Review: Twin Crowns by Catherine Doyle and Katherine Webber

Summary

Twins Princess Rose Valhart and Wren Greenrock have lived completely different lives. Rose never wanted for anything at the beautiful palace. While Wren trained, always preparing to steal the crown from her sister.

When Rose wakes up one morning in the desert, she’s determined to get back home immediately. She has no idea who Shen Lee is and she doesn’t even realize she has a twin, let alone that Wren is pretending to be her back at the palace.

Both Rose and Wren have a lot to learn about this kingdom and what really happened to their parents. Especially if they want to save it from from those determined to get rid of magic. Who knows, maybe two princesses are better than one.

1. Was Twin Crowns able to grab your attention immediately?

What hooked us immediately was that the kidnapping of Rose took place right away. We expected there to be more background information, but Doyle and Webber threw us right into the action. The first few chapters had us asking about Rose’s and Wren’s backgrounds and what happened the day they were born. We were also introduced to Shen Lee, Wren’s best friend and some of the palace staff members. We’re curious to see what role these characters will play.

Book club members said the beginning of Twin Crowns gave them Serpent & Dove, Twitches and Princess Bride vibes. We agreed: there were similarities to all of these.

2. How did Twin Crowns compare to other YA fantasy books?

The main thought we had was that Twin Crowns is already so different from Doyle’s other YA series, Blood For Blood. Even though it’s not YA fantasy, we were surprised to see how different the books and writing style were.

When comparing it to other YA fantasy, a member of book club said that what he liked most was how funny the characters were. The one aspect of fantasy usually missing for him is the absence of humor, which made him really enjoy the banter between the characters.

Another aspect that surprised us was that this book didn’t really end on a cliffhanger, but there will be a second installment. Most YA fantasy has a big reveal at the very end.

3. How did the main characters change throughout the story?

Rose’s character development disappointed everyone. We understand her starting out as a prim and proper princess, we just wish she changed more throughout the story. We hoped to see more growth, especially with as much as she learned.

Wren was a more relatable character, as she knew a lot more about the kingdom than her twin. We still saw her experience some development, especially when she starts falling for a guard named Tor. We found Wren to be courageous and entertaining.

Shen and Tor were both good love interests so far, even though neither are Luca Falcone level swoonworthy. We’re interested to learn more about both of the leading men in book 2.

4. How did you feel about the ending?

For a book that felt over-written, the ending was rushed. Most aspects of the book ended a bit too neatly, which surprised us. While we didn’t hate the ending, we wish it had a more interesting conflict and set up for book 2 better. As of now, we have no idea what it will even be about.

We did enjoy the sisterhood bond that started to form near the end. We hope that complex relationship is developed further. While we’re not desperate for the next book, we’re curious what Doyle and Webber have planned next.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.5/⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