Review: 'Cruel Crown' (0.1 - 0.2 Red Queen) by Victoria Aveyard

The Red Queen series has been on my list for a number of years now and yet I never got around to really reading it. As I'm working on my backlog now this series immediately jumped out at me as the one I want to spend some time on. Cruel Crown is a prequel book, really made up of two different stories taking place before the series' main events. Did it help, reading this before the first book? Or did I just confuse myself? Maybe a bit of both. Thanks to NetGalley and Orion Publishing Group for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Gratitude also for the patience.

Pub. Date: 4/21/2016
Publisher: Orion Publishing Group

In a world divided by blood - Red or Silver - two women tell the stories no one else knows.

For Coriane of House Jacos, love comes at a terrible cost. In a secret diary, she recounts her heady courtship with the heir to the Silver throne, Prince Tiberias, and the dangers that lurk at the heart of the royal court.

Captain Farley is at the forefront of the Red rebellion. As she plans an attack on the Silver capital, she discovers a secret that could sway the balance of power for ever.

Two gripping stories. One fight for justice.

Red vs Silver.

I remember the craze a few years back where every series got random little novella-esque prequels in between the main installments, always numbered 0.1 or 1.5. On the one hand I  love having extra material from a series I loved, on the other hand I always wondered whether these little books actually added something to the overall story. With Cruel Crown I find myself in the position that while technically these stories come first, chronologically, they don't feel entirely useful without having read at least the first book. I could tell, while reading, that I was meant to recognise characters or understand the gravity of certain moments, but I couldn't, really, because the context was missing. The world-building in this book, while enough for the stories themselves, also seems to assume a certain knowledge. Cruel Crown was my first introduction to the Silver/Red divide and I had to really pay attention to have it make sense to me. Perhaps that's on me for starting here rather than with Red Queen. What Cruel Crown did do, however, is whet my appetite. I've had a glimpse at the world, seen all kinds of different stories that clearly intertwine but are just out of my reach. So Red Queen is definitely going to be my next read.

Cruel Crown is split into two stories. The first, 'Queen Song', is the story of Coriane Jacos who finds herself falling in love with and being loved by a prince despite all odds. Struggling at a Silver court full of intrigue, Coriane desperately tries to protect the integrity of her own mind and her own self. This story had a very Gothic, dramatic feel to it. The descriptions were sumptuous and Coriane's concern and restraint does really come through. When things begin to unravel I could tell that this would maybe be relevant in the rest of the series, but I mainly felt sorry for Coriane herself. The second story is 'Steel Scars' which looks at the other side of the coin, the Reds. Captain Farley is a completely different character to Coriane, much more stern and steely, but they share a certain resentment about their fate, about the world they're growing up in, about their families. This second story has a very different feel to 'Queen Song' in that it focuses on something akin to guerilla warfare, undercover missions, and more immediate tension. I liked Farley, but here I really noticed my lack of background information because the struggle between the Reds and Silvers was still so unfamiliar to me. I figured out enough through context clues, but I didn't really understand her motivations and history properly. I liked our introduction to Mare Barrow though, so I'm excited to see her story develop in Red Queen.

As my first introduction to Victoria Aveyard's writing Cruel Crown was rather intriguing. The two stories are so separate in their focus and setting that I got a taste of the variety of what Aveyard can do. 'Queen Song' is lush and evocative, a story of a woman who feels attacked from all sides, even by her own mind. 'Steel Scars' is a story of a woman who is actually often attacked, but there is a steel core to her, a conviction, that allows her to make tough decisions on her own. They provided a nice counter-balance to each other and I liked seeing Aveyard go from descriptions of court scenes and etiquette to scenes of undercover work and military reports. While much of the world of the Red Queen series is still a mystery to me, I think Cruel Crown has given me a good idea of what to expect. I can't wait to learn more about the presence of technology alongside archaic kingdoms, the use of knives alongside actual guns. I will definitely keep reading this series!

I give this book...

3 Universes!

I would definitely recommend reading the stories in Cruel Crown after having read one of the main installments of the Red Queen series. That way the stories will actually fill in gaps and expand the world of the series. However, it nonetheless worked well as a teaser for me and I can't wait to read more.