Servant of the Crown

The Crown of Tremontane #1

by Melissa McShane

Alison Quinn, Countess of Waxwold, is content with her bookish life—until she’s summoned to be a lady-in-waiting to the Queen of Tremontane’s mother for six months. Even the prospect of access to the Royal Library doesn’t seem enough to make up for her sacrifice, but Alison is prepared to do her service to the Crown. What she’s not prepared for is Prince Anthony North, Queen Zara’s playboy brother, who’s accustomed to getting what he wants—including the Countess of Waxwold.

When the fallout from an unfortunate public encounter throws the two of them together, Alison has no interest in becoming the Prince’s next conquest. But as the weeks pass, Alison discovers there’s more to Anthony than she—or he—realized, and their dislike becomes friendship, and then something more—until disaster drives Alison away, swearing never to return.

Then Alison is summoned by the Queen again, this time to serve as Royal Librarian. A threat to Tremontane’s government, with her treasured Library at stake, draws Alison into the conflict…and into contact with Anthony once more. Can they work together to save the Royal Library and Tremontane? And can she open her heart to love again?

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult, Steampunk, Fantasy Romance, Fiction, Young Adult Fantasy

406 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 15, 2015

About the author

Melissa grew up a nomad, following her family all over the United States, and ended up living in the shadow of the Wasatch Mountains with her husband, four kids, and three very needy cats. Her love of reading was always a constant during those uncertain years, and her love of writing grew out of that. She wrote reviews and critical essays for many years before turning to fiction, and was surprised at how much she liked it. She loves the fantasy genre and how it stretches the imagination.

Reviews

[Tadiana ✩Night Owl☽ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great comfort read if you like romance-oriented fantasy. Plus a library! This fantasy world (or more specifically, this country in this fantasy world) has kind of a Victorian era vibe to it, with just a little magic.

2016 update: I'm bumping this up to 5 stars on reread. This is one of my favorite fantasy romances; I keep pulling it back open again every few months. It just hits all the right buttons for me, and for that it gets all the stars.

Review originally posted on www.fantasyliterature.com:

Servant of the Crown is a steampunk-flavored young adult romantic fantasy by Melissa McShane, published in July 2015. It's set in a well-imagined Victorian-era type of world where magic plays a lesser and socially suspect role. Alison, the young Countess of Waxwold, is summoned from her city to be a lady-in-waiting to the Dowager Consort of the kingdom for six months. This seems like a prison sentence to Alison, who enjoys her work in the budding printing industry and as a theater patroness, has no taste for court or social games, and no inclination to "sit around in an uncomfortable dress and keep the former Consort company" for half a year. But the royal summons from the queen cannot be gainsaid, so Alison grits her teeth and heads to the capital city of Aurilien, consoling herself with the thought that at least she’ll have access to the famous royal library with its vast collection of rare books.

Trouble begins when the Dowager gives her son, Prince Anthony North, a well-intentioned suggestion to dance with Alison at the first ball she attends. North is drop-dead good-looking and knows it, and during their dance makes a rather drunken indecent suggestion to Alison. He picked the wrong girl. Alison, who has a very sour taste in her mouth from prior romances where she found the men wanted her only for her title, wealth and/or looks, immediately slaps him across the face and storms off. Unfortunately for both Alison and North, this causes a minor sensation, and Queen Zara, the Prince’s older sister, orders the two of them to go on public dates once a week until the scandal dies down.

So far Servant of the Crown reads like a straight fantasy romance, although it has more well-developed and complex characters than usual. But when the main characters’ choices and natures lead to a crisis halfway through, it is followed by some surprising but logical turns in the plot that lead the reader down some unexpected pathways. These developments raise this novel above the typical romance and make it well worth recommending to readers who enjoy reading romances that are more thoughtfully written.

Early-technology "Devices" like printing presses and lights are powered by the magical battery-like "motive forces," giving the steampunk feel to this world, which fits in well with the Victorian-type social atmosphere. The vast royal library is almost a character in itself, with unexpected literary treasures hidden in neglected shelves. It becomes the linchpin in a political battle for power between the Queen and the powerful group scholars who have been running the library and other governmental agencies, with Alison and her assistants caught in the crossfire.

This is a fairly light but thoughtful fantasy novel that combines a clean romance with some compelling political intrigue and royal court maneuvering. I’ve read many self-published novels in the last few years, but Melissa McShane’s fantasies are complex, layered and well written, making her one of the very few self-published authors whose works I would unreservedly recommend to other readers.

P.S. There's also a bonus short story at the end about Queen Zara, who is a secondary but important character in the novel. It throws a major curve ball at the reader. I'll be really interested in future stories about this world!

**********
Initial reaction:
This was a fun read, a nice mix of light fantasy and a more-thoughtful-than-usual romance. It's hard to go wrong with a heroine who loves the theater and books, and a medieval-ish library!



It's a fun read that hit a lot of the right romance-loving buttons for me, but this book also contains a lot of political intrigue and royal court maneuvering, which I also love, along with a great saving-the-royal-library plot and some amazing-sounding books that I wish were really part of my world and in my own personal library. The romance content is pretty much clean: not squeaky clean, but I'd feel okay giving this to my 17 year old daughter. And I probably will. :)

I received a free copy of this book from the author for review. Thanks!

[Melindam · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars notched up to 3 because the 2nd half of the book saves the day.

1st Part: very slow-pace with an aggravating & overdramatic romance-plot,
2nd Part: finally the story picks up speed we get to the political intrigue and some much-needed action.

This book had great potential but the 1st half drowns itself in its useless melodrama. I am really sorry, for I wanted to like it as I am a sucker for library/book-stories.

Alison is introduced as a heroine after my own heart: brook-no-nonsense, independent with an actual job she likes & she is good at (being editor in her father’s publishing house), loving & collecting books, having a library of her own, owning a theatre. I mean, what is there not to like about a heroine like this?

After the 1st few pages of introduction, she is summoned to the Royal Court of Tremontane to act as a lady-in-waiting to the Dowager Queen & then is forced by the same lady to dance with her son, the Crown Prince Anthony North, at a ball. Anthony insults her, gets his faced smacked & to avoid scandal, they are forced to appear together in public regularly.
And that’s where the unadulterated Victorian melodrama starts because Alison *GASP* has ISSUES with MEN. (which, BTW, borders on pathological, and I have a feeling we are just a whisker away from Alison referring to them as BEASTS or the ENEMY.).

Apparently this poor rich, unbelievably beautiful girl with a title has always encountered men who did not love her for her precious, speshul self, but for her already-mentioned attributes and what’s more, had the audacity of desiring her & telling her so. *SOBBING into pillow uncontrollably*
Ever since, Alison has been avoiding them like plague and now every time a man looks at / smiles at / compliments her or -heaven forbid- hints at her being beautiful/desirable she blotches & freezes and wants to run away.

