The Four Seasons Crown

by B.B. Salem

Vivian Darewood has always known she would marry for duty. And even though she knew it was coming, marrying the Winter King never crossed her mind. When Vivian’s father, King Eldor of Tearis, instructs her to kill the Winter King and take the Four Seasons Crown, she reluctantly agrees. With the promise that she is doing the humans a favor, she marries the man who holds many titles and leaves for the Fae Lands.

Xavier Coldent trusts no one, least of all his new wife. The crown on top of his head makes him a target for many, and the only reason he agrees to marry Vivian is to strengthen it. The Four Seasons Crown means everything to him. Not only does he rule over Winter Court, he is also the leader of the Council of Magic and the Four Seasons King. There’s nothing he wants more than to keep duty and pleasure separated. The only problem is the beautiful woman he now calls his wife, who proves to be anything but the stuck-up woman he expected her to be.

What should be a simple marriage to unite the realm turns into something much more difficult for both of them. While Vivian struggles to accept the act of killing her fae husband, Xavier has to keep his heart guarded, for a broken heart can be the downfall of his reign.

Killing the Winter King might be what Vivian agreed to, but it proves to be a difficult task, especially once Xavier tries to make it work. Will their marriage blossom into something more than a union for the crown, or will their secrets tear them apart and make them an even easier target for the ones that want to take over the realm?

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Romantasy, Fae, Enemies To Lovers, Fantasy Romance

304 pages, Paperback

Published February 9, 2024

Reviews

[B.B. Salem · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hello, it's me, the author!

I'm working really hard to get this book ready before spring starts because the main theme is winter. I'll reveal the blurb here as soon as I can. I hope you're ready for Xavier and Vivian's love story. It's one of my favorite things I've ever written. There's a lot of things happening in the book but it's also pretty short and easy to read. I think it's the perfect standalone palate cleanser.

[sanne ♥ (sann_reads) · Rating 5 out of 5]

i received a copy from the author in exchange for an honest review 😊

"I'm going to have to make the best of a horrible situation. This winter king isn't going to be kind or inviting. In fact, he is a ruthless murderer, and I need to keep myself away from his wrath."

this was such a good and fun standalone romantasy story! i absolutely love the world and the main characters. and i've been obsessed with the arranged marriage/marriage of convenience trope! not only was this super romantic, it also had me on the edge of my seat?! like it took turns i did not expect! and the dual pov just hits different when the mmc is obsessed with the fmc 😫✋

"Once I kiss you, it's over for me. I can't go back. And I need to be sure."

tropes:
✨ dual pov
✨ arranged marriage
✨ dislike to love
✨ plus size/curvy fmc
✨ "where is my wife?"
✨ pining and tension
✨ high fantasy world with fae, elves, vampires and other magical creatures

"You are a very scary man, Xavier. You could kill me with the blink of an eye."
"Yes, snowflake, but I'm your scary man."

i can't wait to read about other characters in this world!

[Yasmine Van Den Meersch · Rating 5 out of 5]

This books is sooooo good, I honestly didn’t think I would love it even more than her first duology, since that’s so amazing, but this just had it all!!!!! Xavier is such an amazing love interest and the plot and character build was just soooo good!!!

And those plottwist, damn, this was a rollercoaster 🎢 and I was on the edge of my seat!

Can’t wait to read more of this world❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

[_booktique2_ D Amora · Rating 5 out of 5]

“𝙄 𝙨𝙚𝙚 𝙨𝙠𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨. 𝙎𝙠𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙧𝙚. 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚’𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩”

I don’t even know where to begin. HOW CAN A BOOK BE SPICY WHILE HAVING NO SPICE AT ALL WILL FOREVER BE FUNNY TO ME.
Listen arranged marriage? Superior trope, BUT WHEN ITS FANTASY IT BECOMES ULTIMATE SATISFACTION. this book had me kicking my feet, blushing, and scratching my teeth on cement.

