Once again this author has written a story that makes you think, but in a fascinating, entertaining way. Overall I really enjoyed this one, although there were one or two spots that dragged a tiny bit for me. But not enough that I ever didn’t want to keep reading, and I hated how busy everything was when I was trying to read this one that I couldn’t sit and read as much as I wanted.

So, even though the publisher did send me a finished copy, I decided to read the e-galley because the book was a little bigger and it was easier to hold my Kindle, lol. So some of the lines I’ve quoted may not be in the final copy, I should have looked to see! I wasn’t even 10% of the way in when I found two quotes that really spoke to me.

Both of these spoke to me so much. Even if the second one was from a character that hadn’t contracted the virus Crown Royale yet and was a not so great person, it is something that seems to be more and more true the closer we look at some artists/authors/musicians. The first one is something that always made me angry at the hypocrisy of some people in certain situations, although the “science” followed wasn’t always anything more than what was being reported by the media. As a former science teacher, believe me, I did my research in all things before making decisions. 

What I love about this author is that his books make you think. Not just the teens that these books are written for, but as an adult, when I’ve read all his books as an adult, they made me think too. They made me see both sides. In my opinion they call out the good and the bad and facts of both sides. Because yes, there are facts on both sides, even people don’t always follow the truth when they make their decisions, or they use it to try to prove things that aren’t connected.

Yes many people don’t want to read books about THE pandemic we just went through. And so the fact that this is about a “next” pandemic might turn some off. But wow, Crown Royale, I think I want to get that virus! I totally felt for Mariel and her bad luck with the virus, although some didn’t see it as bad luck. And then there were the downfalls from this wonderful new disease/virus that gave some credit to the idea that we don’t want everyone to think exactly the same, that there does need to be a voice out there making you think and not just agreeing with everything.

The book was so good, and I don’t know why I assumed how it would end, because the author knows how to do endings that might make you gasp a bit! Such a wonderful, wonderful story!