Thank you NetGalley and Del Rey for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

The Crimson Crown is sort of a Snow White retelling—it’s about the story’s evil queen’s backstory. As a young girl, she was a witch living in hiding from the White King’s witch hunts, and circumstances lead her to his court. It’s not necessarily the type of thing I’m drawn to, but lesbians… villain origin stories… I’m very weak, okay?

Ultimately, I thought The Crimson Crown was… fine. The opening couple of chapters piqued my interest, but I ultimately didn’t care too much for the characters or plot, and there were multiple points where I was surprised to find out that I wasn’t nearing the end of the story and had quite a ways to go. The end was quite good, though, and while I did feel like I had been reading for quite some time, I found the end of the novel satisfying (or you know, satisfying for a first book in a series). As of right now, I’ll probably re-read this whenever the next book comes out just to see where things are going, though it won’t be on my priority list. I did find the world and magic to be neat and Walter’s writing is solid, I just… you know… felt a little whatever about it. The parts that were really good held my interest but those were few and far between. I think if I was more invested in reading about romances as a reader I’d maybe be left a little wanting, but on that front I was satisfied.

Not bad, just didn’t totally work for me.

Thank you net gallery for the advanced copy of this book. The first part of the book was an inner dialogue of self-loathing and regret. I almost put it down. It starts to get more interesting about a fourth of the way in. Still, lots of inner dialogue but it gets more positive. I would recommend.

Another sapphic fairytale retelling from Heather Walter!

I greatly enjoyed Malice and Misrule, so was excited for The Crimson Crown!

I liked learning about the coven and it's mechanisms, though I was not as invested in the relationship between Ayleth and Jacquetta as I wanted to be. The pacing was a bit slow, but wow that last part and the ending made me hungry for the next book!

A solid fairytale retelling of the Wicked Queen from snow white!

4.25 stars This was a great way of showing how the evil queen came to be the evil queen. if one likes to see someone who wants to be a hero (while not being a hero) fall into the villain role Heather Walter makes that come true.

I felt like this was a let down for me. The writing wasn’t bad but the storytelling wasn’t there. I am still interesting in reading what this author has previously written but this definitely wasn’t for me.

This is an epic villain origin story! And Ayleth tried so so hard not to go evil. But when she did, it was because she had REASONS. And I’m fully supportive of her villain era. I can’t wait for the next book to see her in all her villain glory!

For two thirds of the book I doubted that Ayleth was really our future villain. Almost everyone around her was evil in some way and she was trying SO HARD not to give in to the evil impulses. The side characters were relatable and enjoyable and I can’t wait to hear more about them too.

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for an ARC of this book! This is my honest review.

Despite owning Walter's other book, this is my first time stepping into one of her worlds.

Admittedly, I'm not a big fan of fairytale retellings--especially Snow White. That said, I thought this was fun! While it wasn't anything groundbreaking, I can always appreciate a villain origin story. I just wish that it had a faster pace. I thought it was way too slow at times and that that caused me to almost feel like reading it was a chore. Overall, I've heard better things about the Malice duology so I think that I may give that one a shot instead!

This was pretty solid! The beginning was a bit of a struggle for me since I couldn't really develop any strong feelings towards the characters (and so the stakes weren't super high during my reading experience). The ending however !!! Definitely changed my opinion and my interest in a sequel.

Heather Walter is becoming an author whose works I automatically buy without knowing anything about the title other than she wrote it. She has an amazing story and I love how she takes well known tales and flips them in their head and makes them new and refreshing.

Thanks to Del Rey and Netgalley for the ARC.

4.5/5
"Six crows bring ill luck,
But seven worse,
For they carry a secret, mystery or curse."

Give me all the villain origin stories, I will consume them with glee. Have been of fan of Heather's stories since reading Malice and will certainly continue to pick up her books to read. This Snow White retelling shows how Ayleth came into her powers and chose the path that she does in part one of this duology. Set in the kingdom of Riven which is ruled by the White family, witchcraft has been outlawed and the remaining covens do what they must to survive undetected. Ayleth's coven has chosen to outwardly dress and behave as the sisters of Meira to remain alive. After a falling out with her mother, Ayleth journeys to the White Palace to do what she can to protect all witches and ends up in the middle of court politics, assassination attempts and her own struggle to find her powers.

"My child will be born. Not a son, but a daughter. The king will hate me for her. Let him. This realm has enough of greedy, grasping kings. What it needs now is a queen to forge a new age."

I very much enjoyed this retelling and the last 25% really made it hard to put down the book as I needed to find out how this was going to end!!! The world was full of interesting characters, and I liked Ayleth's relationship with Blodwyn, Joan and of course with Roland, who is fantastic, and I hope we see more of him in the next book. Plus, any good witch story needs its animal familiars and Nettle is delightful and I sure hope Fitz will be taken care of, sweet thing. There was one major reveal which I sure didn't see coming, and I thought the story ended at a place which should set up a terrific conclusion, which I am so excited for!! If you are a fan of Heather's prior works or novels like One Dark Window, I think you will enjoy this retelling also!

Yeah this ended up being just ok. There were points where I felt like it wavered from ok to good and then back to ok. There were glimmers of places the lore and relationships could have been shown to us at a deeper level, but it never got there. Pretty disappointing.

🥀The Crimson Crown - Heather Walter🥀

Thank you so much to @ for this arc of an absolute masterpiece💞this book is for fans of queer gothic fantasy, and if you’re like me, you’ll absolutely devour this story!

I was immediately hooked by the first sentence. Heather Walter has a near perfect way of storytelling.

