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Coronets and Steel Hardcover – September 7, 2010

by Sherwood Smith (Author)
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 99 ratings
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In this new fantasy series, a young woman takes her own destiny by the hand-and the hilt.

California girl Kim Murray is unsatisfied with grad school and restless in life. Modern men disappoint her, and she studies ballet and fencing because they remind her of older, more romantic times.

She lives with her parents and her beloved but secretive aristocratic grandmother, who speaks only French and refuses to share stories about the mysterious family she left behind in Europe, inspiring Kim to travel there and find her roots.

Kim soon finds herself swept up in an adventure of fantastic deceptions and passionate intrigue-and a shocking realization about her own bloodline that leaves her reeling.
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Previous page
  1. Book 1 of 3
    Dobrenica
  2. Print length
    432 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    DAW
  5. Publication date
    September 7, 2010
  6. Dimensions
    6.44 x 1.43 x 9.32 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    0756406420
  8. ISBN-13
    978-0756406424
  9. See all details
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The Amazon Book Review
The Amazon Book Review
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

History aficionado and champion fencer Aurelia Kim Murray investigates her taciturn grandmother's European roots and her own identity in Smith's sweeping, feminist Ruritanian romance. Kidnapped by Prince Alec Ysvorod, who mistakes her for his not-much-beloved fiancée, the slightly-too-perfect Kim is thrust into the complicated and potentially deadly politics of a small, haunted kingdom threatened equally by its neighbors as by its scheming ruling families. Smith (Inda) engages readers with humor and rapier-sharp wit, and extensive details from Central European history (right down to a 19th-century method of stamping coins) make the nation of Dobrenica terrifically real. Though readers who prefer lightning-paced books may stumble over long sections of expository conversations, a lively heroine, mysterious ghosts, and a complex and intricate plot always get the action going again.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Smith’s modern-day fairy tale, influenced by the current urban-fantasy rage, finds 23-year-old Kim traveling across Europe to learn about her grandmother’s mysterious past (Grandma has becomes terribly ill and refuses to speak). Kim’s questions are much more dangerous than she realizes after she is kidnapped in Budapest. Taking matters into her own hands, she travels to the little-known Eastern European country of Dobrenica; there she not only uses her language and fencing skills but also accepts her ability to see ghosts. With two darkly attractive men (not to mention her grandmother’s secret husband) pursuing Kim, the romance plot is nicely woven into the story, both its contemporary and past components, along with plenty of action and adventure. Enough plotlines are left unresolved that at least one sequel must be in the works. Highly recommended for all fantasy and general-fiction collections, as the potential readership is wide, from urban-fantasy readers looking for something lighter but still complex to young women who grew up reading the Princess Diaries series. --Jessica Moyer

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ DAW; 1st edition (September 7, 2010)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 432 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0756406420
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0756406424
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.42 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.44 x 1.43 x 9.32 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 99 ratings

About the author

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Sherwood Smith

Sherwood Smith

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Sherwood Smith was a teacher for twenty years, teaching history, literature, drama, and dance. Before that she worked in the film industry for several years. She writes science fiction and fantasy for adults and young readers; she has been working on the Sartorias-deles fantasy series all her life.

Readers ask where to start reading in the Sartorias-deles series? That seems a simple question, but it’s not simple to answer when a writer has been at it their entire life. Here are groupings according to possible entry points:

HISTORICAL ARC

“Lily and Crown”

Inda

The Fox

King’s Shield

Treason’s Shore

Time of Daughters (two volumes)

Banner of the Damned

To skip the past and start with the MODERN ERA, there are three starting points (two, if you begin with the children’s stories)

CHILDREN’S STORIES, (written when I was a kid) which introduce many of the characters central to later arcs.

CJ Notebooks

Senrid

Spy Princess

Sartor

All these come together in Fleeing Peace. If you don’t want to wade through all the kids’ stories, I suggest Spy Princess as a starting point, followed by Sartor, then Senrid, A Stranger to Command, then Fleeing Peace.

After that, the Rise of the Alliance begins.

A Stranger to Command is a prequel to Crown Duel, and occurs at the same time as A Sword Named Truth.

The second starting point skips the children’s stories, and shifts to a more adult POV in the RISE OF THE ALLIANCE arc.

A Sword Named Truth

The Blood Mage Texts

The Hunters and the Hunted

Nightside of the Sun

The third starting point would be the ROMANTIC STORIES, which mostly stand alone:

Crown Duel

The Trouble with Kings

Sasharia En Garde

THE NORSUNDER WAR

The Wicked Skill

Ship Without Sails

Marend of Marloven Hess (Oct. 2022)

Seek to Hold the Wind (Nov. 2022)

All Things Betray (Dec. 2022)

A Chain of Braided Silver (Jan. 2023)

The POSTWAR books and stories:

“Beauty” [published in Remalna Stores

“Court Ship” [published in Remalna Stores

Let the Torrent Dance Thee Down (May 2023)

Antiphony (September 2023)

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
4.2 out of 5
99 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Janna K.
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Read
Reviewed in the United States on January 4, 2011
Verified Purchase
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Ms. Smith has quite a way with words and creating characters that stay with you forever. I was originally introduced to her writing by stumbling across Crown Duel at my local book store and I could not put that book down either. Kim and Alec (main characters of Coronets and Steel) reminded me quite a bit of Meliara and Vilanric from Crown Duel, but this story was so masterfully woven and original that I didn't mind the similarities in characters.

