ARC Book Review: A Shadow Crown (The Halfling Saga #2) by Melissa Blair

Rating: ★★★
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 480 pages
Author: Melissa Blair
Publisher: Union Square Co.
Release Date: April 9th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The highly anticipated second installment of the fantasy saga that took BookTok by storm sees Keera navigate political scheming, backstabbing, and her own grief as she moves against the cruel king that holds her kingdom hostage.

To the kingdom, Keera is the king’s Blade, his most feared and trusted spy and assassin. But in the shadows, she works with Prince Killian and his Shadow—the dark, brooding Fae, Riven, who sets her blood on fire. Together, they plot to topple the crown that sits upon the king’s head.

A secret can only survive as long as its conspirators, and when nothing is as it seems, all are in danger. Keera swore she would never open her heart again after a loss she barely survived. But she will soon find she has more to lose than she ever imagined.

Thank you to Blackstone Publishing for the ALC.

NOT WHAT I HOPED FOR.

I very much enjoyed book one. So much so, I jumped at the chance to read this early. And now I’m a bit bummed because I was hoping for more.

There was a lot of good political intrigue and the story line did progress. I liked seeing more of those aspects and watching this found family come together. I think the audiobook is superb and plan to listen to the next one too. The narrator does an incredible job of bringing this story to life.

I felt like the romance took too much of a backseat, and practically anytime they were together it seemed to turn to some kind of physicality and I wanted different lines of connection to be happening too. There was a big betrayal, where’s some extensive groveling?!

Keera is a great flawed heroine and I do like her. She has her struggles and her triumphs and there was some good character growth for her too. I do have plans to continue the series and see what happens next.

Overall audience notes:

Fantasy Romance
Language: some strong
Romance: 2-3 open; mild-high explicit
Violence: high
Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of life, murder, near death experiences, alcoholism, loss of a partner (recounted)