Oh, I love fairytale retelling, and this dark fairytale about Snow White sure is a good one. I liked it a lot!

Considering how the first book ended, I didn't expect most of this book to be about some else to be honest.

While I found this book to be a bit more intriguing considering the location of the plot, at times it was quite flat. Somewhere around the middle of the book (I think) another assassin is introduced to us and I believed that since she is going to the same place that they will interact move, but it's more like 2 different stories, which was a bit hard to follow at times.

All in all, I enjoyed their stories a bit more, but it's still a 3.5 stars/5 for me and it was saved mostly by the ending.

The Poisoned Crown by Kelsey Robinson is a mesmerizing fantasy that immerses readers in a world of intrigue and betrayal. The plot is rich with unexpected twists, keeping me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. Robinson's character development is impressive, with nuanced motivations that add depth to the story. With its vivid prose and gripping storyline, this book is a must-read for anyone who loves dark, captivating tales of power and ambition!

This is the second book in the series and it was just as good as the first book! The world building is very well done and I love the main characters!

The first book in this series was a very positive surprise. I picked it up because I always enjoy Cinderella retellings, but the author didn't actually retell the famous fairytale. She used the fairytale as the base of an epic fantasy story about magical Assassins. Since the book ended with quite a cliffhanger, I was very curious about the sequel. Luckily I got an invitation to grab a review copy via Netgalley and of course I didn't hesitate.

Although this second book was less my thing than the first, it was still an amazing story. This time the main characters in the book are based on Snow White and Belle from Beauty and the Beast. And just like in the first book the author mainly uses the fairytale as an inspiration. Of course the names of the characters give some of their origins away. There are also quite some familiar plot points and some familiar scenes. But there's also a lot of original content and most of all extra content.

Since some plot twists are predictable because of the origins of this story, the author has to keep us hooked through all the scenes in between. And although Raven isn't the kind of character I usually have a click with, I did really enjoy her story and everything she had overcome to get where she is at the start of this story. It was amazing to see her navigate this world and everything that's revealed about her past and I can't wait to see what's going to happen in the next book!

And then there is of course Calla's storyline. I really liked how she and her prince found each other in this book. Just like I liked how they bonded and eventually started to fall in love. I also like how her tale showed us how smart she was, without constantly telling us that she's smart. The author didn't need to. The other showed us plenty of times that Calla was a tactician and was capable of coming up with plans in dire situations. I can wait to see more of her in the next book either!

I was kinda glad with both parts of the epilogue too, though! So, when is the third book gonna be released?

The Poisoned Crown, the second book in the Kingdoms of Assassins Chronicles, offers an enthralling journey into a richly imagined fantasy world. The plot is compelling and easy to follow, thanks to Robinson’s vivid and engaging writing style. From the very beginning, the story captures your attention and maintains its grip throughout. The characters are wonderfully complex, each with expressive personalities that add a layer of relatability to the narrative. This immersive experience makes it hard to put the book down, leaving readers eagerly anticipating what comes next.

TW: Death, Gore, Blood, Violence, Abuse, Harrassment, and Drug Addiction

Though this is a sequel, The Poisoned Crown takes place in a different country starting 8 months before the events of the first book. The plot of the first book only becomes relevant near the end. I struggled personally in the beginning as well because I didn’t remember the characters from the Glass Dagger and I felt as if it was expected of us to remember only for those details to not be relevant for 80% of the book. The more relevant details came to light the more we read.

The story follows Raven whos assassin name is “Snow White” as she is sent to spy in another country and guards a cruel queen. As this is a fairytale retelling there are plot elements that are loosely taken from the original. When we are in Ravens viewpoint the character is always fight. And I mean always in a fight. So much so that the character herself has little to no personality beyond “angry female fatale” that’s it.

Calla who’s code name is “Belle” feels a bit more relatable but also suffers from a lack of character building beyond a simple premise and even though given a large number of chapters they were mostly short. I think Calla should have a seperate book because I almost dropped the book at a certain scene of hers that had no relevance to Ravens plot. The majority of Callas story had little to do with Raven. Her love interest was never really explained either and the final chapter made me feel like she was forgotten about.

Unfortunately the two different characters Raven and Calla are two seperate stories and that made the book suffer a bit. It was hard to follow along with this one because there wasn’t really a cohesive storyline and the main plot of Raven was extremely violent. If it wasn’t for the ending, I could have been convinced that this book was a stand-alone that simply takes place in the same universe as the first.

I think it’s a solid novel though, and I really loved the first book in the series so hopefully that will fuel me enough to read the rest of the books.

Easy and nice read. About half of the book in little mistake spotted - in one of scenes Prince Adam is named Aleks. I would say solid teen/young adult fantasy/romance.

“Sometimes Raven felt she was made entirely of magic, and her skin was holding all of it at bay.”

“The Poisoned Crown,” by Kelsey Robinson

I liked the magic and the hidden identity aspect of the book. The characters were interesting, and I liked seeing them interact. I liked the spy/ assassin’s theme in the book, love strong FMC’s. I found this book a little messy. There was a lot happening at different places and it jumped to other places/times, and it was confusing. I felt there were way too many POV’s and characters for my taste. Great if you love epic books though. 3 out of 5 stars.

-Magic
-Hidden Identity
-Spies/ Assassins
-Multi POV

Thank you for the ARC, Netgalley.

I really enjoyed the cover and how the description and plot worked as a sequel in the Kingdoms of Assassins series. It had that concept that I enjoyed a lot. The characters were everything that I wanted and glad I was able to read this, it was great going on this journey with them. Kelsey Robinson wrote this again and enjoyed a lot. I hope there is more in this series and can’t wait for more.