Skip to main content

Member Reviews

This was a pretty decent YA historical fantasy romance! I really enjoyed the setting and liked Alyth as the main character. The plot was very fast-paced and kept me interested, and the writing was very easy to read. Similar to this author duo's other YA duology, I found the romance to be very surface-level and insta-lovey, which definitely isn't my favourite, but otherwise, this was entertaining, and I will likely read the next book!

Was this review helpful?

Royal stakes, dangerous magic, and betrayals that cut deep—this book did not hold back.

I was hooked. The Crimson Throne is one of those reads where the tension never lets up—in the best way. Every chapter felt like a new twist, a new betrayal, or a new moment that had me yelling at the page. The politics were deliciously messy, the magic was sharp and dangerous, and the characters? Complex, morally grey, and impossible not to root for.

There’s a richness to the worldbuilding that made everything feel real, and the emotional moments hit hard. The stakes felt sky-high from the start, and somehow it just kept escalating. And the dynamic between the leads? Let’s just say I thrived on that tension.

5/5 – Epic, intense, and gloriously unhinged in the best way. I need more now.

*thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

Was this review helpful?

Rating: 4.5/5 stars.

The Crimson Throne is a historical/fantasy/romance novel, and boy, is it a good one! It takes place in the Elizabethan era, throughout the realm of Scotland and England, which is populated by humans, fae, a variety of magical creatures, and half-fae, half-humans known as Leth.

Alyth Graham, a lady in the Scottish court, is one of these Leth. She has sworn to protect Scotland, and supports the barrier around Scotland that keeps a vicious group of fairies, the Red Caps, away. She has also always been suspicious of Queen Mary's husband, Lord Darnley. When the threats of the Red Caps and Darnley intertwine, she isn't quite sure who she can trust, other than herself.

Samson Calthorpe is trying to prove himself as a royal spy, for Queen Elizabeth. He is tasked with entering Scotland, smuggling a magical amulet with him, in order to see if Queen Mary has been hiding magical objects. Samson is also trying to remove a curse he has, which makes him black out and get violent when angry.

Soon, Alyth and Samson, despite their different objectives, are unified by their shared hatred of Lord Darnley. They aim to remove Samson's curse, keep out the Red Caps, and find out what exactly it is that Darnley has been up to.

This book was one of the rare books out there that makes you forget you are even reading. While it did start a bit slow (ironic since it was the middle of a fight), once it picked up, I was so incredibly invested that I read the entire book in one sitting. It was clear that the authors have done extensive research on this era in time, as well as Scottish folklore. The pacing felt great, and the characters mostly felt real and complex.

The one issue I have with this book was that the relationship between Samson and Alyth felt just the slightest bit like instalove, but I didn't really feel like it took much away from the story.

The Crimson Throne has made me want to travel back in time, attend a ball, and befriend a brownie. If you are a fan of books such as The Rose Bargain, or The Cruel Prince, I would strongly recommend you read this book!

Was this review helpful?

★★★☆☆
Thank you to the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This romance had all the right ingredients. an Elizabethan spy, a fierce fae guardian, a glittering but treacherous Scottish court, and a slow-burn enemies-to-lovers dynamic. I especially enjoyed the rich use of Scottish folklore and the political tension woven into the fantasy. Alyth, in particular, stood out to me as a strong and compelling character. I loved her power, her drive, and how rooted she was in her magical world. Samson, the charming English spy, is doing his best. His curse is intriguing, but a lot of it is explained in early dialogue instead of unraveling in action. I couldn’t help but feel that showing these darker moments would’ve added more emotional depth and urgency to his character arc. His big curse was just told to us. No drama, no buildup, no blackout scene full of unhinged magical violence and regret. Give me trauma! Let me feel it! That being said, there is plenty of drama in the rest of the book that I did really enjoy.

However, while the premise was exciting and the stakes were high, the execution didn’t quite sweep me away. Much of the storytelling leaned heavily on exposition, we’re told a lot about the characters’ pasts and their secrets, rather than experiencing them firsthand. The main issue is that the book often tells us what happened instead of showing us.

Was this review helpful?

This historical young adult novel tells the story of the comming and goings in the Court of Mary Queen of Scots. We meet a young woman who has the ability to use magic and has the favor of the Queen. We also meet a young man from England who has been sent by Queen Elizabeth to spy on Queen Mary's court. Our heros are living in a dangerous time and one wrong move could cost them their lives.
Alyth Graham is a young fae who spends most of her days protecting the Queen from her despicable husband Lord Darnley. Around the time of the christening of the Queen's son a young spy from the English court named Samson arrives. Both the Queen and Alyth are suspicious of him but his common interest in the dislike of Lord Darnley earns him their trust.
Overall I was very impressed with this read. In the sixteenth century most people were very mistrustful of magic but the fact that Queen Mary was very accepting of Alyth's was surprising and the fact that Alyth was very good at protecting the Queen from her husband proves that she is a loyal subject.
I recieved this arc copy from Netgalley and all opinions are of my own.

Was this review helpful?

I unfortunately DNF’d this one pretty quick… as someone from Scotland the premise of this book was really exciting but I unfortunately just couldn’t get into it and it didn’t really work for me the way I was hoping it would

The content warnings are useful but as the content of the book contains murder and gore alongside emotional manipulation and abuse, I do not think it is accurate for this book to be in the YA section of NetGalley

Was this review helpful?

Thank you to Sourcebooks and NetGalley for the ARC!

I was excited to see this title available as Read Now - I read Sara and Beth's last YA witchy duo, and I had a fun time with it. The premise for The Crimsons Throne sounds perfect for fantasy romance readers, and I was intrigued by the Outlander comparison.

I DNF'd this one very quickly as it became apparent that the writing style leans heavily into YA, and it's not what I'm currently looking for. I'm above the target audience age, and I don't think this book is for me.

However, I think teen readers are going to eat this up! The opening scene throws you right into the action, so be sure to add this to your TBR if that is your cup of tea!

Was this review helpful?