DNF @34%

I know it may be an unpopular opinion, but The Fate of Crowns did not impress me. At all. Rather, the main character and her (too many) frustrating decisions grated on my nerves.
I tried to keep going, but I just can't.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for my review copy.

A fabulous debut, I wouldn’t have known it either, the writing was nice and world building well done. Great characters and plot construction, a really enjoyable read , I found myself really wanting to know more about nearly everything, and I’m looking forward to more from the author and the next book

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

don’t have much to say about this book as I DNF’d it at about 10%. The premise of this book really drew me in and I looked forward to reading it, but after about the first chapter I ended up very confused and disinterested.
I was truly drawn in by the magical world and fae characters, and the ending of the first chapter had me excited, but the second chapter jumped a few months without any mention until a few pages into the chapter, which was really confusing because at first I thought it was the next day. The quick jumps kept coming into the next chapter as well, as it jumped a few more months. There was also the issue of just randomly dumping information about the world, but not giving details.

I think there are readers out there who will enjoy this book, but I just wasn’t that reader.

I want to thank Victory Editing and NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this story in exchange for an honest review. 

I really enjoyed this book as a start to the series. The books moved at a fairy good pace, which means that your always wanting to know what is next.

 The main character Winter goes through a lot of growth throughout the book as she realizes the truth behind all the lies her family has spun to keep her life well sheltered. When you first read about Winter she comes off as a spoilt brat who has obviously has little to no knowledge about her own kingdom and the reason it's at war with the neighbouring kingdom. However the more the story develops her shallow, one tracked mind changes after the life altering experience realising that your own flesh and blood might also be the true wicked monster in the kingdom. You will find yourself asking who you can truly trust when it seems everyone has their own agenda. 

The writing in this book was extremely well done and very good for readers who find it hard to pay attention. the only criticism I would give about the book is I would prefer the pronunciation of the names at the front of the book rather than the back. My reason for this is due to a lot of dyslexic readers tend to pronounce names as they are spelt, rather than how the author spells them. It's a tad bit infuriating when you read someone or a place name wrong the full book.

Having really getting into Fae books recently I quite enjoyed this one.

The way the three kingdoms interact with each other, the path Winter sets herself on and the pacing of the story was fun to read and I managed to finish this quite quickly. 

I am really looking forward to the next installment

I seem to be the odd one out, as I know many who loved and enjoyed this book but me, I felt no such thing. I hate having to give less than 4 stars on a book, and I rarely do but there was just something so off about this book for me. 

The writing was mediocre and redundant, the storytelling was dull, it was all tell and no showing. The world building was barely there, I had no idea what was going on. There were also so many annoying contradictions. 

Just not for me.

#netgalley #thefateofcrowns


The cover is beautiful and usually if i like the cover then I end up liking the book. This was the case after reading this book too. The synopsis drew me in as well, it was a beautiful read.

I’m a little confused about how back and forth Winter’s conscious was. My mind is in circles. I couldn’t wrap my head around Winter, She had lots of mixed feelings about her parents and all the rival fae, she knew the only person in her family that loved her was Andre yet she strives fo approval from her parents, even knowing he father is using her. I’m hoping Winter will find some great allies, and become the queen she was meant to be, because there was lots of deception throughout the whole book. What I found really interesting is all the information to soak up in the story I like learning about the new countries and the different types of fae. Learning about the glamour and all the Magic’s is very interesting. The ending was great and I can’t wait to read how far Winter will go in the next book.

I love book with Fae in it. So when my reading buddies gave this book four and five stars, I thought for sure I would love this book as well... Ha, no! That didn't happen. While I was enjoying this book in the beginning, I quickly changed my mind to end up downright hating it by the final chapter. 

What I hated the most was the characters. Ugh, even thinking about our main character now that I'm done with the book annoys me. She made some decisions that frustrated me and after that everything that she said or did grated on my nerves. There also wasn't any characters to love as Blaise, her fiancée was an ass who "isn't able to love" but liked to have lovers around. 

I'm not sure what the author tried to do with the romance but there's really nothing appealing between Blaise and her. As for Cedric, his secret isn't revealed in this book but it's very easy to guess <spoiler>That he's the prince from the other kingdom and that he's the one who killed her brother)</spoiler>. I'm guessing there will be a romance with him in the next book but honestly I couldn't care less anymore. We only saw him in the beginning of the book and he didn't make an appearance after that. 

Sadly, I am disappointed.

