I’m a sucker for a female empowerment story and a unique mythology retelling, and Emily R. King’s Wings of Fury series delivers all of that and more.

Crown of Cinders picks up six months after the events of Wings of Fury, where the six elder Olympian siblings are still trying to overthrow Cronus. It takes place from the perspective of Althea, revealed to be the goddess Hera, who continues to fight for the protection of all women.

I loved how King gave depth to Hera’s character where many authors portray her as a harpy. Yes, she does have a habit of attacking the children of Zeus’ extramarital affairs (justified, but the children shouldn’t be punished for the fact that their father can’t keep it in his pants). In this book, we see a very feminist version of Hera. Her character is developed more in her interactions with her sisters Demeter and Hestia (Cleora and Bronte). Crown of Cinders is undoubtedly a woman-centered Greek mythology retelling. I was heartened to see their sisterly bond and reminded of my own bond with my sister. It was also fun to see the inclusion of Poseidon and Hades in this story.

Greek mythology is full of drama, and King’s writing style helped emphasize that aspect of the source material. The tension did not let up for one minute in the book, and the pacing of the story was consistent. I didn’t find myself bored at any point. Crown of Cinders was an amazing read, and I’m so happy that I was able to read it early!

I recognize that Greek mythology can be very confusing at times (especially with all the different relationships and couplings). I’m grateful that there was a family tree included at the beginning of the book to help keep everything straight.

Thank you to Emily R. King, NetGalley, and 47North for allowing me to read an early copy of this book at no cost to myself.

This was an interesting follow up to the first in the series. I was surprised by the wrap up to the main plot in book 2; however, I remain intrigued with the tension between the Olympians, namely Hera and Zeus.

"Like most powerful men, he was vain"

This book was retelling of greek mythology focused on Hera's POV and her siblings. I'm a huge fan of retellings so I couldn't miss this one and I really liked it. This was great. 4,5/5⭐

Thank you NetGalley for providing digital advanced copy in exchange for honest review.

Thank you to Net Galley for this advanced copy! I was so excited to read this! I loved this different retelling. The Young Gods and Goddesses must overthrow their father Chronos for the sake of humanity. Hera ( Althea) turns out to be quite the hero of the story! I couldn’t put this down! Like the first book, I loved all the mythology and the fast pace of the storyline. I also loved the characters and their sibling banter back and forth! This was so much fun! I hope there is a next book in this series as I’d like to see how the Zeus/ Hera relationship progresses as well as the other Gods and Goddesses!

I love this! I love Greek mythology and this was written wonderfully! I didn't know how I was going to feel about this book when I started it, however, it surpassed my standards for sure. This is definitely a future reread!

I'm so so glad this was a NetGalley "read now" selection because after I finished Wings of Fury I was able to step right into this one!
And it was fantastic! We pop right into action that picks up 6 months after the end of Wings of Fury. And the action never stops. I still loved the 3 sisters and their interactions together, and then I really loved them finding Hades and Poseidon and bringing them into the fold. Watching Hera come into both her name and her abilities was so great, and Theo was right up there next to her and seeing that support from him was everything. The author did a great job both telling an "unknown" history, and setting us up for the parts of mythology we already know. I cried at the end, not going to lie, that really broke my heart.
I will 100% read more in this series if there is another book. I think there's so much more to tell. And once again, we are reminded that men have written our histories and colored our perception of the women in them. It really hits home when Zeus tells Hera she will be remembered as a shrew.
But, loved this book, highly recommend!

Good retelling of Greek mythology. Focuses on Hera's POV and the beginning pf Olympus. As the second in continuation of a more woman-centered retelling, I wish this author much success.

I didn’t enjoy this one as much as the first one. I was hoping for more sisterly bonding. The time jump was a little weird and I don’t see why it was needed. I enjoyed the twists and felt emotionally connected to the characters. My heart broke for Theo and Hera. Overall I really enjoyed this book. I hoping there will be more of this story.

What an action packed story. From the opening, the tension did not let up and throughout the book.

The young gods are coming together, learning to use their gifts and powers, and fighting forces of evil that threaten to end the world. King does an excellent job of world building with a complicated but easily understood world. Her imagination brings new life and detail to stories already told about the Greek gods.

The characters were in depth and unique, yet they also followed the traditional stories. This is an excellent sequel.

I received an advance copy through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

While I'm extremely sad that I missed the first book in this series, I'm super happy that I was able the read this one. I've been really enjoying these retellings and I really appreciate the struggle of characters to defeat villains in mythology as well. I really appreciate how empowered the main character is and overall it's super well-written and compelling.

'Crown of Cinders': 5 ⭐

(Unpaid Review: thank you @netgalley, @emilyrking and 47north for allowing me to read this book in exchange for a honest review).

I've always been fond of greek mythology, especially when it's written in such a way that can leave your brain in a very big tangled mess of ideas. 'Crown of Cinders' is one of those books that messes with your head and your heart in the best way possible.
The writing was impeccable and so fluid, I managed to read this book in one sitting. I particularly adored Hera's character and how the author brought her womanhood to life. There's a particular scene in the book where Hera fights and she says it's for all women a God abused. She wants all women to be free and to make their own choices. I didn't like her sisters, felt like they were under every other person's orders but was absolutely in love with Hades. What an amazing take in his history!
Zeus is a no-no for me. I'll never be able to look at him the same way again. He was a selfish brat, who only wanted to be and do whatever he pleased.
This book was a fantastic read, I can't recommend it more and I'm so grateful for having read it!

