An incredible retelling from a unique point of view. Fall in love with a courageous and strong woman as she navigates court and all of the demons she finds within, while trying to keep her own deadly secret. Ayleth is a witch.

Heather Walter's work is amazing and brilliant. I cannot wait for what she has in store for us next.

Heather Walter is officially an auto buy author for me. She knows how to perfectly write a fairy tale and show a villain origin story that makes you love the villain.
I was immersed into this story and following Ayleth from the beginning. I cannot wait to read more by this author.

Thank you to Netgalley for this amazing arc! This story devoured me! I am utterly obsessed and I cannot wait for the second one to release. This book is everything I wanted it to be. The lovers- to enemies- to lovers- back to enemies vibes were immaculate! *chefs kiss*. The slow burn, the plot twists, the BETRAYALS! This entire book came together in a delicious story and I am so excited to rush to a bookstore and buy a physical copy when it comes out! I will definitely be recommending this to all my friends and book clubs!

There were a few typos in my copy (which I'm sure has been caught for the final publication) and other than that the story was absolutely perfect! The pacing, the character development, everything! The numerous plot twists had me on the edge of my seat. I didn't see any of them coming, and I'm usually always great at guessing things before they happen. This book had me my anxiety spiking but in the best way. I would give it a ten star if I could.

The Crimson Crown was wow — it was really captivating. I love a retelling and this would be the prequel to the Snow White story, or a getting to know the Evil Queen. There’s so many fan favorites to really build up the Snow White story, all while having great world building with a twisting story.

All I will say is, the end of the book was just fantastic, I’m still reeling from it. I can’t wait to see what Heather does with the next one!!

Thank you to Random House Publishing and the author for this ARC!

The ending of this book gave me goosebumps. Thanks to NetGalley for giving me an ARC. I liked this story right from the start. It jumps right into the story and has amazing world building. I went into this story only knowing that it was a Snow White retelling. I couldn't really connect it to the original Snow White tale until later in the story. It's a story about a woman who feels guilty about not being what people expect her to be and looking at what is known and wondering if that's all there is.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for this opportunity. Heather Walter is a new fave author of mine! Fantasy romance NEEDS diversity, especially when it comes to the romances. I love a good retelling, and the Evil Queen is one of my favorite characters. This story was so refreshing, with great world building, and character development.

Wow! What an amazing, magical, and unique tale! Even better than what I thought this would be. So…this story takes place before the story of Snow White. The author did great with the world building and character development. The characters were well made…they had a good backstory, problems/ flaws, likes/dislikes, and all that. Lots of twists and turns, and just things that were just nuts!

I admit it did start off a bit slow, but dang, glad I stuck to it. Then the open ending as well, anticipating a second oneeee!

I'm feeling a bit let down by this book. I'm really into villain origin stories, but this one didn't quite hit the mark for me. Here's why:

The characters are all well-written and have their own issues to deal with. I especially liked the Queen and her motivations, but it's Ayleth who drives the story forward, trying to do the right thing. The story builds up nicely, but I was hoping for something big to happen earlier on, not just at the very end.

Overall, the book covers themes like love, grief, betrayal, and the struggles women face, which is great. But I was hoping to see more of the classic Evil Queen we all know.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this book early! This book was one of my most anticipated books of the year and it did not disappoint! This book is inspired by Anne Boleyn and Snow White and follows a 23 year old witch named Ayleth.

Oh yes.

This is dark and twisted and oh so very wonderful. Ms. Walter is an amazing world builder, storyteller, and always leaves you wanting more. I 100% recommend crimson crown and encourage you if you haven't yet to read her other series.

Oh my god!! I don’t even have the words for what I just read!!

This is a beautiful story! I can’t even give a decent review because I am so lost for words!! I need more of this story!!

Thank you Netgalley for the arc!!

Wonderfully enchanting. I loved the worldbuilding and Ayleth’s overall story arc going from a timid and afraid girl to the evil queen we are all familiar with. Anyone who loves fairytales will be in for a ride if they pick this up

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Overall I’d give this book 3.5 stars. I think it was one of the most unique retellings and I really enjoyed it. It kept me engaged enough not to be bored and it didn’t info dump in the beginning which I think a lot of books tend to do. I felt invested in the story and characters as well and Im glad this book didn’t have a whiny main character.

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC of The Crimson Crown. All opinions are my own.

