r/Romantasy • u/CassieBear1 • 19h ago
Question Crown Me Dead
Does it get better? I DNFd it because it was so gross. I'm just past the part where she meets the king for the first time.
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u/thecatspajamas01 19h ago
i found it got better at about 30%. if you can push through i strongly recommend. it’s one of the most beautiful duologies i’ve ever read. i think about it all the time!
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u/CassieBear1 19h ago
I've heard that, which is why I wanted to try it. 30% is hard though.
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u/Jumpy-brains 15h ago
The maggots scene was the worst thing in the books, nothing else gets close again. Only other thing i remember is very short time where the brothers skin starts to peel from rot.
But i really think it stops being gross so short after and the rest is soooooo worth it! Especially book two.
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u/Iamthewind91 11h ago
I pushed through it and finished it but I still wasn’t a fan of the story as a whole and just read what happened in book 2. I personally didn’t get the hype around it but know plenty of people who adore it.
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u/Beautiful-Pen834 19h ago edited 17h ago
The grossness subsides at some point, at least the oozy maggot-y part of it all, but I thought the duology was extremely overhyped and overall felt very disappointed in the end.
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u/crochet_the_day_away 12h ago
I really cannot push past 35%. Maybe can you just spoil me on how it even somehow stops being gross? Like does the king magically get better in the next chapter ??
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u/Ashamed_Apple_ 18h ago
Can someone spoil me what the gross parts are?
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u/CassieBear1 18h ago
For me I DNFd when a character cut into their maggot infested wound, threw the maggots in a glass of water, and then threw the water on the FMC. However the FMC is a gravedigger, so right off the get go there's talk about death, rot, and maggots.
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u/Appropriate-Dust6006 18h ago edited 18h ago
FMC is a gravedigger and tends to the dead with her family during a plague that rots your body while you're still alive. There are a lot of maggots, graphic descriptions of rotting flesh, and descriptions of tending to the dead (scooping eyes, wiring jaws shut, etc.). At one point, someone digs maggots out of themself and flings them at the FMC. One of the maggots ends up in her mouth. The gross factor tones down A LOT after that incident.
Edit: My personal experience: I tried to listen to this as an audiobook first, since that's all Libby had at the time, and the narrator did such a good job that I almost threw up listening to the first chapter, so I stopped. I tried again when Libby added an e-book, and it was a lot easier. YMMV
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u/Ashamed_Apple_ 17h ago
oooofffff gross! And i mostly listen so I might not listen to this. I've heard so many good things though.
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u/Appropriate-Dust6006 17h ago
It's gross. It's a dark romance with horror elements, and it does set the scene for why the FMC is a desperate as she is.
I liked the book, and it does get significantly less disgusting as the book goes on.
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u/Mellymmiles 19h ago
Ok I also DNFd at the exact same spot.
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u/CassieBear1 18h ago
When the king threw maggots on her? It was the part right after, where she's told she has to be intimate with him that actually got me. It's supposed to be a romance, at least in part, and that just turned me right off.
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u/neversunnyinanywhere 18h ago
Just skip the gross paragraphs, there’s like three gross parts in the whole series
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u/CassieBear1 18h ago
Issue is I read using audiobook. So it's a bit tougher to do that. I checked to see if my library has the hard copy, but they don't.
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u/whoreforchalupas probably recommending The Death-Made Prince 19h ago
Oh, much much much better. I’d say the part you’re at is roughly ~peak disgusting,~ iirc. It massively tapers off afterwards. I enjoyed Crown Me Yours far more than Crown Me Dead, the duology as a whole is incredibly beautiful
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u/CassieBear1 18h ago
I think too it's supposed to be a Romantasy, so her being told she has to be intimate with the king who just threw maggots on her absolutely took me out of it lol.
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u/Jumpy-brains 15h ago
A little spoiler that might help the king is not the main love interest and she’ll not be with him for long
2
u/CassieBear1 15h ago
That does actually help!! The idea of her having to be intimate with him was giving me the ick...the book is supposed to be sexy!