On one hand, I can totally understand that women have various reactions to unwanted or lecherous attention: heaven knows, even we, simple, average-looking females have enough bad experience. But we are hit on the head with this fact repeatedly on every second page and it‘s beyond frustrating. Yes, we get it even after two or three repeats that Alison is just so-so-so-so-so incredibly beautiful that no beast, I mean, man can resist her and she resents this with a vengeance. This, however, instead of being tragic, just gets totally ridiculous. (Yes, we know that ALL MEN JUST WANT THAT. Just get the eff over it Ali & move on with your life!)

A possible conflict with the mysterious Scholia (political organisation of seemingly evil & control-freak scholars) over the Royal Library gets hinted at time and again, but does not come to anything until the 2nd half of the book when you already pretty much lose interest & give up hope of ever getting there after the agony of the romance. At 50 % the story finally gets up to speed, the political conflict between Crown & Scholia, partly focused on Alison & the management of the Royal Library, is interesting and there are a lot of tense and exciting moments and it saves the book from being wholly melodramatic (though the author stays true to herself & just does not seem capable of relinquishing the „blotchy” word). There is a particularly nicely built-up & orchestrated political showdown (with no violence) at the end. Which also makes you wish other characters –namely the Queen, Zara – are given their POV. Zara was an amazing, intriguing, kickass character throughout.

Alison turns out to be more tolerable in the 2nd half as well, but we are not spared the agony of her finally making up her mind (I can’t, I just can’t, really and truly I cannot ... oh ... I can) about her happy ending.

Unfortunately, there is also very little world-building & that little isn’t too cleverly done either. I found it irritating that a hint or half a sentence about history / religion / magic is dropped in between the overheavy romance without any explanation and is promptly forgotten for another 100 pages when the same thing happens: there is some thin reference to something and if the reader does not remember, who cares. And it is a pity for I would have liked to know more about:
In general
- Scholia & its background
- Religion / history

In particular
- Kraathen of Ehuren, who’d united the three warring tribes and made the first bond between man and ungoverned heaven. What does that actually mean beside the sexual implications (really?)?
- Who were the Ascendants and why did they have to be defeated?
- Willow North & the constant fire in her tower (why?)

Writing is also in serious need of some editing. There are all those blotches and freezes (you just lose count). The first time the author used “going numb” and “blushing” instead I cheered with the relief of it until she came up with “blotchy blush” …. *FACEPALM*
And then there was the line: “He was tall, and lean, and handsome in a tall and lean way” ….

All in all, though not a truly bad read, I don’t think I will seek out the next instalment in the series.

[Sherwood Smith]

Wow. I have houseguests, and deadlines, and my own work, and yet I kept stealing time away from all of those to come back and read a few more pages of this book.

Alison is a countess who works as an editor of a bookseller/publisher somewhat on the nineteenth century model. She and her dad are book enthusiasts, so when a summons from the queen of Tremontaine comes for Alison, requiring her to report for duty as a lady in waiting to the queen mother for six months, Alison drags herself reluctantly to the capital. Where at least she will be able to see the royal library, about which she's heard wondrous things. And she'll get to see plays at the playhouse that she herself sponsored.

But she is balked of getting to visit the library by the officious librarian, whose rules are iron-clad, backed by the Scholia, a kind of combination university/bureaucratic training school, whose Masters serve in critical functions all through the government, not just libraries. Alison herself was trained there, but did not take the robe (graduate) because of politics--a point that will become important.

Meantime, the queen mother sees to it that Alison is introduced to her son, the heir to the fiercely intelligent and scrupulous Queen Zara. Unfortunately handsome Prince Anthony is not as scrupulous. When he dances with Alison, drunk and lecherous because who ever says no to the prince, Alison takes issue in the middle of the ballroom--setting off a chain of events that parallels the slowly building political crisis, which centers around that library.

I could see the romance coming, and for about twenty percent of the book contentedly watched it unfold, though now and then my eyebrows would rise, but hey, the rest was entertaining, and the bits of the world building that appeared were very, very intriguing. Then an event happens that was fairly heavily foreshadowed, but NOT its fallout.

Wow. After that, the book intensified exponentially, and I kept reading long past my internal deadlines, and then going back to before I'd properly earned my reading time. It satisfied clear to the end, then came a bonus short piece that jumped my interest in the world, and also my favorite character, to yet another height. I want a book about that character. Now!

Yes, I had a few quibbles--well, three--but those were minor. Much more to the point, this is the author's strongest book yet, which definitely puts her on my auto-buy list. The central characters are intelligent, the steampunkish aspect to the world building quite intriguing, and the emotional complexity such a pleasure to read.

[Alissa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Mh, no. The premise is interesting and I can't resist the lure of book-related things in my reads, but this one sadly fell short on all accounts. Flat cookie-cutter characters, little worldbuilding, no momentum, unbelievable behaviors, a thin plot, the word "blotchy" repeated 24 times to describe the heroine's lone mundane feature -her cheeks when flustered- unremarkable writing...at least the descriptions were nice.

The main character is so beautiful and wealthy and titled that all the men she encounters just want prestige, money and/or flesh from her, while all she wants is to be seen as a person. She only cares for her work in the publishing business because it's her passion. Then she is suddenly cast in the role of a lady in waiting to the queen mother and meets the crown prince, who obviously makes a lewd comment in a very public place where her smarting outrage is duly noted. Of course the prince is most handsome and a total rake. To avoid a scandal the ruling queen, the prince's sister, contrives the perfect plan: prince Anthony North and countess Alison Quinn are to appear together in very public places once a week. And so they do. The prince keeps ogling and complimenting and the heroine keeps reminding the reader of how tiresome this all is because she is a person, not boobs and hips with an head attached. Ok. Of course amid the flirting the prince also shows a new side of himself where he doesn't salivate all over her and magic! She starts to see that deep down there is more to him that meets the eye, not that she complains too much about what meets the eye:

"She looked ahead at North, who made a fine figure despite his character flaws, his broad shoulders, the fine muscles of his back and his…"

"He really was handsome, not that it mattered to her at all, with those cheekbones and the strong curve of his jaw, the way his eyebrows swooped just the tiniest bit at the inner corners to draw attention to his absurdly blue eyes."

This goes on and on with constant reminders about how nice are the spells when he shows his genuine smile and doesn't say anything suggestive; how sad it is that "It won’t last [...] he’ll be back to his old self when I see him next." (or, let's quote another "Perhaps he has changed, she thought, but we’ll see how long it lasts.")

Consequently:

"North looked down at her, and smiled, no hint of a leer in those attractive blue eyes. He really was too handsome for his own good. Alison resolved to be friendly."

Yeah. There is also a library somewhere in the story. I almost DNF’d it at 50%. Then the story picked up and it was okay, but too late to convince.

