The Kingless Crown (Kingdom of the White Sea Book 1) Series: The Kingdom of the White Sea #1
by Sarah M. Cradit
Published by Sarah M. Cradit
on 10/13/2020
Genres: Fantasy, Romantic, Young Adult
Format: ARC, eBook
Pages: 608
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From the USA Today & International Bestselling author of the Saga of Crimson & Clover comes a gripping new epic fantasy world that will leave you breathless to the very last page.
A crown woven together by lies.
A kingdom with the power to unravel them.Four Reaches. Four brides. Only a fortnight separates the young women from becoming reluctant queens of the usurper king, Eoghan Rhiagain.
Twenty years earlier, King Eoghan’s father cunningly devised marriages between the highborn sons and daughters of the oft-warring Reaches, sealing the unions before they could protest, shattering existing betrothals in place of forced alliances.
Now, Eoghan, the cruel boy king who stole his crown through murder, demands the eldest daughters of these unions. To accept is unfathomable. To refuse is treason.
The lords and ladies of the kingdom have no choice but to prepare their beloved daughters for the horrors ahead. But they’ll soon discover there are no longer any daughters left to present. All four have disappeared, painting the world with their rebellion.
Theirs is not the only rebellion. Across the kingdom, little fires light within. From the enigmatic sorcerers in the northern mountains, to the magi who both wield and regulate the kingdom’s magic, and beyond... to a place where two prisoners are not what they seem.
As the Reaches ready themselves to face the king, the kingdom hovers on the edge of chaos.
And there are many who recall, in candlelit secrecy, tales of a time before...
keywords: grimdark, fantasy, high fantasy, epic fantasy, evil king, love triangle, fantasy romance, dark fantasy, bloodlines, lineages, families, strong women, powerful women, sorcerers, witches, forbidden magic, antiheroes, bad boys, complicated histories, sword and sorcery, stolen throne, forbidden love, fated love, druids
Review 
The Kingless Crown is a big BOY and it starts off with sooooo much going on. There are so many characters and this book does MULTIPLE POV, more than 3! I’ve said it over and over, and it’s not a bad thing, but TKC throws so much at us that it was a bit hard for me to keep up with the story so I ended up writing A LOT of notes. Once I was settled into the world, and all the info from the beginning really does make a huge difference and creates this huge world of The Kingdom of the White Sea.
There are four ruling families for the different Reaches of the Kingdom; Derehams, Warwicks, Blackwoods, Quinlandens. The Rhiagains came out of nowhere from the Beyond and just inserted themselves as the ruler of all Reaches and no one put up a fight, which started the Rhiagain regime. Many centuries later, the Rhiagain monarchy has morphed into something wicked and the four Reaches are all suffering, in different ways but suffering all the same.
King Khain, the current King’s father, forced the four families into marrying into one another claiming that it was to cease all the fighting between he families. The Epoch of the Accordant forced unions which made it so that all the families are now connected. Twenty years later, the families are still dealing with the effects of that forced event and now have to deliver four daughters to marry Eoghan, current king.
I love that this story gives us the so many POV because we get a much better grasp of how things are perceived from the different families. We see the inner struggles within each of the Reaches and how they try, or not, to support one another.
Something that these families DO have in common is that they’ve raised their children to not only be obedient but also to think for themselves and have the courage to make difficult decisions. Which leads to all four chosen girls; Lisbet, Esmerelada, Eavan, Hollyn to go up against the king. Hollyn is in a very different situation from the other three but by association rebels. Even though the book is set in a patriarchy, there are instances, Asherley and Gretchen, where the women step up and show that they’re not subservient and they make their thoughts known. Especially Asherley, she’s actually the Lady of the Blackwoods clan rather than handing power to her husband, Byrne Warwick.
We follow the different journeys that the different families go through. At some points, the different groups meet or cross paths with the other, without knowing that. Another thing that they don’t know as they embark on their journeys, that they’re all heading towards the Medeveds for help. Each of the different groups are faced with difficulties and being spoiled rich kids, they have to learn to leave their lifestyles behind.
The last part of the book gets crazy busy once again. We get tons of reveals (identities, secrets, and schemes) and we get a very heartbreaking loss (IMO). The book ends with a lead up for book 2. Things will definitely be interesting.
