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bookph1le's review against another edition
4.0
A really fun read. Full review to come closer to release date.
alyssaindira's review against another edition
5.0
Okay, i have finally finished the Shadow Prince by Bree Despain. So this story was amzing, thrilling, and obviously had a spice of romance. It left me on the edge of my seat and begging for more.Sadly i dont know when ill be able to read the sequel. However i enjoyed this book and was glad i was able to come along for the journey bound within the pages.
books4susie's review against another edition
5.0
Shazam! The story is creative in itself but all of the twists, turns and revelations at the end made it fantastic. Better than the Dark Devine series and I cannot wait to get my hands on book two.
ninjabunneh's review against another edition
2.0
I'll just come right out and say it so you don't run after me with pitchforks later.
***Spoiler Fucking Alert***
Damn. This book started out so good. First chapter in gives us Haden, disgraced son of King Ren of the Underrealm. Haden gets chosen by the Oracle to complete a quest in the Overrealm, much to the disdain of his twin (asshole) brother as well as his father. His quest? To bring back a Boon, a girl. Not just any girl. A very important one. One that is the key to saving the Underrealm. A Cypher. In other words, the fate of Haden's world rests on his shoulders and if he cannot complete his task he's pretty much shit out of luck. Dear daddy will probably kill him and brother will take over the throne. Haden is somewhat egotistical, but at the same time vulnerable. I knew he'd be my cuppa.
How. Fucking. Awesome. Underlords and mythology? This was like book porn. Complete with unicorn rainbows.
Then I met Daphne and the book went to hell in a hand basket. Literally. Daphne is the chick that Haden is supposed to bring back to the Underrealm. She started out ok. Lives in a small town, mom is a bit overbearing and doesn't really allow her to leave the town. For anything. Ever.Red flag? No? Um, yeh.
Of course she isn't a happy camper about being stuck in this tiny town and wishes to venture out into the wild blue yonder. Why? Because she can sing. Not only can she sing, she is really really really really great at it. Really. Like American Idol great. Uh-huh. Fuck, yeh. She also had this slightly odd talent of reading people in tones. Yes, people give off musical tones only she can hear and that helps her learn what type of person that individual is. She can also do this with trees and animals.
Anywhoo, about five seconds after meeting Daphne, we learn what a moron and a half she is. Her dear old deadbeat dad whom she hasn't seen in years pops by. Not only does he pop by, but he says he now has custody of her! What?!?!! Oh yes. Some judge has given him custody of his daughter he hasn't given a shit about for the majority of her life. What does Daphne do? Does she:
A) Tell dad to fuck off.
B) Leave with her mom and get a good lawyer.
C) Both A&B
Or
D) Abandon her mom and go off with a man she doesn't even know.
The answer is............. D!!!!!
Why does she go? Well, dear old dad is a rock star and he has bought a rock star like house in a extremely wealthy area. This area is complete with a super wealthy private school that, guess what? Has a super wealthy music program! And he managed to get her in! The name of this utopia is Olympus Hills.Cue in Captain Obvious.
Off our super special singer goes and, in the meantime, Haden also magically appears in Olympus Hills because the gate to the Underrealm coincidentally exists there.
Now it's Haden's job to convince Daphne to go with him to the Underrealm. Not to go into long boring details (because then you may as well read the damn book), the whole relationship is just meh. The romance is non-existent. We have the typical electricity cracklings when they touch and such. Haden gets more and more like a puppy dog which was disappointing. Daphne is just like an emotionless vessel, and really boring. Maybe I've gotten spoiled lately with all the kick ass heroines I've been reading, but she's a snooze fest.
There's one action scene in the whole book pretty much. The rest is hearing about Daphne's musical talent and Haden swooning over her voice. If you know a bit about the mythology, it's easy to figure out the connections. The one thing that makes no sense at all is why Daphne's mom? We meet her for all of two minutes and are given no reasons why she bore this incredibly important child. It's spoon feeding and we should just swallow it. Nope. Not this chick. Sorry.
The book was also filled with incredibly obvious plot twists. I saw every single one of them coming. From Daphne's dad having made a deal with the devil so to speak, to the missing Boon aka sister of Daphne's friend. What started out as such a potentially awesome book, became YA predictability. I refuse to use the excuse that it's just YA and I should take it as such. No. I've read many YA books that are balls to the wall fucktabulous.
2 Ninja-Bunnehs-Throwing-Lightning-Bolts
(Arc was given to me in exchange for an honest review.)