[Jacob Proffitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

April 2017 reread
An audiobook version of this was released this month and my daughter (who uses my Audible account) asked if we could get it. Well that's a duh, as audiobooks are about the only way she'll actually read her mother's novels. Anyway, I was curious how the production turned out so I downloaded it to pick up a few minutes to see. And then spent a full day or so binge-listening. Yup, still my favorite. And the reader, Gemma Dawson, does an excellent job.

July 2015 original review
This is my favorite book. Possibly ever, but that's a designation that fluctuates widely. The dilemma is that I have no idea how to describe it—particularly if I stick to traditional genre descriptions. It's fantasy, but also romance, and a touch of Victorian (though mostly in court manners and corsets). Oh, and it's also the first of a series, but each book is roughly a generation apart, so . . . serial? Only that's the wrong connotation.

Sigh.

My main difficulty in this review, though, is simple familiarity. Being married to the author means I got a copy months ago and have read the book half a dozen times since then. By choice. Mostly because I'd pick it up intending to read a specific scene and get caught up in it all over again.

Anyway, the reason I love this is mainly attributable to Alison. I love her as a heroine for her strength and resolve and because she doesn't push easily. And I love Anthony, too, but he had to grow on me. His maturity arc is more pronounced as his starting point is much lower. Still, you can see his charm, right from the start, even through his boorish beginning. One of the things Melissa does well is his turn around. While I might originally have expected a reformed rake story, this is much more a coming into himself story. And I like that so much more.

I also love the fight for the royal library. Alison's love of books and reading has her trying to become involved in the library from her first arrival. That poor, abused library. This ramps more in the second half of the story, but from the beginning you get hints that all is not right there. I love how it plays out and how you get to know both Zara and Anthony through the shared fight that widens beyond their initial expectations. It's more court intrigue, which is yet another genre I suppose, but also riveted my attention (particularly as it expands in the second half of the story).

So yeah. It's an awesome book. I'm pretty sure I'd love it even if I weren't married to the author. As it is, I find myself strangely incoherent with my conflicting desires to evangelize the book while still maintaining at least a modicum of impartiality. The fact is, I'm not impartial. I hope everyone will read it and love it. But that's mainly because I read it and loved it and want to share that fun with others...

[Melissa McShane]

Re-read 10/28/22: In re-reading the Tremontane books in chronological order, I'm struck by how little this one stands out despite being (in my opinion) not as polished as the later-written ones. I remember how much I struggled with the second half--there's an alternate version in which Alison and Anthony reconcile about a third of a way through that part, and an ending in which Alison doesn't recognize how much she was at fault in their catastrophe--and those versions lie beneath what's actually there like some kind of digital palimpsest, visible only to the author.

Read 5/31/20: I sort of wish I had this book to write over again. It was the third book I wrote and I was still learning--still am learning, of course--but there are things I would have done differently. Originally, all there was to the story was Alison and Anthony's relationship, right up until the end of the first part; the story of the Library came later, when it was clear there needed to be more to make this a full book. Alison was always meant to be hampered by social anxieties, not hating being beautiful but having had extremely bad luck in her romantic relationships, and I'm not sure how well that came through. Anthony turned out exactly as I intended him, though.

Personally, I care more about the second half of the book, the political battle for the Royal Library. Years ago, my daughter attended a small private school whose library was little more than shelves and shelves of uncatalogued donations by its donors. I had been learning cataloguing on my own, thanks to some powerful library database software I'd purchased for my own books, and I ended up their volunteer librarian. Over the course of two years I catalogued over 10,000 records, one at a time using the only software they could afford, and that experience turned into Alison's Royal Library. I'm fascinated by collections of books, either in libraries or in bookstores, and that translated directly into Servant.

[Linda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm going to preface this review by saying that I wanted to like this book so badly. I mean, it's billed as a mix of regency-style romance novel, high fantasy, and library politics, so obviously I bought it on release day. Unfortunately, while this was an inventive book, it was throttled by its own melodrama, and I was left to watch the death throes of what had the potential to have been a really smart book.

There is a lot to like about Servant of the Crown. It's set in an industrializing high fantasy country with a complicated history and the majority of the characters in positions of power are women. I really liked Alison—or at least I really liked the character she was supposed to be—as the practical and accomplished book editor who has Things To Do. I liked it when the book touched upon issues of sovereignty and the formation of regulatory policies (my catnip basically) and the fight over the library.

Unfortunately, this book takes this premise and launches into the most mind-numbingly terrible romance for the first 46% percent of the book (I counted). I am going to say that, to a certain extent, part of whether a romance works will often have to do with personal taste, but my problem actually has more to do with the fact that once the romance comes into play, the characters behave in wildly inconsistent ways.

For instance, Alison goes from proper and a little hot headed to completely irrational and judgemental. Basically the main conflict in the romance—for her at least—is that she is anxious about relationships because she hates being ogled and thinks all men are either after her fortune or her banging bod. Or something. To be honest, it was never really clear to me whether her problem was social anxiety or what, because the book itself was inconsistent. It would drop lines like "When was the last time you called a man ‘friend’? When has any man been interested in something you cared about instead of your body?" despite the fact that Alison was also close friends with her business partner who was a man.

And as for the prince—whose name I can't even be bothered to remember—he starts off as a horse-race-loving party boy who is incredibly silly and tone-deaf (repeatedly making lascivious comments despite how exceedingly obvious it is that this made Alison uncomfortable) but, after suffering a disappointment he suddenly becomes an entirely different character who is somehow suddenly politically astute, intelligent, and completely sober and serious. But then, you could also say that before that he really didn't have a personality beyond being very handsome and fun-loving. Honestly, by the time the big twist happened, I just didn't care about either character.

Anyway, throw in a dose of slut shaming that was felt extremely regressive in this largely progressive book, and the romance just tipped from boring into infuriating for me. For one, there's this poorly explained "family bond" system that connects people to their families, but also functions as basically is a magical compulsion against having pre-marital sex. ("It seems that’s what happens when you abuse your family bonds by sleeping with someone who doesn’t share them; you start to lose connection not only to your family, but to the world around you.” —an actual line in this book) Plus, they almost do it on a chaise lounge and the heroine calls herself "a tease." No really: "She remembered tearing off her clothes, thrusting her body against him, and burned with shame. She’d led him on and then made him stop, and now he hated her. She couldn’t find her hairband. Her loose hair had started the whole thing. Maybe he would think she was being a tease, leaving it down, when it was just that she couldn’t find the damn hairband."

I persevered because I thought the library/political plot was interesting and, while I actually enjoyed reading about Alison putting the royal library to rights, that entire conflict was solved by a secondary character who basically existed to be a plot device. Plus, all of the villains were depicted as cartoonishly evil. (And I'm not even going to get into the out of character betrayal that happens.)

