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Saturday, August 22, 2015

The Crystal Kingdom (The Kanin Chronicles #3) by Amanda Hocking


2.5/5 Stars
Details of the Book
paperback ARC, 432 pages
Published by St. Martin's Press
Publication Date: August 3, 2015

Synopsis: Cast out by her kingdom and far from home, she's the Kanin people's only hope.

Bryn Aven - unjustly charged with murder and treason - is on the run. The one person who can help is her greatest enemy, the enigmatic Konstantin Black. Konstantin is her only ally against those who have taken over her kingdom and threaten to destroy everything she holds dear. But can she trust him?

As Bryn fights to clear her name, the Kanin rulers’ darkest secrets are coming to light… and now the entire troll world is on the brink of war. Will it tear Bryn from Ridley Dresden, the only guy she’s ever loved? And can she join forces with Finn Holmes and the Trylle kingdom? One thing is certain: an epic battle is underway—and when it’s complete, nothing will ever be the same…

The Crystal Kingdom carries pretty much all of the problems I had with the Frostfire and Ice Kissed. Except, I finally get the answers I've been looking for since book one. I was disappointed by some, in particular the details about what Konstantin had been doing throughout this trilogy and his reasons why. That being said, I did enjoy this book. There is a lot more action and drama that I think these books needed. At the end of the day, these books weren't for me but this one made me not regret reading them. 


Strengths/Likes:

1) The purpose of everything that Bryn has been trying to accomplish finally comes to fruition. In the first two books I was found myself asking what the point of all of this was, and I got my answers in this book. 

2) The higher stakes really makes a difference. I enjoyed the action and suspenseful scenes. It made me feel like the characters weren't actually being overdramatic, a feeling I had through Frostfire and Ice Kissed

3) I enjoyed all of the angst. As I said already, in Frostfire and in Ice Kissed I felt that the characters were being overdramatic and blew certain things out of proportion, the angst here was real and upsetting. 



Weaknesses/Dislikes:

1) I expected more out of the story with Konstantin. I was pretty disappointed with his reasons behind all of his actions that we see in Frostfire and Ice Kissed. He went from being mysterious and interesting, to cliche and obvious. In FrostFire the reader is lead to believe that he has some divine purpose leading him through all of his actions, and yet it wasn't anything like that. I especially didn't like how his story ends. It was too easy for me. 




2) I think Ridley needed to be more present. He was barely around in Ice Kissed and I think that his relationship with Bryn needed more time and space. Due to his lack of presence it didn't seem that there was much between him and Bryn anymore. 

3) Once again, I have found that I could skip through pages of descriptions and not have missed out anything plot wise. I understand that Hocking wants to paint a clear picture in her readers' minds but there is something to be said about leaving some stuff to imagine ourselves.

4) The trolls have a few magical abilities that were not mentioned in the first two books. They made me blindsided and had me wondering why these abilities were not used or mentioned before. 

Favorite Quotes/Moments:

1) "I kept the phone to my ear long after it had gone silent, as if I'd be able to hear him after he'd ended the call. Talking to Ridley had somehow left me feeling more heartbroken and yet rejuvenated all at once. I missed him so much, and I hated it that I couldn't be there with him and that I didn't know what he was going through."

2) "In the morning, I awoke to a little boy standing next to the bed, staring right at me. When I opened my eyes, there he was, and I almost screamed. Funny that after everything I'd seen lately, it was a two-year old boy that nearly gave me a heart attack."

6 comments:

  1. I know it's a book in a series but I would have read it regardless just based on the cover alone so I'm pleased you were honest with your review! Very interesting review, I like how you include favourite quotes :) Angelica x

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    1. Thank you! I think the quotes help people know if they want to read the book or not based on the writing.

      I always want to be honest in my reviews. It's not helpful to anyone if I withhold the truth.

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  2. I just posted my review of Crystal Kingdom a few days ago, and we have a few similar opinions. I didn't enjoy how absent Ridley was in this book. I mean, he was gone for practically all of Ice Kissed, so I expected him to play a bigger role in Crystal Kingdom. I found myself a little bored with his character this time around.

    I have mixed feelings about the ending. I appreciate that she ended it that way, but it leaves a lot of feelings unresolved. I liked the series overall, but Crystal Kingdom is probably my least favourite.

    Great review. :D

    Sarah @ The Reading Petal

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    1. Ironically, I think Crystal Kingdom was my favorite of the three but overall--this trilogy just wasn't for me.

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  3. I like the way you set up your reviews Brittany! I don't include any quotes in my reviews right not but I've definitely considered it before. I'm just terrible about grabbing or marking quotes as I go along and of course it always seems like so much work to go back and find quotes at the time of writing the review haha.

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    1. Thanks!

      Even when I'm just reading myself I bookmark my favorite scenes and write notes (on post-its of course) so it's very easy for me to find quotes.

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