This was an interesting read! It was original enough to stand on its own, but the little nods here and there to classic fairytales and mythologies were a twist I didn't see coming but were definitely something that kept me turning the page! I'm curious to see what comes next for this very colorful cast of characters. Kate Callaghan writes one hell of a powerful female heroine!

Author. I had to request it to recheck the formatting. I apologise that the formatting was disruptive for some. I tried my best to fix the PDF, but I can assure you that the copy available for purchase does not appear the same way. Thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed.

Let me first say, I was not prepared for that ending. The story and plot pulled me in, and I loved the world building. Klara was super interesting and I enjoyed following her story. But then it started to get not great. I'm down for a plot twist as long as the author does a good job foreshadowing and dropping hints. In this case, the book was sorely lacking buildup. I felt disappointed and not at all satisfied with the ending.

I believe this story has potential but I think there are just too many things happening at once. I liked the premise of a hub of all mythological characters living in one realm: centaurs, and Lucifer, for example. The writing was very simplistic, which I liked because it was a good way to tell the story. Again, it felt like there were too many factors throughout that it kind of felt like the boardgame CandyLand.

Crowned a Traitor is a fabulous, action-packed fantasy that pulls you in from page one.

I found Klara to be a strong heroine. She wasn't perfect, but her imperfections are what made her so wonderful. In battle, she was fearless, yet she also showed mercy. It was a trait many thought made her weak, but was one of her greatest assests.

There were multiple twists I didn't see coming, and a plethora of supernatural beings, which made the book all that more amazing. Demons, fae, witches, lycaons, and Lucifer himself... just to name a few.

If you enjoy paranormal tales of intrigue, suspense, action, and a bit of romance, you can't go wrong with Crowned a Traitor.

This book had a really interesting premise to it and I liked how the 'demon' was trying to follow her own path and not just accepting her fate. It felt very rushed though which spoiled it for me slightly, I think the pace was off in the book so some areas were over described and others needed a bit more fleshing out to give it a bit more ohmf. None of the characters really grew on me except for the lead character but even then she got a bit wishy washy in places for me to truly get behind her.

Overall this wasn't a bad book but it could've done so much more and really tugged on the heart strings.

Crowned A Traitor by Kate Callaghan
This book was really confusing but as it went I started to enjoy it. I give it a low rating because it honestly took me over a month to read this. Just wasn’t my cup of tea

This book has so much promise and such an intriguing idea. My attention was grabbed during the first chapter which is a good thing for me. I was quite fond of the characters and plot. Going into reading Crowned a traitor I didn’t really know what to expect when I started reading this. I did like what I read.
The world building is really good, I could actually picture myself being there seeing the things happen.
Im super excited to read more from this author!

this was a great fairy tale book. the characters were great and I really enjoyed reading this book. I look forward to more from the author and in this series.

I literally just finished this book and had to immediately write my review because, DANG, that was a phenomenal book! It took me two days to finish and every minute I wasn't reading it, I was thinking about it. That's the kind of grip it had on me. One of the most captivating books I've read in a while.

Klara is the perfect heroine and I absolutely loved her! In fact, I loved all the characters, even the ones you know you should probably hate. The world building was on point and I loved the descriptive imagery, my mind was able to conjure up the images with ease and it allowed me to truly feel immersed. I loved that there was a little bit of everything I look for in a book in Crowned a Traitor: adventure, action, wit, humor, and of course some romance. I was kept on the edge of my seat throughout the book and didn't several things coming and I love when I'm sort of caught off guard like that. 100% recommend this book! Now I'll just sit here pouting about having to wait until Summer of 2021 to continue this amazing story.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

First I want to thank NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

First, I want to say that sadly I had to dnf this book. I was really interested after reading the synopsys and intrigued by the world. Unfortunately it was really hard for me to get into the story. The format was really annoying and I couldn’t read. The story was very slow at the beggining and I lost interest in it. Klara was a very interensting character but it just wasn’t for me.

However if the format was different I would give it a second chance.

ARC from NetGalley

3.5 stars

This could use an edit, but it's an ARC so I'm not going to take off points for that. There is romance, but it felt like a rip off because nothing comes of it. The ending was anticlimactic. It just kind of happened.

This was a decent paranormal fantasy, a fast read, and it had an interesting premise, but I'm going to forget it in entirety within the week.

While regular daughters ask their daddy for an allowance or a new car, Klara-Daughter of Lucifer goes to daddy for a new heart.