Ironically, this book could have used a more courageous editor. While I actually only really found one thing that could be considered an error and it was a non-issue, an editor really could have tightened things content-wise. There were a lot of plot points in this book that could have used explaining like the aforementioned family bond thing. while other things were repeated ad nauseum. For instance, there is a chapter in this book where on every single page Alison basically thinks to herself: "he had a chance to be overly flirtatious but he didn't, I'm shocked!" Every page. On the other hand, the other main antagonist in the book, the evil scholars association/university is so poorly explained. At one point, the characters talked about how one councillor was thinking about supporting the scholars because he was worried about a revolt of academics in the military. Not to say that there wouldn't be university graduates in the military, but I was sitting there reaching for explanations because the organization was so poorly explained.

Anyway, I probably snarked on this book more than it deserved (look at those thirty status updates) but honestly, I'm just really disappointed. There are details in this book (both emotional and in the worldbuilding) that are nuanced and interesting but the rest of the book never lived up to them.

[L.R.W. Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you loved Seraphina for the fantasy mixed with political intrigue, I recommend this book! While there are no dragons, the mix of a strong heroine, dynamic characters, and excellent writing is sure to satisfy.

See my full review on my blog at http://blog.lrwlee.com/2015/09/02/my-...

[mich · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is quite possibly the most boring romance ever written ever. Maybe if there was anything else going on in the story besides the romance (anything- like Anthony having a pet bunny that speaks with a French accent or something, ANYTHING!), then maybe I would try to finish it. But there is literally NOTHING ELSE GOING ON IN THE STORY.

Lame, man. DNF @ around 40% ish

[Emily ~ Enchanted With Words · Rating 5 out of 5]

*4.5 stars*
Oh my gooooosh this book was SO good!!! I loved it!!!!

[Lily · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was quite an interesting book! At first, I was a little reluctant to the main-character-who-is-a-countess-but-also-a-librarian idea, but I actually ended up liking it! Putting the story in a medieval-ish fantasy setting but with modern inventions (called "Devices") was also a pretty neat idea.

(There were still horse-drawn carriages, and though no one needs to know this, they apparently also had modern stuff like humidifiers, guns, and even folding chairs!)

Just a content warning that there are quite a few suggestive comments (e.g. about women's breasts (mostly the MC's) and crude joking), men often ogle and leer inappropriately at women, and in one scene, a man and a woman are naked waist up and kiss passionately. One character has also engaged in a lot of premarital sex before the book started, but there aren't any sex scenes in the book itself, and the previous character in question paid for his actions and is meant to have redeemed himself.

Overall, Servant of the Crown is a well-written book with well-developed characters and some action mixed in, but just to be safe, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone under the age of 15.

[Mara · Rating 1 out of 5]

Please, let me start this review with an apology to the author and a request for her and her family to skip reading my words. They are blunt, maybe unnecessarily so. So, please, avoid it at all.
[The use of please is the british one, not the american. It's really a plea...:)]




Expectations are a bitch. I believe we all agree on this. So they may be one of the reasons this novel and I disagreed on many points.
I'm probably wrong, but I don't think I had that many expectations, except those the blurb and the cover gave me, aided by the sample. I expected a steampunk high fantasy with a core of romance.
And yes, it's a romance set in an invented world with some tiny steampunkish elements (they had Devices...). The fantasy was there, but I found it a setting, a prop. I got plenty of descriptions: rooms, dresses, palaces. They all perfectly fit with a "historical" (or romancey) setting, in a fantasy I expect more world, less frills. I expect an explanation of policy, states, magic systems.

All the story revolved around the romance, with a final dash of intrigue. Nothing wrong with all this, but also nothing that interested me that much. Quite the contrary, the first half bored me to tears. I had no sympathy towards both the hero and the heroine. The first was a spoiled brat, a coward and totally unappealing in his stupidity. The heroine is a poor rich, beautiful girl. She's so beautifully cursed that men loves her only for her looks and her richies. It takes a very strong personality/character to make such a heroine in a woman the (this?) reader can at least empathize with.

So I was reading a story that revolved completely about a couple I didn't like at all. Character-wise, everyone and his/her brother seemed bland and superficial. Purely white, purely black. At times almost a caricature. The heroine went on to become a saint in her perfection, the hero in three months became a statistician. I do appreciate characters growing up, but it has to have some credibility.
[And yes, she may have been too ready to close her heart to his pleas, but I didn't see him grovel for the way he treated her. But then I didn't feel an ounce of pity for his "troubles", they were all of his making. ]

And here was something else that bothered me. The politics weren't that coherent. The Queen has no problem in being an overlord only when it was convenient to the plot (i.e. she compels the heroine to go back to the palace after her brother disgraced both). But not at other times.
Maybe this is lack of depth, rather than lack of coherence. There was next to no worldbuilding and it showed in those kind of details.

Linda's review has some very good points that are also better explained if you are interested: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Overall I disliked this novel, I found it boring and silly. Still, I thought for a moment to skip rating and reviewing it to avoid offending Melissa and Jacob. Then I realized even a fictional friendship needs to be based on honesty.

So I hope to lessen a bit the sting pointing you to a few glowing reviews. :)

Jacob: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Tadiana: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Sherwood Smith: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Jana Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Note: The author is a friend of mine and I read this both as a beta reader and then again as an ARC. All opinions are mine alone and she didn't even give me cookies to say nice things.

Review:

Servant of the Crown is not a perfect book, but it's pretty darn close. It's a beautifully told story of romance intertwined with political plotting and learning to overcome the baggage of the past.

I've already informed Melissa McShane that I am the number one fangirl of this book and the others in this series.

One of the things I love is the way the characters draw you in until you are personally invested in each of them and having their stories come together in a wonderful way.

I feel so much empathy for Alison and her struggles. I want her to overcome her past and become this totally wonderful person. And somewhere along the way I totally fell in love with Anthony with all his faults and foibles. Not to mention I want to BE Zara when I grow up. (There is a Zara short story in the back of the book which gets me right in the feels every time I read it.)

Another thing that I enjoy is the balance between the personal plot and the political one and how the two are intertwined. Both plots are straight forward enough that as a reader you don't get lost, but with enough complexities and nuance that the answers aren't obvious until you arrive at them.

And the third point I will go on about is the cast of secondary characters. There are a lot of secondary characters who get a mention and the author does a beautiful job of breathing life into these characters. When the book ended I found I wanted to know more about how Doyle's theater efforts went and exactly what was entailed in the pickle story. I always love a book that keeps living in my head long after I've put it down.

I keep thinking there are some negatives I should come up with, but really it's an excellent book and whatever little things there are don't bug me enough to make it into a review. This is a book, and the start of a series, that I know I'll come back to and I look forward to sharing with my daughter when she's a little older.

