The Crown's Game by Evelyn Skye

Ioanna Lee

February 2, 2020

Rating: ★★★☆☆


Russian history in the 1820’s, but with magic and enchanters, The Crown’s Game by Evelyn Skye was an intriguing yet strangely unmemorable book to read (at least for me). Vika Andreyeva is your stereotypical redhead (hot-tempered to the point where she is nearly feral) and has the ability to control nature. She’s especially skilled at making crazy blizzards. Nikolai Karimov is a dark and mysterious orphan who can create intricate machines out of thin air. The two are the only enchanters in a country that has forgotten about magic and when they have to compete against each other in an ancient and secret magical duel (because, of course, there can only be one Imperial Enchanter in the country and the defeated must die), they are instantly drawn to each other’s magic and fall in love. To add to this slight complication, Nikolai’s best friend and heir of the throne -- Pavel Alexandrovich Romanov or Pasha for short, who  would have been the light-hearted comedic relief had he been given the chance -- also falls in love with the fiery Vika. Another girl, Renata, is introduced as Nikolai’s closest confidante and the only one other than his mentor, Countess Galina Zakrevskaya, who knows that he is an enchanter and is threatening Vika’s chances with Nikolai.

As Vika and Nikolai take turns trying to outdo each other, Pasha struggles with the expectations his country and family have of him. Renata is desperately vying for Nikolai’s love. And everyone has some sort of dark family history they weren't aware of. The love quadrangle gets a little bit (just a teeeensy bit) tiresome and frustratingly annoying. I also think the book was too heavy with the romance aspect of the book and I would have liked to see some more of the cool stuff the enchanters could do (although the descriptions of the magically enhanced Russian sweets and pastries were all drool-worthy).

The chapters flit between different perspectives of the various characters in the book, but it wasn’t difficult to keep up with the book as each character’s stories are revealed. I really enjoyed the family-building part of the book, where we are able to see the precious relationship Vika has with her father (or at least who she believed was her father...) and the rare, loving relationship that the two royal siblings -- Pasha and Yuliana -- have.

Honestly, I really loved this book and I would have given it a 4.4/5 and not a 3.5/5 if not for the unsatisfying-ness of the sequel (The Crown’s Fate) which negatively influenced my ability to write a proper review about the first book by itself, as I’m without a doubt confusing the two books together right now. I highly recommend you all to read The Crown’s Game by Evelyn Skye as a standalone (that is, if you can resist the temptation after the first book’s jaw-dropping ending and its numerous unanswered questions).