Author: Kate Callaghan
My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice Rating: 🌶️

I don’t know about you, but every once in a while I pick up a book thinking, “I’ll just read a couple chapters before bed.” Next thing I know, the sun is starting to come up, and I’m sitting there fighting to keep my eyes open through the last chapter. Why? Because let’s be honest—after sacrificing an entire night’s sleep, there was absolutely no way I was going to stop with only a few pages left. 😂

Crowned A Traitor was definitely one of those books for me. I went into it expecting a fun dark fantasy with a little fairy-tale inspiration, but what I actually got was Lucifer, murderous queens, fae, demons, lycaons, forbidden magic, political corruption, enough family secrets to keep a therapist employed indefinitely, and one sarcastic heroine who has absolutely no intention of minding her own business. Honestly, I wasn’t even mad about losing the sleep because I was having way too much fun watching the chaos unfold.

I have to admit, one of the first things that completely sucked me in was the world. We’ve all read fairy-tale retellings before, and sometimes you can almost predict where they’re going because they’re following the same path we’ve known since we were kids. This book looked at those fairy tales, smiled politely, and then took a hard left into absolute madness. 😂 Every time I thought I’d figured out where the story was headed, Kate Callaghan basically patted me on the head and reminded me I didn’t know nearly as much as I thought I did. Honestly…rude. But also incredibly entertaining.

The deeper I got into the story, the more I realized this wasn’t just another fairy-tale retelling with a darker coat of paint. It has its own identity. There are fae, demons, witches, lycaons, dangerous magic, political scheming, magical locations, hidden agendas, and enough secrets floating around that trusting literally anyone starts to feel like a terrible survival strategy. I absolutely loved that. I don’t want a fantasy world where I know exactly who’s good, who’s evil, and who’s going to betray everyone by chapter five. I want to be suspicious of everybody equally, thank you very much. 😂

Then we have Klara, and honestly…I liked her almost immediately. She’s sarcastic, stubborn, compassionate, curious to a fault, and has absolutely no self-preservation when something mysterious lands in front of her. There were multiple times I found myself looking at my Kindle saying, Girl…maybe let’s not touch the creepy magical thing that literally everyone else is avoiding. 😂 Then again, if she actually listened to me, this would’ve been a very short book.

What I liked most about Klara wasn’t that she was fearless, because honestly, I don’t think she is. She’s spent most of her life being sheltered and controlled by the three queens who raised her, everyone seems determined to decide what she should know and how she should live, and to make things even more complicated, her father just happens to be Lucifer.

Because apparently ordinary family drama wasn’t nearly dramatic enough. 😂🔥

More than anything, Klara just wants the chance to make her own decisions. She secretly takes a job inside the Beanstalk so she can eventually leave Malum and make her way to Kalos, but the moment she starts stepping outside the carefully controlled life that’s been built around her, she also starts uncovering truths that maybe weren’t supposed to stay buried forever.

And that’s all you’re getting from me because we don’t do spoilers around here. Half the fun of this book is slowly putting those pieces together yourself, and I’m certainly not about to ruin that for anybody.

Something else I really appreciated was that Klara’s desire for independence wasn’t just something she talked about. She actually did something about it. Sure, some of her decisions had me questioning whether common sense had temporarily taken a vacation, but I also understood why she made them. After spending your entire life having everyone else decide what’s best for you, I imagine finally getting even the tiniest taste of freedom would make it pretty hard to turn back.

Her magic also ended up being far more interesting than I expected. Klara can see through glamours and uncover hidden truths through physical contact, which sounds like an amazing superpower…until you stop and think about it for a minute. Imagine constantly wondering what people are hiding from you while they’re simultaneously terrified you’ll discover exactly what they’re trying to keep secret. Suddenly, trusting people—or letting them get close—becomes a whole lot more complicated. I loved that her gift wasn’t treated like one of those magical abilities that conveniently fixes every problem. It comes with consequences, and those consequences shape who Klara is just as much as the magic itself.

Can we also talk about the worldbuilding for a second? Because I had way too much fun trying to spot all the little fairy-tale references hidden throughout the story. Every time I recognized one, I’d think, Oh! I know this one! …and then Kate immediately twisted it into something I wasn’t expecting. The Beanstalk isn’t simply Jack’s magical shortcut into the clouds anymore. It’s become part of this much bigger world filled with witches, demons, fae, magical forests, dangerous artifacts, and all kinds of clever little nods to stories we all grew up with.

Although…considering we’re talking about dark fairy tales here, those little breadcrumbs are probably poisoned.

I’d leave them where they are. 😂🖤

One of the things I enjoyed most was the world itself. We’ve all read fairy-tale retellings that follow the same basic story with just a few changes here and there, so after a while you start thinking you know exactly where things are headed. Not this one. Kate Callaghan took those familiar fairy tales, threw them into a blender with demons, fae, forbidden magic, and political chaos, then hit puree. 😂 Every time I thought I had something figured out, she’d pull the rug right out from under me. I actually love when an author can do that because it keeps me invested. If I can predict everything that’s about to happen, I start getting bored. Thankfully, that wasn’t a problem here.

