This book was very interesting and I loved the LGBTQ+ representation in it. I did feel like it was somehow both fast and slow paced at the same time but it was definitely a solid book and I would read more from the author in the future.

3.5 stars rounding up to 4

I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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Review:

Traitors of the Black Crown tells the stories of three strong women, fighting back against the cruel rulers of Candor. For over a decade Raena Schinen has disguised herself as a knight, “Sir Rowan,” and plotted her revenge on the crown that killed her family.

This novel features a blooming queer romance, with two women finding trust in one another. The politics of the world evolve throughout the book as secrets are revealed and characters learn there may be more to the story of their past that was hidden from view. This novel questions what is right, and challenges its characters to uphold those standards regardless of the cost.

This debut novel by Cate Pearce lays the groundwork for a new fan-favourite series, the ending of the first installment leaving the readers wanting more.

This was a fantastic book, I wasn't expecting to enjoy it as much as I did!

The writing is beautiful and the world building is so well done, the history and politics of the land is detailed but not overly done with too much exposition, it all fits within the pace of the story.

I wondered initially how the story would unfold, with one of the main characters, Raena Schinen who is a woman disguised as a male knight, but I was delighted with the development of her character and her relationship with Duchess Avenna. The characters are multi-layered and it was so interesting to learn more about them and their motivations and history as the story went on.

I was even happier to reach the end and discovered there will be a sequel, which is fantastic as I need more of this story!

This was definitely an interesting story, though sometimes it felt like nothing was really happening my interest definitely picked up towards the the end of the book. I felt like the most interesting part of the book was the Boens but there wasn't really that much time given to them. I am looking forward to the next book to see how everything plays out.

#TraitorsoftheBlackCrown #NetGalley
I have to say I really enjoyed this book! I can't wait to get a physical copy
5/5 stars :-)

This book follows the journey of Raena aka Sir Rowan. Raena had to hide as a boy in plain sight as people want her dead. Things go from bad to worse when Sir Rowan gets exiled to be killed on sight if she returns. So there goes her plans of revenge against the Queen and the Prince and it doesnt help matters that the queen is on deaths door. Read along to find out what happens as she reaches Candor and how she finally gets her revenge. All in all a well written, action packed fun.

I got an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Good story. Lost princess (or similar) hiding identity, fighting for revenge against the usurpers who killed her family. Slight twist as well with regards to a "commoner" who features in the story. Although I think we guessed her proper parentage before it was revealed. Looking forward to the sequel.

Traitors of the Black Crown by Cate Pearce is a fantasy novel with a sapphic love story woven in. This novel follows the perspectives of Raena, Aven and Queen Zarana as the story unfolds. There is plenty of world-building and character interaction without it feeling like it is slowing the story down. The romance between Raena and Aven felt like a pleasant slow-burn without explicit intimate scenes.
There were action scenes and a few moments where things were at their leisure. There were plenty of twists that were compelling
When it comes to plot twists, I usually can predict them from early on, but with Traitors of the Black Crown I actually didn't predict the plot twists from moment one. While I made predictions and only a few actually being correct in the end, the actual plot twists are logical having been foreshadowed subtly.

Going into this book, I'll admit I was a little worried that it would be drenched in history and politics and I'd find it hard to get through. While there were a lot of conversations that admittedly went over my head, overall, I enjoyed this book. I really liked Raena as a main character and while there was a bit of worry about her secret, it wasn't the main focus which I really appreciated. I also liked Aven and a bunch of the supporting characters. To me, they felt very fleshed out. The beginning was admittedly a bit slow but it does pick up and I found myself especially excited for Zarana's chapters. I did guess the twist but there were definitely things that came out of nowhere as a surprise and took the story in an interesting direction. Overall, a very solid book and I look forward to the next one in the series!

