Twin Crowns

By: Catherine Doyle, Katherine Webber

Narrated by: Ann Marie Gideon, Ell Potter

Length: 14 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's summary

A high-stakes fantasy rom-com about twin princesses separated at birth—one raised as the crown princess, and the other taken as an infant and raised to kidnap her sister, steal the crown, and avenge the parents' murders—the first novel in a new YA duology from bestselling UK authors Catherine Doyle and Katherine Webber. Perfect for fans of The Selection, My Lady Jane, and Caraval.

Wren Greenrock has always known that one day she’d steal her sister’s place on the throne. Trained from birth to return to the palace and avenge her parents’ murder, she’ll do anything to become queen and protect the community of witches who raised her. Or she would, if only a certain guard wasn’t quite so distractingly attractive, and if her reckless magic would stop causing trouble. . . .

Princess Rose Valhart knows that with power comes responsibility—and she won’t let a small matter like waking up in the desert with an extremely impertinent (and very handsome) kidnapper get in the way of her duty. But life outside the palace is wilder and more beautiful than she ever imagined, and the witches she has long feared might turn out to be the family she never had.

But as coronation day looms and each sister strives to claim her birthright, an old enemy becomes increasingly determined that neither will succeed. Who will ultimately rise to power and wear the crown?

©2022 Catherine Doyle and Katherine Webber (P)2022 HarperCollins Publishers

I loved the main character, Rose.

She’s adorable, believable. She has flaws, but she also has positives that make up for it. She’s arrogant and spoiled, but she’s also compassionate and hopeful. She’s a well written character, and I loved listening to her pov. I have a feeling that the twins will rule the kingdom together, but I believe Rose would be a better queen.

Wren… is an unlikeable character to me. She’s selfish, narrow minded… she does silly things knowing it’s dangerous just because she knows she could. The amount of times she ‘slipped up’ is ridiculous. It’s almost as if she didn’t even try.

Most female characters are written as ‘tough’ as though that somehow makes them a strong female character. But Rose was done well, in that she’s soft but she had a strong heart and will.

I enjoyed the book, but Wren was testing my resolve.

As for the romance, it’s… a good backstory? I guess? The male characters don’t have a love of ‘character’ to them. Wren’s love interest, especially, is rather dull.

it was ok, but it could have been better

I am of the belief that this book suffered from many rewrites and plot changes. in the first chapter one of the main characters, Wren, is asked if she is going to have an emotion and becomes offended/rebukes them. Wow, I thought to myself, this is interesting are witches forbidden to have emotion? I don't know because it is never brought up or mentioned again. The book also seems to start out going for a much more morally grey tone, both the kingdom and the witches are flawed and like, but 1/2-3/4s of the way through the book the kingdom guy just goes full Darth Vader and the low-key shady stuff the witches have done is swept under the rug. Then there are the fights... It is established earlie on in the book that the witches used to rule the continent before they were overthrown by the great protector, but I'm sorry how??? With the power displayed by various witches and the constant mentions of older witches being stronger than the newer ones I can't remotely see how an army of just normal people with pointy sticks and swords killed all of them. then there is the finale of the book, a big fight that is just incoherent to read. obstacles and people pop in and out of existence, a fire surrounds someone but someone else just gets to them anyway and it's never mentioned, the combat is stuttery and there is now feeling of who's winning of losing. also the speech before that fight was dumb and I just can't. anyway the rest of the book was... fine. The romance is entertaining enough although the male characters lack autonomy in any real way that's not unusual for book like these. idk mannnnnn I might read the next book but probably not I really like how it started first 1/4-1/2 but darn the problems are hard to overlook if you think to much about them. Worth a read if your a huge fan of the genera.

🌹🔮

I do agree that Rose would make a better queen and Wren her personal guard or something. Rose may be spoiled and arrogant at the beginning but she grows and learns. She’s definitely my favorite sister. Plus I found her romance more enjoyable and interesting.

Narration, story, pacing … almost perfect for me

I just love it. Didn’t super overdo the overall plot which is a breath of fresh air honestly. The world isn’t too complicated or over explained. Bouncing back and forth between 2 sisters and their equally swoony love stories is just fun. Personally my favorite romance read is the angsty flirty stage teetering on the next step and this checks all those boxes in abundance.
Narration between prim rose and sassy wren is so well done. I love all the characters.
Thank you for this! Can’t wait to get into book 2.

So good!

I wasn't sure if I was going to like the fact that there was 2 POVs, but I ended up getting 2 romance stories! I was rooting for Wren getting the crown but the ending was definitely a better outcome. Can't wait for the romance to develop more in book 2!

I enjoyed this book!

I liked the fast pace of the two different worlds.
I really enjoyed how they fell in love not lust!

Amazing book!

I love this book so much! The multi POV was great! I can’t wait to read more by this author

Excitement In Every Chapter

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Every chapter was quick and the alternating points of view kept me on the edge of my seat, guessing as to what would happen between Rose and Wren. Its enchanting terms brought me into the story. It was filled with new ideas about the witching world. The romances were enjoyable and each character that was introduced was genuinely interesting ( whether they were evil or not). I really felt invested in the lives of these characters 😄. I can’t wait for the next book! To anyone who has an addiction with “The School for Good and Evil” this is the book for you!

Rose got on my last nerve for 90% of the book

Overall, it was a good book. Maybe not the best I’ve ever read but also not the worst. It was entertaining and kept me engaged the whole time. Most of the reviews I read for this talked about how much they loved rose and how wren got on their nerves, but for me it was the opposite. Rose just seemed so shallow, entitled, arrogant, and down right bratty most of the time. Her romance was so lack luster. I really didn’t feel any chemistry between her and her love interest, and didn’t get invested in them as a couple at all. Towards the end Rose became more bearable, but honestly sometimes it was really hard getting through her chapters. Wren on the other hand, I found a lot more interesting. Her story had a bit more meat to it, and I loved her romance. It felt more realistic and the dynamic between her and her love interest had such a chokehold on me. Some of the plot points overall didn’t make much sense and kinda just felt like fluff or filler, and I wish we had seen more character depth all around, especially with the men and other witches. Overall it was entertaining and good to read if you’ve got nothing else currently on hand.

An Enjoyable Story

I enjoyed this story of separated-at-birth twins and look forward to the sequel, Cursed Crowns.

Both narrators gave an excellent performance and I enjoyed the dual alternating POV’s!