Read All About It: Cruel Crown

Victoria Aveyard gives readers a deeper look into her fantasy world, drawing us in with two prequels to Red Queen. We learn the stories that had only been hinted at in her first novel, and grasp the darker secrets that are the foundation of this unique fantasy universe and its people.

The edition I bought also has the first few chapters of the second novel in this series, Glass Sword. Judging from these chapters, I will enjoy the rest of this series as much as I enjoyed Red Queen. I look forward to getting my hands on the rest of it! But this review will focus on the two novellas that comprise the greater part of the book.

The first novella is "Queen Song," a bittersweet tale about Queen Coriane, Prince Cal's mother. She was not the most beautiful, nor the strongest, and far from the most suitable wife for a future King, but nevertheless, she became Queen by his side.

This one gives us an invaluable look into one of the most vicious characters of the series, Elara, and a more vulnerable look into King Tiberias and his son. This one was tinged with the sadness that comes from already knowing the outcome--but liking the Queen anyways meant that my heart hurt reading her tale. Be prepared to hurt, because this one is a bitter pill to swallow.

The second novella, "Steel Scars," is a forceful story about a captain of the Scarlet Guard, Farley. Her journey is rough and filled with secrecy, and we discover that she is not a native or Norta, but instead a Lakelander. She travels Norta recruiting for the Scarlet Guard, and she finds the key to her entire operation--in the form of the Barrow family.

This one is kind of intense. Aveyard's Scarlet Guard is a secretive organization, and we see how much that secrecy costs even the average members of the guard. This novella is an interesting peek into the events that occur just before Mare's own encounter with lightning, and we get an invaluable look at the motivations of Farley and the inner workings of the Scarlet Guard itself.

I bought this prequel before I purchased Red Queen, but I'm glad I waited until after I'd read RQ before I read this one. They are prequels, but you lose some of the significance of the narratives of Cruel Crown if you don't know what happens shortly afterward.

Rest assured, I will be picking up Glass Sword hopefully soon! Until then, watch out for the Scarlet Guard!