Not a spoiler quote but one of my favorites:

I loved your mother very much. Sometimes I hurt her, and sometimes she hurt me. But I have never regretted giving her the chance to do so, because it gave her the chance to love me.

[Tandie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I enjoyed the political intrigue more than the romance. Heroine was constantly whining about how all men only wanted her for her hot body, good looks, title, and money. Any compliment or look from a man made her jump to the conclusion that he was a dirty pervert.

Prince Anthony did make a drunken inappropriate comment during a dance & was slapped. He redeemed himself and turned out to be lovely. MC overreacted & punished him toward the end and it was waaaaay dragged out.

I did like the evil librarians trying to take over the kingdom plot. Swoony boy. Immature girl. Awesome queen. 3.5 stars

[MikMurphy the Spinecreaser · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.70 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Decent little fluffy romance. The plot meandered a bit. Hit the spot for a break from intense epic fantasy 😄

[Chelsea · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF (did not finish) about 50%

Decent writing in a potentially interesting industrialization setting. I'm kind of bummed because there is supposed to be magic but it's practically non-existent, at least in the first half I read.

One of my biggest complaints is the main character is too perfect and it got old fast. She is rich, titled, smart, and, as we are constantly reminded, has an incredibly desirable body. The novel is always mentioning her bosom, cleavage, "glorious" & "beautiful" & "firm" breasts, "well-rounded bottom," and how men are always staring at her chest, leering down her neckline, and ogling & caressing her body with their eyes… over and over again. *eye roll*

The MC's only physical flaw is that she blushes unevenly, and irritatingly, "blotchy" is the only adjective used for it-- several dozen times. I suggest the editor checks out a thesaurus.

A major negative: the prince love interest sexually harasses the MC (and as a bonus, he's a serial fornicator & adulterer with a drinking problem). And of course they'll end up together. *throws up in mouth*

Content
Sex/nudity: moderately heavy-- see above, as well as sexual innuendo, references to affairs, an almost sex scene (premarital) including nipple & breast caressing-- thus my DNF. There could be more later, but I don't know.
Language: 12 b**tard, 29 d**n, 1 h**l, 3 b**ch, 1 a**
Violence/Gore: none that I recall

Then I have little grammatical error nitpicks, such as confusing & inconsistent capitalization.
For example, "Consort" and "Countess" were always capitalized, whether it was referring to a office/position or the person themselves, not counting the following errors:
-Once, "Consort" wasn't capitalized when it always had been (ch 10)
-Three inconsistent uses for "Countess" (ch 2, 2 & 5)
- "County" was used correctly: capitalized when saying it as a name but not normally, except with one error (ch 15)
-"Who" and "whom" were used correctly almost all of the time (which I appreciate as some authors simply ignore it all together), excepting Ch 3: "beckoning over whoever"

Usually I don't get too upset with one or two grammatical errors in a book, but more than that, I get annoyed.

I wouldn't recommend this one due to all the above, but that's just my opinion.

[Tressa (Wishful Endings) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Servant of the Crown was a highly enjoyable read. It was more romance than fantasy. The setting was interesting and one I enjoyed being immersed in. I fell in love with all the main characters and properly despised the villains. The writing was excellent as was the pacing. It's definitely a series I will be following.

I felt as I read that I was being introduced to a new world that was a mix of historical England and futuristic/almost-steampunk. Old traditions were mixed with new. Royalty mixed with a governing council. Horses, candles, and more old-fashioned dress mixed with contraptions and girls wearing trousers. There was also a hint of magic, but it didn't play much of a role in this story.

Alison, Anthony, Zara, the Dowager, Alison's dad, and Doyle were all fabulous characters. Even minor characters I felt were well formed and gave me a good picture of who they were. I really loved Alison and Anthony and how they both evolved during this story. I felt invested and hoped for a fabulous happily ever after for them. Getting there was a little rough with some heartbreaking moments, but also some hopeful ones.

I do wish the content would have been slightly cleaner, but I was also warned by the author in regards to that. The story was pretty much perfect besides that and wanting a little more magic weaved through-out.

Servant of the Crown was a great story that I thoroughly enjoyed. It brought out my emotions, both of sorrow as the characters went through some rough patches, those of appreciation and joy during the happier moments, and some moments that literally had me swooning. If you enjoy romance or fantasy, then this one is for you! At the end of the book there was also the beginning chapter of the next book in this series revolving around Queen Zara and I'm dying to finding out what happens next!

Content: Quite a bit of innuendo, some violence, some mild swearing, some heavy making out, and one interrupted detailed scene that was referred back to in a character's thoughts.
Source: I would like to thank the author Melissa McShane for my complimentary copy, which did not affect my review in any way.

[Tari · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book to be very well written. I did enjoy it, most of the time.

The first 40%, felt like a Romance novel. The word BEAUTIFUL was overused. Although tedious at times, I stuck with it & found that overall the story was rewarding.

Once the action began to pick up, at around 45%, the pace of the book picked up & most of the remainder of the book was enjoyable.

I'm not sure this book is quite a fantasy. The Steampunk aura was a little lame in several places.
It seemed to me that the author was trying for a historical/steampunk setting, yet a couple of times she wrote about something much more modern, caught herself & then simply stated it was a device. Everything was a device. Yes, the words device/devices were overused as well. I would like to know more about the devices.

The world-building was mediocre. There was very little magic. I believe the author would have better served if she had explained a bit more of the backstory. Where did the devices come from? What was the power source? It almost sounded like the palace sat on a nexus of ley lines, but the author never really answered any of those questions. Why is inherent magic considered to be a bad thing? What sort of cataclysm happened that caused the world to be what it was? I could go on, but there really is no point.


The big question, would I recommend this book to others? Yes, I would. I will also be interested in reading the rest of the books in the series as well. Perhaps more answers will be found in subsequent books.

Overall, a solid 3.5.





.

[Sónia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I won't make this a long one because I'm so disappointed. I'm a romance sucker, I don't need an elaborate plot to find a book really interesting, as long as the book is well written and the characters compelling. Alison is conceited and elitist, she believes she's better than everyone else because she's oh so cultured. She's not like the other girls. Oh please. I love strong female protagonists, even cocky ones, but I couldn't get past Alison's elitism. This is the first book I've DNFed, hopefully it will be the last. I won't finish this series, that's for sure.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not really sure how this book came to me, but I think I just saw it on sale recently and thought I’d pick it up because I’ve read a Melissa McShane book before and enjoyed her writing. At least, I think that’s what happened. Although, if someone recommended this one to me please remind me so I can thank you. 🙂

Pretty much the first third or so of this book is concentrated on the romance, which of course I loved because I’m all about romance. We get to see Alison at home in her natural environment as a book editor working in the publication industry as she receives an invitation (more like an order) to come and live at court for six months to attend the Dowager Queen as one of her ladies in waiting. Alison, although a Countess, is really not one to stand on ceremony and having to go to court and abide by a very strict set of rules of etiquette is about the furthest thing from a good time to her. Nevertheless, she goes, and at her first ball meets the prince, the current Queen’s younger brother, where he drunkenly offends her during a dance. In order to salvage appearances, Queen Zara orders them to spend time together in public playing nice with each other until the scandal dies down. This, of course, leads to the usual set of getting to know each other, misunderstandings, straightening out of misunderstandings, a grudging friendship, and eventually romance.