<i>(Thank you for lettingme read and review an ARC via Netgalley)

The Fate Of Crowns, is the first in the series. Which by the end of the book you will want to read more of. Original and imaginative. The description of the book does not do it justice. This is an exciting and engrossing read.

Magic, intrigue, betrayal, and a princess determined to protect her people, 

In a time of fae and magic-wielding humans, when prejudices run deep, there's one girl who could save them all. The princess first has to learn to see the world with her own eyes and stop believing the lies she's been told her entire life. Her family isn't as perfect as she believes, and those closest to her will cause her the most pain. Even when she finds herself in enemy lands, Winter can't accept that things aren't what they seem. So eager to please and protect her family, she's blinded to the truths she faces every day. Will she ever be able to accept her entire life has been a lie?

The book was beautifully written, full of mystery and fantasy, friendship, and so much more. With strong characters, the tried and true plot of corrupt kingdoms, and enough action and drama to keep you turning the pages, The Fate of Crowns has proven to be a memorable tale. But be warned, it does end with a cliffhanger.  I'll be eagerly anticipating the next installment in this series.

The Fate of Crowns is a must-read!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

I was given an advanced copy for an honest review but I also bought it on Kindle and Hardback and I'm glad I did! Besides the cover being absolutely gorgeous wasn't enough to draw you in,the story lines definitely will! I immediately immersed into the story in the first chapter with it's mystery and intrigue about the fate of the future...whose future you may ask, well The Crown's future or maybe it's actually Winter's future or even perhaps the future of the kingdoms. The Fae and Sorcerers teeter on a fragile peace but when deaths and tragedy occur, it's up to Winter to solidify the peace of the Kingdoms. However, she faces a perilous journey of fate that will put her in a precarious position with a choice of sacrifice that could save or destroy a kingdom.

This is the type of book that has you completely hooked by the first few pages, keeps you frantically flipping them to find out what happens next, and has you thinking about the story long after you have finished reading.  With heart stopping plot twists and imaginative world building, Rebecca Garcia’s ‘The Fate of Crowns’ is nothing short of breathtaking.

There may come a time when the words ‘fae and sorcerers’ do not automatically make me fall in love with a book, but today is not most definitely not that day.  The world building throughout this story was absolutely amazing, being both whimsical, magical, and frankly a slight bit terrifying (I’ve lost track of how many creature in this book would probably kill me if i wandered to close to them).  The different aspects and features of the world all interwove with each other, working together to spin a powerful tale.  All that being said, it was written in a way that was fairly easy to follow, making it not too overwhelming or distracting from the main plot of the story.

The story itself was full of many different and intriguing aspects, all meant to draw in the reader, and did they ever.  While I can’t talk too much about the different twists and betrayals without giving any plot points away, I will say that there were times when I thought my jaw would be permanently on the ground.  I will admit that I am a bit of an ever exaggerator at times, but I am dead serious when I tell you that there were points throughout this book when my mouth was just hanging open in shock.  With to many new problems, relationships, half truths, all out lies and betrayals, it was all I could do to put this book down.  Now, if you do end up reading this book (which you totally should!), you’ll understand what I mean when I say: I NEED the next book right away and CANNOT wait to read what happens next in the series.

As far as protagonists go, Winter Mortis is not perfect. But it is her imperfection that I admired the most, she is relatable and realistic, although I would assume most of us probably can’t relate to the idea of needing to escape magical creatures and certain death, but hey I guess you never know?!  Her struggles are large, but so is her strength.  Even as everything she knows begins to crumble around her, and she’s not sure who she can trust, she still keeps fighting. Still keeps trying to be better than she was before.  But her choices won’t just affect her, it will affect the fate of the entire kingdom.

I’d recommend this book to readers looking for a fresh new YA fantasy story, as well as people who enjoy books similar to that of The Cruel Prince and A Court of Mist and Fury.  I’d also recommend to people looking for a gateway into the world of fantasy novels and all it has to offer!

Thank you to the author/publisher and the people at The Next Step PR for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review!!

3.5 Stars.
Very fun, fast-paced YA fantasy with plenty of political intrigue. I was hooked from beginning to end, and really enjoyed the vast scope of the magical systems. Loved the character of Cedric, and I hope we see more of him in the series. 
My only problems with this book were that same ones I have with the majority of YA, which is insta-love and a "headstrong" heroine that lacks any significant depth or character growth. I have great hopes for the sequel, where we will hopefully see Winter come into herself more.

I received the ebook ARC of The Fate of Crowns from NetGalley and Victory Editing.

