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retrogirlreads's review
5.0
Princess Aymeri knew she would be queen, but she never expected the day to come so soon. When she wakes one day to find her mother murdered, Aymeri doesn’t know how to feel... all she knows is that she wants vengeance against the person who killed her mother. Little does Aymeri know that she comes from a long line of sentinel queens whose power protected just their kingdom, but many others. As Aymeri struggles to navigate ruling as well as the magick she never knew she had, she must also battle a dark sorceress who wants to take over all the kingdoms.
Oh my gosh, I absolutely adored this book! Aymeri’s character development across the course of the novel was astounding. She went from this scared little girl to a woman consumed by vengeance to a strong, confident queen. I loved it, and I’m here for it. Shaye’s writing is absolutely spectacular. I will definitely be continuing with this series!!!
I received a copy of this book from the author, and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Oh my gosh, I absolutely adored this book! Aymeri’s character development across the course of the novel was astounding. She went from this scared little girl to a woman consumed by vengeance to a strong, confident queen. I loved it, and I’m here for it. Shaye’s writing is absolutely spectacular. I will definitely be continuing with this series!!!
I received a copy of this book from the author, and am voluntarily leaving a review.
stephnm26's review
3.0
3.5 for sure! So. Much. Happening. I enjoyed every aspect of this first book and starting with a death? Wow.. but Aymeri is definitely relatable and on to book two!
natii4u's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
ksmarsden's review against another edition
1.0
When Princess Aymeri finds her mother murdered in her bed, she has to uncover all the secrets of her family and kingdom, to track down the murderer.
I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
This story follows Aymeri, the Princess of Treoles, a peaceful kingdom in the land of Dramolux.
Following the suspicious death of the Queen, many things come to light, that the princess was unaware of. War is coming to her borders, and Aymeri must discover the truth about her own family, and her own abilities. A truth that could easily save them, or doom them all.
She has the help of her handmaid, Jorlyn, and the handsome Prince Drystan of Brein. Aymeri has to figure out how much she can trust them.
This was a very light, easy to read story, so even though there are 400 pages, I found it a quick read.
I thought it was a realistic portrayal of grief. Poor Aymeri has to deal with losing her mother, the grief and suspicion, the drive to get answers about the many secrets her mother kept. She then has to piece together what clues she can, desperate to do the right thing, as her mother would have wanted.
The not-so-good.
I didn't like Aymeri.
To be more accurate, Aymeri is a nice enough girl, I just didn't believe her situation. I couldn't believe her lack of knowledge about everything. I couldn't believe her lack of connection with the people around her.
Aymeri is 23 years old, and the sole heir to the throne.
The very first scene is her dithering outside her mother's door, because she's always brought the Queen's breakfast, but the door is locked!
Aymeri is then told by the servants to go unlock it herself, because she has her own set of keys...
She just came across as childish throughout the story.
Aymeri always swears that her mother refused to start training her for leadership until she's a few years older. Come on, there's official training, and there's having eyes and ears. You'd think she'd pick stuff up after years of living in court.
But there's nothing.
Aymeri doesn't even know that Drystan is the Prince (technically King) of Brein, she doesn't know anything about his kingdom, despite them being neighbours, and all the time and resources the Queen has sent to them. She doesn't know that the Empress of Dramolux is threatening them with war.
In turn, we don't know anything about... anything.
I really didn't like how things were written retrospectively, as though we were supposed to know stuff.
Like... Aymeri's dead sister not being mentioned until 40% into the book.
Then it turns out she's not dead, and yay Aymeri totes has a sister. All the questions that arise - how could she be hidden for so long; how did she get her voice back; how is she doing mentally after such a long imprisonment; being the eldest sister does she become the heir? - are all swept aside, and she's barely featured again.
Aymeri also doesn't know where her dad came from, despite him being King of that kingdom...
Again, we don't know any different. We aren't given any information about her dad. So, the "big shock" of where he came from isn't really a shock at all. Why should it be shocking? We know eff-all about the kingdoms.
I felt that nothing happened in this book.
Yes, the writing is light and easy to follow, so that helped. But nothing happened.
Aymeri spends her time searching the palace, with Jorlyn and Drystan, until about 60%.
That's a lot of nothing, when there's no background being filled in; there's no character development; no interactions.
It does pick up a bit at the end, with the Bad Guys being transparently bad.
Overall, this book was not for me, and I don't think I'll continue the series.
I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
This story follows Aymeri, the Princess of Treoles, a peaceful kingdom in the land of Dramolux.
Following the suspicious death of the Queen, many things come to light, that the princess was unaware of. War is coming to her borders, and Aymeri must discover the truth about her own family, and her own abilities. A truth that could easily save them, or doom them all.
She has the help of her handmaid, Jorlyn, and the handsome Prince Drystan of Brein. Aymeri has to figure out how much she can trust them.
This was a very light, easy to read story, so even though there are 400 pages, I found it a quick read.
I thought it was a realistic portrayal of grief. Poor Aymeri has to deal with losing her mother, the grief and suspicion, the drive to get answers about the many secrets her mother kept. She then has to piece together what clues she can, desperate to do the right thing, as her mother would have wanted.
The not-so-good.
I didn't like Aymeri.
To be more accurate, Aymeri is a nice enough girl, I just didn't believe her situation. I couldn't believe her lack of knowledge about everything. I couldn't believe her lack of connection with the people around her.
Aymeri is 23 years old, and the sole heir to the throne.
The very first scene is her dithering outside her mother's door, because she's always brought the Queen's breakfast, but the door is locked!
Aymeri is then told by the servants to go unlock it herself, because she has her own set of keys...
She just came across as childish throughout the story.
Aymeri always swears that her mother refused to start training her for leadership until she's a few years older. Come on, there's official training, and there's having eyes and ears. You'd think she'd pick stuff up after years of living in court.
But there's nothing.
Aymeri doesn't even know that Drystan is the Prince (technically King) of Brein, she doesn't know anything about his kingdom, despite them being neighbours, and all the time and resources the Queen has sent to them. She doesn't know that the Empress of Dramolux is threatening them with war.
In turn, we don't know anything about... anything.
I really didn't like how things were written retrospectively, as though we were supposed to know stuff.
Like... Aymeri's dead sister not being mentioned until 40% into the book.
Then it turns out she's not dead, and yay Aymeri totes has a sister. All the questions that arise - how could she be hidden for so long; how did she get her voice back; how is she doing mentally after such a long imprisonment; being the eldest sister does she become the heir? - are all swept aside, and she's barely featured again.
Aymeri also doesn't know where her dad came from, despite him being King of that kingdom...
Again, we don't know any different. We aren't given any information about her dad. So, the "big shock" of where he came from isn't really a shock at all. Why should it be shocking? We know eff-all about the kingdoms.
I felt that nothing happened in this book.
Yes, the writing is light and easy to follow, so that helped. But nothing happened.
Aymeri spends her time searching the palace, with Jorlyn and Drystan, until about 60%.
That's a lot of nothing, when there's no background being filled in; there's no character development; no interactions.
It does pick up a bit at the end, with the Bad Guys being transparently bad.
Overall, this book was not for me, and I don't think I'll continue the series.
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