The Kingless Crown

Title: The Kingless Crown Author: Sarah M. Cradit

Narrator: Kimberly M. Wetherell Series: Kingdom of The White Sea: Book One Publisher: OrangeSky Audio

Genre: High Fantasy

Format: Audiobook

Duration: 20 Hours, 58 Minutes

Date of Publication: November 21, 2021 My Rating: 4/5

Spice Level: 0/5

Synopsis (From Goodreads): A crown woven together by lies. A kingdom with the power to unravel them.

Four Reaches. Four brides. Only a fortnight separates the young women from becoming reluctant queens of the usurper king, Eoghan Rhiagain.

Twenty years earlier, King Eoghan’s father cunningly devised marriages between the highborn sons and daughters of the oft-warring Reaches, sealing the unions before they could protest, shattering existing betrothals in place of forced alliances.

Now, Eoghan, the cruel boy king who stole his crown through murder, demands the eldest daughters of these unions. To accept is unfathomable. To refuse is treason.

The lords and ladies of the kingdom have no choice but to prepare their beloved daughters for the horrors ahead. But they’ll soon discover there are no longer any daughters left to present. All four have disappeared, painting the world with their rebellion.

Theirs is not the only rebellion. Across the kingdom, little fires light within. From the enigmatic sorcerers in the northern mountains, to the magi who both wield and regulate the kingdom’s magic, and beyond… to a place where two prisoners are not what they seem.

As the Reaches ready themselves to face the king, the kingdom hovers on the edge of chaos. And there are many who recall, in candlelit secrecy, tales of a time before…

My Thoughts:

Okay I picked a doozy for my first post. I am immensely thankful to have received this audiobook as an advanced copy from Netgalley and OrangeSky Audio in exchange for my honest opinion. You can also tell by the dates, that I'm extremely late on my review (SORRY!). I originally wanted to DNF this story but I haven't done that yet with Netgalley and so I was like let me take a break and come back to it. Now this had nothing to do with the author or narrator. The narrator by the way did an amazing job, with all the many character voices needed.

The problem was how I listen to audiobooks. I usually listen to my audiobooks while I clean, workout, or during my hour-long commute to school. It usually works for me, but then again, I don't read much high fantasy, which after this book I may need to change that. So, like I normally do, I listen while I'm doing something else, and since the world building has so many details, I would get utterly confused as to what was happening and would have to start over, which if you see how long the story is, got frustrating.

Then one day, when I had absolutely nothing to do but relax, I gave the audiobook another chance and actually paid attention to it, and I'm so glad I did. I was absolutely enthralled with the world, the plot and all the characters, and severely kicking myself for not doing this sooner. The plot was original to me, and the book absolutely had a Game of Thornes feel, but I loved it all. I did have to take away some points though, because the ending was very abrupt/cliffhanger which I immensely hate, and much to my disappointment there was no spice. Although there are depictions of sexual assault, it's not graphic, but it's there, so beware if that is a trigger for you.

Overall, it was a great story, and I will definitely get the other books in the series, but if you are like me, maybe get the actual book or listen to the audiobook and just focus on that.