Genre: YA FantasyPublication date: July 8th, 2014
Publisher: Henry Holt
Pages: 492
Rating: 3/5
GR Summary:
A princess must find her place in a reborn world.
She flees on her wedding day.
She steals ancient documents from the Chancellor's secret collection.
She is pursued by bounty hunters sent by her own father.
She is Princess Lia, seventeen, First Daughter of the House of Morrighan.
The Kingdom of Morrighan is steeped in tradition and the stories of a bygone world, but some traditions Lia can't abide. Like having to marry someone she's never met to secure a political alliance.
Fed up and ready for a new life, Lia flees to a distant village on the morning of her wedding. She settles in among the common folk, intrigued when two mysterious and handsome strangers arrive—and unaware that one is the jilted prince and the other an assassin sent to kill her. Deceptions swirl and Lia finds herself on the brink of unlocking perilous secrets—secrets that may unravel her world—even as she feels herself falling in love.
My review:
Let me start off by saying that the reason I did not read this book when everyone was talking about it is that I was scared that I might not enjoy it because of all the hype. Before I decided to read this book, the high expectations were pretty much still present. I didn't think I'll ever get rid of them, so I just read the book.
To be honest, it was a little hard to get into the story. What I mean by that is it didn't give me the feeling to want to know what happens next. It didn't make me flip the page. I constantly stopped reading. But I really wanted to finish it and I heard that the end is mindblowing, so I thought maybe the end will make me want to read the next book which might be better than this one. Unfortunately, the ending did not change my opinion about this book.
I had a hard time connecting with the characters, especially Lia, the main protagonist. That's a huge problem for me because if I don't connect with the hero, I can't really enjoy the story a lot.
Surprisingly, I did not hate the love triangle. I find that it was alright and I didn't not favour one over the other. They are both pretty much on the same level.
Again, I wanted this book to make me want to know who she'll end up with, but it didn't.
I wanted to see more of the bad guys of the story, but I guess I will get that in the next books. However, as of right now, I don't really feel like reading the sequels.
I'm disappointed, for sure, but I don't blame the writing style or the author. This book is loved by so many and my review does not mean it's a bad book. I really wanted to like this novel because like I said, a lot really enjoyed it.
For my overall rating, I give this book a 3/5 stars.
About the author:
I suppose I have always been enamored with story and character. My mother tells me I could be the most annoying little kid, waking up each day as a new character. Every morning she would have to ask me "who" I was for that day, because unless properly addressed I refused to answer anyone.
One time when I was about four years old, my parents were out shopping at Sears. They each thought the other had me by the hand when in fact I was exploring my own aisle (translation: I was lost!) Two salesladies found me and sat me on the counter, asking me my name so they could page my parents. I remember their consternation when I would only answer "Little Red Riding Hood." They couldn't shake my real name out of me no how, no way. I knew the value of persistence even then. My parents say they nearly fell over, when over the loud speaker they heard, "Would the parents of Little Red Riding Hood please come claim their child?" They knew exactly "who" was lost. These days I mostly wake up as myself, though I do seem to hang out with a lot of "characters" during the day.
Usually when people mention their education in their bios they only mention their college degrees, but to me, it is just as important what happened way before that. Wow--second grade! I will never forget Mrs. Alsenz. Boy, could she tell a great story! She would make them up and pretty soon have a classroom of wiggly kids exuberantly telling stories right along with her. And then there was Mrs. Bonsey in fourth grade. She always praised my writing and made a shy little girl feel like she might actually excel at something. And finally in twelfth grade came Mr. Kirk, crusty on the outside with a heart of gold on the inside, who loved the English language and taught his students to do the same. (Hey, Mr. Kirk, do you see me waving at ya?)
Later I went on to get a BFA from Long Beach State University in art. I worked for a time as an artist then started the most challenging job of my life--motherhood. Holy smokes, no one told me there would be no coffee breaks. But it is the most rewarding job I have ever had (watch out--I'll start dragging out the pictures)
Still later, I went to San Diego State University where I received my teaching credential. I went on to teach many different grades but it was my second grade students who pushed me back into writing. During Writing Workshop I would sit with them and write, loving the process, loving the stories, and lo and behold deciding I would love to return to my first love. That's a whole lot of lovin' going on and luckily for me I was able to do just that. Not that writing is easy. I have a huge stack of rejections to prove it, but I still have enough of that Little Red Riding Hood persistence in me to keep on going.
Now I write full time from my home in San Diego. My books to date are The Adoration of Jenna Fox, A Room on Lorelei Street, Scribbler of Dreams, and David v. God. More are definitely on the way.
