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Servant of the Crown The Crown of Tremontane Volume 1 Melissa McShane 9780692472989 Books

Download As PDF : Servant of the Crown The Crown of Tremontane Volume 1 Melissa McShane 9780692472989 Books

Servant of the Crown The Crown of Tremontane Volume 1 Melissa McShane 9780692472989 Books

This book had great potential but the 1st half drowns itself in its useless melodrama. I am really sorry, for I wanted to like it as I am a sucker for library/book-stories.

Alison is introduced as a heroine after my own heart: brook-no-nonsense, independent with an actual job she likes & she is good at (being editor in her father’s publishing house), loving & collecting books, having a library of her own, owning a theatre. I mean, what is there not to like about a heroine like this?

After the 1st few pages of introduction, she is summoned to the Royal Court of Tremontane to act as a lady-in-waiting to the Dowager Queen & then is forced by the same lady to dance with her son, the Crown Prince Anthony North, at a ball. Anthony insults her, gets his faced smacked & to avoid scandal, they are forced to appear together in public regularly.
And that’s where the unadulterated Victorian melodrama starts because Alison *GASP* has ISSUES with MEN. (which, BTW, borders on pathological, and I have a feeling we are just a whisker away from Alison referring to them as BEASTS or the ENEMY.).

Apparently this poor rich, unbelievably beautiful girl with a title has always encountered men who did not love her for her precious, speshul self, but for her already-mentioned attributes and what’s more, had the audacity of desiring her & telling her so.
Ever since, Alison has been avoiding them like plague and now every time a man looks at / smiles at / compliments her or -heaven forbid- hints at her being beautiful/desirable she blotches & freezes and wants to run away.

On one hand, I can totally understand that women have various reactions to unwanted or lecherous attention: heaven knows, even we, simple, average-looking females have enough bad experience. But we are hit on the head with this fact repeatedly on every second page and it‘s beyond frustrating. Yes, we get it even after two or three repeats that Alison is just so-so-so-so-so incredibly beautiful –she just can’t help herself, the poor mite- that no beast, I mean, man can resist her and she resents this with a vengeance, which, instead of being tragic, just gets totally ridiculous. (Yes, we know that ALL MEN JUST WANT THAT. Just get the eff over it Ali & move on with your life!)

A possible conflict with the mysterious Scholia (political organisation of seemingly evil & control-freak scholars) over the Royal Library gets hinted at time and again, but does not come to anything until the 2nd half of the book when you already pretty much lose interest & give up hope of ever getting there after the agony of the romance. At 50 % the story finally gets up to speed, the political conflict between Crown & Scholia, partly focused on Alison & the management of the Royal Library, is interesting and there are a lot of tense and exciting moments and it saves the book from being wholly melodramatic (though the author stays true to herself & just does not seem capable of relinquishing the „blotchy” word). There is a particularly nicely built-up & orchestrated political showdown (with no violence) at the end. Which also makes you wish other characters –namely the Queen, Zara – are given their POV. Zara was an amazing, intriguing, kickass character throughout.

Alison turns out to be more tolerable in the 2nd half as well, but we are not spared the agony of her finally making up her mind (I can’t, I just can’t, really and truly I cannot ... oh ... I can) about her happy ending.

Unfortunately, there is also very little world-building & that little isn’t too cleverly done either. I found it irritating that a hint or half a sentence about history / religion / magic is dropped in between the overheavy romance without any explanation and is promptly forgotten for another 100 pages when the same thing happens: there is some thin reference to something and if the reader does not remember, who cares. And it is a pity for I would have liked to know more about:
In general
- Scholia & its background
- Religion / history

In particular
- Kraathen of Ehuren, who’d united the three warring tribes and made the first bond between man and ungoverned heaven. What does that actually mean beside the sexual implications (really?)?
- Who were the Ascendants and why did they have to be defeated?
- Willow North & the constant fire in her tower (why?)

All in all, though not a truly bad read, I don’t think I will seek out the next instalment in the series.