I think I need to come back to this one in the future with a different mindset about it. It just wasn't what I was expecting... I was expecting a much clearer connection to Snow White, more romance, more familiar characters, and Ayleth to come into herself and her powers sooner in the story rather than at the very end... Because of where I thought this book was going to go based on the description, I had a hard time getting into the book and where the story actually went. Maybe I didn't read the description well enough! And that's on me. But I think if I knew right up front that this is a story of female rage (cue Mad Woman by Taylor Swift) I would have had a much different experience with it.

Thank you so much to Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book early in exchange for an honest review.

The Crimson Crown follows Ayleth, a young witch with a complicated past, as she becomes intrenched in the White King’s Court.

I enjoyed Ayleth’s journey from her home to the White Court, to her constant tension with Jaquetta. The relationship between the two of them quickly grew to be my favorite part of the book and I was constantly excited to know more about what happened between them. The world was also so fascinating and I really enjoyed what we learned about it as Ayleth searched for the bloodstones.

My main issue with the book is that it was marketed as a retelling about Snow White’s Evil Queen and it felt much more like a prequel than a retelling. This made it a little difficult to get fully invested in the world, especially since there were no reviews when I started reading it. But once I pushed past the marketing I was so completely absorbed in the story and never wanted it to end.

Overall, I really enjoyed The Crimson Crown and was very happy and thankful for the opportunity to read it early.

The book was good. It was very interesting and kept my attention. Loved the concept and I can’t wait for it to be published so I can add a copy to my collection.

As someone who enjoyed Heather Walker's past two books, I was excited to read this.
The story follows Ayleth, a witch who is kind of bad at being a witch, as she tries to resurrect her sister. Along the way she runs into her ex love, has a lot of feelings about it, and morally descends into chaos while gaining political power. I support women's wrongs, so I enjoyed this book thoroughly.
The setting was giving Tudor England which I thought was a good choice. I loved the descriptions of the outfits and the castles. I also really enjoyed how Ayleth was going through it. When she wasn't thinking about her sister it was her mom, or her ex, or genocide, or court drama. She managed to do this without coming off as insufferable, which is hard to do.
After reading Malice and Misrule I was expecting a twist that made me wanna throw my phone across the room again and Heather delivered. I was shocked. I was mad. It was a good twist. She really got me.
My only bone to pick with this is I feel like if this is going to be a Snow White evil queen backstory it needs to be more Snow White. The apple motifs and magic mirrors were fun, but I don't feel like the vibe was fully there.
That being said, I still really enjoyed it and I think the girlies are gonna go crazy.
Thanks to netgalley for giving me an ARC!

Deliciously magical - like taking a bite out of crisp, crimson apple out of a dark, enchanted orchard. Fantastic world-building and exceptional characters, all interwoven into a suspenseful plot. Anyone who is fond of novels that are heavily inspired by well-known tales and fables should absolutely pick up this book.

Thank you Netgalley and Random House - Ballantine for the digital ARC!

WOW! This book was amazing! So many things I loved it about it! I haven’t read a lot of witch/coven themed novels before, nor have I read this authors other popular book, but I was blown away at the world building that was accomplished for this one book!! Watching Ayleth at the beginning of the book grow and change into who she becomes by the last chapter is just an absolute masterpiece! The ending line you realize is such a jab and honestly makes me think of all the movies about the witch so differently now! Also I want a cat more than anything after reading about Nettle her amazing companionship, she was the realest ally that’s for sure!
5 stars all around I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a wonderful spin on a classic story

Thankyou Netgalley for the chance to review this! That aside... Let's get into the meat.

I've loved Heather Walter as an Author and fell in love with her prose from the first time I read Malice. Nothing she writes ever is what you expect it to be. That's just beautiful
Secondly I have a HARDCORE obsession with the Tudor era and Anne Boleyn in particular since I was 14, so to have fairy tales, Anne Boleyn and Heather Walter come together in one book, I was ready but I wasn't ready.

This book like Malice/ Misrule takes you on a familiar journey and hit similar beats that you expect but over all isn't what you would think. I love how Heather Walter doesn't bow to the norms or expectations, I love she isn't afraid to make the characters embrace themselves and sometimes darkness. Her characters grow, learn, hurt, and rule the world.

I will always read anything she writes and I am blessed to have been allowed to read this wonderfully amazing piece of art.

Keep being you Heather and can't ait to see what else you do.