Marianna Moore's Reviews > The ​Crown of Gilded Bones

I’m currently a shell of a human from that ending. BECAUSE WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK
JUST HAPPENED?!!! We are so unwell but in the best way.

How on earth am I supposed to pause here and go to the prequel series?!!!! I mean of course I already jumped straight into A Shadow in the Ember and am LOVING IT!! But… that doesn’t mean I’m not entirely stressed and anxious about my sweet baby angel Casteel 😭😭. The last 20% of this book had me pacing back and forth and hyperventilating IT WAS SO GOOD!!!

Now I’ve said it before and I’ll continue to say it, this is without a doubt a series you either love or hate, and I can absolutely understand why! However I am so happy I decided to push all criticisms aside and go into this series with a completely open mind, zero expectations, to formulate my OWN opinion! And now that I’ve officially read 3 books in this series I can confidently say that despite the constructive criticism of this series being entirely valid, I do genuinely believe the sheer amount of hate it gets is a bit over the top. Is it perfect?? No, not even close! But I do think if you are a romantasy reader it is absolutely worth reading the first book to find out for yourself whether or not it will be for you! This is not a literary work of art but, we are here for the vibes and a good time and let me tell you, IM HAVING SO MUCH FUN!

So many people said this book was really slow and where the series fell off for them… and that was absolutely NOT the case for me! There was definitely a lot more politics and discussion and planning in this book because so much was explained and Poppy was piecing together so much information, AS WAS I! So I can see how that could have lost some people but I personally loved it! My brain is still REELING from the plot twists an reveals! I honestly think the plot of this series is undervalued and underrated because of the sheer complexity of everything going on. I loved connecting all the puzzle pieces and seeing how so much was foreshadowed to bring us to so many jaw dropping moments in this book, yet I still have SO MANY QUESTIONS and feel like we’ve just scratched the surface of what’s to come!!

Poppy and Casteel are literally everything to me. They are such an underrated book couple. Their love and chemistry is so strong and PALPABLE! The way Casteel has this unrelenting devotion to Poppy makes me actually weak in the knees. He is constantly in awe of her and everything she does and I could read about these two all day!

And POPPY?!!!! I will defend her with everything I have, FLAWS AND ALL! Because she is a flawed and imperfect character but I think that’s what makes me love her that much more. Oh my god she is SUCH A BAD ASS and her growth in this was EVERYTHING! I can’t wait to watch her on her revenge arc! Her power and strength continues to amaze me. GO GET YOUR MANS POPPY!!!

I’m so obsessed with the found family and the side characters, I really got so much emotionally invested in this book. The banter between casteel, Kieran, and poppy gives me life. Don’t even get me started on Kieran… THAT MAN!!!! I’m so obsessed with him it’s not even funny.

“I…I tried to eat Kieran.”
“He won’t hold it against you.”
“I tried to eat Kieran while I was naked.”
“That’s probably why he won’t hold it against you.”

THIS KILLED ME

Quotes
“I love you, Penellaphe. You. Your fierce heart, your intelligence and strength. I love your endless capacity for kindness. I love your acceptance of me. Your understanding. I’m in love with you, and I will be in love with you when I take my last breath and then beyond in the Vale.”

“Her name is Penellaphe. And if you get my wife’s permission, you may call her that. If not, then you may call her Princess. Whatever rolls more respectfully off your tongue.

“I could spend an eternity on my knees before you.”

“You will bow before your Queen. Or you will bleed before her. It is your choice.”

“I wasn’t the Maiden. I wasn’t a Princess or even a Queen. I was a god. And I was so over this.”