Tags : Servant of the Crown (The Crown of Tremontane) (Volume 1) [Melissa McShane] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Alison Quinn, Countess of Waxwold, is content with her bookish life—until she’s summoned to be a lady-in-waiting to the Queen of Tremontane’s mother for six months. Even the prospect of access to the Royal Library doesn’t seem enough to make up for her sacrifice,Melissa McShane,Servant of the Crown (The Crown of Tremontane) (Volume 1),Night Harbor Publishing,0692472983,Countesses,Man-woman relationships,Nobility,Princes,Fiction - Romance,Fiction Romance Fantasy,Romance - Fantasy

Servant of the Crown The Crown of Tremontane Volume 1 Melissa McShane 9780692472989 Books Reviews

'Servant of the Crown', by Ms. Melissa McShane, is far and away the best book I have read in months!

It's so nice to FINALLY find a current author who gets that sometimes a book is meant to be 600-800 pages long! I'm so tired of authors who just drop their stories without any resolution, sometimes as it just leading up to the main action(!) only to leave it hanging on a cliff, just to milk their little cash cow by selling more books!

A great writer IMO, recognizes that there needs to be an entire and satisfying story arc in a novel, & that it only needs to be made into a series if there is a grander, overarching story arc at play, requiring further installment(s) to explore & resolve.

Further, a great writer (& editor) knows the difference between a book that needs to be over 600 pages, & one that simply requires further editing.

I am ecstatic to report that this author is, by my previously mentioned standards, a phenomenal writer.

Part one was engrossing & went by quickly. Absolutely LOVED it. The characters (especially the main female protagonist) were so well fleshed out, with very relatable, realist nuances, that they not only breathed through the pages, but we're easy to slip into. I felt the excitement & exaltation, I felt the anxiety and stress, I was devastated, I laughed out loud more than a few times & I cried.

The brief intermission was a brilliant device that I've never had the privilege of coming across (at least in this specific style), and I read 1-3 novels, on average, per day, & have for most of my adult life (as a teen I read about 100 pages per hour, depending on the style, so not as much as now).

Part two was so definite a departure that I would comfortably wager quite a lot that nearly 95% of other novelists would have named it and turned it into another book entirely.

The short story at the end was excellent & I desperately hope to see it expanded into a full, "Melissa McShane" style novel.

There is a brief moment of somewhat graphic sensuality, that, though a device used to illustrate a few things, I felt was, given the tone of the rest of the book, was unnecessary & lowered the tone of the piece a bit. I am glad it was not glorified. And though it was very relatable & realistic, that 'flipping of the switch" in a virtuous woman who has never really been tempted, it made the book one That I unfortunately cannot, in good conscience, recommended to nearly as many people as I would have otherwise done. However, it is a brief, moment of weakness that is regretted & not glorified or pursued further, so I did not remove a star for it. I regret to say that it did feel a bit like pandering to some reader's lowest common denominator, & while it was contained, did disappoint me in the author's integrity, which I found to be otherwise, virtually flawless, in context of the world she had created.

In short, the book is romantic, intelligent, well plotted & paces, the characterization is excellent & the resolution impeccable.

I truly crave more of this series now, not because I want to simply finish the story, because she wrapped it up most admirably, but because the WORLD & the WRITING & the CHARACTERS & STORY are so phenomenal, I JUST. WANT. MORE.

I eagerly anticipate many more wonderful tomes from Ms. McShane.
It's rare that a book is so awful that I won't even get halfway through it. This is such a book. The writing is utterly simplistic and reads like the author doesn't trust the reader to figure out emotions based on speech or facial expressions (there's a lot of repetition and spelling out of what someone must think or mean, even if it's incredibly obvious based on the bare-bones wooden dialogue), the story is boring, and the characters are caricatures.

It feels like the author believed that a Strong Female Character qualifies as such simply by running a business, believing she is better than everyone else, and constantly (and I do mean constantly) being offended by compliments/expecting people to paw her, and then being shocked and almost disappointed when they don't. This is buffeted by the absolute cartoon of a prince, who talks like a twelve year old boy who read a book on one liners and is now incapable of regular human speech or interaction (though I have no doubt they will end up together, because he is the only male her age in the book so far).

