Review | TWIN CROWNS by Catherine Doyle & Katherine Webber

Review of TWIN CROWNS by Catherine Doyle & Katherine Webber

“The golden gates of Anadawn Palace glittered in the setting sun, each spike as sharp as a dagger.” 

– Twin Crowns
Catherine Doyle & Katherine Webber

‘Twin Crowns’ is a YA book version of ‘Barbie as the Princess and the Pauper‘ and in the best way possible

Synopsis

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?

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Review

I would like to start by emphasizing how much I love this cover. What a beauty! I could really buy this book just because I like the cover so much. The map at the beginning of Twin Crowns also looked great.

The storyline of Twin Crowns reminds me of ‘Barbie as the princess and the beggar’ in the best possible way. I was (and still am) a huge fan of the film, so I was thrilled to see a book with a similar concept come out. Twins Crowns completely fulfils the ‘lost sisters’ trope.

The characters were fun to follow. My favourite sister is Wren because I can appreciate that naughty side to a character. Rose is a little softer and a little more innocent, which provides a nice contrast. I also found Celeste very interesting. She is definitely a unique character and reminded me a bit of Coco Monvoisin from the Witch & Hunter series. As I love Coco, the same goes for Celeste. She is a real badass.

There is strong character development in both Rose and Wren in Twin Crowns. You literally see them grow with each chapter and that is really nice to see. Shen and Tor also fit well into the story.

The writing style was pleasant. I would love to know how Catherine and Katherine handled this? Did one person write Rose’s chapters and the other Wren’s? Or did they tackle this together? In any case, Twin Crowns reads very smoothly. I was through the book in no time.

I liked the storyline itself. There were some nice moments, like the scenes where Rose crosses the desert. Some scenes were rather predictable. Also, the ending was not a big reveal for me. I saw everything coming. This made the book less exciting at times.

Even though the ending was a bit predictable, I am still eager to read the next part. I think the second book in this series will be very exciting and original.

Would I recommend it?

If you like to read a real YA book, I would definitely recommend this one.

Rating

8/10

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Details

Trigger warnings
Magic, war, taking possession of someone through magic, stealing identity, blood, death, death of parents
Representation
Black side character, asian side character
Genre
Fantasy (young adult)
Pages
480
Publication date
May 17th 2022
Publisher
Balzer & Bray
About the author
Catherine Doyle grew up in the West of Ireland. She holds a first-class BA in Psychology and a first-class MA in Publishing. She is the author of the Young Adult Blood for Blood trilogy (Vendetta, Inferno and Mafiosa), which is often described as Romeo and Juliet meets the Godfather. It was inspired by her love of modern cinema. Her debut Middle Grade novel, The Storm Keeper’s Island (Bloomsbury, 2018), is an adventure story about family, bravery and self-discovery. It is set on the magical island of Arranmore, where her grandparents grew up, and is inspired by her ancestors’ real life daring sea rescues.

Katherine Webber was born in Southern California in 1987. She has lived in Hong Kong, Hawaii, and Atlanta. She currently lives in London with her husband, Kevin, and their young daughter. In addition to her YA, Katherine also co-writes young fiction, as Katie Tsang, with Kevin.