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Court Duel The Crown Court Duet Book II Sherwood Smith Books

Download As PDF : Court Duel The Crown Court Duet Book II Sherwood Smith Books

Court Duel The Crown Court Duet Book II Sherwood Smith Books

My favorite Sherwood Smith works, the ones that turned me on to her years ago. The hero and heroine are memorable, original characters, and their romance is so out of the ordinary that it never feels old or trite--no matter how many times you've read the books. I highly recommend Court Duel and Crown Duel to anyone looking for a beautifully well-told fantasy/romance. To me, this is one of the iconic stories in fantasy and romance of the last twenty years. If you like curling up with a good book, a big cup of tea or hot chocolate, with some truffles hidden nearby for occasional light snacking, and you're in the mood for a romance like no other, set in a world that's lush and vivid, with characters that are so far from the normal ones you see in so many other books, then The Crown & Court Duet will absolutely satisfy that urge. Read it. You'll fall in love too.


Tags : Amazon.com: Court Duel: The Crown & Court Duet, Book II (9780152016098): Sherwood Smith: Books,Sherwood Smith,Court Duel: The Crown & Court Duet, Book II,HMH Books for Young Readers,0152016090,VIB0152016090,Historical - Medieval,Fantasy fiction,Fantasy.,Children's 12-Up - Fiction - Fantasy,Children: Young Adult (Gr. 10-12),Fantasy,JUVENILE,Juvenile Fiction,Juvenile Fiction Fantasy & Magic,Juvenile Grades 10-12 Ages 15+,Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Magic,United States,YOUNG ADULT FICTION,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Fantasy General,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Historical Medieval,Children: Grades 4-6

Court Duel The Crown Court Duet Book II Sherwood Smith Books Reviews

Court Duel is better than its predecessor, Crown Duel, though it shares some of the same flaws. The story is a harmless young adult adventure, though it focuses more on court politics than I might have wished. On the pedantic front the language is sometimes careless - several times, there are variants of "he had bade her to ...", where "bidden" would have been correct. But generally, it's a readable light fantasy.

More of a concern, even in a YA novel, are substantial flaws in court behaviour. For example, the kingdom lacks a ruler throughout virtually the entire book, yet no one seems very concerned. The book makes the occasional stab at depicting budding democracy, but it's essentially a hereditary, feudalistic system through and through. In a fantasy, that would be no problem if the author embraced it. Here, Sherwood seems to want to pretend everyone's happy with the arrangement. Yet our protagonist, Mel, who we understand to be at one with the common people despite her formal rank, shows no compunction about spending what must be vast amounts of money to have artisans brought from other countries, all to throw a party. Money originally deprived from brutal repression and excess, but ... that was before.

The plot itself is fairly straightforward - court politics, unexpected romance - and no great surprise to anyone but Mel. I'm not certain it was mean to be, but watching her not know what's what over the course of two books did get a bit tedious.

Overall, a decent read, but not one to go out of your way for, and possibly not meaningful to anyone who hasn't read the first book, which I can't recommend.
The book arrived poorly packaged and back cover was wrinkled. Very unfortunate as I gave a gift and book was sold as new, never read.
This is one of my favorite book! (Make sure to ready Book I)
I re-read this all the time!
If you've read the first one, you already know what HAS to happen. I don't want to give too much away, but here's a quick teaser...The Crown War is over, and Meliara and her twin Brannaric are rich. Bran goes to court to learn about government, but Mel, ashamed of her lack of education, stays at home to put things in order and educate herself. She can't hide there forever, though, and pretty soon her brother comes home to drag her to court. With her he brings two surprises...his fiancee, and the Marquis de Shevraeth!
The Marquis challenges Mel to come to court and judge for herself if he is a man she can support as king. When she arrives, she is faced with a completely new set of challenges--learning how to act like a court noble, learning how to navigate the intrigue, and--the most interesting challenge of all--learning WHO sent her that ring, and is writing her those mysterious letters!
Horse races, sword fights, balls, dinners, parties, and other exciting events punctuate Mel's court education, and provide new challenges and plenty of laughs along the way. I loved this book. It was witty, fun, and exciting. The climax was exciting, but I have to say that the resolution seemed rather forced, and had something of a deus ex machina feel to it. Doesn't matter, read it anyway, just for the intrigue and romance. I still recommend this book very highly!
My favorite Sherwood Smith works, the ones that turned me on to her years ago. The hero and heroine are memorable, original characters, and their romance is so out of the ordinary that it never feels old or trite--no matter how many times you've read the books. I highly recommend Court Duel and Crown Duel to anyone looking for a beautifully well-told fantasy/romance. To me, this is one of the iconic stories in fantasy and romance of the last twenty years. If you like curling up with a good book, a big cup of tea or hot chocolate, with some truffles hidden nearby for occasional light snacking, and you're in the mood for a romance like no other, set in a world that's lush and vivid, with characters that are so far from the normal ones you see in so many other books, then The Crown & Court Duet will absolutely satisfy that urge. Read it. You'll fall in love too.