Slave, Warrior, Queen (Of Crowns and Glory—Book 1)

Morgan Rice

May 2016 · Of Crowns and Glory Book 1 · Morgan Rice

About this ebook

“Morgan Rice has come up with what promises to be another brilliant series, immersing us in a fantasy of valor, honor, courage, magic and faith in your destiny. Morgan has managed again to produce a strong set of characters that make us cheer for them on every page.…Recommended for the permanent library of all readers that love a well-written fantasy.”

--Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos (regarding Rise of the Dragons)

From #1 Bestselling author Morgan Rice comes a sweeping new fantasy series.

17 year old Ceres, a beautiful, poor girl in the Empire city of Delos, lives the harsh and unforgiving life of a commoner. By day she delivers her father’s forged weapons to the palace training grounds, and by night she secretly trains with them, yearning to be a warrior in a land where girls are forbidden to fight. With her pending sale to slavehood, she is desperate.

18 year old Prince Thanos despises everything his royal family stands for. He abhors their harsh treatment of the masses, especially the brutal competition—The Killings—that lies at the heart of the city. He yearns to break free from the restraints of his upbringing, yet he, a fine warrior, sees no way out.

When Ceres stuns the court with her hidden powers, she finds herself wrongfully imprisoned, doomed to an even worse life than she could imagine. Thanos, smitten, must choose if he will risk it all for her. Yet, thrust into a world of duplicity and deadly secrets, Ceres quickly learns there are those who rule, and those who are their pawns. And that sometimes, being chosen is the worst that can happen.

SLAVE, WARRIOR, QUEEN tells an epic tale of tragic love, vengeance, betrayal, ambition, and destiny. Filled with unforgettable characters and heart-pounding action, it transports us into a world we will never forget, and makes us fall in love with fantasy all over again.

Book #2--ROGUE, PRISONER, PRINCESS--is also available!

Ratings and reviews

this is an exciting read. Ceres is a poor peasant who dreams of being a gladiator (called combatlord) and loves Rexus, another peasant. Circumstances conspire to lead her to run away and she finds herself in the royal training grounds volunteering to assist a fighter by taking care of and providing his weapons in a fight. She finds herself falling for his gentle respect and care, setting up one essential aspect of the story. Another facet of the tale is the incipient revolution against the dystopic rule of the empire. Ceres fighter Thanos is drafted by the ruler to assist the army in repressing the rebellion and she is caught opposing the regime and sent to fight opponents until one kills her. That's it for book 1. The writing is strong and easy to read, the characters sympathetic and likable, and the storyline addictive. Author Morgan Rice is no slouch; she knows how to keep the reader involved. Will you be the next to fall under her spell with this title?

The main characters was a strong, independent young woman the first few chapters. She hates the rich nobles, who are the only evil people on the whole wide world. I am sure the army does not have anything to do with the oppression the poor people is suffering in the story. She has magic powers apparently, that only come out when the plot is cornered in a way where there is no way she can survive with wit or strength. So magic powers. That she does not wonders about or tries to control. Just moves on with her life. Then she is sent to spy on the nobles by way of helping in the coliseum. She helps the broody, hostile, odd noble out, who immediately falls in love with her and gets her knees quaking. But she is also in "love" with the broody leader of the rebellion, that can wander casually to town and assist the official games in the coliseum. Love triangle warning!! I am team Edward, I mean Peeta... nevermind. She later is accused of liking the noble boy by a snotty princess and attacked by a prick. She defends herself and is sent to jail, sentenced to death. Broody noble saves her, but takes her to see the King, who sends them both to jail, for insubordination. Magically, they are pardoned, this time by the queen. She hates everyone, by the way. There is no character to the queen, just pure vile and hatred. We are not shown why she is that way, and it sort of reminded me the way Ceres's mom acted, so for a moment I had hope for some connection there. No luck. They are told very specifically they should not see each other anymore. Broody noble promised to marry snotty princess for their freedom. Next page they are blatantly snogging in the library. No fear of reprisals or being sent back to jail. YOLO. Then the love triangle implodes, both broody noble and broody rebel turn their back on the "used to be strong" woman. She loses a family member and crumbles. The queen locks her up on a tower, I BS you not. In the tower HAHAHAHA, like in a Disney movie I don't know what happened here. The premise was good. Rome with some other names for things. An oppressive ruling class. A strong female main character. A revolution in the making. Maybe mix in some themes from gladiator, where she had to fight in the arena, and she excels in it. But NO. Love triangle!! Here is Team noble boy and Team rebel boy. I love them both. I have so little control over my feelings!!! I applaud the author. I do. Writing is HARD. But here we have to be honest on what we think of the finished product and I did not like it. Sorry.

The book has potential but is lost in a myriad of "what ifs". The story alone would be compelling if not for the over convoluted use of unnecessary circumstances. The main character (Ceres) is thrown into way too many situations that see eludes without ramification. She is a runaway, a slave and a refugee all of which does not make a bump in the fact that she is also a high profile persona in the kingdom....none of which comes back into play!

About the author

Morgan Rice is the #1 bestselling and USA Today bestselling author of the epic fantasy series THE SORCERER’S RING, comprising seventeen books; of the #1 bestselling series THE VAMPIRE JOURNALS, comprising twelve books; of the #1 bestselling series THE SURVIVAL TRILOGY, a post-apocalyptic thriller comprising two books (and counting); of the epic fantasy series KINGS AND SORCERERS, comprising six books; and of the new epic fantasy series OF CROWNS AND GLORY. Morgan’s books are available in audio and print editions, and translations are available in over 25 languages.

TURNED (Book #1 in the Vampire Journals), ARENA ONE (Book #1 of the Survival Trilogy) and A QUEST OF HEROES (Book #1 in the Sorcerer’s Ring) and RISE OF THE DRAGONS (Kings and Sorcerers—Book #1) are each available as a free download on Google Play!

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