Klara was everything I want my female heroine to be- bold, fierce, witty, adaptable but also kind and humble when necessary. She was quite an engaging and entertaining character who was also slightly ironic character as she possesses the power of revelation but cannot accept her own truth.

“No gift comes without cost, I can reveal what others hide, but I can’t hide either”- Klara

Aside from Klara, I was ecstatic by the powerful and dominant female characters scripted by Kate Callaghan. Too often men are custodians of positions of power in battle and I loved how Kate obliterated this stereotype with Queens of Hell. Kate Callaghan built an intriguing and mysterious world that despite having its own unique identity, still paid homage to old-school fairytale classics with myths and legends such as Eve, Abadan, and Lillith.

Despite all the “Girl Power” in the air, I personally adored Kate’s rendition of Lucifer as the doting (not so doting), hard yet soft father who just wants all his children to get along.

Crowned a traitor was extremely captivating and I honestly could not put it down. Page after page, my emotions went on a grand rollercoaster of mystery, deception, and revelation. I loved that feeling of having every assumption of what’s next being totally and utterly obliterated by Kate who powered on with a deviously intriguing plot. The beginning of the book was slightly slow but the mid to end was heavy on battle scenes, a daring escape, and brief glimpses of humor.

There were some things that I really wished were pursued in this book, but hope to see in future novels:- there was a slight romance that was teased throughout the novel and I really wanted it developed more thoroughly and I wanted some more backstory on certain key characters. The eventuality of a lot of characters was crushing to me and truly highlighted the difference between cruelty of heart and action and the harsh lessons learned only through death and sacrifice

Overall, I would recommend Crowned by a Traitor and its depiction of the trials in earning power the right way and deserving to rule. This is not an absolute “happily ever after” but a fair and honest depiction of the spoils of war, the devastation of jealousy, the harsh decisions rulers must make, and the effects this can have on family life. Honestly, people who read fantasy novels and expect the characters to behave conventionally should stick to romance novels.

Huge thank you to Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), the author Kate Callaghan and NetGalley for providing me with an arc. All views and opinions expressed above are my own.

This review will be posted on my blog here: https://jessicareadsit.wordpress.com/2020/10/08/book-review-crowned-a-traitor-by-kate-callaghan/

Firstly, huge thank you to IBPA and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

When I saw that the name of this series was ‘Hellish Fairytale’ I was immediately intrigued. I love dark takes on magical worlds and fantasy. However, unfortunately, it didn’t quite live up to my expectations.

Crowned a Traitor follows Klara, reluctant heir to Hell and the Dark Forest of Malum who has finally been called upon to take her place as High Queen of Malum after years of training. However, Klara doesn’t want to be High Queen or to rule anywhere at all. Instead she needs to run away to the Fae kingdom of Kalos where her father and vengeful guardians can’t find her…

I’m still not entirely sure how I feel about Klara, I think that her reasons for not wanting to rule and to run away to another kingdom was very believable and because of this I was on her side at the beginning. I also liked the layers of her personality and her occasional one liners. However, as the novel went on I found her confusing as she kept flip-flopping on decisions without much of an explanation. Whilst there are a lot of characters introduced in the book, we don’t spend a great deal of time with most of them. Therefore, there were only a couple of characters that I formed any connection with, which made some of the twists have less of an impact on me. Although, as this is the first novel in the series, it is likely that some of the characters we meet in this novel will be expanded upon in future novels.

I liked the way the novel opened, it gave a great sense of what the rules of the world are and the different kinds of creatures that inhabit it. I also like the scenes that were in Hell and thought they were quite funny and definitely not how someone would imagine it to be ordinarily! I also liked learning more about the world as the novel progressed, however, I found that despite having an interest in the larger world around Klara I wasn’t quite convinced by the plot by the end and found it confusing at times. I was also left with mixed feelings regarding the reveal at the end of the novel. On the one hand it perfectly set up for more books to come in the series that would be interesting, but it also felt like it disregarded a lot of things that happened during this novel.

Overall, there were a lot of aspects of this novel that have the potential to grow into a great series. I’m just not sure if, as a whole package, they were enough to entice me to read the next installment. I can definitely see the appeal of the novel, especially with Klara as the protagonist and with the worldbuilding, but it just didn’t click for me this time.

Sadly, I need to DNF this book. It's so heavy for me to read. I am so sorry. Dark Fantasy or rather Fantasy in general is not really for me. The characters are interesting though and not boring to read. But this book doesn't really suit me. It's such a shame because this book has unique concept and fun to read. My only problem is it is so heavy for me.

