Seeker of the Crown

Seeker of the Crown by Ruth Lauren

This is the sequel to A PRISONER OF ICE AND SNOW and will undoubtedly have spoilers for the first book. If you don't want A Prisoner of Ice and Snow spoiled, I would recommend not reading this review.

An amazon summary, "The fate of the queendom rests in her hands.

One month has passed since Valor broke her twin sister Sasha out of jail. But the girl responsible for her imprisonment, Princess Anastasia, has gone missing, and Valor still longs for justice. So when the queen, desperate to find her daughter, asks Valor and Sasha to track Anastasia down, they don't hesitate to accept the perilous assignment.

But just as the girls team up with old friends to embark on the search, the queen vanishes without a trace. If Valor can't restore the rightful ruler, she risks getting sent back to prison . . . and tearing her newly reunited family apart. Relying on her own instincts-and some allies she can't quite trust-Valor must navigate twisting city streets, bustling docks, and hidden passages to foil Anastasia' nefarious plot before it's too late.

Set once again in the icy and dangerous queendom of Demidova, Ruth Lauren sweeps readers on another unforgettable adventure alongside an equally unforgettable heroine." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

After the events of last book, Princess Anastasia has escaped the dungeons. To alleviate suspicions from Prince Anatol, he's been banished so he cannot be perceived to be involved with Princess Anastasia's plans/acts. The Queen secretively approaches Sasha and Valor to give them a couple tasks she feels they would handle. To Sasha, she asks her to look into the prison where Sasha and Valor were previously held to improve conditions. To Valor, she asks her to find Princess Anastasia.

Valor finds a couple of friends who helped her break out of the prison, and are thrust into a whirlwind adventure trying to figure out where Princess Anastasia is, what she is up to, and also who she might be working with... BUT, in the midst of this, the Queen has disappeared in the middle of a chaotic moment in the middle of a festival. So now chaos on top of chaos.

The world building held up overall, there was a little more of the culture shown, but a lot of it was Valor, Sasha, and crew running around and just constantly trying to fix everything, get one step ahead of Anastasia and her crew. I want to see more of the culture to kind of show why Valor and Sasha are SO LOYAL to the queen, their country, etc. I know their Dad is a trusted adviser to the queen, and their mother is the First Huntswoman (so Sasha is the apprentice to their Dad and Valor is the apprentice to their mom (for those of us playing along at home)); but it still strikes me as a bit ODD that their children are entrusted with these BIG IMPORTANT TASKS when others could probably have done it...? ....?????

I did enjoy this book more than the first book since I felt it was a more complete story...and it may have helped that the story took place in multiple places of the country rather than mostly the prison.

I would still love to see MORE of the country and culture, but I suspect a book three is in the works, and all this political intrigue is keeping my interest piqued.

Happy reading!