I'm so happy to be given the chance to read this ARC!

I really love these characters and enjoyed the twists and turns this story took. The betrayal, internal struggles and reveals with the world of Okrith were abundant!

Book excerpt:
Expect magic, adventure, and sapphic romance in this thrilling third installment of the bestselling, high fantasy saga The Five Crowns of Okrith.

Determined to uncover who killed the Western Queen, fae warrior Briata Catullus sets out on a mission to defeat the witch hunters and protect the Western Princess. But when she arrives in the West, things are even worse than she feared. The icy reception from the Western fae is the least of her problems. After all, they've heard the prophecy that Bri will seize the crown from its sovereign, and the last thing they want is for her to usurp the throne.

Still grieving the loss of her mother, Princess Abalina Thorne reluctantly allows Bri to serve as one of her guards at the behest of her cousin, knowing that she may be after the crown. As the witch hunters rise against them, they must work together to uncover the secret plot of their enemies. Along the way, the princess realizes that Bri is one of the few people she can trust. But Bri is determined to forge her own path and prove the prophecy wrong, not letting the beautiful Lina distract her from defeating the witch hunters. Will she discover the truth and stamp out the rebellion without losing her heart along the way?

I don’t think I will ever not enjoy an AK Mulford book. She is such an enjoyable storyteller. I knew when reading the Witches Blade that the next story would be about Bri and it didn’t disappoint.

This was a fun story!

Love a murder mystery. Loveeee sapphic fantasy. Very sexy and lovely. AK Mulford’s writing is lovely and elegant. A great book for those who want something that isn’t overly convoluted but love fantasy nontheless.

If you enjoyed the world-building in the first two books you're on for a real treat! This third installment in the series takes readers deeper into the world of Okrith. The plot thickens and we can keep up with all our old favorite characters but this time Bri FINALLY takes center stage. I knew Bri would be my favorite character from the moment she was introduced and Mulford does NOT disappoint when it comes to the delivery of the romance. There were moments when I couldn't put the book down and I'll admit I read until my eyes hurt. There's no middle book syndrome here, do yourself a favor and start reading it now. Just make sure you don't have to work the next day.

Loved this book. It was well written and a good read. I definitely will keep this author on my auto-read list.

Honestly, this series just keeps getting better and better. Brie's story is a bit different from the sisters in book 1 and 2, but different in an amazing way. The prophecy of her birth to take the crown is one that has haunted Brie wherever she goes. Always seen as the usurper in waiting. When her friend, and former lover calls for her aid, Brie knows she's about to walk into the lion's den now that their queen is dead. Epic, right?

The story itself falls right in line with the previous two books. A kingdom in turmoil, and a savior primed to fix it all. But, rogue crown, takes it one step further. Not only are the main love interests enemies at first, thanks prophecy, but there's something lingering under the surface between them. When they finally figure it out... whew those sparks fly.

Fans of NA fantasy, please pick up this series! The Rogue Crown is a sapphic fantasy set in the same world as The High Mountain Court and The Witch's Blade that follows our favorite fae warrior, Bri.

Read the Rogue Crown for:

- fae and witches and princesses
- the bodyguard trope
- NA fantasy
- LGBTQ+ rep
- steam
- rebel uprisings

Thank you to netgalley for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Bri along with Cary’s answers a plea from a friend from the Western Court. Which starts a story of tragedy, vengeance, a murder mystery, and a long power forgotten.

Their adventure will once again take us through the wilds and beauty of Okrith. Old friends will be seen, as new ones met. A love story that will melt the coldest of hearts.

But, an old and new enemy still lurks. Will the Fae and the witches once again prevail, or will they fail. I will never post spoilers of any book. This series is a must read if you’re an avid Fantasy/Romance reader. The world building, found family, and the epic love stories makes this fantasy beautiful and heart warming. I have and will read anything AK Mulford writes!!

I love this series! I love that each book is a inter connected standalone to the series.

After reading about Bri in the first two books, I was interested to read her story and learn more about the prophecy.

This book wasn't as good as the first two in my opinion, but I still really liked it. It took me a bit to get into the story because it felt like a very different POV than Remy and Rua. But, once I got into it I was entranced.

I am excited to see what A.K. Mulford writes next!!

The Five crowns of Okrith universe just gets better and better with every book. The rogue crown has us following Bri as our now main character and she’s begrudgingly assigned bodyguard duty for a princess. But in a fantasy romance when is a bodyguard/princess relationship just that? NOT TODAY. I won’t go into more detail because that may send this review into more spoilery category, but I’ll add that one of my favorite things about this universe is that there’s nothing strange about queerness. No one has to “come out”, there’s no trauma, it simply exists in this world and is allowed to. That’s so refreshing and really should be more common, especially in fantasy. If we can believe in magic and dragons and so on, why can’t we also believe in a world of queer normativity? I love it. The foreshadowing for the evergreen heir in this book is SO EXCITING TOOOO! I cannot wait for it!

