The Crown’s Game by Evelyn Skye

The Crown’s Game by Evelyn Skye

Goodreads Blurb: Vika Andreyeva can summon the snow and turn ash into gold. Nikolai Karimov can see through walls and conjure bridges out of thin air. They are enchanters—the only two in Russia—and with the Ottoman Empire and the Kazakhs threatening, the tsar needs a powerful enchanter by his side.

And so he initiates the Crown’s Game, an ancient duel of magical skill—the greatest test an enchanter will ever know. The victor becomes the Imperial Enchanter and the tsar’s most respected adviser. The defeated is sentenced to death.

Raised on tiny Ovchinin Island her whole life, Vika is eager for the chance to show off her talent in the grand capital of Saint Petersburg. But can she kill another enchanter—even when his magic calls to her like nothing else ever has?

For Nikolai, an orphan, the Crown’s Game is the chance of a lifetime. But his deadly opponent is a force to be reckoned with—beautiful, whip-smart, imaginative—and he can’t stop thinking about her.

And when Pasha, Nikolai’s best friend and heir to the throne, also starts to fall for the mysterious enchantress, Nikolai must defeat the girl they both love…or be killed himself.

As long-buried secrets emerge, threatening the future of the empire, it becomes dangerously clear—the Crown’s Game is not one to lose.

My thoughts: So many lies and secrets throughout the entire book and that is probably the best part. Trying to remember all the stories and who knows what. I thought the magic each enchanter has was interesting in who each enchanter found where their strengths were and such. The game itself fell flat for me and to me there wasn’t really much focus on the game itself just the drama behind the curtains. The enchanters was supposed to wow the tsar with their abilities and one-up each other but their tricks where dull and boring to me. There is a sequel to the book, The Crown’s Fate which I hesitate to read because the ending of the Crown’s Game kind of plateaued after the last test, I’m not sure if I’m going to like where the story is headed.