I have to say, I really enjoyed the way this played out. It wasn’t love at first sight by any means, and the characters really took the time to get to know each other before any feelings became involved. I wouldn’t say it’s a slow-burn romance, but it’s definitely not insta-love either. Still, there are a good mix of tropes in there, some of which are even lamp-shaded. Honestly, I don’t mind tropes because they’re tropes for a reason and as long as the writer can make them work then it’s all good. The whole giant misunderstanding that takes place near the mid-point of the book is pulled off well when it’s not only lamp-shaded, but the characters spend the rest of the book recovering and rebuilding instead of instantly falling back together like ‘oh, hey, that was just a funny misunderstanding, wasn’t it?’

The world-building in this is light compared to something a little more meaty, like an epic fantasy, but it’s still quite interesting. Tremontane is a world with technology, Devices that make certain things possible. These Devices seem to be powered by magic, but I’m not quite sure because it honestly barely touches on all of the ins and outs of how these things work. But what is made clear, is that this is a world that isn’t stagnant. There is invention, and there continues to be innovation, throughout. One of the things they mention, briefly, which has no real bearing on the plot, is a new communication Device that is being tested. I really enjoyed being shown this because I sometimes feel like fantasy worlds are often shown as being very stuck in whatever state of being they’re presented, as if there is no invention, no advancement. This is clearly not the case with Tremontane. And while some things were very ‘traditional’, life at court for example, where folks are expected to act and dress in a certain way, outside of court things were much more relaxed and many women even wore trousers instead of dresses. I mention this because it felt refreshing, although it did confuse me a little bit as to if there was a time period analogue that this was based on and if so, when, because some things felt very modern while others seemed right out of the nineteenth century. Still, I did enjoy the setting a lot.

But really, again, the strength of this book is its characters. They’re not always instantly lovable. Alison can be quite prickly, pushing people away and sometimes I think she goes too far with her attitude and insults people for no reason. Anthony, right from the get-go, we get a sense of his flaws. He’s actually not as shallow as he presents, but it takes a bit to peel back the surface and see what’s beneath. It also takes some huge events for him to really examine his life and decide who he wants to be. Both of the main character’s story arcs and character growth are great.

The rest of the plot, besides the romance, is centered around the Royal Library. As a book editor, Alison is keen to explore it but keeps being rebuffed by the Royal Librarian. Eventually, certain things come to light and it goes much deeper than just the Royal Library. A powerful organization starts threatening to basically take power away from the Queen and it’s up to Queen Zara, Alison, and Anthony to work together and fight against this corrupt organization. I enjoyed this plot a lot, somewhat because it involved books and organizing them (my place of zen) but also because I enjoy the politics of it all as well. Nothing like a little coop attempt to keep people on their toes. 🙂

Overall, Servant of the Crown is a fun fantasy romance, and Melissa McShane does a great job of blending the two genres. Definitely going to read more of her work in the future. 4/5 stars.

[Roslyn]

I enjoyed Servant of the Crown very much and through most of it, couldn’t put it down. The novel intertwines a romance with political intrigue with a fantasy world background (albeit hinted at rather than fully depicted). I loved the steampunk, semi-Victorian feel of the novel. The central characters are vividly created: I was intrigued by Alison (an editor Countess called to the palace to act as a lady-in-waiting) Anthony (the rakish prince), Princess Zara and the Dowager. The author takes us so completely into Alison and Anthony’s inner worlds that the dynamics between them become very real and believable. Alison’s inner world in particular fascinated me, especially her love of the royal Library and her qualities that come into play in relation to this part of the plot arc, Even more, the development and maturation of each of the central characters through the novel are masterfully done.

I would have loved to understand more about the way the fantasy elements and the culture of this world work, in particular in relation to its sexual mores. It isn't entirely clear to me, for instance, from the hints made, why the two central characters don't consummate their relationship until they are married. I’m intrigued by the mentions of connection in the novel but I want to understand it more clearly.

I did find aspects of the plot itself (both romantic and political) somewhat transparent; for example, I felt that one minor character was there only to make a plot point, and I sometimes felt that the main character was lagging too far behind in her understanding of what seemed clearly to be happening. The plot elements, while not necessarily astonishing in themselves, together form an intriguing, absorbing whole. And the characters are complex, compelling and understandable.

I really want to read more about these characters and the world in which the novel is set, and can’t wait to read more books by Melissa McShane.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 rounded up because the heroine is (eventually) a librarian. A little bit disappointing after McShane's Extraordinaries series. The world is vaguely steampunk but with magic used to power 'Devices' rather than mechanical means, and there is also a vague ancient backstory of magic users with too much power. The first half of the book concentrates on a building romance between Alison and Anthony in which the reader is effectively left in ignorance of a building political crisis in this mythical country. This crisis comes to the forefront in the second part of the book swirling around a badly abused library and Alison as the embattled librarian, this did not seem very plausible, but it was very exciting. And then, at the end, there is a little 'short story' which starts all kinds of things and resolves nothing much to my annoyance.

[Anna lost in stories *A* · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest reviw :) I have so many thoughts running inside my head right now... it took me a while to figure out how exactly I want to rate this story, and ultimately I decided to give it full five stars :) was this book perfect? not really, but it started off really good and then before I knew what happened I fell in love with it :) so I figured it deserves all five stars :) it's book one of a series, but it works as a standalone, with a beautiful epilogue and everything :) as far as I know, the second story will concentrate on a whole set of new characters in the same world, but for now, let us concentrate on this particular story :)

Alison is a countess in one of the areas in Tremontane who also happns to work in a publishing company with her father :) her love of books and written word in general is definitely something I can relate to :) she's young, but distant and closed off, mainly because the majority of men she came into contact with were only interested in her because of her looks, title and / or fortune... she's very smart, but can also be very stubborn and prideful... which only makes her more human so I'm not really seeing it as a flaw in my eyes ;) she is summoned to be a lady in waiting for the queen's mother for six months, and by summoned I mean invited, but since there really is no way to decline the offer, well... ;) and it is in the capital when she meets Anthony North, prince and brother of the reigning queen Zara... and by meet I mean... well... he DOES NOT make a good first impression, that's for sure... and by that I mean they make quite a scene during a ball... I don't want to say anything else, because of spoilers, but let's just say that when the queen comes up with a solution to this little scandal they caused, for them to spend more time together for the sake of appearances, none of them is happy... :) well, THEY aren't, but we, as readers, couldn't be happier :) Anthony is definitely a much less likeable character, at least at the beginning... his behaviour can be pretty... well, vain and shallow and without really thinking things through... I don't really want to say too much more, mainly because both these characters have a very beautiful development throughout this story and it will be so much better for you guys if you don't know all the details :) just trust me, those few cringeworthy moments are worth it :) and by cringeworthy do not think I mean the writing style :) because it's fantastic, I solely mean the actions our main characters take :)

