Review: THE CRIMSON CROWN by Cinda Williams Chima

Series: Seven Realms #4 – Final Book
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Publisher: Hyperion Book CH
Pages: 598
Release date: October 23rd 2012

A thousand years ago, two young lovers were betrayed-Alger Waterlow to his death, and Hanalea, Queen of the Fells, to a life without love.

Now, once again, the Queendom of the Fells seems likely to shatter apart. For young queen Raisa ana’Marianna, maintaining peace even within her own castle walls is nearly impossible; tension between wizards and Clan has reached a fevered pitch. With surrounding kingdoms seeking to prey on the Fells’ inner turmoil, Raisa’s best hope is to unite her people against a common enemy. But that enemy might be the person with whom she’s falling in love.

Through a complicated web of lies and unholy alliances, former streetlord Han Alister has become a member of the Wizard Council of the Fells. Navigating the cut-throat world of blue blood politics has never been more dangerous, and Han seems to inspire hostility among Clan and wizards alike. His only ally is the queen, and despite the perils involved, Han finds it impossible to ignore his feelings for Raisa. Before long, Han finds himself in possession of a secret believed to be lost to history, a discovery powerful enough to unite the people of the Fells. But will the secret die with him before he can use it?

A simple, devastating truth concealed by a thousand-year-old lie at last comes to light in this stunning conclusion to the Seven Realms series.

The Crimson Crown is a worthy and satisfying conclusion to what is now my favorite YA Fantasy series! This novel takes us on an epic journey as it reaches its ending, delivering a fantastic story with struggles, twists, danger, romance, and an ending that brought tears to my eyes.

Cinda Williams Chima has earned herself a loyal fan. Her writing proves itself to only get better and better as the series progressed, and it certainly is amazing in this book. Despite being almost 600 pages long, The Crimson Crown is very easy to read. It hooks you in with its steady pace and strong characters, and holds you captive until the very end.

Every that was built in the Seven Realms series brings us to this point. The careful and amazing world-building pays off. We are given the base in which this story holds, and most twists and revelations and plot threads come to a head. That is what makes this book so satisfying: we get answers to our questions, and we get to see the characters finally getting to where they are meant to be.

There is so much plot, oh my god. So many things happen in the course of 600 pages, which is kind of to be expected. But sometimes it all happens at the same time. Everything is put at risk in this novel, and Chima isn’t afraid to take her characters to extremes. The narrative very much leaves you on the edge of your seat, quickly flipping pages, dying to know what happens next.

I have to admit there were a few times I teared up. As it is common in Fantasy series, the longer the series is, the darker it gets. This holds true for the Seven Realms, and there were a few scenes that brought tears to my eyes. Chima does a wonderful job at bringing out emotion through her writing, even though it hurts sometimes.

The romance aspect gets a little more page time in this book, as it does become a driving force behind a few characters’ actions. But once again it is balanced with battles, betrayals, revelations, and schemes. It also gives us a few of incredibly sweet scenes, which only make the story better.

The Crimson Crown does have a rushed ending, though. There are some loose threads, which I assume are going to be dealt with in the spin-off series, Shattered Realms. The series is still excellent, though, and the epilogue made me cry a little. This has rightfully earned a place on my favorites shelf!

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