"A Shadow Crown" is the sequel to Broken Blade, and continues to follow Keera as the King's assassin. She works as a double agent trying to win over the rebellion. Which is difficult, because they suspect she is the leak to the enemy. She is faced with proving her evidence.
The second book continues to explore genocide and racism, and contains tropes that we all know and love. Blair does a great job of continuing to build the amazing world building from the first book. I think one of the best parts of both books is the amazing setting and how Keera has to deal with her addiction.
The supporting characters really make this a book that I would recommend to others.

A Shadow Crown is a sequel committed to character development. I loved being able to witness Keera navigate loyalty and trust. Not only does she have her own reservations, but she has to figure out these new alliances. A Shadow Crown pokes at Keera's past and how she deals with and explores her mistakes. The ways she has been forced to compromise to survive. It is a surprisingly tender sequel with unexpected friendships and truly charming moments.

Keera has to figure out her own powers and while this may not be an extremely action packed quest, it ended up being an element that I loved. The past can cause memories and grief, but it can also cause joy and discovery. Seeing her navigate these new abilities and also wonder where they, and she, came from resonated with me. Throughout Blair also explores this idea of protection. Of allowing people to make their own decisions, while also wanting to protect them

I was first introduced to Keera and the world of Melissa Blair’s Halfling Saga last year when I received a special edition of A Broken Blade from The Bookish Box. Having just gotten back into reading thanks to the works of Sarah J. Maas, it wasn’t difficult for me to get lost in the romance and lore Blair creates in her writing. I loved every moment of the first book and could not wait for A Shadow Crown to be released.

I was not disappointed. The story continues exactly where A Broken Blade leaves off with quite the opening scene. From there we are swept back into a world where mortals led by an evil king rule over halflings while the Dark Fae and Elves remain in the Faeland. The plot moves along quickly, building on what was established in the first book, and will keep you guessing as to whom Keera can trust until the very end. It is an exciting read with everything a fantasy reader could hope for, and beautifully sets up what is to come in the next installment.

Blair’s writing is descriptive yet easy to follow. She paints vivid images of the settings and characters without slowing down the pacing of the book. I also love how the chapters are a perfect length for those of us who stay up late claiming we’ll read ‘just one more chapter.’

She also handles the romance aspect of the story well, finding a good balance between describing the intimate moments Keera has with her love interest Nothing in the descriptions is gratuitous, making it suitable for mature teens who have read books like The Throne of Glass series or even the first few books of ACOTAR. Finding a way to portray those moments without turning it into smut is such a fine line, and this book is a wonderful example of how to keep a book appropriate for a wide variety of readers.

The characters in the book are incredibly diverse in nearly every sense of the word. I love that not only does Blair continue to the LBGTQ+ and BIPOC communities, but there were characters who used sign language and characters who were disabled. It’s so refreshing to see such a realistic and wide variety of characters in fantasy fiction.

Keera, the main character, continues to be one of my favorite characters. She has done horrible things in her past while still trying to save as many of her people as she could from the king. Despite her training and the things she has done and experienced, she has a heart and she fights throughout the book to always make the right choice. She continues to be an endearing and heartbreaking character whose story I will gladly continue to follow to its conclusion.

This book is a 5 out 5 for me and I would give it a 2 out 5 for spice. I can not recommend this series. It is beautifully written with amazing characters and if you love fantasy this is one you must check out.

Thank Union Square & Co and Netgalley for the arc!

I was pleasantly surprised by the first book in this series, which I read in order to get to and finish this sequel! The story starts right where the first book left off and (without giving spoilers) dives head first back into the action and politics set in in the first book.

I definitely enjoyed the first half of this book better than I did the first book (which I found was a bit slow initially) and I found that Blair was better at developing the background of the fantasy world a bit more in this second book. I also still enjoy our main character Keera and the journey she goes on to discover her past.

While the world building is better in this book it is by no means perfect and I am still confused about the longevity of everyone’s life and the difference between elves and fae. I also found that the story slows right down in the middle up until the final few pages. While I did enjoy the ending (another cliffhanger, so I really feel like I need to pick up the third book) the mid-point of this book is very repetitive. There’s only so many times the Elverin can distrust Keera and mistreat her and Keera in turn hides things from them to cause them to distrust her before it starts to get a bit dull.