The Fate of Crowns had everything I love: magic, magical creatures, kingdoms, elves, and fae. Winter's journey through the book kept me on the edge of my seat and surprised me at every turn. One of my favorite things about a book is when I try to figure out what will happen next in my head and the book takes a totally different direction and that definitely happened when reading this, multiple times.

I'm not an expert on the world yet or the fae but, I'm sure the next book will explore more and give some background to the history of the kingdoms. I flew through it and would have liked it even longer and more world-building and background details.

If you like any of the fantasy elements I mentioned above, I'd recommend reading The Fate of Crowns.

Thrown into mer-filled waters, and surviving... It sounds like such an exciting start to a story.  I seem to be in the minority when it comes to this book. I did not enjoy it. 
Before I jump into my main points I want to say that Rebecca Garcia is a talented writer. She has a knack for helping you see the beauty in the world she created. 
My only real gripe with this story was Winter our protagonist. I honestly, just didn't like her.  She is a spoiled, sheltered brat. Part of that isn't her fault because her father keeps her in ignorance and she never thinks to question anything. Why should she? When confronted with the outside world for the first time she has to face the fact that things are not as she was taught.  After her brother dies she and her mother are sent away. She through circumstances she falls into the ocean and is rescued and taken to enemy land. She tries tirelessly to get back to her home. Along the way, she meets people who are kind to her and go out of their way to help her. She gets back to her family who has never treated her kindly and at the first opportunity, she betrays the only people who were kind to her.  She didn't do this maliciously. But she still knew what would happen if she did. 
The dark and light fae were interesting people but I wish I knew a little bit more about the dark fae king he was intriguing but I feel like I didn't see enough of him to really get a handle on his character. 

Lastly, I think the ending was also WAYYY TO ABRUPT. Something huge happens and then the curtain closes. Just like that, it ends. I think it needed one more chapter to bring a little closure before ending.
<img src="https://media3.giphy.com/media/Rf7y3ornL6qVG/giphy.gif"/>

ARC received from The Next Realm PR . Voluntarily reviewing and all opinions are objective and my own.

I enjoyed this book, but I didn’t love it. It’s the first of a series, so this comment may seem silly, but it felt like more of a half of a beginning; like this entire book was the beginning of the first book. Maybe it’s the author’s style, but this book moved a little slow, BUT regardless, I am interested in reading the rest of this series. I feel this was a good lead into more. I am curious about the characters. I don’t get a feeling of the romance direction yet; it could go two ways I’m thinking, so I would like to see how she rolls out. With the crazy ending, I look forward to reading about her next adventure.

Unfortunately, I don’t have a lot to say about this book. It was decent, I just wanted more from it, so I’ll cross my fingers for more in the next installment.

Also, one of the most beautiful covers I have ever seen!

When you compare a book to those by Sarah J. Maas right in the synopsis, you're putting that book pretty high. And here, it was a blatant lie. Obviously a minority here, but this book did not impress me at all. I agree with some of the other lower stared reviews about the pacing. I'll be one of the first to complain about a book that is so ridiculously slow that it bores me out of my mind. I don't think I've ever come across one that was so fast that it did the same thing....until now. So much happens, but then it's almost immediately done with and it's on to the next thing. There are numerous time skips which we only realize when we're eventually told it's been weeks or months. There are many characters that you would think should be important, but they don't get enough page time to really develop into anything except a stepping stone for Winter to be onto her next thing. As for Winter, oh how I hated that child. And child she was. Don't try and sell a 15 year old girl who turns 16 as a YA book when she is so painfully childish, immature, and naive. I could not stand her and every single decision she made was a selfish one that just served to make me hate her more. The only character that I got enough of to truly like was Blaise.

Admittedly, the world created here was a good one. There was lots of magic, good and bad fae, terrifying mer-creatures, and such different ways of life between all the kingdoms that it would be hard not to be impressed with much of it.