In a world of fae, humans, and vampires, comes a human princess who is set in an arranged marriage with the king of the winter land in order to create a stronger alliance between the human and the fae. However, Vivian the princess, is actually marrying him in order to seduce and kill him per request in order to take his powers. Little did she know that she would fall for him.

I MEAN DUH YOUD BE AN IDIOT NOT TO FALL FOR HIM.

I don’t know how to convince you to read it so u, gonna tell you a scene BASICALLY where she’s insecure about her body because her mother always criticized the way she eats, and she starts crying SO U KNOW WHAT THIS HOT MF WITH WHITE HAIR DOES? He starts kissing her stretch marks from her legs up until til he’s pushing her gown up to kiss the stretch marks on her stomach while whispering praises of how beautiful she is.
Like smut? No. No who is she? She doesn’t exist in this book. The only thing that exists is this incredible TENSION THAT HAD ME JUMPING AROUND MY ROOM LIKE A KANGAROO.

So yea go read it asap or ur DaniaPhobic🙅🏻‍♀️
Also the author is Muslim so highly suggest you support a queen❤️🤧

[Jenny (midnight_Chronicle) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The flow of this story was absolutely perfect, all the characters really added their own unique charm to the story. I’m super obsessed!

[Anysa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I genuinely didn't expect to love this more than the Fear and Fire duology, but she knocked it out of the park!


Her writing style has improved so much so you feel the emotion weight even more, her way around trauma and trust issues from Xavier is so accurately described.


But don't get me started on how fast I read this! I never finished any book in a day, but I had to even though I never wanted it to end.


The romance between Vivian and Xavier was so sweet and healing, I so badly want to read more of them together.


Lastly, I loved how magical the Winter Court felt. It made my winter loving self so happy and excited to read more about the other Court's.

[Anneleen VdA · Rating 5 out of 5]

5⭐

I finished this book in a day, and let me tell you it was a ride!
The story starts out more as a cozy, wintery read. Don't be fooled by it! The story had me on the edges of my seat for the whole second part of the book with some major plottwists.
This book had me laughing out loud, giggling, and eventually crying.
I have also read her debut fear and fire and I think this book is even better. B.B. Salem has grown so much as an author and I can't wait for more stories in this world ❤️

[ken · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is how you done a fantasy romance without spice but the tension’s still tensioning ❄️☃️

[Sarah De Rijke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just a typical YA fantasy story about a human girl and a Fae King who were meant to be enemies, but fall in love. I think this works for young girls from around 15/16 years old who are not reading as much as I do and who are trying to get into fantasy. The writing was very good and fast-paced (what I like) and also the story was nice, but I am too old and too much evolved in fantasy to give this more stars. But overall I enjoyed the winter vibes in the book and the plot while being not too critical while reading!

[Tay 𐙚 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately, I dnf this book. I stopped at 48% because I found myself skimming a lot.

I don’t think the book is necessarily bad but I just couldn’t get into it. To me it’s just a little too fast paced where’s things developed too quickly for me to be able to connect with the characters and make sense of certain things. I just think this isn’t for me. I think if you’re under 18 and are just getting into fantasy this would be a great read tho.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25*

I loved this book. It just wasn't 5* for me. I loved the characters, their friendship and their banter. So, I'm hoping to see them in the next books.

I also really liked the twists the author wrote.

My only criticism is that the romance developed a bit too quick in the beginning. The tension was spot on though!

[waywardwraith · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5⭐

I stumbled onto the author's tiktok a few months ago and I was immediatly hooked by the premise of this book. Arranged marriage, dislike to love, grumpy x sunshine, cold and broody King with trust issues, the human princess being self-conscious and him loving every inch of her. Sign me up!
I was into it, I couldn't wait for the book to come out so I could read it and I'm not disappointed, although I do have some things to say.
As I said before, I loved the premise of the book and, as a fantasy lover, my whole heart wanted to read it. A book set in the Winter court, with fae, elves and vampires all around. The characters are so cute, I loved how grumpy Xavier was and I loved how easily Vivian could melt him. There is no spice in this book but oh my god, that tension was over the roof. Xavier really has a way with words, I genuinely blushed a few times because SIR, HOW DARE YOU.

