The Liar’s Crown (Dominions, 1)

This book. Wow. Just wow. It needs more than 5 stars. This masterful tale hooks you in from the first word, grabs you by the throat and keeps you captive until the last syllable. Phew. This is the first book in a trilogy so be prepared for the resolution of some small story arcs but also for no resolution of the main story arc. Meren lives in squalor as a nobody but she is the secret identical twin of Tabra, the princess of Aryd. Meren’s purpose in life is to serve as a replacement for her sister in times of danger and there’s always danger for their family. Eidolon, the immortal king of Tyndra,, has been killing off Arydan queens for generations. Meren does have secret acts of disobedience that are just for her. Reven, the Shadowraith, has his own secrets and not just the ability to manipulate shadows. When Meren takes Tabra’s place at the coronation to protect her, it is Meren that Reven kidnaps. As Meren tries to escape from him, secrets are revealed and nothing is what it seems. The story includes what you’d expect from this genre - intrigue, fighting, dangerous situations, end of the world scenarios, paranormal creatures, evil masterminds, henchmen, loyal friends and family, tragic back stories, secrets, mystical coincidences, snark, laughs, and unexpected plots twists. While this is a YA fantasy, is also a deeply emotional book. At its heart, it’s a story of stunted, damaged and bruised but not broken people who find their way together by owning their choices, recognizing their scars, finding their strength, embracing life, and deciding to be the best version of themselves. It’s a story about the power of choice. The book is well written, has characters with a lot of depth, plenty of witty dialogue, and an engaging storyline. The adventure of Meren and Reven will give you all the feels - laughing, crying, swooning, gasping, cringing, teeth gritting, and cheering. I am super excited to read the next book in this series.

Minor spoilers!!!

Ok so I have to start off by saying that I went into this book with not much expectations. I love enemies to lovers, YA, fantasy books (think Cruel Prince, Kingdom of the Wicked, Shatter Me, Caraval, ACOTAR), and I could tell that this book was going to give off the same vibes and have some of the same tropes, which it did but Owen actually switched up some of the tropes, which made me fall in love with this book and made it one of my top 5 (sounds confusing but bare with me)

First I love how funny Meren is and how unfiltered her thoughts come through in the book. Shes witty, has an attitude, and isn’t scared of expressing herself. Such a great character

Now for the enemies to lovers trope. Reven kidnaps Meren in the beginning of the book and even from the start, she acknowledges her romantic interest in him. Usually in books with this trope, we see the mc fighting and ignoring their obvious connection with their enemy until at one point, it all bubbles over and they confess their love for the enemy. While this is nice and makes for a passionate scene, it is SO REFRESHING to see the mc not fight her feelings and actually acknowledge them head on. You can always tell the enemy in the story isn’t a bad person but rather misunderstood, but the mc still acts like they’re the villain throughout most of the book. This is something that’s always annoyed me with this trope, especially when it’s dragged on for so long. Meren instantly catches that Reven isn’t all that bad and we see her fall in love with him without putting up an unnecessary fight against her feelings.

So we all know the 1000 yo man fairy with a 18 yo love interest. It’s something that doesn’t bother me, but again, it was so refreshing to see a closer age gap between love interests (Reven is 23 and Meren is about to turn 19). The thing that does bother me about the ancient love interest vs newly adult, is that the former is always very experienced. The ancient one has been with countless partners before they fell in love with the mc and is highly experienced, which makes for great love making since they know exactly what to do(all fine and dandy). However, both Meren and Reven are virginssssssss!!!! There’s a scene where they’re in bed and communicating what feels good while they explore each others bodies. It was honestly my favorite part of the book and creates even more intimacy between the characters since we know they haven’t done this with anyone else so it’s special (but not the “before was just sex, but with you it’s making love” kind of special).

I just in general loved the bickering going on between the two mc and their whole dynamic was to die for. The plot also makes for an interesting story and Merens commentary and the way she views things just kept me hooked throughout the book. I had to pry myself away and it physically hurt to have to put the book down. I would highly recommend you give this a book a chance. Can’t wait for the rest of the series!!!