Giveaway and Book Review: The Broken Crown

3:30 AM Sarah Koves 0 Comments

The Broken Crown
by Amryn Cross

Princess Emilia Aurelius was only seven when she watched her mother die at the hands of her father—martyred for believing in the God of the Atlas Empire’s Insurgo rebels. At seventeen, exiled to a military outpost where no one knows her true identity, she’s vowed to leave her royalty behind and explore the truth of the Insurgo rebels her mother loved. 

When the Emperor of Atlas summons the princesses from each of the provinces to the imperial city to choose a wife for the crown prince, Emilia must leave her military life behind to join a royal court rife with cunning and intrigue. Navigating the waters of court politics and budding love are treacherous on their own, but Emilia fears for her life should anyone learn of her Insurgo sympathies. 

With an unlikely ally in the captain of the emperor's guard, Emilia must uncover the truth of the Insurgos, start a revolution, and learn to become the princess she’s vowed never to be, all while protecting her heart from a prince who could sign her death warrant.

 I have received a complimentary copy of this book to review. The opinions here are 100% mine!  This post contains affiliate links.



The Broken Crown sat on my Kindle for quite a long time before I cracked it open.  However, once I did, I finished the entire novel in two days; this is a feat given that I am at the end of the school year and have a lot of work sitting on my desk and in my inbox.

I don't know exactly what it was about this novel that made me devour it so quickly.  It started out much like The Letting Series that I read in April with Emilia at a training camp.  However, it quickly develops into a "Find a Bride" competition similar to The Selection Series. The religious dispute that underlies the entire conflict is the real catching part of this tale.  The illegal religion versus the mainstream religion and who is a 'believer' is the heart of this novel.

I pride myself on my ability to predict novels, but The Broken Crown had me stumped right up until the end.  I am sure you too won't see the ending coming.  Every twist and turn was worth the ride I took.

This is another fabulous novel for students who are gulping down dystopian fiction.  I could very easily add this to my literature circles for students to have The Broken Crown as a choice.

The summer will be long in waiting for the next in the series.



I also had the opportunity to ask Amryn a few questions about her favorite books and writing tips, which I hope you will find interesting and useful.

Who is your favorite author or book?  Why?

My favorite author is probably F. Scott Fitzgerald both for his writing and his tragic romance with his wife Zelda. Great Gatsby was required reading when I was in school, but I didn't come to fully appreciate his way with words until several years later. I have a book of letters he and Zelda wrote to each other, and I find so much inspiration in those.

How do you handle writer’s block?
I have never been very good at linear writing. I almost never write a story from beginning to end. Instead, the first thing I write may actually be a scene that takes places in the middle or even near the end of the story. This helps so much with writer's block because if I'm stuck on a particular scene, I just skip to another one that I'm feeling inspired to write. On any given day, I also have at least two major projects going on as well. So if one of them stumps me, I'll switch over to the other for a change of pace. 

What advice do you have for young/student writers?
Never stop reading. Not only are books a continuing source of inspiration, but you can begin to hone your own style by finding out what you do and don't like about the styles of other authors. If you like a book, stop and think about why you couldn't put it down. Could you put your own twist on that? If you find yourself bored with a book, ask yourself why? Can you avoid those things in your own writing? Reading is essential to writing.

Explain your revision process.
After I've completed the first draft of a book, I'll run a quick spelling/grammar check in Word. After that I walk away from the story for a week minimum. A month or more is better. I like to give myself space so I'm not so familiar with the words that I overlook things. When I come back to it, I'll read it aloud and then silently at least twice more, correcting things along the way. When I think I've caught everything I can (and you always miss something), then I'll pass it on to my trusty group of beta readers who will read the story and give me feedback on all aspects of it including typos and grammar. It's a long process but definitely worth it.


Buy Links:
About the Author
A tomboy with southern belle roots, Amryn Cross was born and raised in Tennessee where she learned the importance of God, family, Southern hospitality, and football. She’s loved the written word from the time she was a child, convinced the squiggly lines on top of the Hostess cupcake really spelled out a secret message.
Amryn is a proud momma to two adorable puppies–Argo and Luna–who provide lots of laughs and kisses. She is also an active member of the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) and My Book Therapy (MBT) and answers writers’ forensic questions at Jordyn Redwood’s Medical Edge blog.
Author Links: WebsiteGoodreadsTwitterFacebook





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