Thanks to Netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Sir Rowan is not all he seems, he is in fact a woman called Raena. Having witnessed all her family being slaughtered by the Queen, Raena has spent most of her life in disguise firstly as a squire then as a knight. The Queen's son, Prince Zander holds a lavish tournament in which all the knights of the realm are commanded to take part. Disliking the outcome of the tournament, Zander banishes Sir Rowan to East Shore to serve in the household of Duchess Aven Colby.
Having read the book, I found the synopsis that has been given rather misleading. Yes, what is described is what happens, but basically, there's nothing else. I was expecting an action packed adventure but what this book delivers is a slow paced, romance with occasional episodes of action thrown in. There are long chapters of conversations between the characters that felt so dull and stagnated the story. The characters were likeable but I didn't find them particularly engaging. Overall, I found this book to be rather disappointing

I had a lot of hope for this book and it did not disappoint. The beginning was a hard to get into and took me some time to get through. But the rest of the story was attention grabbing and I was hooked. I loved the romance between Aven and Raena as well as both of their individual characters.

Both villains in this book were incredibly well-written. I instantly despised Zander and that was the kind of character he was. While Zarana was a more understandable villain. I loved having both in this story, one to absolutely hate and one that you can sort of understand.

I absolutely love the representation we got in this book. We got to see a crossdressed knight and a really good queer slow-burn romance.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hansen House for this ARC and thank you to Cate Pearce for this really good book.

A woman disguised as a man, stealing the heart of a duchess? Consider me intrigued from the second I read this blurb, and when I read the book I was not disappointed. I loved the world building in this and how detail and history don’t overtake the writing and plot. I also loved the use of multiple POVs and how each of the characters interacted each other to build the overall plot. The ending has left me with so many questions that I need answers to, so I will be waiting impatiently for the next book in the series.

Rating: 4.5/5

This book was so good. There are lovable characters, an intriguing plot, and a lovely romance. It gives a mix of politics, history, and action while entwining a romance within it all. The farther into the book you get, the better it gets. There are multiple POVs, so readers get a wide look at the story.

I thought the world-building was amazing. We got so much history without taking away from the plot. All of the characters were wonderfully written, from main characters to side characters. They were all fantastic. Even the characters I didn't like were well written. Raena and Aven were amazing main characters. The romance was beautifully done.

The ending left me desperate for answers. I cannot wait for the next book. I need to know what happens next. I love this book. I had high expectations, and it met all of them. I will definitely be reading future books. I have so many thoughts about this book it's impossible to write them all out.

*Thank you Netgalley and Hansen House for this arc. All opinions in this review are my own.*

It started slowly at first but after that, it was a wonderful story with so much happening. I'm looking forward to continuing the story in the future.
( I do hope for some maps, timeline etc to help reference back to.

While the premise of the story pulled me in, and the gorgeous cover, I couldn’t make it through the first few chapters. Despite the other good reviews here, it simply was not a book for me. The story flows at quite a leisurely pace to build the world setting more thoroughly but, much like Robert Jordan’s ‘Wheel of Time’ series, Cate Pearce spends a little too much time describing the environment and not enough on what was occurring. For example, the capital city of Candor and the surrounding lands are comprehensively visualised but during the Trials that Raena and Finn must endure I lost track of their movement simply because there was less information given. I understand that the pace changed quickly, and as such, Raena and Finn had to adapt on the fly, but I feel as though I as a reader should have had a better overview.

When it comes to the main character, I found that Raena could be quite likeable. Although, I did have several occasions where I wondered if her cover could be blown because she wasn’t paying attention to disguising her voice in public settings. While it is noted early in the first chapter that she makes her voice a little deeper and more masculine sounding, I couldn’t help but also notice that later on when she is laughing in the wait rooms with Finn that it’d be really hard to disguise a woman’s laugh when they enjoyed their mirth a little too much.

I am giving the book a 3-star rating because I neither liked nor disliked it. I feel it would be unfair to rate lower based on it being a poor fit. The story itself had great promise, the characters are well thought out, and the world-building is on-point. It simply moved too slowly for my reading preferences.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hansen House for allowing me the opportunity to read this novel and offer my thoughts.