***Spoiler Fucking Alert***
Damn. This book started out so good. First chapter in gives us Haden, disgraced son of King Ren of the Underrealm. Haden gets chosen by the Oracle to complete a quest in the Overrealm, much to the disdain of his twin (asshole) brother as well as his father. His quest? To bring back a Boon, a girl. Not just any girl. A very important one. One that is the key to saving the Underrealm. A Cypher. In other words, the fate of Haden's world rests on his shoulders and if he cannot complete his task he's pretty much shit out of luck. Dear daddy will probably kill him and brother will take over the throne. Haden is somewhat egotistical, but at the same time vulnerable. I knew he'd be my cuppa.
How. Fucking. Awesome. Underlords and mythology? This was like book porn. Complete with unicorn rainbows.
Then I met Daphne and the book went to hell in a hand basket. Literally. Daphne is the chick that Haden is supposed to bring back to the Underrealm. She started out ok. Lives in a small town, mom is a bit overbearing and doesn't really allow her to leave the town. For anything. Ever.
Of course she isn't a happy camper about being stuck in this tiny town and wishes to venture out into the wild blue yonder. Why? Because she can sing. Not only can she sing, she is really really really really great at it. Really. Like American Idol great. Uh-huh. Fuck, yeh. She also had this slightly odd talent of reading people in tones. Yes, people give off musical tones only she can hear and that helps her learn what type of person that individual is. She can also do this with trees and animals.
Anywhoo, about five seconds after meeting Daphne, we learn what a moron and a half she is. Her dear old deadbeat dad whom she hasn't seen in years pops by. Not only does he pop by, but he says he now has custody of her! What?!?!! Oh yes. Some judge has given him custody of his daughter he hasn't given a shit about for the majority of her life. What does Daphne do? Does she:
A) Tell dad to fuck off.
B) Leave with her mom and get a good lawyer.
C) Both A&B
Or
D) Abandon her mom and go off with a man she doesn't even know.
The answer is............. D!!!!!
Why does she go? Well, dear old dad is a rock star and he has bought a rock star like house in a extremely wealthy area. This area is complete with a super wealthy private school that, guess what? Has a super wealthy music program! And he managed to get her in! The name of this utopia is Olympus Hills.
Off our super special singer goes and, in the meantime, Haden also magically appears in Olympus Hills because the gate to the Underrealm coincidentally exists there.
Now it's Haden's job to convince Daphne to go with him to the Underrealm. Not to go into long boring details (because then you may as well read the damn book), the whole relationship is just meh. The romance is non-existent. We have the typical electricity cracklings when they touch and such. Haden gets more and more like a puppy dog which was disappointing. Daphne is just like an emotionless vessel, and really boring. Maybe I've gotten spoiled lately with all the kick ass heroines I've been reading, but she's a snooze fest.
There's one action scene in the whole book pretty much. The rest is hearing about Daphne's musical talent and Haden swooning over her voice. If you know a bit about the mythology, it's easy to figure out the connections. The one thing that makes no sense at all is why Daphne's mom? We meet her for all of two minutes and are given no reasons why she bore this incredibly important child. It's spoon feeding and we should just swallow it. Nope. Not this chick. Sorry.
The book was also filled with incredibly obvious plot twists. I saw every single one of them coming. From Daphne's dad having made a deal with the devil so to speak, to the missing Boon aka sister of Daphne's friend. What started out as such a potentially awesome book, became YA predictability. I refuse to use the excuse that it's just YA and I should take it as such. No. I've read many YA books that are balls to the wall fucktabulous.
2 Ninja-Bunnehs-Throwing-Lightning-Bolts
(Arc was given to me in exchange for an honest review.)
jeslyncat's review against another edition
3.0
I am a sucker for any type of myth retelling, but I literally can't stop myself from reading anything that has to do with the Persephone/Hades myth. For real. So here we are. This book was really 3 1/2 stars, but not quite 4 stars. So thanks to Goodreads' crappy system, it's getting three stars. There were some minor annoyances, but a lot of these are specific to me, for example I hate when exclamations are altered for a different cultural norm, for example, this book uses "harpies" instead of say, "God!" or other Underworld slang. I felt it was overused, and fairly annoying. There were also some inconsistencies in what Haden knows. He makes some pretty adamant statements about having never heard music before--not even knowing what it is, but then everyone knows that it's banned, and later, he recalls a lullaby his mother sang for him. I'll write a longer, joint review once I finish .
amethystbookwyrm's review against another edition
3.0
This and my other reviews can be found at http://amethystbookwyrm.blogspot.co.uk/
Thanks to Edelweiss and EgmontUSA for giving me this book to review.
Haden is the shunned prince of the Underrealm, but he, instead of his favoured twin brother, is chosen by the oracle to be sent to the Olympus Hills in the mortal realm. His job is to gain the trust of one girl in 6 months and bring her back as the boon to the Underrealm. All Daphne Raines want to be is a singer and move away from her tiny town. Her wishes are granted when her absent rock star dad sends her to Olympus Hills and the schools renowned music programme. Haden has to find a way to woo Daphne, but this is difficult as she distrusts him, he is new to this world and might have to become more human. Fate has Daphne and Haden’s destiny’s entwined and their decisions could affect both their worlds.
