The Immortal Crown

I really loved the first book. The second book, Immortal Crown, was a bit of a downer. A really bad thing happens to Mae right at the very end, after a whole book length of her being in a pretty horrible situation and then a grueling rescue of girls from a country that treats them like property and beats the crap out of them and other awful stuff. So last tail end of book BOOM really bad thing happens to Mae. I know the event is to spur things into motion and stuff... but I'm pretty depressed by it all. On the other hand the story as a whole was interesting and I do want to know what the over arc story is about. I didn't get what Teresa's story was all about this time round. It felt like filler. There were magic artifacts, a repressive border sharing neighbor country and not a whole lot of characterization or personal interaction between our main cast and the people they were in constant company with. A lot of setups but not much resolution. I hope book three is better than book two.

Review also posted at Young Adult Hollywood.

Actual Rating: 3. 5 Stars

Immortal Crown is the sequel to Richelle Mead's Adult Scifi series, Gameboard of the Gods. On this follow up story, Mae Koskinen and Justin Marc are both busy doing a classified investigation in and out of RUNA and to add more conflict to the story, some of the humans that are marked by divine also called elects are turning one another. On their next mission Lucian Darling and his delegation along with Justin and Mae are headed to Arcadia, their neighbor country. In this society women are treated as "hot commodity" and their religion have a massive impact and influence on their government.

It is well established that I am a massive Richelle Mead fan. Almost everything she wrote, I completely devoured. Gameboard of the Gods is an outstanding book. I love every bits of it and that is so rich coming from someone who avoids the Sci-fi and Dsytopian section in bookstores. Immortal Crown is one of my highly anticipated books of 2014, with a heavy heart I'm going to tell you this book is disappointing. It sadly falls to the Sequel Syndrome. I would have never seen it coming from Richelle Mead since Frostbite, The Golden Lily are brilliant sequels that solidify my love for her series. Immortal Crown is more of an Succubus on Top hit or miss for me. It’s not engaging as it’s predecessor but the great thing about Georgina Kincaid is it got better after each book. I hope this will also be the case for Age of X series.

Immortal Crown started out in a dull note, I reassured myself it would pick up eventually. But no no no. Mead's mojo didn't worked out this time. The terms was hard to grasp. I was tiptoeing for the half of the book, thankfully Mead's usual recapping helped me somehow in refreshing my mind on what happened in the first book & understanding some of the points I can't wrap my mind with.

The misogynistic views of the Arcadian netizens, It was disgusting and twisted. It enrages me. It will definitely emit aggressive response from readers.The characters undergo on a little character development though I still believe their story arc should've gotten a pretty great thorough leap by now.
The twist of the story are completely unnecessary. The pent up sexual tension between Mae and Justin went overboard in the last 30% of the book.

Immortal Crown isn't the book I was hoping but I did really like it. It's not a terrible book in a long shot but I wish there are many things that could've furnish. Hopefully this will be a series that continue to get better in each installment.

Great book!! So excited for the next one to come out.

Great read! Loved the 2nd book as well as the first. Can't wait for the next book...but wait I will.

arrived in great condition.a good read from a favorite author

Great read can't wait for the next book

This is the second book in the Age of X series. While the first book was really good and will give you a more in-depth understanding of the characters and what's going on, I don't think you'll be lost if you start with this one.

Mae is a member of the Praetorian Guard, an elite unit of so-called supersoldiers. On special assignment with religious investigator Justin, their job is to look into supernatural sightings and determine if any threats are present. Raised to believe that there are no gods, they've both seen enough to know better. Loved that the tough-as-nails soldier was a woman! And that she was protecting a man. Nice change of pace!

The story alternates between Mae & Justin on their mission, and Justin's ward Tessa back home.

Mae & Justin accompany a diplomatic group to the neighboring country of Arcadia. While their homeland does not believe in gods, they find Arcadia to be a land ruled by a strict god. A very strict god, who preaches that females are second-class citizens with no rights. I did not like this god.

Turns out that Mae had an ulterior motive for wanting to go on this mission. It was a legitimate reason, but I wish she had told Justin before almost causing an international incident!

Tessa's story was almost as intriguing, as she is enrolled in a new school and has started an internship with a somewhat disreputable journalist. Tessa is incredibly smart and learning to trust her instincts, so I have high hopes for her future!

Really enjoying this series, and love the evolving relationship between Mae and Justin! Also love Justin's two "advisers", who never fail to chime in, whether Justin wants them to or not. I like that the gods are real and sort of scrimmaging for a foothold in the world. Really like the little twist at the end, and looking forward to seeing how that turns out in the next installment!

Thanks!

Arrived fast! My daughter was very happy!

Excellent. A little long when they journey outside the RUN but otherwise very interesting. Recommended, definitely.