Title: A Crown This Cold and Heavy
Author: Stacia Stark
Publisher: Bingeable Books LLC
Publication Date: November 17, 2023
ISBN: 9781959293231
Synopsis:
The unimaginable has happened, And none of our lives will ever be the same. Surrounded by enemies, I’ve never been further from my crown…Or closer to death. Amidst a betrayal we couldn’t have anticipated, I’ll do whatever it takes to find my way back to Lorian – before his fury lays waste to this continent.
Alliances are being forged and broken, our enemies are unifying, and Regner’s spiders are closer than ever before. We have only one chance to prevent him from attaining god-like powers and enslaving every human, fae, and hybrid across the four kingdoms. I’ll stop at nothing to free my people.
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While I’m whipping through this series with the audiobooks on the Libby app, I’m thinking that audiobook may not be the best medium to share Prisca’s story. I am enjoying Stark’s world-building immensely, and the magic system that’s she’s created is all-encompassing and enthralling; however, I’m just not connecting with Prisca and Lorian in the way I’d hoped as characters and the further I get into this series, the more blasé I feel about their development. It could be the medium, and I’d like to think that reading this as a physical book would be a completely different, and more engaging experience.
In this third book in the series, the action really ramps up and betrayals appear around every corner. There are so many political games in the works, with so many different players who are all fighting against one another, or allying with each other, for purely selfish gain. The political tension is beautifully constructed and I can see that in the finale, there will be lots and lots of bloodshed. It’s brutal and beautifully executed by Stark.
Her climactic action scenes are robust and unhurried which makes for many a heart-stopping moment as battles wage and no character is safe from being killed off. Stark takes a lot of risks in her writing and I think it pays off in her scenes of war where the reader is gripped by her prose and remains engaged in the story.
It’s her main characters who prevented me from really loving this story to its full potential. Prisca is sick so frequently, I’m starting to wonder if she’s pregnant (which would be disastrous), and while she and Lorian tell the reader how much they love each other, I find I don’t see that shown on the page as much as I’d like. They’re certainly more than rowdy enough, but I want to see a bit more meat on their relationship and to enjoy the spark and connection between them. Instead, I found myself drawn to other characters like the Queen or Asinia. The side characters are really finding their stride, and that’s where I’m really seeing the most interesting development.
In any case, I’m invested, and I do really enjoy the world that Stark has constructed. I’ll continue with it into the final book to find out what end these characters will finally meet.
Happy reading!
Worn Pages and Ink 