A Shadow Crown (The Halfling Saga #2)

by Melissa Blair, Kyla Garcia (Read by)

Overview

The highly anticipated second installment of the new adult fantasy saga that took BookTok by storm picks up where A Broken Blade left off…

To the kingdom, Keera is the king’s Blade, his most feared and trusted spy and assassin. But in the shadows, she works with Prince Killian and his Shadow—the dark, brooding Fae, Riven, who sets her blood on fire. Together, they plot to kill a tyrant king. 

In Myrelinth, the lush, secret city of trees, Fae, Elves, and Halflings like Keera live in harmony. But Keera cannot escape her past: her crimes against her own people have followed her all the way to the Faeland. There is a traitor in their midst, and Keera is the top suspect.

Keera finds comfort in the allies that have become her family. She swore she would never open her heart again after a loss she barely survived. But she will soon find she has more to lose than she ever imagined . . .

Perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas’s Throne of Glass series, A Shadow Crown is a tour-de-force high fantasy novel with stunning world building and a slow burn enemies to lovers romance. Readers seeking more LGBTQ+ and BIPOC representation in the fantasy realm will fall in love with the unforgettable cast of characters introduced in A Broken Blade, whose sagas are only beginning…

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798212221863
Publisher:	Blackstone Publishing
Publication date:	05/09/2023
Series:	The Halfling Saga , #2
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 5.70(h) x (d)

About the Author

Melissa Blair (she/her/kwe) is an Anishinaabe-kwe of mixed ancestry living on Turtle Island. She splits her time between Treaty 9 in Northern Ontario and the unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinabeg in Ottawa, Canada. She has a graduate degree in applied linguistics and discourse studies, loves movies, and hates spoons. Melissa has a BookTok account where she discusses and reviews her favorite books, including Indigenous and queer fiction, feminist literature, and nonfiction. She is the author of A Broken Blade, the first book in the Halfling Saga. Find her on TikTok at @melissas.bookshelf.

Kyla Garcia is a film, stage, and television actress based in Los Angeles, California. She has earned an Audie Award nomination and seven AudioFile Earphones Awards for her work as an audiobook narrator. Her favorite storytelling moments include being a company member of Native Voices at the Autry, starring in the World Premiere of Sovereignty at Arena Stage, and creating the critically acclaimed one-woman show The Mermaid Who Learned How to Fly. Kyla's most recent project is the original feminist spoken-word digital series Herstory 101 featured in BUST Magazine.

Editorial Reviews

03/20/2023

Blair disappoints in her disjointed second Halfling Saga fantasy, which picks up where A Broken Blade left off. Though Halfling Keera Kingsown is still bound to her duty as the King’s Blade, she has joined the resistance movement to overthrow callous King Aemon, her adopted father, and works with her new companions in Faelinth to devise war plans—but a mole leaks information to the enemy. As they juggle preparing for war with rooting out the traitor, Keera also struggles to learn more about her own family history. Meanwhile, the rebels discover High Lord of the Harvest Curringham’s unlawful plot to hoard an exotic fruit called winvra and smuggle Halflings out of Elverath. Sinister enough on its own, this scheme serves as a front for far more sophisticated treason. Myriad subplots drag the pace­ and are jarring to toggle between; even worse, the threads fail to tie together into a coherent whole. All but the most devoted series fans will be underwhelmed. (May)

Publishers Weekly

While still full of action and intrigue, Blair’s fantastic second book in the gripping “Halfling Saga” gives space for more introspection as Keera searches for answers about her family and her magical abilities and realizes that she’ll need to rely on others to achieve freedom for herself and all of the Halflings.” —Library Journal (Starred Review)

“The second installment in Melissa Blair’s Halfling Saga will undoubtedly take BookTok by storm all over again with its political intrigue and plotting.” —Paste Magazine

“If you’re a particular fan of spies in fantasy realms—like our beloved Inej in Six of Crows—then The Halfling Saga should be your next read.” —The Everygirl

From the Publisher

★ 04/01/2023

Picking up where A Broken Blade left off, Keera, who was forced to become a royal spy and assassin, finds herself having to adjust to new directions in the plot to overthrow the monarchy. This twist has shaken her fragile trust in the fae Riven and has led to her joining Prince Killian in the Faelands. Her time there provides some delightful respite as the story details the fascinating city of Myrelinth with its magical tree dwellings and portals, along with a satisfying romantic interlude, but even here there is danger, since someone in their midst is a traitor. Ultimately, though, learning more about her origins and healing abilities does not prepare Keera for what she will face at the king's palace. VERDICT While still full of action and intrigue, Blair's fantastic second book in the gripping "Halfling Saga" gives space for more introspection as Keera searches for answers about her family and her magical abilities and realizes that she'll need to rely on others to achieve freedom for herself and all of the Halflings.—Melissa DeWild

Library Journal