Mary Herceg’s Reviews > Crown and Jewel > Status Update

We just finished. :') Such a perfect, joyous, bittersweet ending.

Ahh, this book was so wonderful, for both me and my little sister--we loved it. <3 She adores these books as much as I do, now--of her own accord. It makes me so happy.

I could tell she loved the second book even more than the first. She confirmed it when I finally asked her today--while beaming and showing the emotions I had already observed. :)))

As ever, little sister and I are loving this book! It's been very exciting and intense since before my last update. ;)

One big event, in particular, was genuinely heartbreaking for little sis, as I knew it would be, and she reacted in quiet, shocked devastation. :'( I'm still not over it, after all these years and rereads, and neither is she, reading it for the first time.

Only two short chapters left! *sniff*

Just when little sister thought it the current chapter was beginning to be boring, it was about to get really exciting and intense. ;) As always, we're both loving it, and it continues to be great fun to watch her facial expressions and hear her gasps of fright.

Also, the scene right before the exciting part was full of sweet, cozy, wintry joy and fun, and she adored that part as much as I do. <3

Little sister and I were both extremely excited to start our read-aloud of Crown and Jewel this afternoon. :) We read the first two chapters, and we both greatly enjoyed them!

The book starts out with a lovely follow-up to The Bridge, and the entertaining mishaps of a likeable, relatable protagonist. Chapter 2 held alarming suspense and ended with an intense cliffhanger.

Little sister was riveted--she loved it!

*holds heart* Ahhhhhh, what a wonderful book. <333 It fills my heart with so many good things.

I'm still every bit as deeply in love with this series as I've been for most of my life. It remains among the very best and sweetest series I have ever read. (My sixth favorite, to be exact.)

I can't wait to read this to my little sister for her first time, and watch her experience the adventure, twists, and emotion.

"What a brave heart you have.... You kept the true courage that he planted in your heart.... For there are two courages, you know--the kind that takes dares and rides colts, and then there's the kind that lifts its light when all else is dark and goes on in the face of sorrow and loneliness and danger, and this second is true courage."

Yes. <3 I've never had the first kind, but I've grown to have the second.

I love the themes in this book so much. They're so deep and meaningful. I'm particularly noticing afresh the connected themes of selfless sacrifice and loving redemption, the kind that spurs someone to lay down their life for another, or to go to any length and distance to seek, rescue, and ransom one who is lost.

The portrayal of these themes in this book is incredibly beautiful and powerful, too much for words.

Wow, I forgot how intense this book is, and what strong feelings it provokes in me.

Before and after a heartbreaking event, I realized I've never gotten over how sad it is. *weeps for a character*

And during another intense scene just now, I was sobbing a little at the main character's fierce courage when enduring horrible cruelty.

I picked it back up yesterday after a break--and am enjoying it as much as ever!

"First a servant, then a queen," the woman told her. . . . She smiled at Rosewyn. "Even as there cannot be true beauty without true goodness, so there cannot be true rule without true service."

This book has been incredibly influential and inspiring for me, in both my life and my writing. I think it truly shaped who I am as a person, even though I didn't know it until recently.