Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: Young adult fantasy
Length: 421 pages
Author: M.L. Greye
Publisher: Self-published
Release Date: January 18th, 2019
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads
BOOK SUMMARY:
Emry is a Royal – a princess of Enlennd. As is tradition, she must have a knight at her side as her protector. The only way to appoint one is through The Trials. Her Challengers from the five regions of Enlennd must compete for the infamous title of Princess’s Knight. The problem, though, is that the people of Enlennd are split into two categories: Rioters and Royals. Finding the perfect knight may be the last of her worries. War is coming to Enlennd.
Declan is a Rioter. An upriser. An anarchist. He mistrusts the Jewels – the sovereign family of Enlennd. Yet, he is offering himself up as a Challenger in The Trials. The Mistress, leader of the Rioters, has a mission for him. The first step is for him to become the Princess’s Knight. He is ready for the task, until he actually meets Emry and discovers that betraying her would be much more difficult than he’d thought.
Thank you to the author for a digital copy of the book in exchange for a review! All opinions are my own.
I’M INTO THIS.
I really adored this book y’all.
The world building had a unique point that I hadn’t seen so woven through the story before. Color defining eyes. All sorts of crazy colors and combinations that give the person with those eyes a unique set of skills. I thought this was fascinating and loved learning all of the different gifts it allow a person to have. It was easy to follow the differing nations and even though a third party was thrown in at the end I believe they’ll really play a part in book two allowing this story to grow even larger.
I was smitten with the romance too. Declan and Emry were such a sweet and precious couple. The trope was along the lines of a childhood romance. They had known each other prior then were separated for years to be thrown back together when Emry was in search for a Knight. I enjoyed their banter and watching them come together as a power couple. They were able to communicate and love one another for who they are. The idea of pairs (a play on mates) worked really well for this too.
At times I felt there was too much focus on describing rooms, landscapes, etc. I personally don’t like having a lot of flowery writing and want to get to the heart of the story and narrative. By the second half of the book I felt this was really the case. I also noticed that somethings were along the lines of ACOTAR Series (A Court of Thorns and Roses). Which was very interesting to me. I have no idea if this was inspired by that or anything, I just noticed some quirks that were familiar. This didn’t stop me from loving the story on its own though.
I appreciated that the plot kept moving forward with steady action, but also the quiet moments that I love so much. I love watching relationships form, families get some time together, and friendships bond. This had all of that and more. I can’t wait to read book two!
Overall audience notes:
- Young adult fantasy
- Language: none
- Romance: kisses, a no-detailed fade to black scene
- Violence: physical, mentions of past torture, magic, fires, drownings, explosions, skirmishes
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