Heavy is the Crown: A YA Fantasy Adventure

by Lindsey Jai

A kingdom at war.
A nation divided.
Modern teens lost in this parallel world.
And they couldn't have arrived at a worse time...

Shea Calbane and Olyenn Kiles are celebrating the end of their junior year of high school when they unwittingly pass through the Gate into the war-torn kingdom of Daharre. Confused and questioning their sense of reality, the two friends find themselves on different sides of the war. They learn more about the Gate that connects their world with Daharre and the one person who can survive passing through it. The one person — the Turesi.

Tensions rise surrounding the Gate’s sudden reappearance as both sides plot to use the Turesi to their advantage. Separated in this strange parallel world, Shea and Olyenn desperately need to find each other and get home before the war destroys Daharre, or before someone destroys them. Friendships are tested, relationships are betrayed, and battle lines are drawn. Even if Shea and Olyenn find their way back home, their lives will never be the same.
♛♛♛
Will they make it home alive?

Will they make it home at all?

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Fiction

227 pages, Paperback

Published July 9, 2022

Reviews

[ray ౨ৎ]

Tiffanie Leighnann sold me on this book 🫡 she’s such an underrated booktuber

[Caitlyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm disappointed, because the story sounded interesting, with lots of potential, but it overall fell flat. The writing was extremely mediocre and often cliche. Changing povs was interesting, but often hard to pick up on who was speaking until a few paragraphs into each section. The plot was typically either repetitive or advancing too quickly and conveniently. I also got extremely annoyed every time any of the non-modern characters used modern language.
I also thought this would be a standalone, so I'm peeved that I got a cliffhanger to a mediocre book.

[Abigail Grippin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book! It was a page turner from the beginning and never had a dull moment. The details of the characters and settings gave you a vivid image of the scenes and immerses you into the story. Even the transition between worlds felt real to me as a reader. The ending sent me on a rollercoaster of emotion, and I'm angry it had such a dramatically wonderful cliff hanger. Chop chop on book #2 Lindsey Jai! My friends and I are waiting.

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

i enjoyed how the author went right into the story but at times i was needing a little bit more information on what exactly pulled them there and why? i need more information on how the gate works and is there a reason they got pulled there, maybe that will be explained in book two, since this one ended on a cliffhanger.
i did over all enjoy the story, even the cliche parts.
if you take the story for what it is and just have fun with it it’s a good time and id pick up the second book!

[Adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the book! The story grabs you from the beginning and takes you on a journey into another world, filled with mystery and danger. The characters brought depth to the story—Qwen and Cole and Larkin stand out as light-hearted but complex characters, whose brief moments on the page draw you further into the story. I loved the book and can’t wait to read the next installment.

[Pres Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

That ending 😭😭😭😭😭 starting the second one immediately

[kayleigh˚ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh my god that ending though

[Sarah Havener · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5🌟 rounded up
This was just what I needed after having read several thick books in a row! There aren't many chapters but the chapters themselves are a good length, and you're so engaged in the story the pages go fast! This is a fast paced urban fantasy (almost too fast paced actually), and you don't only root for the main characters, but some of the side characters too. Let me tell you I was not prepared for that ending! I am invested in these characters and this story. I think one of the only problems I had with the book was the font itself was kind of hard to read.

[Deanna Rudyk · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m going to be totally honest, this book was a little hard to get through and I wasn’t very eager to pick it up. And even though the writing did feel like a teenager wrote it, the ending left my jaw on the floor! The plot is very different from other books I’ve read before, which is why I was intrigued. I was a little upset with the cliffhanger since there isn’t a continuation and I NEED to know what happens!!

[Corri · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25⭐
I found this book on Tiktok when the author came up on my FYP. Her story sounded so fun so I immediately went to Amazon. 

I was captivated from the start. The ending had me going straight back to Tiktok hoping to find info about the next book. Thankfully, this appears to be marketed as the first in a trilogy, but no release date yet. I will definitely read the next book whenever it is released! 

[Nicole Boehrig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun storyline. Rounding up for 3.5 stars. Enjoyed the characters and concept and that it’s a local author. I wanted some more unique-to-the-world details and language. The world itself fell a little ‘flat’, but encouragements to the author! Keep going!

[Trevor Berndt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Imaginative and Brutal!

The characters are great, the story is riveting, and the prose is delicious! Lindsey Jai shows us that a medieval world isn't as romantic as we'd like to think!

[Jaclyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book ends on quite the cliffhanger. I am ready for book 2.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heavy is Right

This book is full of life! The storyline is superb! Modern teens pulled into a dark ages parallel land. How? Why?

[Paige Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh.

Ohhhhhhhh. Wait.... WHAT?!! How in the peanut butter jelly... Is book 2 out yet? Because I might commit a crime if it isn't.

[Sky · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read a traumatizing dark romance that I hated before reading this, so this book was like a warm safe hug. The writing is simple, but the book is fast-paced and interesting!

[Kristin Stevens · Rating 2 out of 5]

To be honest I had to force myself to get through this. I really didn’t like the 3rd person narrative and didn’t feel connected to the characters because of it. There were also breaks within chapters that switched POV and it would take a couple sentences to figure out who’s view it was and I felt like that made me stop and get bored and broke up the flow of the novel. I also didn’t know the MMC was black and the FMC had red hair until 75% in which I feel like means there wasn’t enough description early off to set the scene. Also the ending… like wtf… it was so out of the blue and left so many cliff hangers that maybe that makes it good? I don’t know.

[Cam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was hyped for Heavy Is The Crown since interviewing Ms. Jai last year, and it did not disappoint!! The characters were pretty compelling, and I found myself caring for them as much as I did the protagonists. I will say the relationships did feel a bit forced/rushed at times, and the ending frustrated me a bit as I was hoping it wouldn't go down the route it did. But it will certainly make for an interesting conflict later down the line. Overall, I enjoyed HITC and am super excited to find out what happens next.

[Patrick J · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm just over 60 years old and still enjoy YA books. I accidentally ran across "Heavy is the Crown" while taking my youngest to a Comicon and bought one from the author.
I was very pleasantly surprised when i started reading it. I was transported into the created world. The writing flowed and was extremely readable. The story line was interested and i paused my other print book to finish it (i mostly listen to Librivox literary classics, nonfiction, and scifi).
I highly recommend this book and am immediately purchasing the next book in the "Turesi Trilogy."

[Kat · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed the first 20% but after that the writing style didn’t mesh with me, i didn’t care about the characters, i lost interest once my cringe metre was set off too many times during this book i skimmed the last half of this book and just found that i didn’t care about the story, the plot or the characters

[hibareads · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book....I wanna know why book community is sleeping on this one. a one hella good fantasy time travel historical fiction story that turned into a mystery thriller. ending it like that on a cliffhanger is a crime I just want to get second book and read what the actual hell happened after that ughhhhhhh I'm so angry seriously give me moreeee

[Shannon Bishop · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5!

[Hanah Kirkwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

I took my time reading because I didn't want it to end. Now I need to start the second book immediately. I'm never gonna stop thinking about these characters.

[Aiyita · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is by far my favorite book series ever!!

[stephreads]

dnf 48% or page 117

[Megan Salnaitis · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75!
the ending thooo…crazy

[fifi fae · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
a really nice read but it felt a bit juvenile and rushed. the third person back and forth made it hard to connect with the characters and the ending was quiet underwhelming and annoying. still enjoyable though, and i’m interested in seeing what happens in the second book.