Book 1- Cool.
Book 2- This is like, getting epic!
Book 3- HOLY FREAKING HEKK! AMAZING!!!!!
I mean, is that enough to explain my feelings for this book? No?! Okay, well here goes...
From page one I was hooked, and not just 'Oh I think I'd like to keep reading', but "Wait, did I just read 100 pages while I was taking a five minute study break?' and 'I'll stop reading at 1.30, okay 2.00, fine 2.30, crap it's almost 3.00!' and "Good night parents, I'm off to bed" "But Jem, it's only 7.30..." "And?!? My book awaits!".
Painting a good enough picture yet?! It was addicting, and any reservations or issues I had with the first two books didn't exist here. I was so engaged and god-damned invested that it really isn't normal, and I should probably see someone...
What actually happened in the book you ask?! Well my friends, that is a bit hard to say considering its, you know, the final book! But fine, I'll try and describe it without spoiling the intensity that is this Crystal Kingdom!
Bryn is on the run after being framed for an act of treason which she didn't commit. Her whole world has been tipped upside down and pulled inside out. Now she is allying with the man who tried to kill her father, and seeking aid from the most brutal of the troll kingdoms in order to save her own tribes'. But in doing so, will she end up destroying them, or hurting those she loves?! And of course, the romance! I was so, so, so happy with the romance in Crystal Kingdom. It was near damn perfect! In the Trylle series the couple I shipped didn't end up together, and I was so terrified that it would happen again in this book... but it didn't! They're totes a canon now! Who is, you ask?! Not telling, I say!
I felt that the content was a lot more mature than some YA fantasy, which was so refreshing! Not one single character, (okay maybe one, but she was meant to) irked me. I had such strong emotions for so many of the characters, and found that I could really relate and connect with them. This of course led to some screaming, crying and asking myself WHY?!!?!!?!! when the shit started to get very real. It's still hard to talk about, and I'm not giving spoilers so don't even bother asking. Just don't expect to go to sleep straight after finishing it, or think that you will get out without any emotional scaring. You've been warned!
Rate: 9/10
Pages: 422
Format: Paperback
Genre: YA Fantasy
Acquired from: Pan Macmillan Publishing
Thoughts and things I loved (as told from my little brown book)
• "When they'd first been assigned to her [Tilda], I'd heard the recruits snickering about how easy they'd gotten it because she was pregnant and a girl. None of them were snickering now." -pg 247
• "If we had been attacked, I imagined her [Lisbet] still dancing to the music, like the orchestra that had played on as the Titanic sank." -pg 278
•*2 hours after I finished the book and went to bed* ...What even is life...
• I HAD A DREAM WHERE I WAS AS BAD-ARSE AS BRYN! It was awesome!!
*I received this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are entirely my own*
Q & A with author Amanda Hocking!!!
1. What inspired you to create the world behind the Kanin series?
The Kanin series is a spinoff of my previous trilogy, the Trylle, and both of them were inspired by Scandinavian folklore about trolls as beautiful, cunning, and ill-tempered. With the Trylle, I showed the world from the point of view of the aristocracy, but with the Kanin, I wanted to showcase the world from view of someone who grew up in it, fighting in the trenches.
I was also really inspired by a trip I took Canada and Alaska, and the beauty and magic of the landscape. I also took inspiration from the works of Alexandre Dumas, particularly The Three Musketeers, which was one of my favourite stories growing up.
2. How do you choose the names for your characters?
With the characters in the Kanin Chronicles, I looked at popular and historical names from Scandinavia, which is how names like Tilda and Linnea were chosen. I also went with a more typical spelling for names, so I chose Viktor vs Victor and Konstantin vs Constantine. And some names I chose just because I liked, like Ember. Ridley was named after the director Ridley Scott, who has made so many of my favourite films, like Blade Runner, Alien, and Legend.
3. Do you ship any of your characters with characters from other fictional works? If so, who?
I hadn’t really thought of it before. But I think Bryn would have a lot of fun with Ichabod Crane from Sleepy Hollow, and I think Ember would have a huge crush on Hermione Granger. I’d also be interested in seeing what trouble Konstantin would get into if he paired with Poison Ivy from Batman.