The Liar’s Crown (Dominion, #1)

by Abigail Owen

Everything about Meren’s life is a lie. As a hidden twin princess, born second, she has only one purpose - to sacrifice her life for her beloved sister if death comes for her. Meren has lived under the guise of a poor, obscure girl of no standing, slipping into the palace and into the role of the true princess when danger is present.

Now the queen is dead, their dominion under threat of eternal winter, and the sinister King Erebos has sent her sister a flower. The first seen in a thousand years. With that gift, he seeks to wed her. Untrusting, Meren does what she was born to do and secretly takes her sister’s place on the eve of the coronation.

Which is why, when a man made of shadow kidnaps the new queen… he gets Meren by mistake.

As Meren tries to escape, all the lies start to unravel. Not just her lies. The Shadow Ranger who took her has secrets of his own. He struggles to contain the shadows he wields - other faces, hideous faces, that terrify her.

Winter is at the walls. Darkness is looming. And the only way to save them all is to kill Erebos. But to kill the king is to destroy the king, including the only good piece of his soul left - the Shadow Ranger who has stolen Meren’s heart.

• ISBN10: 1649371527
• ISBN13: 9781649371522
• Publish Date: 12 September 2022 (first published 30 August 2022)
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 5 April 2024
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Entangled Publishing, LLC
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 448
• Language: English
• URL: http://melia.co.uk/page/detail/?k=9781649371522

Reviews

[Quirky Cat]

The Liar's Crown is the first novel in Abigail Owen's Dominions series. It's also one of the prettiest covers I've seen this year, so let's give credit where credit is due! This series is perfect for those hoping for a delightful (and dangerous) fantasy romp.

We've all heard the story – a royal family has twins, and to keep the peace, the second born is quickly squirreled away, never to be seen again. Or so they hope (that's never how it works out). Enter Meren, a twin and second-born daughter of her kingdom. She's spent her whole life hidden away from the world. Her only purpose, or so she's been raised to believe, is to die for her sister, should it be so required.

Naturally, playing stand-in for the princess (now queen) has its risks, which is why Meren ends up abducted instead of her precious sister. However, this kidnapping may be precisely what Meren needs if she ever hopes to learn the truth.

“I'd rather be scared of real monsters than something my logical brain tells me is mostly in my head”

So, let's start by discussing the elephant in the room. There are two main reasons why I picked up The Liar's Crown. First, the cover (it's stunning!). Second, I may be a wee bit obsessed with the Man in the Iron Mask, so anything that alludes to it will immediately get my attention.

The Liar's Crown is a perfect fantasy novel. It has magic (duh), danger, a brooding hero, a strong female lead, action, and a bit of romance. In other words, there's something for everyone. Better yet, the balance between all of these elements is perfectly done. Oh! Did I mention that there's fantasy politics? You guys know I'm a sucker for that.

At first, my brain kept wanting to make comparisons to my favorite classic. Then, my brain wanted to compare it to the Impostors series by Scot Westerfeld. However, neither of these comparisons stuck for long. The Liar's Crown is very much its own novel, with a strong personality resonating all the way through.

I think the thing I loved the most is how well the characters are written – especially Meren. She's really the perfect protagonist. Honestly, I would love to see her story unfold on the big (or small) screen. It'd be so much fun!

Thanks to Entangled: Teen and #NetGalley for making this book available for review. All opinions expressed are my own.

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[FranJessca @ A Book Lovin' Mama's Blog]

The Liar’s Crown is an Upper YA/NA Fantasy with a sassy, beautiful, kick-butt heroine with a swoon-worthy, grumpy, broody hero; sign me up! It also has my favorite Enemies to Lovers trope. Excuse me, but this sounds like a book I will enjoy, and I did every page of it. I had a hard time putting it down. 

Storyline/My Thoughts: My thoughts on the first book in Abigail Owen’s latest release, The Liar’s Crown, is that I cannot wait until the second book releases because I need to know what happens next to Meren and Reven with that cliffhanger of an ending. A little bit of the story without giving anything away. The royal line of Aryd has been threatened and sometimes unalived by their long-time enemy, King Eidolon, throughout the years. They have outsmarted him, though, in keeping the royal line alive. There are twins born each time, and one twin is born to rule, while the other is forced to forfeit their life for their sister. In the case of Meren and Tabra, Meren is the twin that is born to forfeit her life for her sister, Tabra, because she was born second. 

Meren knows her place in the world but doesn’t want to die for her sister. She wants to live, but that’s not what she was born to do. She feels alone in the world and the dark, especially since she can’t tell her best friend, Cain, the truth about who she is because no one is supposed to know. When the twins’ grandmother passes away, it’s time for Tabra to take her place on the throne. Their long-time enemy, King Eidolon, has plans for Tabra. He wants to marry her, which he has never done with the other Queens. Meren steps up in Tabra’s place for her coronation due to the threat of the King. Before the coronation, she’s kidnapped by a grumpy, broody male with his own plans. The issue is that he kidnapped the wrong girl. He meant to kidnap Tabra. Meren can’t tell him the truth, so she has to lie and pretend to be her sister.

I felt for Meren in The Liar’s Crown. She should have never been subjected to sacrifice her life for her twin sister, especially a sister who is clueless about the enemy. When Meren is kidnapped, does her sister even attempt to look for her? No, she does the one thing Meren warned her not to do. Poor Meren. 

Meren finds her place with the person who kidnapped her, even though he is annoying and won’t tell her why he took her in the first place. Reven, the guy who kidnapped her, has his own secrets, which are dark and twisted. I loved his character. He can manipulate and control shadows, but he is grumpy and broody. He comes off as a villain in the story until the truth of what he has done for others comes to light. 

Meren and Reven’s relationship is rocky at first, but that happens when you’ve been kidnapped and don’t know each other, so be prepared for a lot of banter and angst between the two. It’s later in the book that these two characters start coming together. I liked how Reven kept calling Meren trouble because she was trouble for him, but he knew she was worth it in the end. 

The ending. Yes, I’m warning readers there is a cliffhanger, and it’s a big one. 

The only thing I needed more of was the issue with King Eidolon. He’s mentioned a lot but only debuts at the end. What’s his end game now? I need to know, and I know Abigail Owen will touch more on it in the next book.

Overall, I give the book 4.5 stars and cannot wait for the next book. I need to know what happens next. Will Meren have to give up her life for her twin sister? I hope not. I really didn’t care for Tabra, but you’ll understand why I didn’t like her when you read the book. I hope Meren gets a HEA because she deserves one more than ever. 

Standalone or Part of Series: It’s part of the Dominions series, and I highly recommend reading in order.

Trope(s)/Element(s): Enemies to Lovers; Mistaken Identity; Grumpy/Broody Hero; Sassy/Twin Heroine

Cliffhanger: Yes

Would I recommend this book? Yes. I recommend this to readers who enjoy an Upper YA/NA Fantasy that includes the FMC getting kidnapped due to mistaken identity by a swoon-worthy, angsty MMC who has shadows that he can manipulate and control.