I am a bit... disappointed ??
I may be spoiled but I went into this book expecting magical duels and, instead, got a design competition to beautify St. Petersburg, which isn't what I'd call 'the greatest test and enchanter will know'.
Don't get me wrong, the writing is magical and I breezed through the book in about a day once I really sat down to read it, but I was certainly expecting more from Vika and Nikolai.
My other complaint was the relationship between Pasha and Vika, more specifically how forced it felt. While Nikolai and Vika's attraction felt legitimate (especially considering the magical aspect to it) even if it was a little insta-lovey, I feel like the Pasha aspect of the love triangle could have been scraped entirely without damaging the story as it is.
Apart from those two complaints, The Crown's Game is a good book, if a bit random at times, and I'm definitely looking forward to reading the sequel.