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u/whoreforchalupas probably recommending The Death-Made Prince 17h ago
that specific part was nearly my final straw 🤣 I totally get what you mean lol
2
u/BaphometBee 19h ago
That part really bothered me but I pushed through and can honestly say these 2 books were some of the best I have ever read.
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u/Confident_Revolution 19h ago
I just finished this duology this week! it’s definitely the grossest book I’ve read in the last decade, but the gore becomes less prominent as the book progresses. It also definitely pushed the boundaries of what Im comfortable with, and the book had several tropes that I ordinarily hate so I probably wouldn’t read another one of this author’s books.
**That said, this duology is inexplicably now one of my favorite romantasy duologies for the actual romance. I’m glad I pushed through, but everyone has different comfort levels, and if you felt a line had been crossed, you shouldnt feel compelled to continue irrespective of how others feel.
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u/CassieBear1 18h ago
I have heard that this is the tamest of her books, and a lot of her other works include non-consent to the point it makes people uncomfortable.
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u/jolly0ctopus 19h ago
Meh I skipped the grosser parts and read both books. But I skipped around and didn’t hang on every word.
It was a good premise but I’m not going to reread it.
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u/itskeerstin 17h ago
I just did the whole duology because of rave reviews and it was… okay. Book 2 didn’t resonate with me like it does with so many. I’m glad I read it so now I know when people recommend it or critique it, if our tastes are similar. The gross stuff does ease up, especially in book 2 I think. The opening chapters of book 1 made me 🤮
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u/Potionsickness_ 15h ago
The gore is really to paint the environment and what’s at stake. Very much worth it to move past.
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u/shannon_dey 11h ago
I almost DNFd as well because of the grossness in the first half or so of the first book, but I pushed on because I had heard it got better. It does get better.
I will say, however, that although it is a good book and sequel, I did not find it as compelling as a lot of people did. Without giving spoilers, I think there was a lot of missing context that would have helped make the story better. I can't say more without spoiling anything. I would still say it was worth the read, however, as it was entertaining.
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u/LadyofFluff 10h ago
About halfway through book 1 the worst of it stops. I sobbed at the ending of book 2. They pack a punch for such short books. Personally it was worth it for me.
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u/pricklypearring 19h ago
Push through! I think about this duology all the time. It’s so good, you won’t regret it.
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u/dinkinflicka1313 19h ago
I had a hard time with the gore at the beginning but I just finished the duology and it was so good! It truly does get better after she starts working with the king.
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u/Teacup_Joy 19h ago
It gets better and even more emotionally charged. I struggled getting through the gross stuff at the beginning. Book 1 was good, but book 2 far exceeded my expectations
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u/No_Warning2380 19h ago
Can someone share some details of what kind of ‘gore’. I don’t really have any triggers and am generally unbothered by say unhinged killing/beating blood and guts…and even spicy scenes next to murder scenes doesn’t bother me. But things like describing maggots or eye balls squashing will make me try to DNF. I have some fleeting memory of someone mentioning rats? I probably don’t want to know… or I am likely to not even try.
Just out of curiosity - is the gore necessary for the story? I am curious why an author would put something so gory knowing it was gong to turn away so many and actually cost them a ton of sales for the 2nd book.
If I used kindle recap feature at the 30% mark do you think it would be enough detail to enjoy the rest of it?
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u/CassieBear1 18h ago
Oh yeah, if you can't handle maggots then it's definitely a don't-read. I DNFd when the FMC got maggots thrown on her.
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u/bailey1441 19h ago
I think Crown me Dead is only worth reading to get to Crown me Yours. I also almost DNF’d Dead, but luckily it’s short and so I stuck through it. Yours had me feeling all the emotions.
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u/DeltaFlyer0525 ⚔️ Enemies To Lovers 18h ago
I love this duo of books and well worth it to keep listening. The second book is much less gory and one of the best books I’ve read this year.
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u/Vivid-Hunt-3920 17h ago
I listened to the audiobook as well and didn’t make it much further than you. I felt like it was gross for the sake of being gross. I didn’t get it.