Months have passed since Meliara Astiar’s daring escape and the defeat of King Galdran. Life has once again resumed the slow pace of country life, especially with Mel’s brother, Bran, away at court. Though the invitation remains open for her to join him at the capital, she tells herself she is content staying in her little corner of the world. Indeed, nothing pleases her more than pouring her time into rebuilding the library her father once destroyed and restoring her crumbling castle home with the aid of her family’s new riches. But when a mysterious letter from Galdran’s sister arrives the same day Bran makes a surprising return, Mel is thrust into the very life of court and politics that she’s been trying to avoid.
There are whispers of Shevraeth not being fit to rule as the future king. Mel doesn’t know Shevraeth well enough to say if this is true, and she doesn’t really care to get to know him better to find out. She cannot bring herself to forget the embarrassment he caused her last year when she was dragged, chained and disgraced, before the tyrant king and tittering courtiers. Even now, every time they cross paths, they seem to engage in petty arguments.
But the game for the throne still lies before her, and the mysterious letter from the former king’s sister hinting at a sinister plot remains heavy on her mind. Truth is not so easily revealed, and Mel has no idea who her friends really are here among the glittering halls and manicured gardens.
While Court Duel was a slower read than its predecessor, Crown Duel, I enjoyed the cunning, silent game of court life. There are a lot of politics, a little romance, and even less action, but it offers a peek into a different, opulent world where people border between being fake and real and where a kingdom stands on the brink of a new, hopefully better, start.
Rated: None. Includes politics and mild peril.