This beautiful story includes romance, twists, lore, and a powerful story behind the Evil Queen.

In conclusion, this book is mesmerizing! I highly recommend reading🫶

4.75⭐️

Just like in Malice, the author creates a very deeply lived in world and history for this retelling. So much so that you frequently forget it's a retelling and that's one of my favorite kinds -- one that doesn't feel derivative but has a very original flavor with well fleshed out character arcs and motivations. But also like Malice, wish it had been paced better so as not to stretch over to another book.

I might try to read this one later, but I got about 25% in and I just struggled to maintain focus. A shame because I loved the author's other works!

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for the chance to review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy.

So this retelling of the Evil Queen is an interesting take. I think Alyeth’s characterization was well done although I did find her to be a tad naive a lot of the time.

One of the things I struggled with was the pacing. It was really slow paced through out and I found it to be kind of bumbling at times.

3.5 stars, rounded up .I really enjoyed this Snow White retelling! This story follows a young witch named Ayleth, who would do anything for her sister, and how that led her to become the Evil Queen.

Really Good: The imagery - the world building in this book was fantastic. And the ENDING! Amazing. Worth the entire read.
Good Be Better: All of the characters, spare maybe Ayleth, could have had more. I wanted to know more about her mom and how she came to be the way she is. I wanted to know more about their relationship. I wanted to know more about the former queen. I wanted to know more about Joan. Despite wanting more, I still found this book entirely too long and dragging in spots.

no one writes a fairytale villain origin story like heather walter.

gone are the days when witches and mortals lived in harmony; now the covens live in hiding as the white king’s huntsmen pursue them. among them is a young woman who will one day become snow white’s evil queen, but for now she is simply ayleth, a witch whose powers have failed to manifest. fearing that she will never live up to her coven’s expectations, she sets out on a quest to the white palace, where she finds herself caught up in court politics, palace secrets, and the attentions of the king himself—as well as reunited with the witch she once loved.

while i enjoyed the crimson crown, i didn’t fall in love with it the way i did malice (and alyce 💚). the last 25% or so did most of the heavy lifting, which made for a gripping conclusion but a slow and sometimes dry beginning and middle. i can’t say i was ever particularly invested in the romance (although i could be convinced in book 2) and i wanted more court intrigue. still, walter’s ability to write a vengeful, furious villain origin story is captivating.

this is more of a loose reimagining of snow white than a retelling, which disappointed me slightly, but i liked the elements that walter chose to keep. ayleth’s interactions with princess blodwyn (our snow white, who is a delight in her own right) were particularly interesting.

i would recommend a crimson crown to anyone who enjoys villain origin stories, agrees that the evil queen is queer in every universe (i don’t make the rules, sorry), or simply wants to read a dark, bloody fairytale.

I love Heather Walter, and she did not disappoint with this one! How could you with a sapphic retelling of the villain of Snow White - the Evil Queen?!

Before her rise as the fairest of them all we meet the young witch Ayleth who is now in line to be her mother’s second after the tragic death of her sister Rhea. Ayleth blames herself for her sister’s death and wants nothing to do with being a second. When it is time for her to ascend and pledge her loyalty something else reaches from beyond the flames of the fire - she believes it is Rhea. To the disappointment of her mother and the full coven, Ayleth vanishes in the night on a journey to the kingdom of the White King. Here in the kingdom where they burn witches, things are not what they appear and her journey will not end how she expects; especially when she runs into another witch who betrayed her.

This was a slow simmering, atmosphere building tale with an explosive ending - which is very on brand for Walter! I wanted more of Mathilde, as I really enjoyed her character. Overall a fun witchy read, and looking forward to the 2nd one!

DNF @45%

I loved the Malice duology and was excited for a sapphic retelling of the evil queen from Snow White. Unfortunately this doesn't really read like a retelling and I was bored to tears with almost the first half of the book. Based on other reviews, this doesn't seem to pick up until the very end and I just don't have the patience for that. I'm not invested in the characters or what's going on, which is really too bad. I received a copy of this book for review via Goodreads, all opinions are my own.

The Crimson Crown by Heather Walter is an enthralling escape into the world of witchcraft, misogyny and murder. A time of religious burnings, where men smile in their piety as witches/women dance in hot iron shoes.

Ayleth is a young witch, a Second to the Head of the Coven, who lives hidden from the rest of the world behind cloister walls. This coven was instrumental in making and maintaining the separation between good and evil, called the Veil. It was forged from ancestral blood and fed over the many years. Witches perished to maintain this separation.

The Crimson Crown revolves around power, ancestral belief, courage and betrayal.

I have always been interested in the witch trials, so this book held my interest from beginning to end. The story is told in first person, which lends a more intimate setting to the telling.

Walter’s multi-dimensional characters almost appear to reach out of the narrative dragging the reader into the story. I could imagine experiencing the heat of the burnings and the urgency to solve Ayleth’s mystery.

It gave me a visceral response to various portions of the book. I found myself reading late into the evening, trying to get to the ending, which I wanted to relish – and did.

Stories about witches can become problematic in the fact that they tend to follow a prescribed format. That was not true of The Crimson Crown, however.

I was thrown off guard many times throughout the book, which was a wonderful feeling of disorientation equivalent to what the characters were feeling in the book.

I cannot recommend this book enough. It was an excellent fast read, with many twists and turns that you won’t see coming. Characters appear, disappear, and change in ways you don’t want them to, but these serve to heighten the intensity of the story.

The only problem I found is that it left me wanting more. So many more questions needed answered! I can’t wait for the next book in the series..

Heather Walter, hurry please!