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The Hero and the Crown Audiobook
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(4.00) - 22,888 listener ratings
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Although she is the daughter of Damar's king, aerin has never been accepted as full royalty. Both in and out of the royal court, people whisper the story of her mother, the witchwoman, who was said to have enspelled the king into marrying her to get an heir to rule Damar-then died of despair when she found she had borne a daughter instead of a son. But none of them, not even aerin herself, can predict her future-for she is to be the true hero who will wield the power of the Blue Sword...
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"This book was pretty fabulous. It had all the elements that go into making a truly great book: amazing (yet not too terribly intricate) plot, passionate yet real characters, along with a heroine who is terribly human and forced to overcome not only the epic heroic type obstacles, but ordinary obstacles as well, and just enough action and adventure to keep things interesting without going completely overboard. I cannot say enough good things about this book. It deserves every award and accolade that it received."
— Katie (5 out of 5 stars)
The Hero and the Crown Listener Reviews
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" I think I enjoyed this "prequel" to "The Blue Sword" even more than the first. McKinley has a nice touch with fantasy writing. She is becoming one of my favorite authors as I work my way through her oeuvre. "
— Shauna, 2/10/2014 -
" One of the best books ever written! "
— Foggygirl, 2/4/2014 -
" This is my favorite book of all time. The action, the romance, everything was amazing and fantastically written. I've read and reread it countless times and it never, ever gets old. "
— Emzap, 1/25/2014 -
" I've now read Robin McKinley. Hooray for me! "
— Eloise, 1/16/2014 -
" this book is hard for me to rate. At times, while reading it, i thought i'd give it a 4 but in the end, I am giving it a 3. While the author's writing style is poetic and often beautiful, it's also somewhat "cryptic" in a way because she explains little but infers a lot. The reader has to learn a lot through context and piecing bits together throughout the book. However, after reading it, i realized it is #2 in the series and that could have been my problem. Maybe it all flows better when read in order but i had no idea it was a sequel. Also, I can't imagine how this is a child's book given the maturity of the writing style. I did like the story and the plot but felt like it dragged a lot. Overall, i liked it but it never became a "i can't put this down" book. "
— Darcy, 1/16/2014 -
" awesome book! well written "
— Meghirschi, 1/14/2014 -
" One of the books that got me into Robin McKinley who I discovered in graduate school. "
— Ron, 12/17/2013 -
" Know what I said about "The Blue Sword". Yeah. Aerin rocks. I always wanted red hair. "
— Linda, 12/11/2013 -
" One of my all-time favorites - I read it in 7th grade English class, and have re-read it many times since then. Well-written, wry, compelling characters, fantasy/fiction with strong female protagonist. Love it! "
— Brita, 11/26/2013 -
" Recently re-read. I read this book periodically because I love it. My sister and I fought over who got the family copy. Its been taped together a few times. Definitely worth the read. "
— Queeey, 11/12/2013 -
" Robin McKinley isn't one of my favorite authors but she still writes books that are entertaining to me, but books that would never be my favorites. The hero and the crown was a pretty good book, but I doubt that I will ever read it again. "
— Kristin, 9/26/2013 -
" I don't typically love fantasy--but I loved this. "
— Leanne, 8/28/2013 -
" The beginning was good, but the end of this book was really weird. It seems like the whole writing style changed along with the plot. A lot of big major events happen in the course of ten pages, which is absolutely ridiculous unless you happen to be an amazing author, which Robin McKinley is not. "
— Ry, 8/15/2013 -
" This book is coupled with The Blue Sword. I like the main characters in the book. The story has its own myths & history but it is fairly easy to pick up the backstory. "
— Lindsay, 8/13/2013 -
" I enjoyed the story, Aerin's character in particular, but I had trouble following some of the plot. The magic didn't make much sense to me. "
— Samantha, 6/20/2013 -
" This book means a lot to me. Today it hit especially hard because of my odd mood. Aerin goes through a lot in the story, and it's handled very well. It really is as epic as readers of The Blue Sword will want it to be. "
— Becca, 6/13/2013 -
" masterful story telling. The beginning of an epic story told with wonderful pacing great and memorable characters and just the right amount of magic. Wonderful, now I need to read the blue sword "
— Xanthe, 6/6/2013 -
" I love this book!! I've read it about 4 times, and it never gets old! It is empowering without being too political, and its setting is just so beautiful and perfectly constructed! "
— Amanda, 4/27/2013 -
" Its been a long time, so I need to re-read this. But I remember it being a great story. "
— Marcus, 3/18/2013 -
" A wonderful story and beautifully written. Strange ending, though. "
— Lia, 3/12/2013 -
" A really good prequel to The Hero and the Crown. I was routing for Aerin the entire time. "
— Mdi, 2/23/2013 -
" I got a little confused from time to time - maybe I would've rated it higher if I just read more carefully. I enjoyed the parts of it quite a bit, though. "
— Hollybrimholly, 1/27/2013 -
" Excellent book. The plot is very predictable, but McKinley handles it skilfully. Perhaps one of the best fantasy books I have ever read. "
— Munema, 1/16/2013 -
" Magic, fantasy, royal family, the ugly duckling, romance...it's all there!!! "
— Tulika, 1/16/2013
About Robin McKinley
Robin McKinley has won various awards and citations for her writing, including the Newbery Medal for The Hero and the Crown and a Newbery Honor for The Blue Sword. Her other books include Sunshine, the New York Times bestseller Spindle’s End, two novel-length retellings of the fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, and a retelling of the Robin Hood legend, The Outlaws of Sherwood. She lives with her husband, English writer Peter Dickinson.