This is book two in the Wings of Fury series, based on Greek Mythology and just like the first book, the plot was ABCD... There were really no side plots or anything extra to suggest other books, either as continuations or spin-offs. And there wasn't a cliffhanger, so the series could be left as is, or open for another.

The writing was good, but during the first part of the book, some of the descriptions went on and on about the same thing, and many uncommon words were used, which made it pretty obvious that the writer was using a thesaurus, and was looking to 'dress' up the writing. 
For me, it was an irritation. Made me wonder how much confidence the author has in her talent because, towards the end, the descriptions were shorter, which didn't make it a 'chore' to read. But maybe it's just me, not liking pointless drivel. I'm a 'more to the point' type of person.

Because it was such an ABCD... type of read, and all of the extra words, it wasn't that enjoyable.

It was only ok.

2 stars

This book is a great sequel to the first. The tempo and characters were very consistent and show a lot of thought in their development. The story moves well though at times seems a little slow. Very enjoyable read.

Something else that I found really cool is the background storyline of Zeus and Hera's relationship and how their relationship is portrayed. You see throughout the book how much love they have for each other, in a familial way, and you see how Zeus becomes more and more obsessed with the idea of owning Hera. In most mythology she is such a strong and confident woman who does not see any reason to marry anyone let alone her brother and this book captures that sentiment perfectly.

In the stunning sequel to Wings of Fury, Althea comes to terms with her true identity (Hera, daughter of Cronus). This retelling continues the famous myth of the Titan's defeat at the hands of the Gods. Althea/Hera works to aid her brother Zeus to fulfill the prophecy from the first book, not fully understanding how vital she is to the cause. This series has been referenced many times as a feminist retelling of the myths we grew up with, and I can see where that logic comes from.

When entering into this series, if one is not familiar with the Greek myths (or if it's been a while since you've read them) it might be worth having your note tabs ready, just to keep an eye on who is mentioned when. This is definitely true of Wings of Fury and Crown of Cinders. The dynamic between Althea/Hera and Theo (Prometheus's son) was electric, and I couldn't get enough.

I enjoyed the continuation of this series. King's writing style is intense and I loved getting sucked into the world she enhanced. Watching how the characters from Wings grew and changed over the span of this book. I do hope that there will be another book, as reading the stories from this perspective allows for more critical engagement, not to mention enjoyment, of the original mythos. I think I'd want to re-read the books back to back and see how the story flowed because the gap in my reading time definitely had me starting feeling at a disadvantage. If you like stories like Circe by Madeline Miller, this is probably the book for you.

Overall Rating: 3/5

Crown of Cinders will be available for purchase starting October 5th. Be sure to add it to your Goodreads shelf and see where it's available for purchase. Also, be sure to check out Emily R. King's website!

I was lucky enough to be able to read this Advanced Reader's Copy through my partnership with NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Where to begin. This story is told from Hera's point of view as the Demi Gods fight there father Cronus. The story was well written and it definitely kept me engaged with different tidbits about different Titans and the war the led to the rise of the new God's.

As always Emily R King impresses. I loved her 100th Queen series and she has only got better!

Crown of Cinders is an excellent continuation of her current series and I love the twists she is putting on her retelling. I can't wait for what comes next.

I have a lot of feelings about this book. There's a lot of battle scenes where I raced through because I needed to know what the outcome would be, deaths that broke my heart, and an ending that left me sobbing. Clearly I was invested in the story and characters, King is a great writer who knows how to draw readers in.

I don't know that much about Greek mythology, but I loved seeing familiar names as we met new characters. I also liked seeing the Titan siblings explore their abilities and mature into the famous Gods I've heard about. There's also a great romance between Hera and Theo that I adored and couldn't get enough of.

I'm not sure if there will be third book, but I'm really hoping so. The ending pretty much devastated me and if I have to live with things as they are, my heart might never recover.

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. Thank you to 47North and NetGalley for the copy.

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

After devouring the previous book, I was so freaking excited to dive into Crown of Cinder. I'm just going to say it now.. this was so freaking easy to devour as well. It also made me hate certain characters quite easily because they were constantly acting like an ass or making dumb decisions. So it's also safe to say that the little betrayal was pretty easy to spot before it actually happened.

I also really enjoyed getting to read another book with my main guy Hades in it. Also Poseidon was kind of cool. I just feel like every time we meet a new sibling I'm just seriously suspicious of them. Also their wonderful mom basically tells everyone but the important people that they are a god and stuff? Like how does that make sense? It just kept annoying me and I get why certain people were annoyed as well.

Other than that, I'm not sure what's going to happen next. I hope she doesn't give into Zeus because I like that Althea has been strong and independent against him. I also don't really like the guy and I would rather have her be very far away from him. Just saying.

I'm not prepared for another book but I definitely need one. Especially after how this one ended.

I really enjoyed the continuation of Hera, Demeter, and Hestia’s journey to find their brothers and battle their father Cronus. Filled with quests, romance, battles, and adventure, it was a thrilling read. I definitely recommend you check this out! I love the way Emily takes a fresh take on Greek Mythology and the ways she includes strong, characters who defy stereotypes. I can’t wait to see if there will be a book 3.

I usually love books like these - fantasy tales set in an ancient Greek/Roman setting, but this one missed the mark a little for me. That being said, anyone who liked her other books will no doubt find something to like in this one as well. I just thought it didn't go deep enough, and there was too much telling rather than showing.