Twin Crowns: What do you do when you have two?

 Twin Crowns

(Goodreads)

I took a step away from doing this blog for a long while. A big part of me felt like I didn't deserve to make this anymore because I made a huge change in my life. I am no longer a teacher. This blog was created by me, an English teacher, for other English teachers. There are so many books out there that I had never read; having another teacher review them was something I always wished for. So, I decided to create something like that for others. After much thought and self-doubt, I worked my way back here. There will be another post about my journey out of teaching, but I felt you, the reader, deserved to know why I took a step away. 

ANYWAY...... ON TO THE REVIEW!

If you have readers who are suckers for "enemies to lovers" or "coming of age" stories, I have a book for you. This book by Catherine Doyle and Katherine Webber tells the story of twin princesses, Wren and Rose, who are far more different than their faces would suggest. Identical in every appearance, the two are raised in two drastically different worlds after the murder of their parents. 

Rose Valhart, was raised as the crown princess of Eana under her guardian, Willem Rathborne. According to Willem, on the night of her birth, both the king and queen were murdered by the witches. Since her mother, Lilith, was a witch, this was the ultimate betrayal of trust. Willem stated that the midwife witch was seen running away after poisoning the king and killing the queen. Raised on the stories of The Great Protector and his vengeance on the witch kingdom, Rose has a deep-seated hate for anyone who possesses magic. Prim and proper, Rose plans to marry the prince of neighboring Gevra. Upon her marriage, Gevra will send its troops to help eradicate the remaining witches in Eana.

Wren Greenrock was the princess who got away. The midwife witch that was said to be seen fleeing was, in fact, carrying Wren away from the violence. Raised amongst the remaining witches under her grandmother, Bamba's tutelage. Trained from early on to be a spy, Wren is tasked with one destiny; take her sister's throne. With the help of her best friend, Shen Lo, Wren infiltrates the palace and impersonates Rose. Where is Rose? Captured by Shen, Rose must cross the Restless Sands to find the truth. 

As the coronation draws ever closer, Rose and Wren are forced to face the truth of the past and decide what they will do with their future. Their decision will impact their people, both the witches and the nation of Eana. Throw in love interests that neither one should have feelings for and you have a recipe for a perfect Young Adult Fantasy novel. 

This book does a good job of looking at the same situation from multiple perspectives. Not only that, but it also talks about prejudice in a way that is manageable and easy to digest. In a world where discussing human issues in the classroom is questionable, this book allows teachers and students to look at it through the eyes of Rose and Wren. It also raises good discussion questions like: 

• Is there more than one side to history? 
• How do we know that the history we are being taught is the whole truth? 
• What are morals and can they change over time? 
• How does the person teaching a person the difference between right and wrong influence a person's moral compass? 
• How can we admit we are wrong with grace? Is there such a thing? 
• Is it possible for those closest to us to have different opinions than us? If so, how can we disagree in a healthy way? What is unhealthy disagreement? 
• Should you trust people just because you are taught to? Why or why not? 

Suggested Student Age: 14 and up

Warnings: Alcohol use, kissing, illusions of possible sexual encounters, death of parental figures, and sword violence

******** SPOILERS*********

This book was a mess from an adult standpoint. There were a lot of things that I struggled with. However, for teens this book is great. This is mainly because they overlook big issues in the story for the love story. 

This is not true when it comes to me. We are going to talk about a lot of the glaring issues present in this book. 

1) Wren is supposedly trained as a spy her whole life. However, on day one of pretending to be Rose, she throws caution to the wind and does whatever she wants. WHAT TRAINING?! She starts to build a relationship with Tor, the Gevran soldier protecting Rose's betrothed, Ansel. She constantly doing whatever she wants, so much so that it feels like she wants to be caught. Fully aware of the danger she is in just due to her skills as a witch, Wren behaves in such a way that calls her "training" into question repeatedly. She "forgets" so many of the various expectations placed on Rose. She also casts magic without caution. She even puts herself in compromising situations with Tor that would ruin Rose's engagement with Ansel. Wren acts like an idiot throughout the book, putting herself and Rose in danger because of her behavior. 

2) Tor is supposed to be this honest, loyal guard. However, he seems completely unphased by the relationship that Wren is building with him. He even encourages it! He swears that he and Ansel grew up together. They trained together and were like brothers. If that were true, why would he be so quick to betray him? I would have liked to see more of Tor being conflicted. He seems far too happy to fall into Wren's arms. However, he fully believes that she is the crown princess Rose. He knowingly betrays his friend because of a pretty girl. 

3) The only character that actually pulls their weight in this book is Shen Lo. Shen repeatedly saves Rose's life. Not only that but after she runs away, he travels across the desert alone to protect her....AGAIN! He clearly has feelings for her and I think Rose is just suddenly realizing that there is something other than an arranged marriage. She doesn't know how to have real feelings for a boy because she has never seen that as an option. Shen is signing himself up to get hurt. Rose, you better not hurt my little boy Shen. 

4) FINALLY. There is a prophecy that happens at the end of the book. In her dying moments, Bamba's sister (Sorry! I forgot her name and can find it nowhere) delivers a prophecy about the girls' future. Because she was a seer and locked up for many years, everyone thought she was dead. It is not until the girls try to rescue her that Willem actually slits her throat and kills her. This prophecy is just thrown to the side and never mentioned again. It was so important for this woman to utter this with her dying breath. Yet both girls act like it is nothing. I KNOW this was a plot device, but that is just lazy writing. Maybe make it an obsession in the next book. That would be an amazing use of something like a LIFE CHANGING PROPHECY. 

All in all, I really did enjoy this book for what it was, a rom-com YA fantasy novel. I will be finishing the series, only because I NEED to know if Shen makes it to the end. Stay tuned. I will be sure to bring you along for this wild ride as we see how Rose and Wren share a crown. Will they work together to help their people or will they pull their country apart? We'll find out when I review Cursed Crowns.