Thank you netgalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed this book. I loved the concept of it and think it was executed really well. I also really enjoyed the diversity in the book. I can’t wait to read other work from this author. I gave it a 4/5 stars.

Progressing at a leisurely pace and populated with likeable personages, Traitors of the Black Crown charts a renegade plot against crooked royalty through plural perspectives in company with a charged and refreshingly pure-hearted romance. Raena is a keen but wary amateur knight hiding out in the open, and her obvious kind-heartedness and helpful airs attract the attentions of the knocked-about aristocratic widow Aven, over-trusting and oblivious to the guise of her gallant-in-shining-armour's assumed appearance. Amid tense sword-waving and the tongue-lashing tirades of their tyrannical liege, a liaison is tiled between the slow-burn lovers and an unlikely supporter, in tandem with the suspense-rich subplots of their subsidiary linkups that are threaded throughout their travails. The camaraderie between the cross-dressing Raena and her courtly peers and pals will charm you with plenty of chuckles, and the clandestine cabals and private ploys make for a compelling and plucky chronicle of courage and genderswapped chivalry.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hansen House for kindly passing on this arc! 💫

As a fantasy genre reader, I was so excited to get my teeth into this. And my only criticism is that it was not at least half as long again. I finished this book way too soon, and I wish I hadn't. But the story grabs you as much as the characters to. Rowen is an amazing leading character, their personal struggles are amazingly written, and you can understand their struggle. Some fun and unexpected twists in this story, and I loved it. I can not wait for the next book and see where this story goes!

This was a long read, and whilst I had other things to do today, I am all about slow burn queer fantasy and this was fantastic!

Off the bat, its been a long time since I’ve had to put a book down because of the amount of rage I held towards the villain. Zander is incredibly well-written and consequently incredibly easy to hate. His role in the book, and the amount of physical and political power he wields is incredibly frustrating. I would have thrown the book, but if I broke my tablet I wouldn’t have been able to finish it!

Traitors of the Black Crown opens with a series of Trials for Knights of the kingdom, hosted by Zander (who takes great joy in unnecessary cruelty). Despite her best efforts, our protagonist Raena is banished to a foreign Duchy to serve Duchess Avenna (Aven) as political and violent turmoil washes over the land.

I adored Raena, and liked Aven – their character development was both logical AND a slow burn, which I really enjoyed; it made sense and was romantic at the same time, something that other queer romances can struggle to balance. I am all for secret identities and also people falling in love with personalities and their values rather than just because they are queer.

Can I give this 4.75 stars? It’s so so close to 5 (so I’ll round it up!) but I would have loved a map and/or a mini history at the start of this excellent book. A significant amount of character development was rooted in the previous conflict and the areas involved and so, whilst the worldbuilding was excellent and often clearly communicated, it would be good to have something along those lines to introduce the reader.

However, I adored Traitors of the Black Crown, and it physically hurt me to have to put it down to sleep last night, and then I ignored most of my work today (whoops) to finish it. F/F romance, politics and conflict – a definite must-read recommendation for 2021!

My thanks to NetGalley, Hansen House and the brilliant Cate Pearce for this e-ARC!

Raena's parents were killed by the queen when she was a young girl and since then she has been forced to hide in plain site by masquerading as a man, a knight. She has always worked hard to maintain her image so that no one would discover the truth, but she finds herself conflicted when she falls in love with Duchess Avenna.

I really enjoyed this story and the character development. The writing was easy to follow and the romance between Raena and Avenna was quite beautiful. Aven and Raena's love was a remarkable example of how love doesn't choose gender, but it is the person and soul you fall in love with that matters. The politics and history was a bit heavy for my tastes, and I was definitely hoping the next page I read would bring me back to the characters and romance. The ending was quite abrupt and left me with a lot of questions, but this book is the first in a series. This was my first time to a F/F romance book and I thought it was really well done! Since this is the first in a series, I am 100% looking forward to the next one and seeing what happens next!!!