The Crown's Fate by Evelyn Skye

Blurb:

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.

Review:

After the end of The Crown’s Game, Vika is the Imperial Enchanter, and unfortunately, she’s faced with a crumbling empire that she must put back together. With her magical abilities growing far more than should be possible, and old threats rising once more, she must decide if her loyalties lie with the Tsar, Pasha, or her old, trapped, half-dead friend, Nikolai.

As Pasha’s coronation approaches, Vika must protect him and ensure he lives to see the day he’s crowned. But there are challenges in the way of her success, Pasha’s safety, and Russia’s longevity.  Pasha is also struggling with his own demons—his legitimacy as Tsar, Vika hating him for the end of The Crown’s Game, and guilt for leaving his best friend for dead. 

As a threat to his position on the throne becomes a true threat, both Vika and Pasha are forced to reckon with what they know, who they love, and what they believe to be true and right. Especially when Nikolai grapples to free himself from his bench, and his wicked mother sets him with the desire to become the next Tsar in pasha’s place.

Threats and dangers surround the trio on all sides, the most vengeful of which are each other.

I probably should’ve finished reading The Crown’s Fate a long time ago. I read the first book in the duet, The Crown’s Game, at least five years back when I was broadening my palette for fantasy books. Now, though, I’ve read it, and it was just good as I remembered the first book to be. Better, even. A phenomenal story about history, monarchy, and the consequences of rebellion as well as the backlash of corrupt governments, this novel is truly a highlight of the year it was published.

The Crown’s Fate is one of those books that is short and sweet but has a lingering impact. It’s unforgettable, unsettling in a way that makes readers think. I loved every word Skye wrote, I loved the characters and the world she created. Enchanters are such a unique, underused class of magical beings in fiction, and Skye’s take on this magical “species” is truly original and compelling.

Although there weren’t trials in the sequel to The Crown’s Game, it was no less pacey and quick. With strong, precise prose and incredible storytelling, this book is one of the best-written books I have read in a long time. The politics were thick, and it was truly an excellent political, historical fantasy—political fantasy at its finest.

I saw in a different blurb that this book was described as Red Queen and Shadow and Bone. While I would agree that those are amazing comps, but I’ll also compare this book to the historical elements from The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab and the magical trial components seen within The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. Although it’s similar to these novels, I also will note that it stands alone and does so extraordinarily well.

The stakes rise and rise throughout the novel, and I’m so happy I found this duet on a shelf in a used bookstore years ago. I knew nothing about The Crown’s Game or Evelyn Skye before I read this story, but I’m definitely excited to learn more about both the author and her publications.