Review – Cruel Crown (Red Queen Novellas) by Victoria Aveyard (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Science Fiction
Length: 208 pages
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: January 5, 2016
ISBN-13: 978-0062435347
Stand Alone or Series: Prequel novellas to the Red Queen series
Source: Borrowed from Library
Rating: 4/5 stars

This book contained two well done novellas set in the Red Queen world. The first novella takes place before Red Queen and the second takes place at the same time as Red Queen. Both were well written and engaging.

The first novella is set in the past and is the diary of Queen Coriane, the first wife of King Tiberius. As events progress Queen Coriane becomes paranoid that her thoughts are being used against her by a rival at court. This novella very melancholy and depressing, but still very engaging and sweet. It gives some good background about Cal’s parents, but was a pretty short read.

The second novella is much longer and explains in more detail the actions of the Scarlet Guard. This one follows Diana Farley as she strives to plant seeds of dissension in Norta and spark a rebellion there. We watch as she discovers Mare Barrow and starts to formulate ideas about how to overthrow the Silvers. I enjoyed this one a lot more than the first one, the characters were interesting and there was a lot of action.

Overall both novellas were well written and easy to read. I would recommend if you are a fan of the series. I also thought it was a good way to ease back into this world in preparation for reading Glass Sword.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge
– New Release Challenge
– Flights of Fantasy Reading Challenge