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The Crown Game Evelyn Skye Books

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The Crown Game Evelyn Skye Books

Disappointed is an understatement. Я хотела люивить эту книгу, но мне была так скучно! :(

Let's start with the good:

WRITING
Solid. For the most part.

WORLD/SETTING
Now, I am probably biased from my own studies in Russia, but this world is fantastic! The author definitely put to use her experiences and studies of Russian culture and history. Instantly, I felt like I was transported back in time to Imperial Russia and I loved it! She really knows how to capture the atmosphere of St. Petersburg. However, I feel like the world was wasted with such a plot.

Which leads me to the bad:

PLOT
I was promised an "ancient duel of magical skill". I was expecting magical duels. I wanted magical duels. So wtf? Where was my magical duel?????

The magical aspect of this story was lacking so much that it hindered the plot. The majority of the magic used was little tricks the characters did to make their daily lives easier. For such a beautiful and enchanting place Russia is, there didn't seem to be any magic in the air....

ROMANCE
But, damn, there was so much 'love' in the air I was beginning to suffocate. It seems like the plot wanted to be all about a deadly, magical duel between two riveting and young enchanters. But, the plot changed its mind very quickly and turned into a story following two boring and dramatic enchanters who fell in love at first sight. Oh, but wait. This is YA, so there needs to be more tension....let's throw in a love triangle! Don't get me wrong, sometimes a love triangle works and adds depth to a story and characterization. This one was just unbelievable. Can we just clarify: because it's YA, doesn't mean it needs a bloody love triangle! There are far more ways to create tension.

CHARACTERS
I don't have much to say. They all had potential in the beginning. Vika was strong willed and stubborn. Nikolai was mysterious and dark. Pasha was entertaining and charming. Then, they all got poked in the ass by the tip of the 'love triangle syndrome', and everything went downhill from there.

One thing that I started to see towards the end was the portrayal of youth being forced. At many times, the characters didn't seem like genuine teenagers, especially when it came to the feeling of love.

I have to be honest and say I started skipping chunks of descriptions and scenes after I reached 70%. Around 80%, the plot actually started to get interesting (excluding all the stupid forced romance.) There were twists that I was not really surprised by but were still pleasing. The ending seemed a bit rushed, though. Also the story felt like it was trying to be very dramatic as people started dropping dead like flies. Some of the deaths would have moved me, if I actually cared. But, I didn't. None of the characters made me care enough.

Will I be reading the sequel? No.
Have I given up on Evelyn Skye? Not yet.


Tags : Amazon.com: The Crown's Game (9780062422583): Evelyn Skye: Books,Evelyn Skye,The Crown's Game,Balzer + Bray,0062422588,Action & Adventure - General,Fantasy - Historical,Romance - Historical,Alternative histories (Fiction),Dueling,Dueling;Fiction.,Fantasy,Fantasy fiction,Kings and rulers,Kings, queens, rulers, etc,Magic;Fiction.,Magicians,Magicians;Fiction.,Princes,Romance fiction,Russia - Politics and government,Triangles (Interpersonal relations),Young adult fiction,Children's BooksAll Ages,Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9),Fantasy & Magic,Fiction-Fantasy,Historical Fiction (Young Adult),JUVENILE,Juvenile Fiction,Juvenile Grades 7-9 Ages 12-14,Love & Romance,Monograph Series, 1st,Russia,TEEN'S FICTION FANTASY,TEEN'S FICTION HISTORICAL,TEEN'S FICTION ROMANCE,Triangles (Interpersonal relations),United States,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Action & Adventure General,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Fantasy General,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Fantasy Historical,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Romance General,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Romance Historical,Young Adult FictionAction & Adventure - General,Young Adult FictionRomance - General,Young adult fiction,Fantasy & Magic,Love & Romance,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Action & Adventure General,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Fantasy General,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Fantasy Historical,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Romance General,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Romance Historical,Young Adult FictionAction & Adventure - General,Young Adult FictionRomance - General,Children's BooksAll Ages,Historical Fiction (Young Adult),Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)

The Crown Game Evelyn Skye Books Reviews

I don't even remember why I bought THE CROWN'S GAME, but I'm glad I did and I'm glad I started reading it, even though I was already reading three other books at the time.

Vika and Nikolai are the only enchanters in Russia, and are competing to become the one Imperial Enchanter. This means one must die, but the repercussions of that rule are a big tangle, when the next in line for the crown falls for one of the players and doesn't know the other is his longtime best friend.