The deeper I got into the story, the more I realized this wasn’t just another fairy-tale retelling wearing darker clothes. It has its own identity. Between the fae, demons, lycaons, witches, magical artifacts, hidden agendas, and enough secrets to make everyone look suspicious, I reached the point where I just assumed nobody was telling the whole truth. Honestly, it became kind of fun trying to figure out who was actually trustworthy…although my track record at guessing wasn’t exactly impressive. 😂

Then there’s Klara, and I have to say, I liked her almost immediately. She’s sarcastic, stubborn, compassionate, curious to a fault, and has this uncanny ability to find herself right in the middle of trouble. There were more than a few moments where I was sitting there thinking, Girl…maybe don’t touch the mysterious magical thing that literally looks like it’s going to ruin your life. 😂 Of course, if she’d listened to my imaginary advice, we wouldn’t have had much of a story.

What I appreciated most about Klara was that she actually felt like a real person. She isn’t fearless, and she certainly doesn’t have everything figured out. She’s spent her entire life living under the watchful eyes of the three queens who raised her, with everyone deciding what she should know, where she should go, and how she should live. Oh…and her father just happens to be Lucifer. Because apparently regular family drama just wasn’t dramatic enough. 😂🔥 More than anything, though, she just wants the freedom to make her own choices and live life on her own terms, and I found myself rooting for her because of that.

Without giving anything away, the moment Klara starts stepping outside the life that’s been carefully planned for her is when everything begins to unravel. Every answer seems to come with three more questions, and just when you think you’re starting to understand what’s really going on, another secret pops up that makes you question everything all over again. Those are the kinds of stories I love because they keep you turning the pages without making it feel forced.

And don’t worry…that’s about as much as I’m saying about the plot because we don’t do spoilers around here. Half the fun is discovering all of those twists and secrets for yourself, and I refuse to be responsible for ruining that experience for someone else. 😉

Another thing I really enjoyed was Klara’s magic. She has the ability to see through glamours and uncover hidden truths through physical touch, and at first I thought, “Well…that’s actually pretty cool.” Then I stopped to think about it for a second and realized it would also be incredibly overwhelming. Imagine never really knowing if the person standing in front of you is being honest while also knowing they probably don’t want you anywhere near them because of what you might discover. That’s a lot for anyone to carry, and I liked that Kate Callaghan didn’t treat Klara’s gift like some convenient magical superpower that magically fixes every problem. It comes with consequences, and those consequences become just as important as the gift itself.

I also had way too much fun picking out all the fairy-tale references sprinkled throughout the story. Every time I recognized one, I’d catch myself thinking, “Oh! I know where this is going!” …only to be proven completely wrong a few chapters later. 😂 I honestly should’ve stopped trying to predict anything because Kate clearly had other plans. Instead of simply retelling classic fairy tales, she takes familiar pieces and twists them into something darker, more dangerous, and completely her own. It made the world feel fresh, even when I recognized little nods to stories I’d grown up with.

One thing I really appreciated was how naturally the worldbuilding unfolded. I never felt like the story came to a screeching halt just to explain how everything worked. Instead, the information was revealed little by little as Klara discovered things herself, which made me feel like I was learning right alongside her. I always prefer that over being hit with pages of information all at once. Give me little breadcrumbs to follow instead of dumping the entire loaf on my lap. 😂

Now, as much as I enjoyed this book, I can’t quite give it a full five stars. There were a few places where the pacing slowed down more than I would’ve liked, especially in the middle. Nothing that made me want to stop reading, but there were moments where I found myself thinking, “Okay…I need something big to happen here.” Thankfully, every time it started to slow a little too much, the story would throw another revelation, mystery, or twist my way and pull me right back in.

The romance is definitely more of a slow burn, and with only a 1/5 spice rating, don’t go into this expecting pages and pages of steamy scenes. Personally, I didn’t mind that at all because this book is much more focused on the fantasy, the mystery, the political intrigue, and everything happening behind the scenes. The relationships are still important, but they’re built gradually instead of relying on spice to carry the story. Sometimes that’s exactly what a book needs, and I think it worked well here.

Overall, I genuinely had a great time with Crowned A Traitor. It kept me guessing, made me care about the characters, and built a fantasy world that felt both familiar and completely unique at the same time. If you enjoy dark fantasy, fairy-tale retellings that refuse to follow the rules, hidden secrets, magical politics, morally complicated characters, and stories that convince you staying up until sunrise is somehow a reasonable decision, I’d definitely recommend giving this one a try.

ARC DISCLAIMER

I received an Advance Reader Copy (ARC) of this book from tbe Author. Receiving a complimentary copy did not influence my opinions. As always, all thoughts, reactions, fangirling, suspicious side-eyeing, and sleep-deprived ramblings are entirely my own. 🖤

Now It’s Your Turn!

Have you read Crowned A Traitor? If so, I want to hear what you thought!

👑 Did you love Klara as much as I did?
🖤 Were you able to predict any of those twists, or were you as gloriously wrong as I was? 😂
✨ Which fairy-tale reference was your favorite?
🔥 And, most importantly…are you continuing the series?

Leave your own spoiler-free review in the comments, and don’t forget to give it your rating out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐. Did you love it, hate it, or land somewhere in between? Did you stay up way too late like I did, or was your reading experience completely different?

Whether you gave it ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ or ⭐⭐, your feedback might be exactly what another reader needs before deciding to pick it up. Let’s help each other discover our next great read—one review at a time! 📖🖤