The plot of this book is both simple and complex, and thoroughly entertaining. Aurelia Kim is a free spirit college student who travels to Europe from California determined to find any traces of her maternal grandmother's family. All she has is a last name, possible locations in Vienna and Paris, a picture of her grandfather, and determination to do something as her grandmother recently fell ill and now refuses to speak. But this decidedly hopeless and thoroughly impulsive trip soon turns into a peril filled journey that will lead Kim to the mysterious origins of her family and change her life forever.

Kim is one of the most likable female protagonists I've ever read. I truly dislike when authors try to add depth to their characters by either making them unattractive or adding some horrors in their past. Kim is both beautiful and has a loving family, and her depth is evident from refreshing outlook on life and interesting upbringing. The most amazing thing is how well Ms. Smith constructed Dobrenica. Everything from the Russian and German occupation to superstitions within the population fit this imaginary country from the Eastern European region beautifully. I could easily imagine myself walking the streets of those ancient towns and seeing the untouched beauty of their forests and hills.

Don't pass this amazing book by.
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melreads
5.0 out of 5 stars the best kind of heroes and rogues...
Reviewed in the United States on November 12, 2012
Verified Purchase
...are the kind you can't always tell apart! This story is engaging from the start, and the characters really carry it. Kim, the narrator and protagonist, is highly educated and a really cool person, who makes even the most complex historical snarl seem interesting and intimate to the reader. She's a smart, determined, generally easy-going, all around kick-ass kind of gal without ever being obnoxious about it. The other characters seem to jump between white hats and black hats until Kim herself can't tell who is really on her side and who may be plotting behind her back, but at the same time, I can't think of one character in the lineup that isn't likeable...or at least, sympathetic. The setting is vivid, and so compelling that to me, Dobrenica really became another character in an already rich cast. The mystery, the characters' constant shifts, and the engaging attitude of the narrator really kept me turning pages. My only real complaint: sometimes it seems like the author went a little overboard trying to make references to history/literature/fashion or to make our protagonist appear sophisticated. For example, there was one sentence in particular wherein one character walks across the room and takes something out of a cabinet - and I had to look up five of the eleven words in that sentence. I have a fairly expansive vocabulary and I speak three languages, so I can't help but feel that maybe such extravagance was overkill. Regardless, the story, the characters, and even the settings are fascinating; this book is more than worth the time and money to read it. This is the way all Long-Lost Princess stories out to be told!
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warpammer
4.0 out of 5 stars Bring on the swash...and the buckle!
Reviewed in the United States on January 30, 2013
Verified Purchase
I read Coronets and Steel based on a friend's recommendation and thoroughly enjoyed it. An homage to Prisoner of Zenda with a 21st century female protagonist, Coronets also taps into Pride and Prejudice. There is no unconscious imitation here; the author is very up-front about her influences. For a codger like me there is also a Mary Stewart vibe in the lush descriptions as well as a touch of Barbara Michaels/Elizabeth Peters in the young American in ye olde worlde w/spooky woo-woo trope.

California native Kim Murray is doing genealogical research in Europe in hopes of discovering the source of her fragile grandmother's silence. With no warning, she is scooped up and spirited away by Alec, a handsome young aristocrat who mistakes her for his missing fiance. Once Alec is convinced of Kim's identity, he asks her to impersonate his fiance, in order to lure her or her abductors out of hiding. Kim, who in addition to being multilingual, accomplished in both ballet and fencing, and slightly psychic, is extraordinarily well equipped for the adventures that ensue. The journey through Europe, the tiny exquisite nation of Dobrenica, more than a touch of the supernatural, and a pair of intriguing potential love interests make this a romantic entertainment in the old fashioned sense.

Kim narrates her adventures as she experiences them--with zest and verve. Her voice is clear and distinctive, and her courage, wit, and independence are immensely engaging. Her ability to recover quickly from both emotional and physical trials sometimes taxes one's credulity, but the fact that not all of her efforts end successfully rescues her from the pitfall of Mary Sue-ism. Romantic elements are emotionally intense but not graphic, and somehow the semi-bad guy is much more likeable than our hero. The only thing that distracted me from unadulterated enjoyment of this novel is the way that Kim's use of slang seemed like a tour of late 20th century idiom. Even if she did have old hippies for parents, the mix of bummers, dudes, and totally-s with more current slang came across as very awkward at times and improbable for a woman in her mid-twenties. The range of her knowledge also seemed a mite improbable for her age, but the many things I loved about this book more than outweighed the clunkers. I was completely willing to suspend disbelief because it was simply so much fun to do so..
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Top reviews from other countries

april
3.0 out of 5 stars heroine too silly....
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 17, 2017
Verified Purchase
others have summarized the plot...i want to add that i found the heroine unbelievable, shifting in maturity from about age 13 to age 30, going off drinking with chance-met handsome strangers, being drugged and abducted, and returning (!) for more...irresponsible, moody, temperamental and ridiculous...erudite, sophisticated and worldly one moment, and impulsive, self-destructive and stupid the next...i found her increasingly irritating, and started skipping, to see what nonsense she would start up next...nah, not for me..
too silly...but a useful intro to book two which is good ..
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