Book Review - Crown Duel

I did not want to read this book. Which  makes it all more surprising that I liked it. A lot.

My ebook selection at the library was thin, so I browsed through what YA they had available. I settled on Crown Duel because the Goodreads reviews were positive.

I really liked it. I stayed awake until midnight, then spent most of Sunday finishing the book.

Meliara, the protagonist, can be annoying sometimes. The good thing is she knows that. She is flawed - tiny, skinny, just learned to read last year. She and her brother pick up the revolution started by her father against a tyrant king, and proceed to lose every single battle afterward. But she does it with such bravery, pride, and principles that it's hard not to like.

She's also damn tough. After getting her ankle caught in a bear trap, she escapes her captors (with help) and uses her wits to evade pursuers halfway through the kingdom while on foot. It hurts like hell and she's starving and you know she's going to get caught, but you kept reading to see how she gets caught.

The romance kept me reading as well. It wasn't perfect; at one point, the only thing keeping them separate was Meliara's pride and her embarrassment to go talk to him. He also could've told her how he felt. It was two people not being adults about it. That got irritating, but the author gave you enough to keep the pages turning.

It's been awhile since I was so enamored with a book that I didn't want to put it down. It's a good one for the airplane or a cold, rainy day. You won't get bored!