I had this book shelved which the intentions of reading (much sooner than the reality) for WAY too long. Sadly, I only made it about 150pages into this book before calling it quits.

The Amber Crown follows 3 different POV characters, Valdas - the captain of the high guard. Mirza a healer and Lind an assassin. I found it hard to care, or like, any of the characters so wasn't overly invested in what they were doing. For having made it 150pages into the book, not an awful lot was happening with the plot and considering the book is nearly 500 pages long, I couldn't face sticking with it to find out.

That being said, it wasn't a bad written book by any means, it was just lacking in that character connection which personally is what drives me to read more.

I can see that most people have very much enjoyed this one, which I am glad for! I do believe there needs to be more standalone fantasy books, it's always pleasant to see when something isn't the begins of a 9 book series for a change.

Although set in a fantasy world strongly mirroring Medieval Europe, The Amber Crown by Jacey Bedford is a rich tale of magic, loyalty, and adventure. From the point of view of three very different characters, this novel swept me away on their separate, yet entangled, journey in the wake of the death of the King of Zavonia. Continue reading to get my more in-depth take on The Amber Crown.

The Amber Crown took me longer to finish than I would have liked. That was entirely due to life repeatedly taking me away from reading. Had that not been the case I would have easily read it in one day. The setting, characters, and overall plot are compelling, fast-moving, and clearly well-thought-out.

World-building
I found the world-building was a very intriguing aspect. Clearly, The Amber Crown is set in a Medieval Europe-esque setting, but Bedford created interesting ways to make it seem familiar yet strikingly different. Words, such as people’s names, concepts, or items, were spelled in ways that if you read phonetically, you’d be like “Oh that is X”, which was an interesting way to build the world. Some of the groups of people represent real groups of people found in the world today, such as the Landstriders who are meant to reflect the nomadic and often ostracized Romani people.

Characters
I did enjoy the characters, both main and side characters in The Amber Crown. No matter the length of time a character was in the story, Bedford took the time to develop all characters fairly well and to make them distinct and unique from others. I often find that an issue with some novels that seem to create very shallow side characters.

Bedford attempts to diversify the characters in the inclusion an assassin with a traumatic past, a healer-witch who is kept at an arm’s length among her own people, a falsely accused captain seeking justice, a spy-turned friend and ally from a neighboring kingdom, a pregnant queen learning to survive while fleeing after her husband’s death, and a sex worker who continues to prove there is more than meets the eye — to name a few! The story does seem to hint at issues of racism as one of the main characters is a POC. Unfortunately, it does not seem to truly address it, which would have been important to explore and problematize.

Plot
I did think the plot and its narrative structure are compelling. We follow three characters, waiting for their paths to cross which continue to cross and diverge throughout The Amber Crown. The plot allowed for a lot of growth for many of the characters, overcoming their self-image, traumatizing pasts, and regrets. Bedford does not sacrifice their world-building by focusing too much on the characters. The plot introduces political conflicts, explains how magic functions, and creates well-developed sets of cultures. One fault I could see is that it did seem rushed in the end allowing it to seem anti-climactic.

Overall
The Amber Crown could have focused more upon certain issues, such as race and trauma, and the end was rushed. With that in mind, overall I do think that it is a great novel. It was not just another iteration of epic fantasy with stock characters, but a unique story in its own right. The story is consistent even to the smallest detail, such as cabbage taxes – if you read it, you’ll get it. If you find yourself with the chance to read this book, I would definitely recommend you do.

I am sorry for the inconvenience but I don’t have the time to read this anymore and have lost interest in the concept. I believe that it would benefit your book more if I did not skim your book and write a rushed review. Again, I am sorry for the inconvenience.

This novel seemed to be a very promising fantasy. However, there is not much going on in the story except a romance. The writing is very beautiful and filed with lush descriptions. I recommend this for fans of Mercedes Lackey, Sarah J. Mass, and Kiera Cass!

I dont believe this book was for me. I was bored throughout and the plot never grabbed my attention. As well as this I found the main characters annoying.

