insta-attraction thing. There is a love triangle in this book, although Vika herself doesn’t really indicate that she is in love with any of them, she is obviously attracted to Nikolai. Both Nikolai and Pasha kind of falls for her a little too quickly. I don’t buy the part where Nikolai and Vika are the only two people who can truly understand each other, hence the attraction. It felt a little forced and it just didn’t do it for me.

The writing is good for a debut novel. It has a lot of well-written descriptions and it does paint the world clearly in the eyes of the reader. I might read more of the author’s works outside this duology in the future.

In the end, The Crown’s Game was a lot of meh. It was just okay, and I don’t feel particularly compelled to pick up the sequel. Considering it’s just a duology, I might think about it but the whole thing just reeks of wasted potential.

This review is also on  The Bookworm Daydreamer

Alejandra Bran

Hannah

Amanda Furlan

Dana Musser

Siobhán

I first started this book a few weeks ago and I just couldn't get into. I pushed myself to read a good bit and for the life of me I just couldn't connect with the book. So I decided to give myself a wee break from it and go back at a later date. The other night something just compelled to pick the book up again. So I started reading from the beginning again and well....the next thing I knew it was 2am and I had finished the book. It was magnificent, exciting and breathtaking. My only problem now is waiting for the book two to be released next year!!!!! I don't think I can wait that long. 

See more at: http://weeshubbasworld.blogspot.co.uk...

Meagan Fowler

This book just didn't hook me. I almost put it down half way through but I felt like I had to finish- wouldn't have missed much. I probably won't pick up the next book in this series.

The Crown's Game

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