Book Review: The Iron Crown by L.L. MacRae
The Iron Crown by L.L. MacRae was a beautifully written story of life, love and friendship explored in a world dripping with magic.
The reader starts off with an introduction to Fenn. Fenn has woken up in a strange forest, with no memory of where or even who he is. As he starts to make his way through this new terrain we learn of Hassan, the dragon spirit of the forest who has seemingly touched our young protagonist. Unfortunately for Fenn, Hassan is not the only creature who has come into his life. Although aware of the spirits of the world, he has no idea what this means for him. Luckily for Fenn, Calidra and Jisyel come across the young lad, and he begs for help.
The two women take him in (albeit reluctantly in the case of Calidra) and get him fed and watered at their Inn upon the island. However, a letter awaits Calidra upon her return. Her father has died, and she has been requested home, to a place she has avoided for the last eight years.
The three set off together to the mainland and the mysteries of the Myr unfold. These shadow like creatures of death and destruction have returned after five years of peace. Fenn has been Myr touched, and so have many others, all without memories, all without hope. The Myr touched are dying, and it turns into a race against time to find the secrets of the creatures they all thought they were safe from.
There is so much I loved about the Iron Crown, the world building, the relationship dynamics and the unique take on dragons are just a few!
I will start with worldbuilding, I adore the way L.L. MacRae builds her worlds with exploration of lands and character interactions. This style of worldbuilding sets the scene and also allows the characters to naturally come alive with the world around them. We learn about their personality traits, quirks and annoyances while moving from place to place. Staring on the Isle of Salt we then catch a boat to the mainland. Over the course of the sea journey, we learn more about the types of dragon spirits as they blend into the terrain being traversed. Once our characters hit the mainland, we see them pick out inns and stalls from past experiences, enriching their personal histories which all felt both natural for the story and our POV’s lives. Sometimes this type of storytelling creates a risk of information or lore dumps for the audience, but I would argue that MacRae has this down pat and at no point did I feel like there was an overwhelming abundance of information.
My next praise for the story is the relationship interactions. There were several dynamics in this story that really shined through. First and foremost, we have a beautifully authentic, established sapphic romance between Jiysel and Calidra. What made this relationship so wonderful to follow is that there was never any “hey look at this romance I have put into the story” elements. They just were. Their interactions were familiar and tender, they got annoyed at little things then remembered something they loved about the other, they were at the front of each other’s minds constantly and it just felt like home. I couldn’t help having a chuckle at the dynamic between the two because it felt very familiar to my own relationship at times. There was also a complicated family dynamic explored with Calidra’s family which I loved watching unfold. Calidra comes from money and prestige, a life that came with being controlled and a number of expectations. There is a very clear reason she did not want to go back home. As soon as she meets her mother again it is clear that nothing has changed, and you can feel the tension seep through the pages. It is clear as the story progresses that Calidra has a reason not to trust those around her, and rather than focus on the philosophy of it all we get to watch how these feelings flow through her in interactions with other characters.
The final thing I will mention is the unique take on dragons. We have all read fantasy before, which means we have very likely all come across a dragon or two. The dragon spirits of this world felt wonderfully refreshing, as they blended to a location or element and took that as their domain. From the huge dragons bonded to Iron who had reach all over the world and was bonded to the inquisitors and the Iron crown herself, to the smaller forest bonded dragons who interacted with our characters along the way. These magnificent creatures were still very much foreboding, dangerous, and majestic, but they had been given a god like element and stature that was a lot of fun.
The Iron Crown was a five-star read for me and I had a great time! It has really solidified L.L. MacRae as an auto buy author and I cannot wait for book two!
