The Hero and the Crown - Robin McKinley

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⭐ 9.5/10

(Originally written by Magdalene)

It is not possible for me to read and rate this book objectively, because I read this so many times as a preteen and was OBSESSED. I could still picture huge chunks of the book perfectly, and there were only a few surprises about things I hadn't remembered. It's about Aerin, the shunned princess of Damar, who learns to become a dragon killer.

I'm not totally sure what it was about this book that had me in its grip, but it was likely Aerin herself being awesome and, admittedly, the epic pining of Tor, the perfect man. The book is weirdly structured, with a full third of it being flashback of how Aerin became the Dragon Killer, and then after that comes her big journey. But I still loved the writing and the characters, and I treasure this book for what it meant to me as a kid.

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