Review: Crownchasers by Rebecca Coffindaffer

Release Date: September 29th, 2020

Genre(s): Young Adult, Science Fiction

Publisher: HarperTeen

Pages: 352

Rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Content Warnings:

Death of family members, gun violence, murder, death of a prominent character, war

Synopsis

Crownchasers follows Alyssa Farshot, who’s tried her whole life to outrun her family legacy of being next in line for the throne. But when Alyssa’s uncle becomes gravely ill, Alyssa finds out she’s not next in line – instead, he calls for the first crownchase in seven centuries, and the first to find the royal seal earns the throne. Alyssa’s duty to her uncle compels her to take part in the chase, but once the chase turns deadly, she realizes more than just the empire is at stake.

Review

I picked up Crownchasers after receiving it in a Beacon Book Box, and I’m happy I did! I went into this expecting a fast-paced, action-packed space opera and that’s exactly what I got from it. I loved the adventures of this book from start to finish and found it hard to put the book down.

Usually, with a larger cast of characters, it can be difficult to navigate their perspectives and have fully fleshed-out characters. But with Crownchasers, it was not only clear who the standout characters were, but they all had individual, unique characteristics that set them apart. I also really liked Alyssa’s character in particular. In the beginning, I honestly wasn’t sure if I would like her! She is introduced as an overly sarcastic character, which I feel is not only common in YA but also can often be the only defining aspect of a character’s personality. But over time, I saw less of that as the book explored other elements of her character.

Crownchasers also had a really nice balance of changes in perspective, timelines, and even news media. As major events took place in the book, news articles would show what’s being said to the public eye. I thought this was a great way to scale what was going on and not isolate the story to what was going on with just the main characters.

Then there was the ending, which I was not expecting at all! I didn’t realize this book was the first in a duology either, so I was relieved to find out that there would be more to the story. And while I thought there were some minor things that shouldn’t have been left for the next book, I am excited for the next one.

Crownchasers was a fantastic adventure from start to finish. I’d recommend this book to fans of YA sci-fi, or YA readers that want to give sci-fi a try.

Goodreads |Bookshop