A Crown of Souls

by A.J. Ford

What if beauty was the beast?

Phoenix Devereaux is the sole heir to the throne of Mercea and the future of her kingdom is in her hands.
Cursed to turn into a beast every full moon from her 18th birthday, she has three years to find someone to truly fall in love with her or she will remain in her beast form forever.
The only thing standing between Phoenix and her birthright is the curse of the first-born daughter, but when the ruthless Shadow King summons her to his kingdom, will she walk straight into enemy lands or find everything she has been searching for?

Genres: Fantasy

262 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 28, 2023

Reviews

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not big on reading first person but .. this may have changed me! But that slowwww burn killed me. I really enjoyed how all the characters interacted with one another and it wasn’t just the MCs.

I received this ARC for an honest review, all thoughts/opinions above are fully my own!

[Ana-Maria Derzsi · Rating 4 out of 5]

◦ I've received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review ◦

⮞ 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 ⮜
Phoenix - I enjoyed her character, especially when she was turning into a beast. I wish we had way more scenes with her being a beast because those were really captivating.
Shadow King - Your typical morally grey character mostly because that's how everyone portrays him but in general he's really sweet once you get to know him and his relationship with his sister was also so nice, loved that.
The other characters were also lovely, and I loved the sisterhood between Phoenix and her guards.

⮞ 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝-𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 ⮜
Sadly the world-building this time lacked a bit. Sometimes I felt confused on where are we and such due to the missing details.

⮞ 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐝/𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐝 ⮜
I loved the fact that Beauty and the Beast is reversed and this time the girl is the beast. The moments when she transforms into a beast were so great, and I wished we had more scenes with her like that because she was badass. The relationship between Phoenix and her guards was so sweet, the sisterhood was so strong and loved that! Is not that often when you have female guards in stories. Another thing that was a bit different in the story, was the relationship with her dad, while usually dads in stories are more strict this one actually cared about his kid and was trying to help her a lot. I however found the magic system to be a bit confusing, something was missing to make it more clear. The story even tho it was short, I felt it interesting and captivating for the first book and I'd definitely read other stories from this author.

⮞ 𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐞/TW ⮜
The romance in the story was a bit too fast for my taste especially how little Phoenix and the Shadow King spent together, but I enjoyed the fact the story was smutty free, and also it had some cute quotes that i saved. I can't think on anything that was triggering in the story or any TW's to be mentioned.

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[rachel ♡ chapterswithrae · Rating 2 out of 5]

A Crown of Souls is book one in the Cursebreaker series by A. J. Ford. This was my first time reading something by this author.

Thank you to the author for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest and unbiased review!

So, this didn’t really hit the mark for me (as reflected in my rating). I wanted to like this so badly, but I did not enjoy it very much. Let me explain why:
- There are a lot of flaws in the writing itself. There are editing errors, grammatical errors, and formatting errors. While this didn’t completely take away from my comprehension, most of the errors were jarring and shook my focus.
- Phoenix having the power of flame was too on-the-nose for me. I felt the same about the previous cursed princess being named Ember.
- The romance between Phoenix and Khaldon felt very forced and happened too fast, in my opinion.

Now, while I had a lot of issues with this book, let me tell you what I did enjoy!
- I loved Phoenix’s relationship with the supporting cast, especially her personal guards. The female friendship between everyone was incredible and very noticeable.
- I appreciated the mostly positive relationship between Phoenix and her father. Usually fathers of royals in fantasy novels are cruel, evil, or just absent. I appreciated this was different than the norm.
- I do want to say I enjoyed this take on Beauty and the Beast. We usually don’t see the FMC as the beast, and especially not the scenes where she in her beast form. This felt like a fresh take to me personally.

Overall, I felt that A Crown of Souls was not a good match for me as a reader. Others may enjoy this for the Beauty and the Beast retelling aspect, the female bonds, and the strong supporting cast. I rated this 1.5 out of 5 stars, rounded up to 2 out of 5 for the Goodreads scale.

[a.erika.e · Rating 3 out of 5]

I recieved an ARC for my honest review.

A retelling of Beauty and the Beast where she, Pheonix, is the beast. This book had some moments that were cozy and exciting, they just didn't make enough of an impact on me.