I will say I really enjoyed Killian as a character - maybe a bit too much. It’s so clear he’s a secondary love interest who is never going to replace Riven. And plus theres the whole “fated mates” trope which I hate as a trope and also hate because I actually like Killian and think he and Keera have an interesting dynamic.

I’m intrigued enough by the ending to keep reading this series, but I hope the third one has a bit more action and a bit less repetition. If the next book could be like the first half of this one it would be great!

This series gets better with what feels like every PAGE, I swear!

I absolutely devoured this book. I binged the first book right beforehand, and it was so many things that I feel like I have been looking for for a LONG time in a fantasy series. We've got a high fantasy world with elves, dark and light fae, halflings, forest monsters, a long-powerful evil king, an assassin hidden beneath shadows. There is truly SO much to love, & Melissa Blair excels at including many different races & cultures as well as queer representation to a level I don't feel I see very often in similar fiction. I adore the fact that Keera is flawed, she makes mistakes, she is recovering from harmful alcohol use, & she is experiencing a very realistic expression of trauma that she has been spending her life running from. The oppression of the elves & halflings in this world is explored so fully, and it leaves the reader feeling a deep sense of how sinister and threatening everything is.

In book one, we got to scratch the surface of the history, magic, and lore of this world, but book two took a DEEP dive and I loved every moment of it. It feels like every chapter introduced a new and exciting fantasy detail, and the magical forest backdrop of the Faeland that we got to explore in this book was SO picturesque and enchanting, I truly felt like I could see every detail in my mind because of Blair's excellent description and imagery. We also got to dive deeper into Keera's past, which was so heart wrenching & raw, both the parts she remembers but we hadn't heard about as well as her exploration of the memories she has lost. This all intermingles with the lore of the world fantastically, & firmly cemented Melissa Blair as a master at world building for me.

I feel like I could go on for ages, but I will end saying: if you've been chasing the high from Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas or Daughter of No Worlds by Carissa Broadbent, make this the next fantasy series you pick up. The Halfling Saga carries a similar sense of threat & danger, and the gradual & organic world building never feels overwhelming or confusing. Melissa Blair's talent is remarkable, and you can tell she wrote this series for the bookstagram & booktok community because she worked to include lots of things we love, while still presenting something fresh & exciting that we haven't read before. Thank you SO much to Union Square & Co and NetGalley for the eArc of this title!

I thought that was a good follow up to the first book. The ending of this book had me wishing that the third book was already out. I need to read the third book now. I have enjoyed seeing these characters and the plot of this book series grow.

Thank you Netgalley for an arc.

Alright, I gave a fair shot at the sequel, but I just don't think this series is for me. I'm not entirely sure what's not clicking. If anything, I suspect that this series is spread too thin. There are too many places and people to keep track of, and Blair asks us to ping pong back and forth between them rapidly to even things out. I got whiplash from chapter to chapter. It's the sort of thing that's the result of a disjointed outline. Like, you're trying to fit everything in your outline so you write stuff down on postcards and shuffle them around until they all fit. It's up to God at that point to make the chapters gel together. And here, idk, it just didn't work for me.

(For hashtag aspiring authors, if you're struggling with an issue like this, the solution comes from the creators of South Park, shocking I know. They say to connect each story element with either a "therefore" or a "but" to maintain the cause and effect momentum of your story. Of course, this isn't going to be a catch all solution to your issue, but thinking of your story in terms of cause and effect and trying to connect all the chapters this way will definitely cause you to approach your story from a different angle that could alleviate many of your issues. It's not a hard and fast rule, but a perspective you can borrow).

This entire book was very much giving second act. I'm a little unconventional and actually love a good second act, it's my favorite when done right. This just felt... not that engaging. It felt like very much a continuation and a rehash of the first book and only started developing its own identity around the midway point. There were some things we learned here that we definitely should've learned in the first book. If you're going to have a trilogy span into three books, that first book has to be really character and exposition-heavy, so that you can really start doing the interesting work in the sequel. This series spread that exposition and character work out between two books, which was some crazyyy drag. It was hard for me to stay invested. Opening this book to "you gotta get the Elverin to trust you" when that was also basically the plot of the first book was giving shawty's like a melody in my head that I can't keep out, got me singing like​ na-na-na-na, every day it's like my iPod stuck on replay, replay-ay-ay-ay.

