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A review by rachelreadwhat
Coronets and Steel by Sherwood Smith
3.0
More like 3.5 stars.
Two main issues with this book: The character development was a bit off. Kim was just... not believable (I almost said she wasn't likable, but I don't think that was it.) She was incredibly confident, smart, fluent in 4 languages, an expert at fencing, young, beautiful, a secret princess, blessed with the second sight, etc., etc. - which is all well and fine (it IS fiction, after all) but she didn't have any flaws I could empathize with, and wasn't exactly humble about everything she had going for her. And she was really slow on the uptake for supposedly being such a smart person. If the reader has guessed multiple big reveals and taken them for granted a hundred pages ago, it might be time to clue in your main character. The second issue is the ending. As the first in a series, it's a cliffhanger, but I also wasn't very happy with Kim's decision-making after finally learning the truth about everything. I don't want to ruin it if you haven't read it, but it seemed to come out of left field for me.
So, that being said, Sherwood Smith is awesome at complex political intrigue - not on a Melanie Rawn scale, but definitely better and more realistic than most fantasy authors. I might read the sequel just for a continuation of that plot.
Two main issues with this book: The character development was a bit off. Kim was just... not believable (I almost said she wasn't likable, but I don't think that was it.) She was incredibly confident, smart, fluent in 4 languages, an expert at fencing, young, beautiful, a secret princess, blessed with the second sight, etc., etc. - which is all well and fine (it IS fiction, after all) but she didn't have any flaws I could empathize with, and wasn't exactly humble about everything she had going for her. And she was really slow on the uptake for supposedly being such a smart person. If the reader has guessed multiple big reveals and taken them for granted a hundred pages ago, it might be time to clue in your main character. The second issue is the ending. As the first in a series, it's a cliffhanger, but I also wasn't very happy with Kim's decision-making after finally learning the truth about everything. I don't want to ruin it if you haven't read it, but it seemed to come out of left field for me.
So, that being said, Sherwood Smith is awesome at complex political intrigue - not on a Melanie Rawn scale, but definitely better and more realistic than most fantasy authors. I might read the sequel just for a continuation of that plot.