Such a fun tale of intrigue, magic, betrayal and sass! The Amber Crown offers a great genre blend of mystery and fantasy, With an interesting plot, Bedford sets the stage for later books. While one thing is settled much is left up in the air. The plot allows for character development world building. This is a great start to the new series.
Full review to come on YouTube

This was quite a read. Please look up TWs for this book if you plan to read it. The writing was absolutely amazing, and the world building was phenomenal. This is very high fantasy and definitely not YA. I think fans of GoT would enjoy this book a lot. It is a standalone, however i did not find it to be a quick read. The pacing is a bit slow at times, but I think it helps to catch your breathe in between the major plot points.

Epic and thrilling

The king is dead, his queen is missing. On the amber coast, the usurper king is driving Zavonia to the brink of war. A dangerous magical power is rising up in Biela Miasto, and the only people who can set things right are a failed bodyguard, a Landstrider witch, and the assassin who set off the whole sorry chain of events.

Valdas, Captain of the High Guard, has not only failed in his duty to protect the king, but he's been accused of the murder, and he's on the run. He's sworn to seek justice, but his king sets him another task from beyond the grave. Valdas doesn't believe in magic, which is unfortunate as it turns out.

Mirza is the healer-witch of a Landstrider band, valued and feared in equal measure for her witchmark, her scolding tongue, and her ability to walk the spirit world. When she's given a task by Valdas' dead king, she believes that the journey she must take is one she can never return from.

Lind is the clever assassin. Yes, someone paid him to kill the king, but who is to blame, the weapon or the power behind it? Lind must face his traumatic past if he's to have a future.

Can these three discover the real villain, find the queen, and set the rightful king on the throne before the country is overcome? 

Jacey Bedford has created an intriguing and solid fantasy that works on several layers. One of the elements that feels fresh is the multiple perspectives. Not only do they add different points of view but those voices aren't typical. While Valdas, Captain of the Guard, is the typical soldier that we normally see, his willingness to learn from those around him and his willingness to listen to women is unique in many fantasy novels. Mirza is an incredibly strong character, one that allows us to have magic but also gives a fresh perspective on the Romany people, and might allow our modern world to see them in a more truthful light. Finally, we have Lind, the assassin, who is such a broken character that typically would be the villain in any other book but in this story, he ends up being not only a catalyst but also a changed man. While we meet some characters that are standard to a fantasy but others are unique. That is part of the joy of this novel.

The plot is another part of what works well. Again, it begins as a standard fantasy but then ends up developing intrigue and mystery. The political insight makes for an unusual story but what makes this plot so compelling is the twists and turns, the magic and a stunningly original conclusion that makes for a very satisfying story and completely engaging. It will certainly keep people up long into the night reading. 

If you love fantasy, magic, mystery and intrigue with unusual characters, this is the novel for you. It is epic and thrilling. While there are three different points of view, it is easy to track each voice and the way each thread works together to tell the story and keeps you engaged in the novel. You will not be able to put this novel down.  

Rating: 5 out of 5 deaths.

3 stars for what I read - Solid/fine but too slow for me.

The writing here is enjoyable, and the characters and their situations were engaging. But the story was slow and drawn out for me. For example, the encounter with the king’s ghost didn’t happen for a quarter of the book. And while I usually don’t mind stories where you know the different characters are moving toward one another eventually, I was missing a driving story that pushed me forward to get to that place. The pace made the book too easy to set down and not pick up for awhile. And in the end, I didn’t finish it.

