Thronebreakers by Rebecca Coffindaffer
Out Now from Harper Teen; 385 pages
Content Warnings: alcohol usage, murder, death of a family member, sci-fi violence, foul language, blood and gore
About the Author: “Rebecca Coffindaffer (they/she) grew up on Star Wars, Star Trek, fantastical movies and even more fantastical books. They waited a long time for their secret elemental powers to develop, and in the interim, they started writing stories about magic and politics, spaceships, far-off worlds, and people walking away from explosions in slow motion. These days they live in Kansas with their family, surrounded by a lot of books and a lot of tabletop games and one big fuzzy dog. They’re the author of the YA space opera duology Crownchasers, out now from HarperTeen, and Thronebreakers, coming 10/12/21.” (Bio taken from author’s website.)
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Alyssa Faroshti—better known to some as Captain Farshot—never wanted to be the empress of anything more than her own ship. But to appease her beloved, dying, emperor uncle, she went on a royal crownchase to retrieve the seal and establish a new ruler. What she did not expect was to lose a close friend in the competition, her life unjustly ended by fellow crownchase champion, Edgar Voles, who stole the royal seal and assumed the throne. Determined to avenge her friend and bring balance to the galaxy once again, Alyssa must team up with her few allies against significant odds to take down Edgar. But along the way, she discovers that the tangled web of royal politics might have a few secrets even darker than what Edgar has planned.
Rebecca Coffindaffer’s electrifying conclusion to the Crownchasers duology did not disappoint. Alyssa Faroshti is an unlikely hero. She’s reckless, foul-mouthed, and in the start of Thronebreakers, bitterly hell-bent on revenge. But luckily for Alyssa, she has her romantically inclined co-captain, Hell Monkey, and a host of other friends by her side. Though the action, adventure, and pure sci-fi-blaster-chaos of the novel is a large part of what had me gripped throughout the entire read, Alyssa and Hell Monkey’s tender romance had me just as hooked. They’re both traumatized and distrusting, but their rough edges are softened best by each other. I also enjoyed the book’s overarching commentary about colonialism and the legitimacy of imperial rule, as it often asks the question: who really gets to choose to be part of an empire? This nitty-gritty sequel gets much deeper into the politics and the darkness of the empire and Alyssa’s character growth from the first book truly reflects that. This high-energy read had me bursting through all 385 pages in less than four hours—though I highly recommend taking your time—and I wish that I could read it for the first time all over again. All in all, Coffindaffer’s fast-paced story about the fate of the universe is not to be missed.
PRR Assistant Director, Grace Kennedy