Idk who's gonna read this and be like "oh but the character should go through an arc in each book so like author just had to set them back and give them obstacles to overcome" yeah okay great I know how storytelling works, but did the obstacles have to be so same-same? The best thing this book was center quite a bit of its conversations about grief and I think if that had been more of a focus since the beginning, it would have been a lot more cohesive and compelling. I'm sure that was Blair's intent, but unfortunately, like I said, the book was spread too thin.

For example, there king sets a deadline in this book, like, "if you don't figure this out within xyz I'm gonna go beserk". And you think that'd be a throughline of tension throughout the book, but it's... not? The main character, Keera's, focus is completely on whatever she is doing at any given time with little reminder of how the issues overlap. Some of these chapters are like whiplash because each consecutive chapter will have a different goal in a different place doing a different thing and they all feel distinct and different. It's like when I was watching Avatar: Way of the Water and the entire second act was a coming of age movie where these teenagers get bullied and learn to ride weird sea creatures and after an forty minutes of that you go "hey, wasn't there a main antagonist in this movie? isn't this movie supposed to be about, like, colonialism? where'd the evil white guy go?" but then you have to wait another 20 minutes before you get to see him again.

I like Keera fine. She's cool. I don't have any strong feelings about her. I understand that some people probably have connected with her and look up to her which is fine. I'm not knocking that. It was just really hard for me to connect to her. The entire appeal of the book is based on that connection with the main character. The focus of this book isn't political intrigue or the fantasy world, it's Keera. The book is about Keera. If you can't connect with her or find her strife compelling, that's gonna be the dealbreaker. If you like this sort of fantasy heroine, the jaded but empathetic and traumatized extremely skilled warrior out for revenge, then you'll like it.

Idk why I couldn't connect. Usually, I'd try to deconstruct this and really reflect on the book, but I'm going to be so honest with you, it was so hard for me to finish this. I'm in a reading slump and found it to be incredibly repetitive and uninteresting and could not connect to the characters and I really had to trudge through it to get my arc review up. I know a lot of that is up to subjectivity.

As for the prose, I think Blair is on the better end of things. Not great, but not bad. The world did not feel real to me, but it was clear. She's so close to being great, she just needs a little oomf. I don't know what that would be exactly, but I'm sure she'll get there with practice. If anything, she needs a better editor. I noticed some repetition and confusing or janky sentences. Chapter 37 was riddled with typos, which I hope will be corrected by the final copy of the book.

I promised myself I'd keep this one short because I'm so tired but wow look at me go.

3.5/5 stars. A Shadow Crown immediately dives back into where book #1 leaves you. I did enjoy A Broken Blade more than this one and I will tell you why. This book suffered a bit from the second book syndrome and felt a bit like a filler. I had a difficult time staying interested, especially in the beginning. The pace was slow and not a lot was happening. In book #1 the romance felt forced and this time around it was almost nonexistent. Also, that possible love triangle? Not sure what was happening there. One of my favorite things about this book was getting to know the characters on a more intimate level. I do adore each and every one of them. As someone who also comes from an indigenous background, I appreciate that the author contributes some very interesting cultural elements into the story. The last 20-30 percent was more fast paced and action-packed, which almost made up for the slower start. The twists and ending left me needing more, so once the final book releases I will be picking it up ASAP.

Thank you to Netgalley and Union Square & Co. for an ARC!

A big thanks to NetGalley and Union Square & Co for providing an eARC of one my most anticipated releases of 2023 in exchange for an honest review.

This book. This book right here. Almost got thrown at a wall. In the most polite way, I assure you. And I blame it all on THAT ending.

A Shadow Crown by Melissa Blair is a new adult fantasy that follows the events of the previous title in the series, A Broken Blade. By day, Keera is the King's most skilled assassin. But by night she works with Prince Killian and may or may be falling for his lovely Shadow, Riven. But she finds peace in the land of the fae, until a traitor is suspected amongst their crowd and Keera is the number one suspect.

*Disgruntled screaming* just read this series, please. It's really really good. And not completely mentally and emotionally scarring.

In the second installment of the Halfling Saga, we follow Keera as she continues her double life. Working as the assassin for the King and a double agent for the rebellion, she finds herself walking a fine line. The world building and plot are well written. From the suspenseful and mysterious plot to the diversity in characters, the author has created a sequel to rival the first book. I am looking forward to reading the next in the series. This would be a great book for fans of Throne of Glass. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

4.5/5 Stars

I ended up DNFing because it wasn't holding my interest :( I wanted to enjoy this more than I did and I'll probably give it a second chance later, but sadly it wasn't doing it for me.

