This time I'm cheating a little - Crown Duel is the name of the first book in a duo, followed by Court Duel (and later with a prequel published titled A Stranger to Command). However, Crown Duel is also the title of the book published with both stories in it - Crown and Court Duel. You see, you MUST read both, it's absolutely imperative, and you will be delighted you did:
Crown Duel, by Sherwood Smith
YA, both books published in 1997
Young Countess Meliara swears to her dying father that she and her brother will defend their people from the growing greed of the king. That promise leads them into a war for which they are ill-prepared, which threatens the very people they are trying to protect. But war is simple compared to what follows, in peacetime. Meliara is summoned to live at the royal palace, where friends and enemies look alike, and intrigue fills the dance halls and the drawing rooms. If she is to survive, Meliara must learn a whole new way of fighting-with wits and words and secret alliances.
Both books are fabulous with scenes where you can't turn the page fast enough to romance that makes you want to reread it to intrigue where you're double checking what someone said in that last chapter - are they really on her side?! And you're never really sure until the very end. Meliara can be exasperating and lovable all at the same time, Vidanric is the quick-witted hero that grows on you. (Despite being blond. I must say I always picture him instead with darker hair which is much much better.) An excellent read, one I peruse at least once a year.
Graded an A-.
Crown Duel, by Sherwood Smith
YA, both books published in 1997
Young Countess Meliara swears to her dying father that she and her brother will defend their people from the growing greed of the king. That promise leads them into a war for which they are ill-prepared, which threatens the very people they are trying to protect. But war is simple compared to what follows, in peacetime. Meliara is summoned to live at the royal palace, where friends and enemies look alike, and intrigue fills the dance halls and the drawing rooms. If she is to survive, Meliara must learn a whole new way of fighting-with wits and words and secret alliances.
Both books are fabulous with scenes where you can't turn the page fast enough to romance that makes you want to reread it to intrigue where you're double checking what someone said in that last chapter - are they really on her side?! And you're never really sure until the very end. Meliara can be exasperating and lovable all at the same time, Vidanric is the quick-witted hero that grows on you. (Despite being blond. I must say I always picture him instead with darker hair which is much much better.) An excellent read, one I peruse at least once a year.
Graded an A-.
2 comments:
I disagree - Crown Jewel gets an "A". Great characterization, complelling plot, and satisfying ending. There are no flaws. The prequel "Vidanric going to a foreign military school" - forgot the title - is also excellent. To bad the Inda series, which had an excellent beginning, dealt too much in the unsavory.
(Crown "Jewel")
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