In a strange world among the stars, will one royal submissive find the answer they need?The Draga Galaxy is on the brink of war and Adelina will do everything she can to help, including marrying a male the Crown chooses for her. Varan, the Prince of Thieves has made a move to start an official engagement and while she is falling for Prince Nash, Adelina knows she would accept Varan’s proposal.… she would accept Varan’s proposal.
Despite all this Adelina wants to do more for her people, and she sets out to find a way to help them fight back against a monster that devours and destroys galaxies with no thought to the consequences. Will she be able to find the answers before it’s too late?
*This is a slow burn, steamy polyamorous space fantasy romance. There is some female/female bisexual romance.
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I bloody loved it so much. it brought tears to my eyes!!
What an incredible addition to this amazingly complex series. We follow Adeline (as well as a few others) as they navigate Draga politics and a threat of war. There are so many twists, turns, and details involved that your mind will totally be engaged as you try to keep up. The world building is beyond words since I could not dream of even half of this stuff. I highly recommend it to fans of science fiction. I really liked it so I give it 4/5 stars.
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.
This is book two in the Draga Court series, and you really SHOULD read Princess of Draga before reading this one. It will give you a better picture of who is who, and what they are all up to. Not everything is recapped.
I found this a much better read! Maybe because I was able to read it in one sitting, I dunno. But it certainly held my attention far better.
We again get almost everyone, but I really wanted to hear from Raena, Adelina’s eldest sister, who places the restrictions on Lina about Nash. I wanted to know what was going through her mind when she did that!
On the blurb bit of this book it says “This is a slow-burn, reverse harem series” Now, it IS a whole lot sexier than the first book, I’ll give you that, but the reverse harem bit?? Still not clear how that is gonna pan out! Not that Adelina doesn’t have any suitors, cos she does, I just don’t know who will end up in her bed next!
Across the galaxy, on the outer rim, the Neprijat have made their first move. The galaxy is at war with these monsters. We meet them too, along with their (almost) human handlers, and are introduced to their *quite literal* mind bending powers.
I can’t see where this is going, or how many books it will take to get there, but I KNOW I want to follow the series. I just hope I don’t have to wait for a long time!
Creeping up to…
4 stars
**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
I was mildly leery of reading Crown of Draga by Emma Dean. I hadn’t read the first, and I have been burned a few times recently by poorly written stories under the “reverse harem” label. So I requested this book…and then put it off…and put it off…and put it off. I finally, after reading quite a bit of heavy stuff, decided some ‘fluff’ was in order. Crown was everything I needed and didn’t know. First, I read both book 1 and book 2 of this series in 2 days. I DEVOURED it. The pacing is amazing, the character development was stellar, and the world and politics blew my mind.
The first thing you notice is that this is not a romance sci-fi. It is a sci-fantasy that is heavy in romance. It’s even heavier in politics and story, though. I actually sat down and started taking notes because I NEEDED to keep track of all the people and their loyalties. Book one starts you out with a good base understanding, but Dean manages to blow a few of those out of the water in book 2. Crown this is definitely not a book for the people who want fluff. It’s kind of like, if A Song of Ice and Fire took place in space…with a hint of Kushiel. There is SO MUCH going on, that I’m sure I probably missed something important more than once, but that’s okay because Dean is a master at reminding you when it’s needed.
The twisting and turning of characters in this series makes my head spin, but in that delightful “Is she or isn’t she an ally?” way. And the women in this series are strong, and never in the same way. Raena, Adelina, Giselle, Josslynn, Veri, Nadyah, Jael. They’re all SO DIFFERENT, and yet they show the myriad of ways that women can be portrayed as strong characters–whether it’s through subterfuge, straight power, or using their own weaknesses to their advantage. I have not been this impressed with an author’s ability to weave complex and varied characters in a long time. Each one is definitely her own person and separate. There is no question who is speaking when. Adelina and Veri both grow and change so much in such a short time, but it is never a change from their base character. The characteristics that make me distrust Veri are still there, along with the ones that make me love Adelina. The myriad of differing types of relationships among the women make for a fantastic read, as well. Josslynn’s insights with Nadyah’s knowledge and the strain between Adelina and Raena as they try to balance being sisters with being Royals is so well-executed.
This book will tug at your heartstrings, make you gasp in horror and fear, and demand that you sit up and pay attention. The intensity of the climate combined with the strict politics and hierarchy makes for an engrossing read that will keep you begging for more. I had a serious book hangover after this…complete with real headache. I even had a full-body shudder at the end of one chapter to release the tension. I definitely recommend you add this one to your shelves.