Another phenomenal book by A.K.Mulford.
The Rouge Crown has good pacing and captivating world building. If you need to disappear from the real world then this is the book for you.

If I had to pick a safe space it would be in one of the courts in Okrith - ideally with Neelo but that is neither here nor there. The fact that it is pure fiction is both devastating and relieving- I am not made for the battle lifestyle, thankfully I would be with Neelo holed up in a library avoiding lavish parties.
A.K.Mulford has created a stunning world so detailed you can almost walk around in it. The characters are beautifully formed and the plot twists add a wonderful element to the story.

The Rouge Crown was a wonderful insight to the world we've fallen in love with and I'm so excited to see where the next book takes us in this story - and that's not just because Neelo is next but that does help.

I was gifted a digital copy of The Rouge Crown in exchange for a fair and honest review.
I have previously purchased digital, physical and audiobook copies of the prior two books in the series and will be purchasing copies of The Rouge Crown when it is available.

This is only the second Sapphic Fantasy Romance that I have ever read and W O W ! A.K. Mulford's The Rogue Crown is stunning, romantic, and action-packed. Each book has seriously been better than the last and I really didn't think anything could top The Witch's Blade, but The Rogue Crown takes the cake. I was really excited to learn that Bri was the main character and to venture back into Okrith to learn about her past, present, and future. I love how A.K. Mulford expertly writes loving friendships, swoon-worthy romance, and those *spicy* scenes!

Looking forward to the release of the paperback of The Witch's Blade and the release of The Rogue Crown so I can add them to my bookshelf!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper-Voyager for the eARC of The Rogue Crown!

3.5 stars

This book starts out following Bri, where she goes to the Western Court and gets tasked with being the personal security to Princess Lina. They are trying to find out who murdered the late Queen.

Overall, while this book was still good and I enjoyed the development of the characters, it just seemed kind of slow. I felt like compared to the first two, not a lot happened in this one. I was also disappointed that we don't actually learn a whole lot more about the Norwood/ violet witches issue.

ARC Review.

This book right here! Look Bri was already a favorite character from the previous books and her getting time to shine is what I was looking for. You get her as you know her from before, but also get the chance to see her finally feel like she can lower her guards along the way. I think AK does a great job capturing the dual nature of warriors in this character.

Without getting into spoilers territory the story, focuses on Bri being called to serve as protector to Lina, a princess of the western court who is seeking to be crowned queen. Lina is a new character to the world of Fiveco and is still dealing with the murder of her mother, and is initially distrustful of Bri and the crown stealing prophecy associated with her. As with many of the authors characters there is more than meets the eye with Lina.

I enjoy that we get to see characters from the previous books without having them overshadow the story being told in this book.

This story continues to exhibit the robust writing style and worldbuilding we’ve come to expect from Mulford while giving her opportunities to organically expand her world as well. I do think we are told some information over again that by the third book we should be familiar with, but also understand that there may be gaps in-between readings for readers so some reminders are needed. I enjoyed that while this does have the spice and a sapphic romance, she also builds platonic and familial relationships as well making the world seem more real than if it was just about the spice.

For me I was able to get invested in the story much quicker than I did with The Witch’s Blade. I think this is because I was more familiar with Bri than I was with Rua so it didn’t feel like much of a shift. The pacing was really solid in this entry, I never felt like I needed to put it down and come back, in fact I didn’t want to put it down. We get some more development of the antagonist side of things which I feel like was really needed, and it gave you enough to be excited for the sequels.

If you liked the other FiveCo works, you won’t be disappointed here!

I really appreciate getting the opportunity from the author to read this early, she made this happen via Netgalley and the publisher, Avon and Harper Voyager, so I’d like to thank them too. I did receive this for free in exchange for an honest review, but let’s be real I was already going to read this ASAP so it doesn’t affect my review.

This is the 3rd book in this series, and it is even better than the previous 2! I have loved watching these characters come to life, the development of each character from one book to the next is flawless!
I have loved Bri from the first book, but to watch her grow in this book made me love her even more!
I can not wait for the next book!!

I just read the ARC of the Rogue Crown and loved it. Often I find series lose momentum or become repetitive, but that has not been the case with this series. I love how throughout all the books there is a main story and all of the books in this series have its own story but add to the overall main plot. I was so excited to find out that the third book was going be about one of the Golden Eagles and I was not disappointed. Bri finds herself going West to help a friend even though she swore to no step foot in that court due to the prophecy at her birth and the meddling of her mother. The Tory follows her to the Western Court, goes deeper into her past and gives the reader a good look into Bri and who she is.
Part way through the book she meets up with the characters from the other book and we get glimpses about what book 4 will be about and add more information and characters that play into the main storyline. I loved this book and am very excited for the 4th!