But the story dragged it down. Or more specifically, Winter. Winter has been an arrogant, sheltered, ignorant princess her whole life. For some reason both of her parents treat her with a sort of mild neglect while they dote on her older brother. She's not jealous that he will rule because she truly loves him and knows he will be a great king. But when their kingdom is attacked and he is killed, her whole life changes. Now all of a sudden she is heir to the thrown and we hear ad nauseum throughout the entirety of the book how it is her crown and she will do whatever she has to to take it back. Hidden away on an island or something away from the castle, she ends up falling off a cliff and getting attacked by the mer-creatures. Of course she is saved, but now she finds herself in enemy territory. Color her surprised to find people there that are actually nice! How shocking! Next thing you know she's already on her way back home. But her troubles are just beginning. She's to be married off the the dark fae crown prince upon her return. Which was already demeaning enough to her but then she finds out what her father is planning. In her half-assed attempt to save a life she does something she was told never to do without even reading the side effects or what could happen. She is that stupid. She messes up the whole marriage and soon even becomes the enemy of both kingdoms of that land. She flees back to Blaise to seek his help and after he tells her of his plans she feels she can't trust him anymore and she runs away from there too. I am truly astonished at all the traveling this girl does by herself and manages to always make it safely. Well, almost always. She does get caught once but of course is rescued because we can't have the princess get hurt. Winter finally figures out what she thinks she has to do to get her crown back and nothing will stop her. It's one thing to end on a cliffhanger, but this ended on what felt like the middle of a chapter.

With all that Winter goes thru in this book, one would have expected her to have grown up at least a little bit. But she doesn't. She is always right, everybody else has no idea what they're talking about. She should be more powerful than others because she's a royal, so she gets pissed off when she finds someone with a stronger connection to their magic. She never learns a lesson, ever. Especially when it came to gambling with a fae. I could probably rant a long time about this idiot...but I won't.

While I would love to find out more about some of the characters (especially the boy who helped her out of enemy territory) I do not want to read about Winter at all any more, so I won't be continuing this series.

The fate of crowns
By Rebecca Garcia
Pub date Jan 5 2021
I love this fantasy World  two be in this is a perfect fantasy read you enjoy. I love the characters in this book and the fantasy world was epic read. The cover is beautiful and the writing style is easy two follow. I loved the dark secrets this story told its intense story you love. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Received in exchange for a honest review. 

The story and plot is wonderful. The world building is good. There needs to be a bit more so you can understand the different factions of people. We are told about the dark and light fae and the merpeople. I would have liked more to be seen on the elves and the pirates though. And why does the Berovean sailors not know about metal? They are travelers and go to Berova so why isn’t metal known and how it helps against the merpeople known to them?  We know that the dark fae are supposed to be the good guys and the light fae bad but I think they both are good and bad. I think in each area Berova, Magaelor and Niferum there is good and bad. 

In Berova is where Winter starts her journey that has her eyes open a little. Here she meets the elves who teach her a little about the light fae and the forest. Her mysterious friend who helps her and is kind to her and he helps her find a way home. I do think I know who he is but am hoping that the second book fleshes more out about Berovia and him.

In Magaelor is where Winter comes from. Her father is a cold calculating man who has seriously manipulated Winter. She is naive in many many ways. When we begin the story she seems almost childlike for her age. She loves her life and doesn’t want change. Her brother Andre is to take the thrown and she has some wonderful friends. One moment changes it all. One moment and Winter starts to see a dark side to her dad. One moment and her fate changes as well. She is now engaged and thrust into more responsibility but also whisked off for her supposed safety. Do I believe that? No. Why? Her dad is too calculating for that. He sent her and her mom away so he could continue to rule with an iron thumb and not have her be the wiser. Her mom was just as naive as she was. I don’t really like her parents. Father is cold and mom doesn’t care only when it can get them in good favor with her father. So when Winter ends up on the ship and in Berova I was a bit happy. 

I loved seeing her start to relax but also have her eyes opened a bit. She was evasive but also scared. Her time in the woods was great and to me where she began her transformation. She learned about the balance of nature and magic. About the elves and their beliefs and more about the light fae in Berova and the forest. 

Her time in Niferum was her biggest eye opening time. She lands there after finding her way back to Magaelor. I didn’t like how even after all she sees about her dad she still wants his approval. I understand it but don’t like it. Winter is changing and seeing things differently and her first trip to Niferum she is still a little naive. She places trust in someone I don’t think she should. But where else can she turn? She does drastic measures to protect many from others and pays a price. 

Her second trip to Niferum is where her eyes are truly opened and she sees the greed and power hunger of others. Her only true friend is Morgana. I love that story and look forward to seeing that play out as well. How is Morgana going to help show her how powerful she is. For me the journey for Winter is preparing her to become a great queen. Powerful but not greedy, you can tell she is learning about her people and what they need and wants to do right by them.

The story is filled with danger, twists and turns and keeps you on your toes and the edge of your seat. You root for Winter and really want her to open her eyes and see all that is going on around her. You hope that she sees how truly greedy her father is and how uncaring he is as well. You watch her grow and learn and are just enthralled by her adventure and all she goes through. You wonder who is really good and bad and see how blurred that truly is. The ending just wow. I do wonder what is next and can’t wait for the next book.