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The Crimson Crown

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The Crimson Crown

By: Heather Walter
Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller
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Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who’s the wickedest of them all? Snow White’s dark queen tells her side of the story in the first book of a queer, witchy duology that reimagines the classic fairy tale—from the author of Malice.

“An alluring, vengeful origin story that brings tremendous dimension to a classic fairytale.”—Chloe Gong, New York Times bestselling author of Immortal Longings

Legends tell of a witch who became a queen—the heartless villain in the story of Snow White.

But now the wicked queen is stepping out of Snow White’s shadow to become the heroine of her own legend.

Her real “once upon a time” begins when she is just Ayleth, a young witch who lives in the forest with her coven. The witches practice their magic in secret, hiding from the White King and his brutal war against witchcraft.

Ayleth, however, faces a war of her own. Her magical gifts have yet to reveal themselves, and as the threat of the Royal Huntsmen intensifies, Ayleth fears she will never become the witch her coven needs.

To prove herself, Ayleth sets out on a perilous quest that sends her to the White Palace, a decadent world of drama and deceit. There, Ayleth encounters an unlikely figure from her past: Jacquetta, a witch who once held Ayleth’s heart—and betrayed her.

As events at the palace escalate, Ayleth finds herself caught in the web of the White King, whose dark charisma is as dangerous as the sinister force that seems to be haunting the palace—and perhaps even Ayleth herself. With the threat of discovery looming, Ayleth and Jacquetta must set aside the wounds of their past and work together to survive.

As she uncovers the secrets of the White Court—and those of her own heart—Ayleth must find the strength to transform into someone she never imagined she could be.

A powerful witch, the very wickedest of them all.

Book One in The Crimson Crown series. LGBTQIA+ Creators Magic Users Fantasy Royalty Witchcraft Magic Science Fiction & Fantasy Fairy Tales Literature & Fiction Heartfelt War

Critic reviews

“It’s always a pleasure to read a villain origin story that makes you go ‘Good for her,’ and Heather Walter pulls this off masterfully in The Crimson Crown. This is a lush, dark, riveting tale about all the things that can lie in a woman’s heart—power, rage, grief, vengeance—and it is spun in such haunting prose that it kept me on the edge of my seat all throughout. . . . Simply gorgeous.”—Thea Guanzon, USA Today and New York Times bestselling author of The Hurricane Wars

“Beautiful and gloriously poisonous, The Crimson Crown will enthrall you.”—Tasha Suri, World Fantasy Award-winning author of The Jasmine Throne

“An alluring, vengeful origin story as you’ve never seen before. The Crimson Crown brings tremendous dimension to a classic fairytale, ushering in the darkness you’ve always craved.”—Chloe Gong, New York Times bestselling author of Immortal Longings

“Walter’s deeply rooted point of view never falters and is supported by intricate world-building and a history of family, love, and betrayal—and the prices paid for each.”—Sara A. Mueller, author of The Bone Orchard

Continue the series
The Witch Queen Audiobook By Heather Walter cover art
The Witch Queen By: Heather Walter
Intriguing Characters • Vivid Descriptions • Unexpected Twists • Natural Progression • Villain Development

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Beautifully written, gripping, strong characters, this book has it all. I can't wait until part 2!

Awesome Story!

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3.5 ⭐️’s rounded up

This book was… fine. I think my hopes were set a bit too high after reading Malice/Misrule. While the story and the characters were intriguing, I was missing the romantic aspect I felt with Malice (possibly my bad expecting that?). Overall, the writing was good, and I look forward to future works from Heather Walter.

Not quite what I expected, but still good.

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The story was so well done. Ayelith was such a detailed character. I felt for her, and there were many many times where she surprised me. The twists and characters were so entertaining and the drama and heartbreak was so intense. Can’t wait for the second book!!! I loved every bit of this book, literally took the weekend to read it and I’d do it all over again.

Amazing!!!

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Heather Walters is such a good story teller The ending gave me such chills! I can’t wait for the witch queen to come out!

So good

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The story overall was good but there were elements in the story that were drawn out to the point that I wanted to rip my hair out, the internal dialog was sooooooo repetitive and sometimes annoying, like right before anything interesting happened INTERNAL DIALOG and it's the same damn thing every time like, WE GET IT your insecure and have trust issues, you don't have to tell us a 100 times. It just made it feel like the story was lagging.

it was good buuut

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