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

A Shadow Crown by Melissa Blair is an incredible follow up to A Broken Blade. This one definitely feels like a building block into the next one that is primarily centered on development. Development of the world building, the characters, and their dynamics and intentions with each other. I could see the story so vividly as I read along, making this an incredible read.

A pleasant aspect was the parallels to Indigenous people/culture/customs. I’m not sure the average reader would be able to pinpoint everything because it is so woven into the story seamlessly, but those who are Indigenous can read this and decipher it. To know that although this story is built as a fantasy, it has ties to us and our communities. This is especially prominent with the emphasis on the leadership and guidance of elders, and the respect others have for them. And there is a subtle discussion of blood quantum, and the way it can impact someone’s connectivity despite their lived experiences/ties to their communities or lack thereof. It was presented in a wonderful contrast between two characters that unfolded so beautifully. As a reconnecting Native I could feel that yearning described by the characters of wanting to belong.

My reason for not giving this book five stars was the confusion I felt while reading and the twinge of disappointment I felt at the ending. This book is on the slower side (not an issue for me), dealing more with character development rather than plot, and therefore digging into the past of characters. But I felt the amount of characters was just so expansive that I was lost.

We see Keera bouncing around from person to person, who have all these different backgrounds and experiences. Some who are new, others who return from the previous novel, and although I came to remember the characters, it took me out of the story with the effort it took to remember. And with a book so heavy on character development, there were still so many characters we were being exposed to that any depth and layers we get are easily covered up as she moves along to the next person, because there are just too many that I didn’t feel I knew very well. There is a particular scene that comes towards the end, and I felt nothing that I think the book was wanting me to feel. And I suspect that is because of how massive this list of characters is. There are lots of moving parts and people Keera cares for, and I find that wonderful, but for me it just sullies any impact. A cut down character list or maybe less time going from one to the other and back again then to another would have made it easier and allowed more time to really know everyone.

That being said, although I have some criticism about the book, I do think that can be a matter of preference. It depends on how invested you are in the characters and your capacity to care for each. At the end of the day, I think the book still allowed so much time to further develop more central characters like Syrra, Nikolai, Riven, Killian, Keera, and so on. There was so much action in the first that this slowed down pace and time for development will only serve to make the following book even more incredible.

Thank you to NetGalley and Union Square & Co for this earc

First, can we all acknowledge the fact that if Keera swore an oath to the Elverin and told them the truth right away we wouldn’t need this whole book? Okay! I’m glad we agreed.

Now, let’s take it apart. I’m gonna start with, I take “mates” trop very seriously. Once you tell me the mail love interests are mate that’s it. So why on earth would you write scenes where Keera is interested or almost kissing Killian??? For WHAT? Why make up an unnecessary love triangle with two BROTHERS no less??? Cmon. And the scene when Keera tells Riven that there’s a chance there are only together because of their bond? Seriously. I can stop right here. That would be enough for me to stop reading.

For the rest of it, there were scenes with the found family that were interesting but we didn’t need a whole second book for it.

Also, I said it before and I’ll say it again and again. I DONT do books with more than two people in a relationship even if it’s only mentioned in the background. Not my thing. Will NEVER be okay with it.

The whole ending felt super rushed and scene felt very cut off. Like Keera almost died saving Nikolai’s mom but when she wakes up her and Riven almost have sex???? Made no sense.
They finally find a way to kill the king just to find him dead after Damion was trying to kill him for a decade???? And of course he was behind everything all along.

Overall, I couldn’t for the life of me understand where the plot, if you can call it that, was going. With all the history we learned in this book, just to learn that the light fae is never coming back?

