Cruel Crown by Victoria Aveyard

Cruel Crown by Victoria Aveyard was published in 2015 and is a prequel to sorts to Red Queen. I haven't read Red Queen yet, and upon looking at Goodreads, I probably should have as it would have helped me understand the prequel better.

Even though I didn't know about Reds and Silvers, I understood enough to know that I am looking forward to reading Red Queen.

Cruel Crown contains two novellas: one from the first queen of King Tiberias, and one from Diana Farley who is a captain on the Red side.

In Queen Song, we meet Queen Coriane. I enjoyed her story and found it haunting and sad. Reading this made me curious about the powers that Silvers have: healing, fire, mind reading, song. I want to know more about the magic aspect of this fantasy.

In Steel Scars, Diana Farley is a captain who is helping start a rebellion against the Silvers. This story takes place approximately twenty years after Queen Song, and we learn that there is more magic than the Silvers are aware of. I liked the strength of Captain Farley and how she was also vulnerable. She had more than one dimension. Shade is also an interesting character. My only complaint in this story were the military messages sent back and forth. I found them hard to understand at times.

I listened to the audio version of this book and the readers were good. Although I should have waited to read this book until after I read Red Queen, it has made me more excited about starting Red Queen. 

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