Theirs is definitely a slow building romance... what with that big and unpleasant scene when they meet and all ;) but once they spend more time together, they discover, to their surprise, that there are things they have in common :) I would give you an example, but again, I want to tell you as little as I can about them so I won't spoil you those beautiful steps they make toward each other, but on the other hand I need to tell you just enough to convince you to actually read this book :) the whole story can be divided into two parts :) the first one is definitely more romantic, with them getting to know one another and such... there are some glimpses into what the second part will be about, but only teasers... then we have the second part of the story, after a bit of a time jump... that time jump is definitely needed because of the *thing* that happened between Alison and Anthony... *sighs* when I was reading this book I had a feeling something bad will happen soon... because things were going really well and I was worried because it was just the middle of the story... and unfortunately, something really bad DID happen... *sighs heavily* the only good thing I have to say about that is how much I loved Alison's reaction and the way she confronted Anthony... I know it's vague but there is absolutely no way of me saying anything else without some major spoilers, so it will have to do for now :) the second part takes place three months later, when Alison is yet again summned to the capital, for very different reasons this time :) and this part is definitely concentrated more on the politics and intrigue and all that :) don't worry, there is definitely romance as well in there, but in the background :)

When it comes to secondary characters in this story, my personal favourite is Zara, the queen... I don't really know why, because there is not a lot of her in the book, but every time she shows, she steals focus :) I don't know if there will be more of her in future stories or maybe she will get a book of her own, but I just wanted to share that with you :) there were of course many more people along the way, some of them good ones, some of the very bad... as in evil characters, not poorly written ;) all of them added different layers to this already rich story :) although now that I think about it, we don't really get to know too much about the world... :) don't get me wrong, we know enough to follow the plot and understand different interactions but there is definitely much more to discover :) I am absolutely looking forward to future stories for that :)

All in all I really loved this book :) it started of on a very good level for me... I immediately knew that this will be at least a 4 / 4,5 stars book :) but then, the more I read about those characters and the more I got to know them... I slowly fell more and more in love with them :) it was my third book written by the lovely Melissa and I am now pretty much convinced that her writing style just works for me :) she has a beautiful way of painting pictures with her words... :) the descriptions that fill this book are stunning :) and I adore the way she creates characters... they always grow and change throughout the span of the books... and some of them, like Anthony in this case, change tremendously... :) I found the world very interesting, a mix of steampunk-ish vibes with a touch of fantasy is something I love to read about and I am definitely looking forward to going back into it :) especially since I know that we will learn more about different places and customs in that second installment :) but for now, I can wholeheartedly recommend you guys this first story :) I hope I convinved you to give it a try :)

XOXO

A

[starryeyedjen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've heard that some women can really hold grudges, but wowwwwwwwww! The main characters are in their early to mid-twenties and therefore still of an age to make bad choices with little consequence...except that they're nobility and royalty in some cases. So, I can see why it would be difficult to forget an indiscretion or two, but this heroine refused to forgive and let bygones be bygones, despite what it might mean for her eventual happiness. I really began to question if she'd even relent by the end of the book, considering this is the first in a series. But then there were more important things to worry about like evil librarians -- WHO DON'T TAKE CARE OF THE BOOKS! -- and I realized the romance really wasn't my favorite aspect of this story, anyway. My library doesn't have the next book available, so who knows if/when I'll pick it up. It does appear to be about a different heroine, though, so that's a plus. (Which isn't to say I didn't like Alison, but damn, girl, let it go.)

[Bibi · Rating 1 out of 5]

Melissa has quickly become a fave author, however, this book is amateurish and badly in need of an editor. I wonder if this was her debut...

DNF@ 30%

[ala · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe 2.5 stars... I found this one a little dull and the heroine a little whiny, but over all not too bad for a romance novel.

The premise is that a countess is called to court to be a lady in waiting to the queen's mother. She has very little patience with men, due to a history of them only wanting her a) title b) wealth or c) body (or some combination of the three). Never-the-less, against her better judgement, she ends up falling for the prince, who at first seems like all the other men, then seems different, and then does something that makes him seem like all the other men but worse, but only after she has fallen in love with him. Having her worst opinions of men confirmed is, needless-to-say, traumatic for her, but though she returns home to nurse her broken heart, she is soon forced back to court to step in as Royal Librarian. This lands her in the middle of a political intrigue which she must help resolve, even as we see whether or not she can resolve her lingering feelings for the prince... (duh, duh, duh, however will it end?)

Some amount of my disgruntlement around lack of suspense in the novel might be coming through, although I guess this is perhaps unfair of me. It is a basically a romance, after all, and you usually have an idea of their general direction from the beginning. And in fact, there are some things about this book that do make it better than most romance novels I have read. For instance:

*steampunk setting
*main character who loves books
*no dueling POVs (I hate how romances usually alternate back and forth between the male/female POVs. I don't want to know what the guy is thinking -- it kills any mystery there might have otherwise been. Also, maybe because these books are almost always written by women, the men seem to think the things that a woman would think a man might think, with a degree of hashing/rehashing that strikes me as being aspirational... )
*clever writing -- for instance, isn't this amusing?:

Left of center stood the oldest tower, a skinny black stone finger pointing at ungoverned heaven as if issuing a challenge. If you looked at it the right way, the gesture was a rude one.

or how about?

"Then why don't you haul a few more piles of books while I see about hiring scribes? I have to place some advertisements, and talk to an employment agency. Maybe more than one. We'll need several scribes."
"Lots of scribes."
"A gaggle of scribes."
"I believe the collective noun is actually a scribble of scribes."


The issue I had was the melodrama and back-and-forth internal monologue of the heroine. She got so worked up over things that struck me as being relatively small, yet upon which much of the dynamic action of the plot seemed to hang. (While at the same time, failed to express much feeling at all for things that might truly be traumatic. For instance, when there was an attempt on her life that resulted in her guard being killed there was nary a monologue in sight.) Perhaps my expectations of a romance novel are unreasonably high here, but I spent about half the novel being annoyed with her and the other half being bored.

Here's a litmus test. How does the following passage make you feel?

"Thank you," he said, and turned away. It was so definite a rejection that she felt stunned, then angry with herself. Never mind what he'd told her in his office the day Henry had betrayed her; he clearly wasn't interested in being her friend. Well, she didn't want to be his friend either. It was only guilt that had made her think so. But she had no reason to feel guilty, because he was the one who'd wronged her. She watched him walk away and ignored the empty ache inside her that wished he'd chosen otherwise.