Now, the main reason I didn't give it more stars was the pace of the book. Personally, I like something medium paced or slow paced when it comes to fantasy, i like when things take their time and fall into place with the plan of the main characters. Mainly because we need time to get to know the worldbuilding, the characters' background and so on. But here, it felt like everything was happening too fast. So many things, one right after the other, so I felt like I didn't have enough time to let things settle in that more things were happening.
The story definitely developed too quickly for my own liking, and I'd say that the same went for the romance. I was expecting a slow burn, but his feeling were kind of fast, not even two days later and he was already jealous.
Towards the end, there were too many things happening, too many enemies coming up, too many fights. Miss Vivian couldn't catch a break, lol. I liked the plot twists, don't get me wrong, I just feel like it was too much too fast for it being just one short book (300 ish pages).
Also WHY DRAX? I NEED A WRITTEN APOLOGY WITH TEARS.


I also feel like we didn't get a proper emotional breakdown of the characters. There were a few murders here and there, and I expected the characters to react differently, but I felt like they got over it too fast and too easy, and for some they didn't even care.
The writing is good, but it's not exactly peppered with fantasy lexicon. I'd say it was half and half, I could see the effort of giving it fantasy atmosphere, but then again the narrative would be interrupted by modern vernacular, by everday language that felt a bit out of place in such a fantasy setting. But it wasn't something that made me "God this is awful", rather "feels relatable". Since the book is written in first person, I think it suits it well. But then again, the author did an amazing job. She's writing in a language that isn't her first, and i absolutely admire her for it. I could necer write anything like this, and I promise i have tried! It's really hard, and where I gave up, she didn't.

I cannot wait to read her next books! I fell for Kymil and I want his book so badly, and I don't even know if there will be one! I am hoping there will because I WANT IT. Kash is on the list too, i want to know what that vampire is gonna end up with.
Gonna read the other published books soon!

[Lana | Libraryofabibliotaph · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such a fluently flowing, interesting new romantasy series with all the feels and amazing characters. There is elemental magic, a cold-hearted Fae Winter King, the most adorable wyvern, a self-conscious yet fierce mortal princess, … set in a magical world against a backdrop of political tension with even vampires and Elves on top of all this.

Some events or things evolved a little bit too quickly or easily for my taste (same goes for murder and forgiveness in this book), but nevertheless I enjoyed reading this book so much. Mostly because of these amazing characters, but also because of the intriguing world that has been created by the author and certain alliances that you don’t see that often. The romance was also very swoon worthy. You can easily devour this book in 24 or 48 hours, because you’ll soon become very invested in it. For me it was also the perfect book to prevent myself from falling into a reading slump.

I can only recommend it if you like tropes like arranged marriages, Fae x human, touch her/him and die, seasonal magic, grumpy x sunshine, she was sent to kill him, a fierce heroine, swoon worthy moments, the most adorable nicknames, told in a dual POV.
4,25/5 ⭐

[lena_likes_to_read · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a long time since I've read a fae romance.

This book was so fast-paced, I read it in two days. It feels like so much happened in this book, there was never a lull in the story.

My favorite character was Xavier, because he starts out as a cold, apathetic man, but it turns out he has a heart of gold.

I can't wait to read the next books, because I feel like there is so much that still needs to happen.

Thank you B.B. Salem for the e-ARC. All thoughts are my own.

[Shaïna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quelle perte de temps ça a été de lire ces 293 pages ! Je ne me laisserai plus jamais avoir par les reels Instagram d’une autrice, c’est décidé.

