4Q 4P J S When seventeen-year-old Raisa takes the throne, she inherits a queendom on the brink of civil war. The thousand-year hatred between Wizards and Clans is boiling over; Raisa cannot trust her mercenary army or its leaders; neighboring countries are poised to invade; and each faction demands Raisa's arranged marriage or murder (preferably both). She cannot even trust her bodyguard and lover, Han Alister, the former streetlord turned wizard, because he constantly keeps secrets from her. Is he behind the recent wizard murders and the burning of the city? Meanwhile, Han does his best to keep Raisa and her kingdom in one piece, but powerful enemies attack him from every side, physically and politically. In the midst of everything, he discovers that the land's thousand-year-old feud is based on betrayal and lies. Is there any hope for the queendom, or Han and Raisa's love? Chima has built a complex world filled with equally complex characters, living out an expertly structured and balanced plot in which everything that can go wrong does. Lovers of the series will dive in headlong to learn the fate of the people and lands they love, eating up the devious political machinations, the wizard magic, and bloody battles and will tear through the pages to see if true love wins. Newcomers, though, will be hopelessly lost, so only purchase where the series is popular. This fourth book in the Seven Realms series is recommended for lovers of political and action-laden fantasy, though scenes of violence and torture make it more appropriate for high school.-Melissa Moore. Set in an incredibly written fantasy world full of political turmoil, The Crimson Crown's gripping action scenes, coupled with forbidden romance, will immediately pull readers into Han and Raisa's captivating story. This stunning conclusion to the Seven Realms series takes readers on a fantastic ride through a country on the brink of both civil and international war, but whose people possess the most important emotion of all-hope. 5Q, 5P.-Camille Birch, Teen Reviewer.-- VOYA