Dnf.
I tried to finish this book but well I guess it's just not my cup of tea.
The begging was too slow. First couple of chapter’s were just..so boring!
I realised I've been skim reading.

This book has so much potential but didn’t work for me.
Thank to netgalley and the publishers for granting me a arc.

I got a free copy of Crowned a Traitor through Netgalley, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to read and review it. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Crowned a Traitor by Kate Callaghan was a quick and pleasant read, not a very demanding YA, that let me down in terms of characters and enchanted me with worldbuilding. It takes you on an adventure through the realms, following the reluctant but badass heiress of Hell. My final rating was a 3.5/5 stars because I believe imaginative worlds and stories need to be encouraged.

A creative story that sweeps you up along and doesn’t let you go! I enjoyed going along with the characters, and couldn’t put the book down! My only complaint was that the ending seemed kind of rushed and fast, and was a little disappointing.

<b>Kate Callaghan's 'Crowned A Traitor' is literally a hell of a book: its main protagonist Klara is none other than Lucifer's daughter who is destined to be his heir as ruler of Hell. There are just two problems. Klara really, really doesn't want to rule Hell. And while this book starts off really strong, the ending is completely unsatisfying because it's so exaggeratedly surprising. The big revelations appear so much out of nowhere that it feels like cheating - therefore, only three stars.</b>

Of course, there's a lot of really good stuff happening here. Good stuff in worldbuilding, characters and plot - right until the big battle everything is very much okay and on the way to a four-star rating. The worldbuilding is truly original and fascinating: Callaghan's world consists of the realms of the Fae and of Hell, and of Malum which is pretty much in between these two extremes. This world is populated all sorts of creatures, demons and beings. We also meet many familiar faces from Greek mythology, including the ferryman Kharon and the Hounds which are basically Cerberus multiplied. All very satisfying indeed.

Same goes for the characters: Klara is a great character to follow: truly good at heart, but still a bit of an asshole - after all, she's the Heir to Hell, and the Heir to Hell can't sit around and collect daisies. Her travelling companions (Yes, there is a journey @Team Journey-Trope) are also interesting: a couple of Lycaons/Werewolves, a dead warlock, her love interest. A nice mixture, and there are also a lot of well-written villains around - naturally, remember, this is about Lucifer and his spawn.

The plot takes it slow: everything comes together nicely for most of it. Klara's motivations and goals are established, we are liking her, yes, fine, of course a catastrophe happens...for 70 percent this is all excellent. Until it isn't. Until suddenly, things take a turn for the worse both in terms of what's happening and in terms of writing. Regarding the writing: lots of typos. Also, the setting of paragraphs got worse and worse - it feels like the editor or the author herself had to finish it RIGHT NOW because someone was threatening to, I dunno, kill their puppies or something. I repeatedly had to check who said what because it wasn't clear, and that was very disturbing. And that comes from someone who was totally okay with the 'he saids' in 'Wolf Hall.' Regarding what's happening: gaaaah! (*screams like a furious cave troll from Moria*) Why? This started off so good! But then there's the big confrontation and it's terribly written! People do all sorts of horror to each other, and the whole way it's resolved is just so unsatisfying- because I didn't see it coming!

Surprising your readers is usually a good thing - I'm a sucker for plot twists and sudden character deaths, don't judge me - but you have to leave hints for it, otherwise it feels, as I said, like cheating. That's what happened here. And as the ending was disappointing, I was left with the same feeling. And that's really frustrating, because most of this was really, really good. I dunno what happened, whether the author desperately had to keep a deadline or there was actually someone threatening her puppies (or kittens, if you're a cat person), but it was so unnecessarily rushed! There were way too many typos and the plot kept somersaulting around itself till my head was spinning (*sighs*).

So. that's why it gets only three stars. Highly recommend the first three quarters of it, hate the last quarter. Because it left unsatisfied. I don't like to be unsatisfied. Will still read the sequel, if there is one.

What a fun take on the princess of hell. Right away Klara reels you in with her wit. Shes a creature balancing what she wants with the expectations of others. It was cool to see 3 well known names acting as her guardians. Lucifer was well done. Never overly evil, just a bit self centered. The casual way Klara felt towards horror was great. Even raised to become the ruler of hell, she still wanted to do what was best for her people. This whole book was just really well done and I cant wait to find out more in the next one.