Nous avons là une romantasy avec un rythme très rapide où tout s’enchaîne sans réel cohérence. Alors que le protagoniste masculin, Xavier, est dit comme étant un homme qui ne fait confiance à personne, pas même à ses amis de longue date, Vivian parvient à obtenir celle-ci en quelques jours seulement. En plus de lui faire confiance rapidement, il tombe également très vite amoureux d’elle sans même la connaître plus que ça. Leur histoire d’amour qui a d’abord commencé avec un mariage arrangé a été bien trop soudaine à mon goût, même si c’est une romantasy. Leur relation était quand même mignonne mais trop précipitée.

Le world building du roman avait un certain potentiel mais à cause de l’omniprésence de cette romance médiocre, il a été mal exploité. Il n’y avait presque aucun détail et la politique n’avait aucun sens. L’autrice a essayé de faire une intrigue politique vers la fin mais elle aurait pu s’abstenir. En plus de ça, je ne comprends toujours pas pourquoi elle a insisté pour tuer des personnages dont la mort n’a absolument rien apporté de plus au récit.

La gestion des émotions des personnages aussi était bien claquée, notamment avec la protagoniste, Vivian, qui se sent mal dans sa peau mais rien ne le montrait réellement, c’était juste mentionné comme un vulgaire détail.

Bref, c’était nul, ne perdez pas votre temps et en plus le protagoniste est un animal, il n’arrête pas de grogner.

[Loes Truijens · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about Vivian, a human Princess who gets married off to the seemingly cruel Winter king, Xavier. Vivian has been married with a mission, to kill the winter king, but Xavier uses her to gain more power and has trust issues. While Vivian tries her best to get him to trust her so she can kill him, they fall in love with each other, but will the truth be too much?

I have to be honest, it took me a little while to get into but that is also my fault since I was in a slump for the last 2 months.
I liked Vivian's personality and I'd like for her to share her husband with me, thanks.
My favourite character was Drax, it was a shame we didn't get to see him more.
I did really enjoy this book alot, took me out of my slump. The book was alot of fun and I liked the sarcastic banter we got.
Can't wait to read Kash's book ❤️

[Paula · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you want an amazing super fast standalone fantasy romance with a lot of characters with great character development and an interesting magic system, Fantasy world and magical creatures than this is the book for you. I absolutely loved the characters and there development in this story. Vivian and Xavier are definitely a great grumpy sunshine couple that slowly warm up to each other with the events that happen in this book. I adored Drax and will never forgive the author for killing him if I was devastated 😭 the epilogue eased the pain a little bit not enough. I will definitely recommend this and her other work.

[Marjolijn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wanted to give it a 3,5* rating, but GR made me give 4*.
I liked the book, the story was easy enough to follow and I read it in 3 days. I do think some plot points could've been handled a little better, in stead some people just got killed of too easily in my opinion.

[Quinn Frierson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book. The first half I really enjoyed but the last half felt like every possible ending was thrown in. Like oh you survived this what about this and then this and then this too. Felt very random and honestly ended up just skimming the last 50 pages.

[Veerle Nijhoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really loved the vibe ❄️❄️ loved the plot and Drax❤️❤️❤️🐉

[Nadine · Rating 4 out of 5]

4⭐️
This book was so much fun!!!
Luv it

[Sadija · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is exactly what I expect fantasy books to be like.🫶🏼

[𐙚 moon · Rating 4 out of 5]

RTC

[Larissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars, it was wonderful! If I had started reading this on my day off, I would’ve definitely finished it in one go. I adored the story and world it took place in, and I really loved the characters!