To call this a "romantic triangle book" isn't enough at all. It's about power, family, love, friendship, decisions. It has beautiful, fantastical magic, fully-formed people--not characters--who have commitments, longings, emotions, choices to make. You like them or you understand them or you at least get where they're coming from, making it hard to decide who you want to win the Game--or succeed at whatever it is that particular character is trying to do. The story gets better and better the more pages you turn, and the very last page...let's just say that I immediately bought the next book as soon as I finished it.
This is a sort of historical fantasy novel. Much of the detail about Russia is historically correct, or correct enough to be fully believable. The magic, on the other hand is under-explained and I could not really understand how some the larger creations worked and yet minor things seemed beyond the two Enchanters. The characters are fairly complex but their magical parents are unexplained, even as to what they actually are meant to be.

Not much real action in this one and the closest thing to a real fight is a couple of bumps in a bar. The magic itself is pretty weak as well in that it is all cosmetic rather than part of the actual story. There is meant to be angst between the main characters but it really only seems real in the lesser characters. The biggest issue I had was these powerful magicians were afraid of the Tsar for no apparent reason. The ending is weak though predictable and has been done better in other books.

The writing itself is very "fairy story" like and the book would probably be a good bedtime story to read to your kids. If you have a strong issue in Russia you may find the book more enjoyable than I did. It seems a little Steampunky at first but that is just the time setting and the top hats. Can't really recommend it other than as something to read to the kids.
I'm very torn about this book. I vary between wanting to give it 3 or 4 stars. Ultimately I had to go with 3.

Things I loved
*Imperial Russia
*The impressive magic used during the book
*Nikolai because of his overall story. I love his origin, once you get there. I love his casual friendship with Pasha. I love his conflicting emotions.
*Cinderella Bakery.

Things I did not love
*The "Love" triangle/s. It's one thing to have a love triangle in a story and feel the connections as a reader, but I felt nothing. It was a stretch. And Renata should have been in the book more in some way. She was one of the more interesting, yet underdeveloped characters.
*Vika. I tried to like her but there wasn't a lot to really draw me in to her. I liked Sergei more than her and he's hardly in the book.
*The general lack of character development. I've read the book and I really don't know much about the majority of characters.
*The ending. I know things will work out in some form in the next book but just ugh. It's frustrating and I'm kind of pissed.
Disappointed is an understatement. Я хотела люивить эту книгу, но мне была так скучно! (

Let's start with the good

WRITING
Solid. For the most part.

WORLD/SETTING
Now, I am probably biased from my own studies in Russia, but this world is fantastic! The author definitely put to use her experiences and studies of Russian culture and history. Instantly, I felt like I was transported back in time to Imperial Russia and I loved it! She really knows how to capture the atmosphere of St. Petersburg. However, I feel like the world was wasted with such a plot.

Which leads me to the bad

PLOT
I was promised an "ancient duel of magical skill". I was expecting magical duels. I wanted magical duels. So wtf? Where was my magical duel?????

The magical aspect of this story was lacking so much that it hindered the plot. The majority of the magic used was little tricks the characters did to make their daily lives easier. For such a beautiful and enchanting place Russia is, there didn't seem to be any magic in the air....

ROMANCE
But, damn, there was so much 'love' in the air I was beginning to suffocate. It seems like the plot wanted to be all about a deadly, magical duel between two riveting and young enchanters. But, the plot changed its mind very quickly and turned into a story following two boring and dramatic enchanters who fell in love at first sight. Oh, but wait. This is YA, so there needs to be more tension....let's throw in a love triangle! Don't get me wrong, sometimes a love triangle works and adds depth to a story and characterization. This one was just unbelievable. Can we just clarify because it's YA, doesn't mean it needs a bloody love triangle! There are far more ways to create tension.

CHARACTERS
I don't have much to say. They all had potential in the beginning. Vika was strong willed and stubborn. Nikolai was mysterious and dark. Pasha was entertaining and charming. Then, they all got poked in the ass by the tip of the 'love triangle syndrome', and everything went downhill from there.

One thing that I started to see towards the end was the portrayal of youth being forced. At many times, the characters didn't seem like genuine teenagers, especially when it came to the feeling of love.

I have to be honest and say I started skipping chunks of descriptions and scenes after I reached 70%. Around 80%, the plot actually started to get interesting (excluding all the stupid forced romance.) There were twists that I was not really surprised by but were still pleasing. The ending seemed a bit rushed, though. Also the story felt like it was trying to be very dramatic as people started dropping dead like flies. Some of the deaths would have moved me, if I actually cared. But, I didn't. None of the characters made me care enough.

Will I be reading the sequel? No.
Have I given up on Evelyn Skye? Not yet.