Review: Twin Crowns (Twin Crowns #1)

Twin Crowns, Book 1 in The Twin Crowns by Catherine Doyle and Katherine Webber

Published By: Electric Monkey
Publication Date: May 12, 2022
Date Read: December 31, 2024
Genre: YA – Fantasy
Source: Bought
Format: Audiobook
Pages: 507

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Wren Greenrock has always known that one day she would steal her sister’s place in the palace. Trained from birth to return to the place of her parents’ murder and usurp the only survivor, she will do anything to rise to power and protect the community of witches she loves. Or she would, if only a certain palace guard wasn’t quite so distractingly attractive, and if her reckless magic didn’t have a habit of causing trouble…

Princess Rose Valhart knows that with power comes responsibility. Marriage into a brutal kingdom awaits, and she will not let a small matter like waking up in the middle of the desert in the company of an extremely impertinent (and handsome) kidnapper get in the way of her royal duty. But life outside the palace walls is wilder and more beautiful than she ever imagined, and the witches she has long feared might turn out to be the family she never knew she was missing.

Two sisters separated at birth and raised into entirely different worlds are about to get to know each other’s lives a whole lot better. But as coronation day looms closer and they each strive to claim their birthright, the sinister Kingsbreath, Willem Rathborne, becomes increasingly determined that neither will succeed. Who will ultimately rise to power and wear the crown?

” ‘You are the thing you fear most.’ His face softened. ‘And are you really so scary?’ “

Twin Crowns has been on my radar, and my TBR for years. I’m a huge fan of both Catherine Doyle and Katherine Webber from reading their separate works previously, and so I was super excited that they were writing a fantasy series together. I couldn’t wait to dive in to see how they did fantasy, after their previous works being more contemporary. I don’t really know what took me so long to pick this one up. I had always intended to pick it up and just never got around to it until now. I am so glad that I did as I absolutely loved this book.

I will come straight out and say that I listened to the audiobook of this one and while I wasn’t completely sold on both narrators to start with, I ended up being really happy that I listened to this one. The narrator for Wren, right from the start I loved. I really enjoyed her narration and kept wishing the entire book was from Wren’s perspective so I could keep listening to her. I wasn’t crazy about the narrator for Rose at the start. Her voice was just a bit too ‘uppity’ for my liking, but the more I got into the book, the more I warmed to it as I realised it was very accurate for the character. I ended up loving the audio of this one and I definitely recommend the audio edition of this book.

At the start Wren was definitely my favourite character. I loved her and how gritty she was. Such a contrast from very prim and proper Rose. And seeing her trying desperately to pretend to be Rose was honestly hilarious. I wasn’t crazy about Rose at the start. She was just too prissy and annoying, but the more I got through the book, and the more she learnt about herself and her past, the more I warmed to her. I’m really excited to continue the series and see which sister (if any) I end up preferring.

I will say that Twin Crowns is definitely at the younger end of YA, so if you sometimes read YA but reading about young characters making stupid mistakes annoys you, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it to you. These characters make stupid mistakes… as is realistic of someone their age. I remember speaking to a friend about this and her getting frustrated at the actions of the characters, however as someone who works with 16/17 year olds, I felt like they acted exactly as my students would if they were in these situations, so I found them very realistic. Just be mindful that that is what you are getting, authentic annoying teenagers.

I truly loved everything about Twin Crowns. I loved the characterisation, the plot and the ending was fantastic to me. I’m super excited to see how the relationships develop in the second book now that both twins know about their past etc. I can’t wait and would definitely recommend this book to any YA fantasy fan.

“I always thought I would rule this land with a husband by my side. A king who was clever and strong and fearless. Why can’t it be a sister instead?”