“Goodnight, snowflake.”❄️

[Versatthi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay, so this one is pretty hard to review. I mean its a half decent romance but a really bad fantasy. So I'm halfway thru the book and i like it... kind of. What I mean to say is this is a good romance but a HORRIBLE fantasy. I cant sttess this enough its really bad, the thing is that most things here have no reason existing, sure the fae are a cool concept (badly executed, but nice in concept) but why are elves here? They don't do crap and neither do the vampires feels like they're in the book just to check a fantasy checklist box. And don't even get me started on that bullshit map, anyone with eyes can see how stupid it is, aside from the fact it's hideous it also doesn't need to exist since they just teleport around with Xavier's magic powers.

Now the characters are... good? I really liked Vivian, but that's about it. Let's be honest Xavier is basically just Edward with a bit of twist and even then it's stupid, he's all oh I hate Vivian I married just for duty then suddenly he was just testing her to see her true self? What? Vivian really carries this book on her back and I do mean it. Basically every other character feels stupid, most have close to 0 importance and those who do like Drax also aren't that important at all.

Don't get me wrong it's a fun book and Vivian is pretty interesting, I get where she's coming from most of the time. Still there's one thing that drags his down, a lot. The world building. Sure, it's a romance it doesn't need it, but let's not forget this is also a fantasy at heart, and in the end fails at being one. Let's start with the obvious map, everything has generic names like elven kingdom vampire kingdom and there are like 2 rivers in the whole thing. If this was a more whimsy fantasy that would be fine, plenty of fantasies are like that and they're good, but not this one, it really tries to put politics into It and the thing is THAT DOESNT WORK WITH A STUPID WORLD LIKE THIS ONE! God that annoyed me like there are whole scenes in that stupid magic council of theirs that make no sense at all and never will until we get decent worldbuilding which we never do.

After shitting on this book for so long you might think I hate it but I truly don't it's a fun romance and succeeds at that (only that tho). They're a nice couple, mostly because of Vivian, and it's fun. But if you're looking for a fantasy, look elsewhere this is not what you're looking for.

(This is a bit of a nitpick but like really? Winterfell, that's just stupid to have it named after you know fucking game of thrones the huge fantasy story still ongoing. Just wanted to add cus I mean no way its just a coincidence)

Edit: Finally finished it, and wow, it went sour. It was fine at first decent romance terrible fantasy, but after reading it I realized just how bad the world is. Everything is just so convenient, everyone is happy and saved by the end thru convenient magic for plot's sake. The whole dagger thing is completely stupid and the vampire shit even less. The whole part with Florence and the Isla girl is mind nubbingly bad. Big rant, I know, really what I want to say is, this ain't worth the read, there are way better romance and fantasies keep looking...

⭐️- Vivian is fun
⭐️- Like the outfit descriptions a lot
⭐️- Vivian again, carrying this book on her back

[Aziza · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book!! I read Fear and Fire, written by the same author, and didn't really enjoy it much (mainly because of the second half), but this was a good and enjoyable book. I'm glad I gave it a chance!

The improvement is astonishing, and kudos to the author. They're getting better and better with every single book, and I am excited to read the next one in the series. I have high hopes for it and am looking forward to it.

The characters were really fleshed out and had unique and notable personalities and traits, which was something lacking in her previous book. Vivian felt a lot more dimensional and had a lot more layers than Alina in Fear and Fire, and Xavier's chapters did well to show him developing his feelings and thoughts. Some dialogue bits felt off, but there was a very clear improvement, and I'm impressed/proud.

Even with the romance aspect of it, Vivian and Xavier's relationship progression was a lot more well-paced and plausible. Someone said they felt as if it was too quick, but I disagree. There was a good amount of tension, and they worked through quite a lot of issues as well. I can see them actually lasting and being a couple after the book's finished.

The plot also felt a lot more thought out, and there were a lot of twists and turns. That seems to be a real strength of Salem; her plot twists are shocking and out of nowhere. There was one scene towards the end where they're supposedly dead and trying to come back to life that felt a little lacklustre and rushed. I definitely feel like some bits could've been expanded on/fleshed out more, but it was still a good read. Also, there's no spice, which is a win for me!!!

