Book Review
Title: A Shadow Crown by Melissa Blair (The Halfling Saga Book 2)
Genre: Fantasy, Romance
Rating: 4.5 Stars
A Shadow Crown opens with a bang as Keera punches Prince Killian in the face for lying to her and dragging her in order to get her where she is now. Nikolai and Syrra are there but remain more for the moment as Keera begins to understand the position she is in because all the Elverin and Halflings there see her as the enemy because of her position as the King’s Blade. Riven is also missing at this time and Nik refuses to explain because he knows Keera wants to hear it from him. However she is being taken to Myrelinth, Syrra’s home but on their way through the portal they are attacked by creatures known as The Unnamed Ones. During the attack, Keera doubled back to save someone named Pirmiith and gets injured in the process but this isn’t an issue because of her healing factor. Keera also noticed during the attack that the wagon wheel that started the attack has a pin pulled rather than breaking making it seem deliberate which Killian recognised. He asks Keera to keep her temper in check and win over the Elverin and Halflings because she needs them to trust her for their alliance to work.
Keera spends some time in Myrelinth, getting to see a world that was hidden from her for the first time but things aren’t as peaceful as they seem here. Quickly people like Collin begin spreading rumours about Keera to prevent her earning the trust of her fellow Halflings and Elverin which isn’t helping the situation especially since Killian has made Keera a member of the Council. It is here she learns that Killian and Rivan are actually brothers which makes this love triangle a little weird but the attraction Killian has for Keera seems to be one sided. It also comes to light that there is a mole within the rebellion since information is leaking out and the person responsible is trying to frame the Shades which Keera knows isn’t true, but there are lingering questions about who is behind this and why since they aren’t truly harming the Halflings or Elverin just inconveniencing them. I have my suspicions but I am going to wait and see since Riven hasn’t returned yet which is a little disappointing.
Keera’s suspicions of being half-light fae is also seeming more solid since she has a healing factor and they decide to see if there are any light fae left as they could turn the tide in the looming war. However, when evidence comes to light that the light fae knew of the attack coming before they disappeared, Keera comes to the realisation that she might not have been orphaned but abandoned which throws a wrench into the works since they need to light fae to make the war quick and minimise the death toll on both sides. When Rivan does finally return he is faced with a furious Keera who has been keeping her anger bottled up but they decide to put it behind them and she allows Rivan the chance to earn her trust back. Feron reappears to try and heal unseal memories that Keera thinks have been locked away.
This was an interesting turn as it would explain her lack of memories before the Order but she doesn’t take well to the process. During the time she is under Feron’s spell she panics and can’t bring her mind back so she calls out to Rivan’s shadows and they answer drawing her back to the present. Rivan is terrified thinking he hurt her but when she explains his shadows don’t hurt her and she can summon them like she did, he is stunned making me think again that there is balance aspect between dark and light fae. Keera isn’t having much luck unlocking her memories and when the next rescue transport doesn’t show up she knows she has to be the Blade once more to get the information she needs.
Once again Collin tries to pin the fire at the safe house on her but Riven sides with her even losing control of his shadows at one point attacking Collin. Keera heads back to the King to make a report but he isn’t seeing anyone and seems to have gone mad while she has been away but he is no less cruel. He gives her until the full moon to give him the Shadow’s aka Riven’s head or he will kill the shades, one for every day she is late and she knows he will follow through. The city itself is also crumbling with no rations being given out for weeks and Keera feels a desperate need to help them if she can. Upon returning she asks Dynara to go back into her old life as a spy in order to help her save the people from the King and surprisingly she agrees.
With only three weeks to save the shades and Halflings in the city and having to solve the riddle of the mole within the rebellion is really getting to her but she hasn’t had a drink so far which is a great step for her from the first book. She also makes a breakthrough with the memory sharing being able to share a memory with Feron of her killing Collin’s family. Despite being as merciful as she could with their deaths which Feron sees Keera doesn’t feel that way. However, Feron points out that she’s got nothing to lose by sharing that information with Collin since he believes his whole family including a younger sister were public ally beaten then killed which wasn’t the case at all. Things are picking up speed now building towards the upcoming war and the reveal of Keera’s true heritage.
During her sessions with Feron, they manage to confirm that both Rivan and Keera are Fae but the question of Keera’s amber blood remains. The symbols she saw in her memories might hold the answers since it seems that the light fae weren’t wiped out and they are in hiding and to protect Keera they sealed away her memories of them. However, the opposition to Keera has reached the breaking point as they call for her banishment which would mean having her memories wiped and they can’t allow that to happen. Since the answers Keera wants are back at the Palace it seems she is going to have to temporarily return to her old life in order to find those answers and begin the journey to finding the light fae, but I can tell there are going to be more struggles along the way since the identity of the mole still hasn’t been revealed and my money is on Collin or one of his cronies.
During their time in the capital a lot happens very quickly so I tried to make sense of it the best I could. Since Prince Damien is having a party they are going to use it as their distraction to get out in less than two days. However, things begin to go awry when one of them is captured and thrown in the dungeons and Keera knows she can’t leave anyone there especially a Halflings as it is a death sentence. Keera is also feeling the weight of her decisions more than every especially when it seems that there are traitors within the Shades which isn’t something she was expecting but they are all doing what they can to survive under the King’s rule.
When it seems that Lord Curringham bombs the Palace creating absolute chaos, Keera gets all her people out before heading to the dungeons. She ends up finding her friend easily but there is someone else there, someone she can only put a name to now and that is Syrra’s sister who is also Nik’s mother. Upon returning to the fae land, Keera has to face the consequences of not attending her own hearing but she bypasses this by swearing a both oath to protect the Elverin and Halflings with her life putting the rumours to rest before announcing the return of her friend’s mother. Keera tries to use her healing to help but with a seal binding her powers she knocks herself out doing it and her friends have a managed to find the key to breaking the seal and it means Keera has to return to the rift where she was found all those years ago.
With less than 100 pages left in the novel, I wasn’t sure how Blair was going to set up the third book but I genuinely pray it isn’t with the miscommunication trope or being betrayed by Rivan but I doubt this one. The ending took so many twists and turns and really set up the finale well and raised the stakes to new levels. As we have seen Blair isn’t afraid to kill off characters which she uses to perfection in the closing section of the book. Overall, this was a delightful re entry into the series and I can’t wait to dive into the final book. One of the highlights for me was the relationship between Keera and Riven especially when the spicy scene happens because unlike so many novels we actually get informed consent which was amazing on top of the emotional nature of the scene.
Buy it here:
Paperback/Hardcover: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
Kindle Edition: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
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