Thank you Harper Voyager, A.K. Mulford and NetGalley for
this advanced copy.
I've been obsessed with this series since I picked up The High Mountain Court. I was captivated by the characters most of all.

When I found out The Rogue Crown was Bri's
book, I squealed a little.

There's a line from the last few pages of the book where Lina gave Bri a gift "You have enough daggers. If you're going to
be sticking around in the West, you need a proper Western Axe"

I collect daggers and my first thought was that you can never have too many.

Watching the relationship between Carys and Bri and Bri and Lina were some of my favorites. I've read a few fantasy books where there is f/f but this one might be my favorite.

A.K did an amazing job with the tension, the build-up and just overall the emotions these characters felt.

Bri and Carys have a friendship that I envy and their back and forth banter is something that I will be thinking about for awhile.

I can't wait to see what happens next for this world of Okrith

I don’t even know if I have words to describe how I feel about this book. But I’m going to try. First off, I have fallen in love with these characters. Every one of them have been so beautifully written, it makes you feel like you know them. Second, the way the author paints a picture in her mind of this world, is incredible. This world is so vivid, it comes to life in your mind. Now on to this story. From the start, I was hooked. I loved Bri in the previous books. She’s tough, and fun. But you get to see a different side to her in this book. You see her vulnerable, and hurt. And Lina, all she wants is to be the best ruler for her kingdom and people. She’s kind, compassionate, but also fierce, a warrior. The perfect match for Bri. These two are absolutely perfect for each other. In this book, you learn more about those that want to take over all of Okrith. And more secrets of the past are revealed. There was so much about this that I was not expecting. And I loved every minute of it. I 100% recommended this series. Especially if you are a fan of fantasy. I’ll not again, that fantasy isn’t my normal genre, but if all could be as amazing as this series, I’d read more.

This is definitely a different vibe from the other books. It feels more epic fantasy then the romantsy vibes of the previous novels, something that I was particularly interested in. I like that the author can switch it up. I am glad that this book also followed through on the sapphic vibes I was getting previously. This book was definitely deeper than the others and it’s clear you can see the authors growth. Can’t wait for the rest of the world to read this.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

Synopsis:
Book 3 of The Five Crowns of Okrith series follows Briata Catullus - one half of the famed warrior twins, the Twin Eagles - as she risks life and limb to protect Princess Abalina of the Western Court all the while trying to solve the brutal murder of Abalina’s mother. With the threat of Augustus Norwood growing more powerful in the East, insurrection lurking around every corner in the Western Court, and a terrible ancient magic reawakening, Bri must utilize all her training to keep Abalina safe long enough for her to take her rightful place as Queen. However, Bri’s Fate and her heart are careening down a path that may leave the Western Court in shambles. When Fate and free will collide, what will be left?

Target audience:
This book (and series) is perfect for romance readers who want a fantasy twist. The relationships - both romantic and platonic - take center stage with adventure and intrigue adding tension and depth to the primary flow of the story. For spice level, I would rank this book a 3 out of 5 peppers: 3-5 short sexy scenes, no fade-to-black, descriptive but not cringey language. If explicit sex scenes aren’t your jam, the author does a great job of building up to the sexy time, so you can skip ahead.
As for tropes, this book utilizes one of my all time favorites - forced proximity! Who doesn’t love a budding romance between a princess and her personal guard? Sign me up!

Thoughts:
I’m loving how the author is building this series. Each book has followed a different character out of the growing symphony of voices. It’s a great way to keep expanding the world without having 700+ pages for each book. I think the perspective changes over the course of the series bolster the “romance with a fantasy twist” vibe as well. Since the reader isn’t bogged down by massive world building or complicated group dynamics, the budding romantic relationships have more room to breathe.
While Rua’s story in The Witches’ Blade is my favorite character arc so far, I really enjoyed The Rogue Crown as the first book in the series to follow a queer character in depth. LGBTQIA+ characters were present in the first two books, but Bri is the first queer character we get to follow in detail. Bri and Lina’s relationship showcases the myriad of ways femininity is lived and experienced. Why have only one badass female main character (FMC) when you can have two?!
The one area that could use a little improvement would be pacing. In general, big reveals come on quickly and are resolved within a couple of pages. However, the author has made a remarkable amount of improvement in this area from the start of the series until now. If I had started reading this series with the perspective that it’s a romance set in a fantasy world, I think the pacing wouldn’t have been an issue.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I binged this series in a week. I was hooked from the very beginning. I’m looking forward to the final two books!