If you are intrigued and want to read many, many pages such as this one, with the promise that at the end of 30 chapters, hurt and self-righteousness may be overcome, then this book might be for you. If, on the other hand, you find yourself slightly turned-off, are sensitive to the word "betrayal" being overused, or otherwise prefer passages such as the one above in small doses, then I would suggest you steer clear. (Also, I might add, there are actually very few instances of sexy-times in this book. So you really do have to be in to the emotional angst of it all...)

[Aeron Trahaearn · Rating 2 out of 5]

LET ME EXPLAIN HOW I FELT ABOUT THIS BOOK IN GIF:-
first 20%....

it was sooooo boring...i mean i dont give a shit about some dumb countess who loves books!!!!

....30%....

Seriously all she is going on is about the guys ogling her for her money, body and title....did i mention body?? SHE IS SERIOUSLY SELF ABSORBED!!

30-50%...

seriously I was relieved to finally have them have a relationship....but my experience was destroyed because the author (who had undoubtedly taken a leave of her senses) had already informed us in the description of the book that Anthony betray's her!!

50-80%

FINALLY!!!!this part of the book was a bit interesting because all that soppy romantic shit was over...now it was working to overthrow a conspiracy!! (which face it, was a LOT more ineresting than their relationship)

80-100%...

my favourite part of the whole book!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i loved it loved it loved it!!!!
"Alison Quinn, come forward.” Alison released Anthony’s hand and stepped forward to clasp Zara around her right wrist as Zara took her right wrist in return. “Alison Quinn, do you of your own free will relinquish all claim to the Quinn name, to take the name of North to yourself and your children?”“I do,” Alison said, and felt the power of the new family bond rush through her like a cool stream. Zara released her. “Anthony North, step forward.”Anthony stood next to Alison. “Join left hands, please,” said Zara, and Anthony took Alison’s hand and squeezed it just a little. “Anthony North, do you take Alison North as your wife, mother of your children and strong left hand for all your days?”“Yes,” said Anthony, his smile wide and brilliant. Alison knew she should look at Zara at this point in the ceremony, but she couldn’t bear to look away from him. She knew her smile was just as broad. “Alison North, do you take Anthony North as your husband, father of your children and strong left hand for all your days?”Alison let out a deep breath. “Yes,” she said.“Then make your heart’s oaths to one another.”Anthony released Alison’s hand just long enough to produce a slender gold band. “Alison, always my love, I will be strength to your weakness all the days of my life.”Alison slipped her wider gold ring onto the centre finger of Anthony’s left hand. “I swear to be yours forever, Anthony, strength to your weakness until the end of my days.”

this part may well be the only reason i recommend this book to anyone to read :D the vow's are beautiful!!!
ALSO i loved the interlude!

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars. I know I said I'd stop reading YA fantasy, but my hold came in for Servant of the Crown, and it was a book I had requested that the library purchase in the first place, so...okay. Besides, the main character Alison Quinn, Countess of Waxwold, is a bookish, prickly, reserved person. She sounded pretty good to me.

I think my biggest issue with this book is structural. The first half is a romance with some token fantasy trappings. I'm not a romance reader. I enjoy a slow burn, background romance in my books, but I don't read books where the romance *is* the plot. Forcing two characters who don't like each other into situations where they meet repeatedly seems to require so much thinly veiled contrivance and creaking plot machinery. If you like romances, maybe you'll be in camp Alison and Anthony. If you're not, you might well find their one step forward, two steps back relationship (in which Alison is constantly seeing playboy Anthony's Real Side (TM) before he does something asinine) tedious, predictable, and...bleah. Some setup for later stuff happens in the first half, but the spotlight is squarely on the romance.

The second half is much more interesting but feels weirdly divorced from the first. The tenor of Servant of the Crown - as well as some of its major cast - changes completely when Alison returns to the city and becomes the new Royal Librarian, a post that soon embroils her in a mess of political intrigue and physical danger. (Yes! Librarians can too have adventures!) And of course, the Anthony mess hasn't gone anywhere in the meantime, either.

Despite taking a break at the halfway point to chat with a friend about spackling walls and color vision acuity (definitely more interesting than Alisanthony), I found myself flipping pages rapidly in the second half. The stakes are higher and more engaging, and the library is almost a character in its own right. And who among us hasn't fantasized about a job that would involve cataloging an expansive and rare collection of books? Or maybe that's just me. I don't know.

However, I was never fully on board with the characters. Alison is hurting because, as someone of great beauty, wealth, and title, men are never interested in her as a person. I can kind of see why that would suck, but at the same time (as someone with none of those three qualities), cry me a freaking river? I also don't care for reformed playboy tropes, and the conversion of wastrel Anthony to model heir apparent Anthony in three months might be the most fantastic element of all in this book. A number of side characters seem to be little more than vehicles for plot movement and/or extra melodrama. (*Lots* of melodrama.)

The setting is a mishmash of semi-historical-early-industrial stuff plus a sprinkle of magic and technology. Characters think and sound pretty modern except for some prudery regarding sex.

Eh. I'm not sorry I read Servant of the Crown, but I don't feel the need to go any further in this series.

[Julie Barnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love looking at local authors and trying to find THE BOOK- the one gem that everyone should read and I should buy many copies and give them away as presents because I KNOW it's great.

THIS IS THE BOOK! I loved this book! I was excited to get an early copy of this book! The romance is great, the politics are intense, and I had a hard time putting it down. The man in the romance is often portrayed as perfect- more handsome, more smart, more competent than the woman. She has to confront her own inadequacies to feel worthy of him. This doesn't happen here. The Prince is flawed and makes some serious mistakes. He has some real changing to do. So does the Countess. Watching their change and their progression is part of what makes the story wonderful. When the romance finally comes together, you can honestly believe that the two of them belong together.

There are some things I wasn't sure I liked, some story threads I wanted to see more of, and other minor things that keep this from being a completely perfect book, but honestly, I intend to buy multiple copies for birthday presents and Christmas presents.

[Molly Blue · Rating 2 out of 5]

So the MC is sooooo beautiful and her figure is sooooo fine that men just can't control their inferior instinct-driven nature around her and constantly trying to get her into bed with them. But she has one flaw, her skin gets blotchy when she blushes or cries, so it's okay, we don't have to hate her. Of course even when it's supposedly blotchy, everyone still says she is beautiful and stuff, but hey, she has a flaw! Guess what, I still hate her. She is judgemental and presumptuous, thinks too much of herself, and she and her repetitive inner monologues about how everyone only wants one thing from her because she is sooooo beautiful were my main issue with book, everything else I could forgive and scrap another star. But that's how it is.