This book just felt like rushed and unfinished work which made me very said. I think it would made a much better duopoly.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an e-ARC of this book! After reading A Broken Blade and loving it, I had extremely high expectations coming into A Shadow Crown. And guess what: I LOVED IT. I have always been a huge fan of plot-heavy storylines and complex character developments, and the fact that A Shadow Crown is able to balance both factors at the same time is a challenging feat, but one that the author pulled off successfully and beautifully. The best part of this book was definitely getting to know more of the characters — in addition to Keera — and their relationships with one another. That heartfelt session between Keera and Syrra was so touching, and really shows a more humane side to both of them outside their cold and merciless exteriors. And the relationship between Keera and Killian? Although I knew it was coming in some way or another, but I did not expect to enjoy it as much as I did. And although I knew that Keera and Riven were definitely going to stay together, I almost hoped for more from her relationship with Killian (because I could REALLY see the chemistry between the two). Overall, the fact that the author gave time to develop all of the characters and provide more backstories make readers care so much more deeply about each of them, and I spent a lot of my time while reading crossing my fingers hoping that nothing bad will happen to them.

In addition to the intriguing and fast-paced main storyline about their rebellion against the king, I loved the way that the story also delved into Keera’s origin story and when she finds out that she’s a Light Fae herself… OMG I was so surprised. I did hope that the Light Fae would, in fact, still have survived, but perhaps that would make them too overpowered, so I understand the decision that they made with the race. Besides Keera, I also loved how they characterized King Aemon and Damien. Absolutely cruel. Absolutely evil. YES. I’m living for it, and as much as I despise them, I kind of want to see more of them (hope that I’ll get to see a lot more of Damien in the third book!!!)

The only small thing I wished the book had more of was Riven. I felt like his presence as the Shadow was so intriguing and intimidating in the first book. And although the idea of the Shadow continues to loom in A Shadow Crown, it seems like the Shadow himself has disappeared, and Riven’s character, too, has gone to the background. I expected him to maybe use his title as the Shadow to help the team further their plan, or just a bigger role in the book in general. However, other than that, I LOVED the second book as much as the first one, and I loved the amount of depth place to each of the characters and their relationships to one another. Highly recommend this book for all romance fantasy lovers, and I cannot wait for the third book!

“The ghosts of your past are not omens to predict your future,”

Wow this was much better than book 2. I flew through this!

The world-building and history was amazing The plot progressed perfectly, and some parts really get you in the feels. A few times my heart broke and I found myself falling more for these characters.

So much tension again and finally a pay off! Their romance is definitely not as important to me regardless of how amazing the tension is. I really fell in love with the plot. I cannot wait to see what happens next. The final chapter I was shocked. I did not see it coming. At all. Couldn't even have predicted it. So good!

*Thank you to NetGalley and Union Square & Co. - A subsidiary of Sterling Publishing, Union Square & Co. for providing me this arc in exchange for an honest review*

I really love the second installment to The Halfling Saga. It was I was expected it to be. Beloved characters returned in this excellent world building. I really loved it although some scenes were a little too similar to SJM's books,hence the 4.5 stars but other than that it was a great book.

I DNF'd at 15% only because, when I requested this novel, I had not yet read the first book. Having read the first book since however, I just don't think this series is one I will enjoy. I'm not a fan of the storyline and the writing and I'll be honest the FMC, Keera, needs to be smarter. Her character should be way smarter than she's written.

Anyway, DNF at 15%.

5 stars!

“The ghosts of your past are not omens to predict your future.”

I absolutely LOVED this book. I read A Broken Blade a few months back and loved it. This is that book but 100 times better. The amount of character growth and development in this is insane. I laughed, I cried I just felt everything.

All the characters in this are so well written and their relationships are no complex. This story and world is just so beautifully crafted.

I cannot wait for the 3rd book to come out!

A Shadow Crown-3.25⭐️ 3🌶️

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 . . .


✨My Opinion✨

I’m enjoying this series!

There are nods to the authors indigenous background, a LOT of inter world diversity that makes the cultures and magic systems very interesting and compelling.

The writing seemed a bit more disjointed than the last book. I often found gaps mid-chapter where I needed to go back and try to reconfigure my mind’s picture of what was going on. But over all, I am really enjoying the series!

With this the second book, there was a huge betrayal and the MC’s were separated. I’m hoping that we get more of the reason behind all of that and get back to the romance!


Found family
One bed
Fated mates
Betrayal
Bi rep
Assassin
Shadow magic
Grief
Political intrigue



Thank you Union Square & Co, Sterling Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed the first book, especially the unique and fierce main character Keera. Sadly I didn't like the second book as much. I feel like the story became like all the other romantasy ones with the stereotypical tropes ... and I didn't even like the relationship between Keera and Riven that much. I was a bit disappointed and lost motivation to continue reading the book, but maybe I will continue sometime...