I was really looking forward to reading this book, but I was left somehow disappointed. The plot had a lot of potential and if it wasn´t for the pace, I might´ve enjoyed it a lot more than I did. I loved reading Valda´s and Mirza´s point of view but I feel like we could´ve gotten more from Lind. My favorite part was Mirza´s plotline for sure, it kept me hooked to the book. The word-building was solid and the writting was pleasant to read, although I was left confused at times. I still look forward to other works of this author and will be happy to read all of those to come. I give my thanks to the publisher, author and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I loved the premise of this book. Social outcasts banding together to follow the orders of a *dead kind' ghost* in order to save their country? Absolutely, sign me up. Valdas, Mirza and Lind team up to sniff out the villain and corruption and find the queen in order to secure the throne for the rightful king. God, this idea was just so good. I can imagine the series this could have become. Unfortunately, I just really didn't like this. I think an idea like this, with switching perspectives, really needed a solid fast pace. But the pacing is so slow. It felt like a slog just to get 5 pages. There was a lot of tertiary things happening and even to about the halfway point, I would argue that nothing majorly important occurred. I also couldn't really conceptualize the relationships between the MCs--especially Mirza and Valdas. There was a lot of unnecessary sexism and racism that--when confronted or at least explained in the world--can be done well, but this was not done well. I think that combined with the crawling pace of the book just really ruined the experience for me. If this becomes a series or the author writes another book, I'll definitely check it out (second chances, and all that), but this first installment was just really a miss for me. I'm giving it two stars instead of one because the idea just had so much potential, and the author is clearly creative, we just needed a more well-honed, well-edited story for this to work out.

DNF at 25%

I had been looking forward to reading this book. It sounded like an interesting historical inspired, political fantasy book. The book did deliver on a fascinating setting; 17th century Prussia/Eastern Europe isn't a common time period and region in fantasy books, so I did enjoy this aspect of the story. Unfortunately, I was unable to connect with the characters, and did not care to continue reading about them. Each one had their own characteristics and plot points that made me dislike their perspectives. There was also a lot of misogyny and it was unnecessary, regardless whether it was for the sake of "historical accuracy."

Thank you to NetGalley and DAW Books for sending me an ARC.

2.5 stars DNF @ 59%

Although the story seems interesting the pace is very slow! I would recommend a bit more editing and cutting off some parts because 60% into the book and no major events happen and it seems very a back and forth the same things. The MCs were interesting like the thief but Mirza and Valda were too much and the non-existing tension that ends up in sex was like why?

I ultimately decided to DNF due to casual and unchecked racism, sexism, unnecessarily crude scenes and a very slow pacing plot that drag the book for a long time without seeing moving into the story

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the gifted eARC.

DNF @ 68%.

The plot was FASCINATING to start. I loved two of the three POVs (the actual assassin and the accused assassin).

I did not really enjoy Mira’s POV especially when she was not with the other two MCs. It took a long time to see how she was important to the story.

I ultimately decided to DNF due to a barrage of casual and unchecked racism, sexism, and unnecessarily crude scenes. They both added a lot of pages to what could have been a shorter story as well as really took me out of the A-plot and made it hard to focus.

Not for me!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the gifted eARC.

A standalone epic fantasy that hits familiar beats in interesting ways with a strong cast that earns their bonds and uses the familiar as a bedrock to add surprises along with a keen eye for detail.

The Amber Crown is a stand-alone with many of the trappings of epic fantasy squeezed into a single story. Set in a Central-European inspired country, the story draws more from the late Renaissance with traders, merchants, a semi-prosperous middle class and guns, rather than the typical medieval. The plot itself is very traditional with a group going on a quest, an uncertain power vacuum, and an unseen evil lurking underneath it all. While this sounds same old, same old,the familiarity allows the differences to become more apparent and it’s the characters that make it, as well as a solid execution. It’s important to note that whilst the world is not grimdark, there are mentions of sexual assault, a scene of attempted rape and a flashback to a rape of an adolescent. They’re addressed within the story and aren’t just used as set dressing or to set a tone but readers may want to approach with caution.

Valdas is the most straightforward of the three POV characters. He’s loyal, honest and willing to accept responsibility. However he’s also a bit crude and loves women although he knows how to accept boundaries. He’s also the one that I feel like changes the least through the story. He already knows himself and mostly what kind of person he is so doesn’t go through the path of growth the other two do, although through his experiences he becomes more open-minded and tolerant of others.
While I liked Mirza with her pragmatism, sharpness but also strong sense of fairness and compassion she does get the raw end of the deal a lot of the time. At the beginning of the story she has to fight for the respect of her band, having recently been an apprentice who had outpaced her master but was forced to hide it. As she continues to show her abilities to her band and later convinces Valdas in the existence of magic, her willingness to do what’s right overall despite the hardship it might cause her becomes a defining trait.
Lind is the most complex of the three and the most morally ambivalent. Through the story we see his cleverness and his quickness but also Lind’s experiences as an assassin for hire are grounded more in detail than usual with descriptions of disguises and methodicalness of planning required rather than violence and a quick get away. All three have very distinct voices and the bonds between each of the characters is slowly developed and earned rather than forged in an instant through peril.

