The Opal Crown by Jenny Lundquist {review}

The Opal Crown
by Jenny Lundquist
♦publisher: Running Press Kids
♦release date: October 28th, 2014
♦paperback, 368 pages
♦intended audience: Young adult
♦series: The Opal Mask, book 2
                 review of book 1
♦source: from publisher for honest review

In the year since she was betrothed to the crown prince of Kyrenica, no one has suspected that the Masked Princess has been a decoy. That Elara, the secret twin sister, has been pretending to be Princess Wilha all along. The royal family has kept Elara’s identity hidden from the world, and for the girls, swapping lives has not been easy. Galandra is quickly declining, and the sisters continue to be a pawn in the Guardian’s ever-changing endgames.
But the stakes rise when Elara and Wilha’s younger brother, Andrei, takes the Galandrian throne after their father's death, and he reveals the girls' deception to Kyrenica’s royal family. Viewed as traitors, Elara and Wilha realize they are now fighting for their lives—and for their country. However, with only one crown and one throne to overthrow, Elara and Wilha must decide who will become queen. Or rather, the next savior for their people.

 Review:  In The Opal Crown, a conclusive sequel to Princess in the Opal Mask, sisters Wilha and Elara face many challenges and dangers and hard decisions that come with the crown…and from running away from it.  The two of them have successfully switched lives with no one being the wiser. Then their worst fear comes true: their father dies and his last words were to tell their brother of Elara’s existence.  Prince Andrew becomes a cruel king, selfishly disregarding the needs of his people and constantly in fear that one of the sisters will come to take his throne. Fueled by the manipulations and misleading words of the royal guardians, especially the creepy Lord Murcendor, all three siblings have to use their strongest wits to figure out who to trust and exactly where they belong.  

I adored the first book in this series, and this installment had no problem living up to it.  The story is outstanding all the way through.  The writing exudes the feel of a classic fairy tale adventure. Brilliant plotting makes it so that every twist and turn is a complete surprise.  Both sisters, and now Andrei, are all incredibly dimensional characters with a full gamut of reasons and purposes and emotions that drive them and bring them to life.  

 There is a romance and heartbreak that I loved and rooted for to work out despite all the problems and other loyalties and, well, lies. But the main focus stays on the plight of the sisters which felt perfectly right for this story.  I loved all the tension between Elara and Wilha, both strong willed but with very different ideas about what might be best for their kingdom and for themselves. 

It was every bit as full of excitement, adventure, danger, and emotion as its predecessor; a perfect conclusion to this series.  I can’t wait to see what this author does next!

Find Jenny Lundquist online:  Website  •  Twitter  •  Facebook

Purchase the book:    Indiebound  •  BookDepository  •  Amazon