Review: The Gilded Crown

 

                   Title: The Gilded Crown

                   Series: Raven's Trade #1

                Author: Marianne Gordon

           Publication Date: July 2, 2024

               Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy  

              Reading Source: NetGalley

                    Length: 384 pages

                      Format: e-book 

                      Cover Art: 5/5

                         Overall: 4/5

The Witch’s Heart meets The Foxglove King in this debut novel about a woman who can bring people back from the dead, and the princess — and only heir to the throne — that she must protect, no matter the cost.

The first time Hellevir visited Death, she was ten years old…

Since she was a little girl, Hellevir has been able to raise the dead. Every creature can be saved for a price, a price demanded by the shrouded figure who rules the afterlife, who takes a little more from Hellevir with each soul she resurrects.

Such a gift can rarely remain a secret. When Princess Sullivain, sole heir to the kingdom’s throne, is assassinated, the Queen summons Hellevir to demand she bring her granddaughter back to life. But once is not enough; the killers might strike again. The Princess’ death would cause a civil war, so the Queen commands that Hellevir remain by her side.

But Sullivain is no easy woman to be bound to, even as Hellevir begins to fall in love with her. With the threat of war looming, Hellevir must trade more and more of herself to keep the princess alive.

But Death will always take what he is owed.

 

Review:  

Hellevir can raise the dearly departed. Every time she brings a soul back the prince of the afterworld takes a little more from Hellevir though. She is summoned by none other than the Queen herself when Princess Sullivain is assassinated. Her task is to bring the princess back to life but it does not stop with just one attempt on the Princess’s life, so the Queen orders Hellevir to stay by her side in order to protect Princess Sullivain. If the princess passes away it would certainly cause civil war. Princess Sullivain is not easy to get along with, she is stubborn and hard-headed. It only gets harder as Hellevir starts to fall in love with her. With war looming Hellevir must trade more and more of herself in order to keep Princess Sullivain safe.  

Even though the story was a little slow at first, I really enjoyed this book, the writing style was different than anything I’ve read before. 

Thank you to Harper Voyager and NetGalley for this eARC.