There were, however, some grammatical errors, less than in her previous book, but still present nonetheless. It was still okay to read, though. That's my main reason why I've rated this a 3.75 (rounded up to 4)

[Iris Vree · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really miss not being able to give x and a half stars because I would rate this book 3,5.

It’s not bad and the story is good enough but I’m missing some depth. There are so many “big events” happening but it all happens a little too fast in my opinion. Some of them barely take up one page of the entire book where I would at least spend ten pages on them.

Another part of “missing depth” is when it comes to negative feelings. The insecurity comes back a lot but always in the same way. X says that and I feel that. You mention it so many times, but then a pretty guy looks at me like I’m the most beautiful girl in the world and then I overcome everything? I’m not a big fan of needing a man to realize your self worth but I understand it. I guess it’s my personal opinion? 🤷🏻‍♀️

Also losing your horrible mom and killing your dad seems like it should have a lot more impact on the main character? I mean yes they did awful things but she also has very fond memories of her dad. Surely killing him must do something to her that deserves more than one sentence?

One last question. The woman in white says that there’s one more person Vivian needs to lie to. Who’s that? Is this an opening for a second book or did I miss something?

Thank you BB Salem for writing it! 🫶🏻

[Chanel Holm · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had a hard time putting this book down! It was a whirlwind.
It kind of jumped around a little bit, some chapter didn’t flow as well as others. What I thought was the ending( Xavier rescuing her) was not the ending and I had no idea where it was going after that. Her going to see her dad did seem like the next step, but how quickly Vivian’s mother and father died and how it was quickly blown over made it seam like I was being told the story instead of experiencing jt. Vivian’s sister also became a side character.
I was dying to know how Drax fit into the puzzle and why he grew. I was sad that as soon as we were getting to know him he died a sad death outside. No funeral or time or mourn or anything, and then moved right on to the coronation and the. Waiting for a new Drax. Made him feel very used and not important, when he played a big part of the story.
The bonus chapter/cooking scene finally gave a little spice to their life. I know it said no spice, and HEA, but I do love me some 🌶️ scenes.
Most definitely a good, fluffy read. Would love to read more about them down the line. The new wyvern, if they had kids, what happened after her dad died and if her sister took over the kingdom.

[Thebookcookieandtea · Rating 4 out of 5]

*4,5

Okay okay, hear me out: Sarah J. Maas x vampire diaries - spice = the four seasons crown. Het verhaal is erg leuk, goede humor en in deze editie zaten er ook nog leuke page overlays in. Het is duidelijk waar bepaalde karakters of ideeën van geïnspireerd zijn en het werkt! Er zit een wyvern in, vampieren, elven, fae's en mensen. De combinatie is dikke prima. Ik las in bepaalde recensies dat de taalgebruik te modern was, maar dit vond ik totaal niet.

De karakters zijn geloofwaardig en hun band ook. Hoewel ik soms wel vond dat bepaalde dingen heel snel gingen en ik door de timeline af en toe in de war was. Ben ik wel van mening dat dit boek écht een aanrader is, al lees je het voor tussendoor. Ondanks de typische fantasy topics (gevechten bijv.) Heeft het somehow ook een beetje een cosy vibe.

[Chaos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant! Vivian is a stunning character who had serious insecurities. The way it was handled in the story was perfect. It shows how much damage it can do to a person with those type of comments. Im so glad Xavier brought her out of it. Xavier himself has his own issues and my heart hurt for him. He lost his mom, someone he thought he could trust, and then had to assume a crown he wasnt ready for. He had so much happen to him. It was no wonder he was so closed off. Thankfully Vivian helped him after some serious soul searching on her part and some serious honesty. They went through so much to get their happy ending. I love that even though they felt alone they each had friends willing to fight for them! While the romance was the main draw of the story, the friendships were more important in my opinion. I so hope this author is planning a book 2 in this world.