The Broken Crown
Summary:
Princess Emilia Aurelius was only seven when she watched her mother die at the hands of her father—martyred for believing in the God of the Atlas Empire’s Insurgo rebels. At seventeen, exiled to a military outpost where no one knows her true identity, she’s vowed to leave her royalty behind and explore the truth of the Insurgo rebels her mother loved.
When the Emperor of Atlas summons the princesses from each of the provinces to the imperial city to choose a wife for the crown prince, Emilia must leave her military life behind to join a royal court rife with cunning and intrigue. Navigating the waters of court politics and budding love are treacherous on their own, but Emilia fears for her life should anyone learn of her Insurgo sympathies.
With an unlikely ally in the captain of the emperor's guard, Emilia must uncover the truth of the Insurgos, start a revolution, and learn to become the princess she’s vowed never to be, all while protecting her heart from a prince who could sign her death warrant. (Summary and cover courtesy of goodreads.com)
Please note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review courtesy of YA Bound Book Tours.
Review:
First of all, I want to mention that this is Christian-based fiction in the sense of the Insurgos are Christians. It does not, however, shy away from a little romance and violence. I wanted to throw that out there at the top because while I didn’t mind it, I was still surprised when I got into it. That was not completely clear to me in the description.
This book reminds me a lot of “The Selection”, which has some pros and cons. Emilia has to compete with other girls in the castle to try to win over the prince. She has many advantageous as it turns out, but she’s distracted by another guy creating quite the love triangle. I got a bit frustrated with the love triangle because I never had the sense of where Emilia’s heart really lay. She would get annoyed with Ronan, but I wouldn’t always follow why that had to be the end-all, be-all. Essentially she ran hot and cold and if I were Ronan, I’d be annoyed as well.
There were definitely some differences between “The Selection” and “The Broken Crown”, but it wasn’t quite unique enough to knock my socks off. That being said, the book was certainly enjoyable and I would not hesitate to recommend it!
Warning: Contains violence.
Rating: 3 stars!
Who should read it? Fans of “The Selection” style books who don’t mind a Christian twist.
Want to read the whole series? TBD
Intrigued? Enter the tour giveaway to win a signed copy!