Title: Crown of oblivion.
Author: Julie Eshbaugh.
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy.
Publication date: November 12th 2019.
Publisher: HarperTeen.
Synopsis:
Astrid is the surrogate for Princess Renya, which means she bears the physical punishment if Renya steps out of line. Astrid has no choice—she and her family are Outsiders, the lower class of people without magic and without citizenship.
But there is a way out of this life—competing in the deadly Race of Oblivion. To enter the race, an Outsider is administered the drug Oblivion, which wipes their memory clear of their past as they enter a new world with nothing to help them but a slip of paper bearing their name and the first clue. It’s not as simple as solving a puzzle, however—for a majority of the contestants, the race ends in death. But winning would mean not only freedom for Astrid, but citizenship and health care for her entire family. With a dying father to think of, Astrid is desperate to prevail.
From the beginning, the race is filled with twists and turns. One of them is Darius, a fellow racer Astrid meets but isn’t sure she can trust. Though they team up in the race, as Astrid’s memories begin to resurface, she remembers just who he was to her—a scorned foe who may want revenge. Astrid also starts to notice she has powers no Outsider should—which could help her win the race, but also make her a target if anyone finds out. With stakes that couldn’t be higher, Astrid must decide what is more important: risking her life to remember the mysteries of the past, or playing a cutthroat game in order to win her—and her family’s—freedom.
Links:
GoodReads, Amazon, Barnes&Nobles, iTunes, Bookdepository
Review:
I’m having a hard time reviewing this one. I really liked the concept of this book, and the plot was good. But I feel like there was some information missing and some parts felt a bit messy?!
I really liked the main character being a surrogate of the princess, like being close to the family but not quite. I really liked the race part and the rebels!
In this book there were two different kinds of magic and some kind of ‘drug’ that are just not explained at all.. I don’t need a paragraph literary explaining what this magic does, but I do need to understand it throughout the story, and I still don’t fully get it?! So I think that could have been improved upon!
I did really appreciate the bond between Astrid and her younger brother! Also a bit with her older brother, but we don’t read about that too much! And her relationship with the princess is interesting, since they do really like each other, but I wouldn’t say that is possible thinking about what Astrid goes through.
The part that I thought was a bit messy, not sure if messy is the right word, is that other people from the race kept being described as the ‘red-haired guy who kicked you in the beginning’. I mean if it is one person it is fine, but there were several people described like that, and I cannot remember all of that haha. Also near the end lots of ‘new’ plot points were introduced, with not that much explanation, but I think that was kind off a setoff for a sequel? Don’t know if this one will have a sequel, but it definitely could have!
The book was very fast-paced, engaging, and easy to pick back up!
The author:
Julie Eshbaugh is a YA writer and former filmmaker. She made two short films and then spent several years producing an online video series for teens which received several honors from the Webby Awards. Her new YA fantasy standalone, CROWN OF OBLIVION, is coming from HarperTeen November 2019. IVORY AND BONE (HarperTeen 2016) and OBSIDIAN AND STARS (HarperTeen 2017), her prehistoric fantasy duology, are out now. You can learn more about Julie’s writing escapades by visiting www.julieeshbaugh.com.
GoodReads, Website, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest
Giveaway:
Prize: Win a finished copy of CROWN OF OBLIVION by Julie Eshbaugh (US Only)
Starts: November 12th 2019
Ends: November 26th 2019
Link:
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/d9681b86428/?
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I really want to read this sometime. I’m pretty sure the authors other series is on my TBR too
Yeah her other series sounds intersting too!
Probably not for me at the moment as I’m already falling behind with my TBR but I do love the cover for this – it’s so striking.
Yes it is very good! I hope you will manage your tbr!