Very entertaining and fun. Definitely for YA since it's very light and subtle. I would recommended for every tween and young teen out there. I only gave it three and a half starts because I am an adult so I found it a little too light. But if I were 13 I would have given it 10 stars. ( )

This was an excellent book! The plot was action-packed and fast moving though never predictable. The characters were well-developed and each had a clear motivation. The story was intriguing and entertaining. The book was never boring despite its length. ( )

This version of Crown Duel also contains the sequel, Court Duel, which is very convenient. If I had read this book as a young teenager, it probably would have been one of my favorites. Reading it for the first time as an adult, I still liked it a lot as a whole, but I have some quibbles. The protagonist is a young countess named Meliara, whose father charges her on his deathbed to fight the greed of the wicked king and institute social reforms throughout the land. Mel and her brother Branaric (Bran) eagerly accept this duty and muster a ragtag army of villagers to fight against the king's forces. In Crown Duel, Mel reveals herself to be a pretty capable strategist, but she is captured by the Marquis of Shevraeth and made a prisoner of war. Most of the book chronicles Mel's arguments with Shevraeth and her frequent attempts at escape. In Court Duel, the war is over and Mel would like nothing more than to be left alone in her remote castle, but at Bran's urging she agrees to visit the court. Mel struggles to understand the ways of the courtiers, and her blunt honesty often gets her in trouble. It also, however, wins her many admirers, including one who remains mysteriously anonymous. I thought the second half of Crown Duel dragged a little (Mel escapes, wanders by herself, finds a village, tries to get food and sleep, is almost caught by her pursuers and runs off again...). I enjoyed the intrigues of Court Duel, especially the "fan language" the women use to communicate secrets nonverbally. But the mysterious admirer thing...come on, we all know who that is within about 20 words. Overall, though, I'd recommend this book to fantasy lovers.

Meliara's father dies after she and her brother promise they will fight to overthrow the country's king, who is taxing his people into poverty and planning to break the covenant with the Hill-folk. However (like in all good stories), things don't go according to plan and Mel finds herself a prisoner of the enemy.

The first part of Crown Duel is very much an adventure and Mel spends much of her time trying to escape or evading being captured. Not only did this keep the story tense and suspenseful, but the intrigue of trying to work out who to trust and who not to trust means it is interesting, and unpredictable.
The story is also about Mel learning the extent of her own naivety, and what it means to act in ignorance (an interesting theme to accompany the action) but I didn't find this frustrating. The first person narration meant I shared her perspective, and hence shared her mistrust. I could see the sense in her reasoning.

The second part deals with Mel's experiences as she leaves her family's country castle for the royal palace in the capital. Court life is a world Mel is unfamiliar with - one of masks and deception, codes, plots and manipulations. When she encounters the Merindars - the family of the previous king - she decides she needs advice and turns to an anonymous source with her questions. However, there are more plots beneath the surface than Mel is aware of, and she does not know whose advice it is she seeks.
This part is much more subtle. It is about trust, the more subtle manipulations of power (not the sort of power wherein one goes in with guns blazing - not that this world has guns), people, relationships and, perhaps, finding one's place in the world.
(I must admit I had certain suspicions about one or two things, but instead of being irritated with that possible predictability, I was entertained, watching the story unfold and waiting to see if my suspicions were correct.)

It might seem trite to say "this story is well written", but the use of language was quite deliberate and effective. It helps build an original world in a convincing manner, with believable depth to the history, the politics, and the court etiquette.

To say I really enjoyed this is perhaps an understatement, for I have read it three times in almost as many days. ( )

An enjoyable fantasy about the rustic and untutored Countess Meliara's naive but courageous attempts to oust a tyrannical ruler who is planning to break the covenant with the dryad-like "Hill People" with whom the kingdom has long coexisted. Along with the political struggles throughout the book are her personal conflicts with a high-placed noble whom she refuses to consider an ally, even as he is accepted by her brother and friends.

The first book recounts her struggles against the King and his forces, in which she plays a primary role despite the naivete of her initial approach and apparent powerlessness of her position. The second book details the aftermath, including her leaving her familiar home where she dealt only with equally unsophisticated rustics and going to Court where she is surrounded by sophisticated courtiers and finds it difficult to know who could be trusted. I particularly enjoyed the details of etiquette, although not all readers may share my interest. ( )