The plot and the relationship with the MMC was too predictable. Something about the writing bothered me and I can't figure out what. Probably why I didn't get sucked in and struggled with finishing this before release day.

Still, I did enjoy reading this and the story has just begun. I'm excited to see where their lives goes from here.

[Devika · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Crown of Souls is the debut of A.J. Ford. This book will be a fantasy fairytale retelling, which will tell the story of Beauty and the Beast. I was curious about this book because of its synopsis and mystical cover. What will this debut bring to it's readers?

"What if beauty was the beast?"

A.J. Ford has managed to take her own perspective at Beauty and the Beast. The whole book had a nice vibe to it, making it read very easily. This book is a really good one for a debut, which is promissing for books that are yet to come.

Check out my full review on my blog Boekensteeg

[Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Crown of Souls is live on KU 😊

“There must be balance in the world, it’s the way the mother intended it. It can’t all be light and good. We appreciate the sun because of nightfall- if the sun shone on us relentlessly, we would surely tire of its light.”

I just want to say, the cover for this is stunning.

For anyone wanting a beauty and the beast retelling that’s quick paced and has a good storyline, this is absolutely the book for you.

Now, I know it probably seems a bit strange saying that and rating it 3 stars. Why? Honestly, I just felt it’s a little underdeveloped at points. The story itself is good, I like the twist and how Ford has created her own world whilst using elements of B&tB. It blends really well. The enchantress and her story, combined with the curse really are an interesting read. Add in the MMC and his own twists and the plot is really good.

The issue for me is that I just didn’t think we got the world building I’d have loved to see. There are moments throughout the book where I wished there had been more elaboration and it just kind of took me out of it a little. Conversation with her Father, a scene with her Mum. There’s a lot here that could have been expanded and further explained in my opinion. Sometimes it just felt a little rushed, from A to B without the extra detailing of how we got there. There’s also certain areas I’d have loved to have seen more of. I know this is vague but I don’t really want to pop a spoiler. The missing depth is why I’m giving it a 3, rather than a 4/5. It has the potential to be more and with more depth added in to really bulk out the flow, it would be a really amazing read. I’d certainly be interested to see how Ford’s writing develops though!

That being said, if you like the blurb of the book I totally think you should check it out and see for yourself. It’s a quick read and your opinion could be completely different to my own!

[Abbie Quinnell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this book, it was such a breath of fresh air to read. I read this book within a day, I could not put it down.
Compared with other fantasy books, there were no complex names or towns that you couldn't pronounce, so for me, it was a bonus not having to spend half my time getting pronunciations wrong!
Great detail but no over detailing - I find some fantasy novels go into way too much detail that I can get bored and lost during, but none of that here.
The relationship between the female and male leads were just pure. Guess what... the female lead wasn't kidnapped or attacked by the male lead!! Which I definitely think this makes it a stand alone book, it's just a 'normal' blossoming romance within the fantasy book era but it's refreshing and beautiful.
The best bits for me are all the strong female leads, you tend to just get one female lead, but the relationship between the women in this book is great and powerful.

Even though I think it's the perfect amount of detail and no over detailing, I would have loved a bit more just to get to know the father a bit more.

I cannot wait for the next book!

[R.M. Krogman, Dark and Epic Fantasy Author]

"A Crown of Souls" is a YA coming-of-age fantasy about a princess cursed to be a beast. Princess Phoenix Devereaux was doomed when she was born, heir not only to the kingdom of Mercea but to a generational curse from an evil witch. A woman spurned, the witch destined her and every other firstborn Devereaux daughter to a monstrous end: feared, hated, and hunted.

But Phoenix refuses to accept that fate. She immediately decides to save herself, seeking answers in every corner and following every lead. It takes her beyond the borders of her kingdom, tailed by her faithful guard of women warriors, and toward hope. As a main character, Phoenix is a bit young and impulsive, but also independent and stubborn in such a way that I could see a younger reader liking her. Likewise, some of the tropes used are popular in YA fantasy: insta-love, the chosen one, a protagonist who is not like the other girls. This story might fit a younger reader looking for a fast-paced read with those tropes.

This story is written in first-person past tense, with two alternating points of view.

[Carissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a debut novel of A.J. Ford and what a good start they have made. If you are looking for a fast paced fantasy novel this is the book for you.
I loved the brown characters in the story and if you follow the author on TikTok you can see images of the characters which is amazing.
I do believe that there could have been a little bit more time spent of the world building as I didn’t feel like I was truly immersed in the happenings at the time and more explanation would be great to see in the second book.
I did feel that the journey they went on in the end could have been great to start of the second book and really expand on it and the adventure as it felt a bit rushed to get to the end.
I’m looking forward to seeing what will happen in the second book and where the characters will go.

[Jasmin E Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Those kickass Kings guard

3.5

Strongest feature of this read is the Found Family, amazing all female guard was the centrepoint of this read to me. I would love to read a book series based on their stories. The care and attention written to establish their mood,relationship and end goal was impeccable.

There is interesting world building that emcompasses every aspect and u feel it come to life on the page.

I was totally into FMC being the beast & into Amarok, or Amaroq folklore.

The Main characters are low angst & therefore the chemistry is less apparent ( there is nothing wrong with 2 characters written in this way low angst is a popular trope) as they work through focus on the curse - & With mainly written positive characterisation, which was a unique change - a great palate cleanser.

I think this writers ideas are very exciting.

Jasmin E Reads

[Dee · Rating 3 out of 5]

A breakout first book

Closer to 3.5 if that was an option.
The premise and concept behind this book is frankly fantastic. I loved the ideas presented, I wanted to know more about the world and the characters and the story. Overall, this felt pretty different to other fantasy books that I've read recently, and that's a breath of fresh air when so many books now feel like copy cats of each other.

While the concept was excellent, I do feel like the execution left a lot to be desired. I can see what the author is aiming for, but a lot of the time the relationships, world building and exposition fall a little short of what I would have liked. I really hope that a more thorough beta read and edit will be done on the sequels, as I would love to read them and hear more of Phenix and Kahl

[Kristin Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was a little hesitant when I first started reading as it's a first-person point of view and I am very much a third-person type of girl. That being said, that hesitancy was gone almost immediately. The story caught my attention right from the beginning and I was invested right all the way through.

The romance is top-tier and the slow burn is everything I wanted. There's a bit of will they won't they, but you can definitely tell how smitten they are with each other. The characters felt real and it wasn't hard to love them. I definitely had a favorite right off the bat, but all of them were great. The interactions were natural and true to each personality.

[Liz Fully Booked · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a dark and entertaining YA fantasy read. A Beauty and the Beast retelling where the princess is the beast, and is looking for a way to break her curse. What follows is a fun adventure as she heads to an enemy kingdom to work with the Prince in solving both their problems.

Told in 1st person POV, the character development is not extensive, but you still get a good feel for what the two main characters, Phoenix and Khaldon are going through. The world building is done nicely, and the plot was fun and fast paced. I liked the book.

I would definitely be interested in reading the next book to see how the story unfolds.

[Anaïsu Anaïsu · Rating 5 out of 5]

I highly recommend this book! It was a rollercoaster of emotions and I love it! It's such a page-turner, so you need to book time off because once you start reading Phoniex's story you won't stop until the end of the book.

One of my absolutely favorite parts is Phoenix's Guards, It's so refreshing reading about healthy women's friendships, their sisterhood is such a treat. Also, all male characters are great from her father to Khaldon, and his guards... Excellent characters.


I'm so looking forward to reading more about Phoenix's journey.

[Michel · Rating 1 out of 5]

No, just no.

I really don't want to be a person who inky has bad things to say. So, instead, I am just going to say this author has promise. One day, after some time, she will make a story so good. That you will morn the end of the story. This is not that story. I recommend reading a different story from a different author until she has time to grow as an author

[Kathleen Johnstone · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really loved the setting specifically one area the main character traveled to. The overall story was great, and I really want to continue on this adventure to see what happens next. The slow burn to the fast I love you is something that annoys me a bit. Overall, a really great story, and I really wanted to keep reading when I got near the end.
Rounded up my rating of 3.5 to 4 stars.

[Letty Howarth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book.
It made me smile and also cry.
I’m not sure I’ll get over the death of Lex.
Would read more from this author.

[Sarah M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful!!

This was an amazing and wonderful read. I am looking forward to reading the next and any that follow. A.J. Ford is now on my list of authors to watch.