To Wield a Crown: Helen Scheuerer *Review*

Genres: Young Adult, YA Fantasy, Fantasy | Release Date: 29 September 2022 | Series: Curse of the Cyren Queen | Series Book: #4 | Indie Author | Review

Overview:

To Wield a Crown by Helen Scheuerer is the final piece of Rohesia’s journey, which spanned the Curse of the Cyren Queen quartet. If you haven’t read the previous three books in this series, don’t read any further. There will be spoilers from those books in this review!* I was incredibly lucky to get an e-ARC of this beauty, and I was mesmerised from start to finish.

Roh is sailing to the land where the last gem (the Gauntlet Ruby) awaits, with just three weeks to complete her task and truly be Queen. But when she arrives, there’s so much more at play than just the finale to the Queen’s Tournament. Akorian refugees are starving at the edges of Lamaka’s Basin, and the warlocks are ready to strike a major blow against the cyrens. The only way Roh can save her people is to complete her crown of bones, but will she be able to retrieve the Gauntlet Ruby? Can she return to Talon’s Reach in time? And when war breaks out, who will be left standing?

Happiness Boost:

I thought The Fabric of Chaos was incredible (and it is), but To Wield a Crown? This is epic to the extreme! Helen has threaded these characters’ lives together so seamlessly, that any kind of imbalance immediately alerts you to danger. And it is in this book that we get all of the answers to our questions about Cerys and Delja. We had been given just enough breadcrumbs to follow in the previous novels, so that the revelations here would have the biggest impact. I’ve loved trying to figure out their history, and Helen is a genius at placing important plot devices and reveals in just the right parts!

Even now, there are surprises. They don’t even have to be big surprises, I just enjoy when we get extra dollops of story goodness! There’s a moment here, when Finn shows a very gentle, caring side. He gets rather embarrassed about it (notably this isn’t a moment between Finn and Roh), but it really warmed my heart. Some authors give us a story without giving us *depth*, if that makes sense. But Helen doesn’t do this to us. Helen writes with a comprehensive richness, taking us from the very bottom of the lair of bones, all the way to the heights of Valli’s soaring form in the air.

If you’re like me, and get a thrill from well written battle scenes? Prepare to be completely overwhelmed with the brilliance within To Wield a Crown. For me, it was the same thrill I get when the Rohirrim charge across Pelennor Fields, or Elizabeth Swan makes her speech as the Pirate King… Dear bookworms, you are in for a massive, massive treat. Helen has given her readers an exceptional, emotional battle and I couldn’t look away from the page.

Downside:

Our journey with Rohesia of the Bone Cleaners has come to an end. But it had to happen eventually, and it’s probably a little unfair to call it my downside. I just hate letting go of characters I love! There is nothing to hate (and everything to love) in To Wield a Crown.

Final Thoughts:

Everything, absolutely everything, about this last chapter in Roh’s story has been a glittering triumph. To Wield a Crown is pure majesty, and I would follow Rohesia to any corner of the realm. Helen Scheuerer has shown, once again, why she is a must-buy author for me. There are no faults in her stories; Helen’s characters have dominion over my heart, and she reigns over the genre of fantasy. It couldn’t be in better hands. Pre-order this amazing book, glitterbugs. You are going to absolutely love this book (and series) if YA epic fantasy appeals to you!

You can pre-order via my Amazon link: To Wield a Crown

Missed the other books in the series? You can get them by clicking the links below:

A Lair of Bones | With Dagger and Song | The Fabric of Chaos

* You can read my review for the previous book here: The Fabric of Chaos: Helen Scheuerer