Maybe later in the book it turns out that there's a really good explanation for why everyone in the story is awful, like they are all under the influence of lead poisoning or something, but the writing is so cringeworthy that I simply can't bear to get there. It's a pity, because based on the pearl-clutching reviews that said this book was dirty because two consenting teenagers have their shirts off at some point, it sounds like things may get interesting down the road.
This book had great potential but the 1st half drowns itself in its useless melodrama. I am really sorry, for I wanted to like it as I am a sucker for library/book-stories.

Alison is introduced as a heroine after my own heart brook-no-nonsense, independent with an actual job she likes & she is good at (being editor in her father’s publishing house), loving & collecting books, having a library of her own, owning a theatre. I mean, what is there not to like about a heroine like this?

After the 1st few pages of introduction, she is summoned to the Royal Court of Tremontane to act as a lady-in-waiting to the Dowager Queen & then is forced by the same lady to dance with her son, the Crown Prince Anthony North, at a ball. Anthony insults her, gets his faced smacked & to avoid scandal, they are forced to appear together in public regularly.
And that’s where the unadulterated Victorian melodrama starts because Alison *GASP* has ISSUES with MEN. (which, BTW, borders on pathological, and I have a feeling we are just a whisker away from Alison referring to them as BEASTS or the ENEMY.).

Apparently this poor rich, unbelievably beautiful girl with a title has always encountered men who did not love her for her precious, speshul self, but for her already-mentioned attributes and what’s more, had the audacity of desiring her & telling her so.
Ever since, Alison has been avoiding them like plague and now every time a man looks at / smiles at / compliments her or -heaven forbid- hints at her being beautiful/desirable she blotches & freezes and wants to run away.

On one hand, I can totally understand that women have various reactions to unwanted or lecherous attention heaven knows, even we, simple, average-looking females have enough bad experience. But we are hit on the head with this fact repeatedly on every second page and it‘s beyond frustrating. Yes, we get it even after two or three repeats that Alison is just so-so-so-so-so incredibly beautiful –she just can’t help herself, the poor mite- that no beast, I mean, man can resist her and she resents this with a vengeance, which, instead of being tragic, just gets totally ridiculous. (Yes, we know that ALL MEN JUST WANT THAT. Just get the eff over it Ali & move on with your life!)

A possible conflict with the mysterious Scholia (political organisation of seemingly evil & control-freak scholars) over the Royal Library gets hinted at time and again, but does not come to anything until the 2nd half of the book when you already pretty much lose interest & give up hope of ever getting there after the agony of the romance. At 50 % the story finally gets up to speed, the political conflict between Crown & Scholia, partly focused on Alison & the management of the Royal Library, is interesting and there are a lot of tense and exciting moments and it saves the book from being wholly melodramatic (though the author stays true to herself & just does not seem capable of relinquishing the „blotchy” word). There is a particularly nicely built-up & orchestrated political showdown (with no violence) at the end. Which also makes you wish other characters –namely the Queen, Zara – are given their POV. Zara was an amazing, intriguing, kickass character throughout.

Alison turns out to be more tolerable in the 2nd half as well, but we are not spared the agony of her finally making up her mind (I can’t, I just can’t, really and truly I cannot ... oh ... I can) about her happy ending.

Unfortunately, there is also very little world-building & that little isn’t too cleverly done either. I found it irritating that a hint or half a sentence about history / religion / magic is dropped in between the overheavy romance without any explanation and is promptly forgotten for another 100 pages when the same thing happens there is some thin reference to something and if the reader does not remember, who cares. And it is a pity for I would have liked to know more about
In general
- Scholia & its background
- Religion / history

In particular
- Kraathen of Ehuren, who’d united the three warring tribes and made the first bond between man and ungoverned heaven. What does that actually mean beside the sexual implications (really?)?
- Who were the Ascendants and why did they have to be defeated?
- Willow North & the constant fire in her tower (why?)

All in all, though not a truly bad read, I don’t think I will seek out the next instalment in the series.