In terms of writing the short chapters maintain the pace of the book and help to keep momentum between the characters, particularly in the earlier parts. Each POV feels very different so it’s enjoyable to switch between them. There’s also interesting bits of worldbuilding such as Lind’s mention of changing fashion adds a sense of vibrancy and of living culture rather than things being set in stone. The poor influence of the new king is also mentioned through the references to new taxes in subtle asides.

This is a disappointing read for me and I had to quit it. I didn't care for the characters and I found it hard to follow so I got frustrated.

I love all types of fantasy books but this one did not do it for me. It was a hard story to follow and I didn't enjoy the characters.

I give 3 out of 5 stars. It was well written but some things drove me mad, for example the description of people of colour in the story just plain pissed me off and I couldn’t get over it most of the story. It was too slow in build up for my personal preference but that doesn’t take away the fact that the slow build was excellently done and would be appealing to other readers. It was a great adventure.

I can't really say I enjoyed this book. I very nearly DNFd several times, but I got to a point where I needed to see the resolution of the story (two stars because I actually didn't mind most of the resolution - except Mirza's resolution). Things got better in the second half, but the first half had so much misogyny (including internalized misogyny), racism, casual antisemitism, homophobia, rape/assault, and disregard for trauma that I nearly gave up just for that reason alone.

And the trigger warnings, oh the trigger warnings! If you have triggers around anything to do with assault, rape, attempted rape, torture, cutting, body self-hate, or pedophilia, this may be an incredibly difficult book for you.

Although the story eventually resolved in a mostly satisfactory way, I can't recommend this book. More specifics in the Goodreads review where I can hide things behind spoiler tags.

I thank the publisher for the advance copy.

Reading epic fantasy always makes me feel like I am going back to my roots. You can imagine just how excited I was to dive into The Amber Crown by Jacey Bedford. It is a chonk of a book AND a standalone AND aimed at adults. Sign me up right this very second. Over a chilly winter weekend, I fell right into this story of three misfits coming together to discover what happened to an assassinated king and save a kingdom at risk. I enjoyed The Amber Crown for the most part with one thing that bothered me.

The Amber Crown follows three point of view main characters. The book opens with Valdas who is Captain of the High Guard. Valdas is waking up and shaking off a hangover in a whorehouse when it comes to light that King Konstantyn has been murdered. Oh, and Valdas is wanted for that murder. So, rather than turn himself in — he clearly isn’t responsible — Valdas is on the run and gives himself the task of unearthing who the true assassin is.

Mirza is the shulum of a traveling band of people who have no land to call their own — similar to the Romani. She is a cross between a witch and a healer. Mirza has an affinity for natural magic. She also has this birthmark on the side of her face which precludes anyone from wanting to marry her. She spirit walks and comes across King Konstantyn’s ghost who urges her to help Valdas find out what happened and set things to rights.

Lind is a master of disguise among many other skills. Oh, and he is the person who actually assassinated the King. Only, Lind is just the tool. He doesn’t know who paid him either. While escaping town, he is asked to help a young pregnant woman escape as well. FYI, she plays an important role. So, I was quickly able to guess who she was.


As said, these three characters eventually come together and the intrigue and adventure begin in earnest. I found myself quickly turning the pages to find out who was behind the king’s death. I also was very invested in our three main characters. The world building brings elements from our world and cultures. However, a few things just rubbed me the wrong way. There is one character who is very clearly identified as a Black woman and she dies. Like, come on. That is a cliche at this point and not cool. Then there’s a part where there’s some exchanging of gold pieces and a character is advised to find a Jew to do it. Like, what? Again,with the stereotypes. I think that without those bits, this could have been a five star read for me. I love epic fantasy, truly I do, but those parts were not for me.