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Book Review: Traitors of the Black Crown, by Cate Pearce

I received a copy of Cate Pearces‘s Traitors of the Black Crown through Netgalley. In a completely unrelated turn of events, the book was later featured on Sadie’s Spotlight.

Three women will betray the black crown. A Knight. A Duchess. A Queen.

Raena Schinen narrowly escaped when the Queen’s guard murdered her entire family. If Raena’s survival is exposed, she’ll be next. For fifteen years Raena has hidden as a male Knight, “Sir Rowan”, consumed by her vengeful desire to assassinate the Queen.

The moment Raena is close enough to exact her revenge, she is unexpectedly exiled to a foreign land. There she serves the common-born Duchess Aven Colby, whose suspicious kinship with the Queen further threatens Raena’s delicate secrets.

Just as they become united in a common goal to curb a looming invasion, unexpected heat and romance blossoms between “Sir Rowan” and Aven. The peril demands they set out on a journey to form clandestine political alliances, risking the Queen’s wrath, and drawing Raena and Aven closer together.

But no one in the kingdom could have imagined the sinister foe rising from below the surface. In order to save themselves and those they love, Raena, Aven, and the Queen must recognize who are the oppressors and who will unite against the Black Crown.

I’m going to go with “OK” for my reaction to this book. It’s OK. I’m not saying it’s only OK, but rather that it is OK. I’m not out here shouting from the rooftops how great it is. But I also was never tempted to DNF it and I won’t call it anything less than OK.

But it was slow, with a plot that spreads out like a flood plain. Never gone, but never starkly defined by a notable riverbank either. It’s wide and placid. But it is also full of some relatable characters (though the villains aren’t particularly nuanced, if I’m honestly), an interesting world, political intrigue, and nice writing.

I will complain, though, about the ‘could have been resolved with a conversation’ conflict. Granted, it’s on a national scale here, instead of a romantic relationship scale (which is where you normally see such things). But it’s still the underpinning friction of the whole novel.

All in all, I’d read another Pearce book, but I don’t think I’m in a hurry to get the sequel to Traitors of the Black Crown.

Other Reviews:

Book Review: Traitors of the Black Crown by Cate Pearce

Traitors of the Black Crown – Book Review

Book Review: Bishop’s Crossing, by Don Mewha

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I received a copy of Don Mewha‘s Bishop’s Crossing through Netgalley.

The dark streets of New Orleans come to life in this riveting Urban Fantasy! Fans of Jim Butcher, Constantine, and Tales from the Nightside will adore Bishop’s Crossing!

A failed priest gets pulled back into the occult world that he left behind when his daughter shows signs of mystical ability. He reconnects with his former team to track down the missing daughter of the Voodoo King of New Orleans while he’s hunted by a fanatical member of the Church.

I’m almost 100% sure that this is a first book in a series. In fact, I’m almost 100% sure it’s Mewha’s debut book. I say almost because it feels SO much like it isn’t. I cannot tell you how many times I returned to Goodreads checking and re-checking there isn’t a previous book. A large part of the plot is basically getting the gang back together. And it felt SO much like I should know the gang that I was completely thrown off and out of the story.

Outside of feeling like not a first book, I generally enjoyed this. I liked Bishop and his merry band of misfits. I liked the mystery and the world Mewha created. I did think things felt a little sketched out, with lots of running here and doing this or that, but not a lot of getting to really know characters or settling into a complex plot. Threats seemed to pop up and disappear, only to be replaced by another feeling equally as random.

I read an ARC, so I can’t speak to editing. But the writing is quite readable. This might not top a favorites list, but I’d be happy to read another in the series.

Book Review: Edge of the Woods, by Jules Kelley

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I received a copy of Jules Kelley‘s Edge of the Woods through Netgalley.

There’s something wrong in Pine Grove, Montana, and its bite is vicious.

Haley Fern has been the alpha of her local werewolf pack for less than a year when their law enforcement liaison retires, and Leland Sommers, a man who knows nothing about werewolves or their world, is hired in his place. What could be an awkward situation turns complicated when the man shows up his first day on the job with an injured teenage boy he found on the road–a boy Haley knows has just been bitten.

But discovering who bit the kid isn’t as easy as it seems, especially with Leland asking questions and looking at Haley the way he does.

Can the alpha figure out who is attacking innocent people on her wildlife preserve and protect her pack? Or will the new sheriff and her growing attraction to him put her entire world in danger?

This was a squishy, feel good read. It’s chocked full of diversity, has two sweet cinnamon bun leads, and a mild background mystery. But it’s the fact that the mystery is in the background that leads me to have not loved it more than I did. (I liked it plenty though.) Haley and the deputy are both lovely and they are genuinely careful with each-other in a really heart-warming way. There is no toxicity here. But I’m afraid that’s just not enough to carry a werewolf novel on it’s own. I needed a little more action, a little more bite, so to speak. I do look forward to seeing where the series goes and would be more than happy to read book two