Twin Crowns: The Sunday Times bestselling royal YA fantasy romance. Tik Tok made me buy it!: Book 1

Product Information

Twin Crowns is a romantic fantasy novel, heavy on the romance and light on fantasy. This is no epic tale but instead a light, funny, tropey novel. They may be twins, but they were raised in such different places, with different people, that they are glaringly different. It was reminiscent of early YA, but not in any of the ways that would have made me feel affection or nostalgia. There were so many moments that I wanted to put the book down just because I was cringing so terribly at the dialogue or plot conveniences. This somehow read like a younger YA written for adults, and I don't know how to explain it. (The best examples are pieces of dialogue like, "I must have misinterpreted your moans." vs. very ridiculous, juvenile moments that feel jarring.) Once this was established I could focus on the mechanics of the world. A political focus was presented with the magical one throughout and I loved garnering an understanding for the kingdom through the eyes of both those in power and those they feared and sought the demise of the most. It became a bleak and bloody read as it progressed due to this.

Overall, this was an entertaining young adult romance book. The dual POVs are beautifully narrated by Ann Marie Gideon and Ell Potter. The audiobook even included an interview with the authors, which was a nice touch. I am looking forward to listening to the sequel, Cursed Crowns, as well. Honestly, I was initially drawn to this book solely based on its cover. However, I am pleasantly surprised to find that it has exceeded my expectations. The twin sisters, despite not knowing each other, were not cruel and prioritized their family. They showed care and love towards one another. The book describes the conflict between sisterly bonds and fighting for the crown. As the story progresses, the sisters must decide what is more important: the crown or their sister. There is also a surprise twist towards the end that kept me on the edge of my seat.

Customer reviews

There may be romance in this book for both sisters, but the true love in the story, I think, is the love between Wren and Rose, and sisters in general. And even though they were seperated for their whole lives, they still love each other and protect each other. When they got together, it was as if they hadn't been seperated at all.

Princess Rose Valhart knows that with power comes responsibility including marriage into a brutal kingdom. Life outside the palace walls is a place to be feared and she is soon to discover that it’s wilder than she ever imagined.trigger warnings: Violence, Kidnapping, Loss of Parents, Murder, Death, Attempted Murder, Poison, etc. Uncorrected proof copy received from Egmont Publishing in an exchange for an honest review. This title releases on the 12th May 2022. This book is written in alternating points of view, which I think helped keep things interesting for me. The pacing did slow down a little in the middle, but I wasn’t bored because there were twists and betrayals. Also, I can't resist a book with lovely animal companions.

I had so much fun reading this book! Twin Crowns is a fantasy rom-com with plots that involve political intrigue and corruption. The book focuses on the sisterly bond between Wren and Rose, which is strong regardless of how they grew up in different worlds. She also might have been better off speaking to Prince Ansel and telling him she wanted to postpone/call off the wedding. Twin queens Wren and Rose have claimed their crowns…but not everyone is happy about witches sitting on Eana’s throne. L’histoire reste assez clichée dans le YA et stéréotypée dans les personnages mais le tout est trop bien arrangé avec le twist des jumelles qui échangent leur place pour qu’on passe un super moment ! Les chapitres sont courts et le rythme ne s’essouffle pas une seconde grâce aux changements de dynamique. Tor and Wren are all right. I do really like them together, it just doesn't feel like there's as much chemistry, and it feels a little rushed (Shen and Rose's is kinda rushed too, but I'm a hypocrite) But overall, I still liked them.

Customer Reviews

Princess Rose Valhart knows that with power comes responsibility including marriage into a brutal kingdom. Life outside the palace walls is a place to be feared and she is soon to discover that it's wilder than she ever imagined. Now, I certainly don’t oppose including a dysfunctional group of fascists in a book, and exploring how to reintegrate the witches into society could be fruitful ground for storytelling. I assumed the twins would have parallels arcs in which Rose realized that witches are still human and not 100% evil and need to be incorporated into the kingdom somehow, while Wren realized the dangers of revenge and witch supremacy and that other people matter too. And that while Rose realized that the regent has manipulated her and raised her as a tool for his own ends, Wren would realize that the same is true of her grandmother. For example, Wren’s kinder side is akin to Rose, while Rose’s more dangerous side is close to Wren... The plot in this was actually so much fun. I will be using the word "fun" many times throughout this review. There was a lot going on, but it never really felt like there was high-stakes, despite the fact that Wren was in some very difficult situations. It just felt really lighthearted and cozy which is exactly what I wanted.

Wren's character arc starts as a determined and trained spy for witches who would sacrifice everything to complete her goal, to questioning if her methods are just as she meets others in her sister's court.

Unpopular opinion coming in. It’s not a bad book, but it’s nothing out of the ordinary or memorable, and nothing we haven’t seen before in YA. It’s just overall okay. I like that Rose and Wren both realized that there was more to the other than they previously thought. Rose realized that witches were not all evil and do not deserve to be hunted and killed, and Wren realized that her sister’s life is not all fancy parties and lavish life. There is politics involved, and Rose is more than just a spoiled princess. Besides that though, I can’t really say that I know the characters, or that I appreciate them. They were both childish at times, stupid at others, and both made me roll my eyes SO MANY TIMES. Just to add in some critiques because I'm supposed to be a "fair" and "honest" reviewer: some things were just very convenient. Like Rose and Wren became friendly way faster than I would've expected, since Wren literally tried to steal Rose's crown and then Rose just almost instantly forgave her, which was a little confusing. And as I said above, the romances were a tad rushed, like both couples grew to trust each other quite fast, but it's kind of different for both, like Wren told Tor a lot more than she should've after knowing him for not that long.