{Review} The Immortal Crown - Richelle Mead

The Immortal Crown by Richelle Mead
Series: Age of X #2
Genre: Adult Sci-fi & Mythology
Release Date: May 29 / 2014
Publisher: Dutton Adult

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Vampire Academy and Bloodline series returns with the second installment in her acclaimed Age of X series.Gameboard of the Gods introduced religious investigator Justin March and Mae Koskinen, the beautiful supersoldier assigned to protect him. Together they have been charged with investigating reports of the supernatural and the return of the gods, both inside the Republic of United North America and out. With this highly classified knowledge comes a shocking revelation: Not only are the gods vying for human control, but the elect—special humans marked by the divine—are turning against one another in bloody fashion.
Their mission takes a new twist when they are assigned to a diplomatic delegation headed by Lucian Darling, Justin’s old friend and rival, going into Arcadia, the RUNA’s dangerous neighboring country. Here, in a society where women are commodities and religion is intertwined with government, Justin discovers powerful forces at work, even as he struggles to come to terms with his own reluctantly acquired deity.
Meanwhile, Mae—grudgingly posing as Justin’s concubine—has a secret mission of her own: finding the illegitimate niece her family smuggled away years ago. But with Justin and Mae resisting the resurgence of the gods in Arcadia, a reporter’s connection with someone close to Justin back home threatens to expose their mission—and with it the divine forces the government is determined to keep secret.

*A review copy was provided by the publisher for review* 

Thank you to Penguin and Netgalley!

Last year, I was really impressed with Gameboard of the Gods. I was really surprised that I was the black sheep with this! This year, The Immortal Crown was really great as well.

With the sequel, I was immediately thrown back into the story of Mae and Justin. In this book, the duo is venturing into Arcadia where Mae has her own secret motive to rescue her niece. My favourite part about this book is probably the mythology. I love the parts about Odin and the ravens inside Justin's head. I don't really know much about Norse mythology and I love all this information about Odin and Freya and all the other Norse gods. I would say the mythology is incorporated into the story very well. 

The action was definitely badass. Have you read Richelle Mead books? They are all action-packed and this one was no exception (in both kicking ass and the romantic department, of course). Justin and Mae also develop a deeper relationship where they stop lying to each other and let each other know their feelings. As everyone says, communication is key in any relationship!

I can't say enough good things about this book. I might even like this series better than her Bloodlines series! (I know.. scandalous!) It's not just the main characters and story; I even love all the side characters (special mention to Geraki here; my favourite side character). The book even left me with an oh sh*t! type of ending. It's terrible for my weak heart, but I love it! The Immortal Crown is an awesome sequel to Gameboard of the Gods, and I cannot wait for the next book in this exciting series!

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