The Shadow Prince is a good paranormal novel with interesting Greek mythology. However, while good, it is predictable as there was no unexpected surprises and a bit forgettable.
I like Daphne as she likes to be in control but, like Lexie says in the book, she is a natural and finds everything easy which makes her really hard to relate to her. Haden grew on me during the book, as at the beginning I did not really like him, but as he struggled with becoming more human he got better.
I am interested to find out what happens next to Daphne and Haden in the next book. I would recommend The Shadow Prince to fans of YA paranormal book or books about Greek Mythology.
Thanks to Edelweiss and EgmontUSA for giving me this book to review.
Haden is the shunned prince of the Underrealm, but he, instead of his favoured twin brother, is chosen by the oracle to be sent to the Olympus Hills in the mortal realm. His job is to gain the trust of one girl in 6 months and bring her back as the boon to the Underrealm. All Daphne Raines want to be is a singer and move away from her tiny town. Her wishes are granted when her absent rock star dad sends her to Olympus Hills and the schools renowned music programme. Haden has to find a way to woo Daphne, but this is difficult as she distrusts him, he is new to this world and might have to become more human. Fate has Daphne and Haden’s destiny’s entwined and their decisions could affect both their worlds.
The Shadow Prince is a good paranormal novel with interesting Greek mythology. However, while good, it is predictable as there was no unexpected surprises and a bit forgettable.
I like Daphne as she likes to be in control but, like Lexie says in the book, she is a natural and finds everything easy which makes her really hard to relate to her. Haden grew on me during the book, as at the beginning I did not really like him, but as he struggled with becoming more human he got better.
I am interested to find out what happens next to Daphne and Haden in the next book. I would recommend The Shadow Prince to fans of YA paranormal book or books about Greek Mythology.
nzkiwishen's review against another edition
4.0
Liked the book overall. I definitely will keep reading the series. Probably closer to a 3.5 star book, but I really liked the character development throughout the book.
noolna's review against another edition
2.0
Actual Rating: 1.5 stars
Haden Lord is the most whiney and insufferable leading protagonist I have ever encountered. Daphne Raines is just as insufferable, but thankfully not as whiney—though she does have her moments, but Haden out does her. The Shadow Prince suffers from weak characters with very little character development and a plot with so much potential but unfortunately falls incredibly short.
As you all know, I’m a complete sucker for Greek mythology, which is why I got drawn into The Shadow Prince to begin with. One of my favourite stories is that of Hades and Persephone, so obviously I am all about this life. However, I was sold a dream and it will remain a dream because this was not what I was expecting.
The world building I felt was non-existent. Honestly, using a Greek myth and combining it with the modern world does not mean you are allowed to be lazy with the world that you are creating. Also, a lot of the world building is done through Haden’s whiney info-dumps, which does nothing for the world that Despain is trying to create. In these moments, there is no life given to the world created and Haden becomes unbearable. I also don’t like that there isn’t a real explanation given to what a boon is, like what? :|
Bree Despain’s writing is medicore, and just enough to keep the story flowing and keeping you interested. I honestly only held on until the end because I will suffer through horrible, horrible things if only to get any kind of Greek mythology fantasy book. When I say horrible, horrible things I mean all of the dreaded YA clichés, you will find in this book. I did a lot of eye-rolling because, seriously, you’re just bombarded with them.
Haden Lord is such an awful character, he is seriously sooooooooooo bad. He is so incredibly whiney, and I often found myself frustrated with him. I made so many notes in my iBooks about his whining and telling him to stfu, because seriously … so annoying. Daphne does have her moments, but Haden’s definitely out did hers. My main beef with Haden is that he would always have a spiel about proving his father wrong, about bringing honour back to his name, etc. etc. and then LITERALLY five seconds later he is all, oh woe is me, I am ashamed of who I am, etc. etc. I mean … what? No. Stop. You are useless.
Daphne was as expected of a Mary-Sue. For the majority of the book, though, I was concerned about how UNCONCERNED she was about not having her cell phone. What teenaged girl does not freak out about that shit?
Despite the low rating and how much I ragged on Haden, I am interested to see where Despain takes the rest of the series. Therefore, I am most likely going to read the next book in this series.
Haden Lord is the most whiney and insufferable leading protagonist I have ever encountered. Daphne Raines is just as insufferable, but thankfully not as whiney—though she does have her moments, but Haden out does her. The Shadow Prince suffers from weak characters with very little character development and a plot with so much potential but unfortunately falls incredibly short.
As you all know, I’m a complete sucker for Greek mythology, which is why I got drawn into The Shadow Prince to begin with. One of my favourite stories is that of Hades and Persephone, so obviously I am all about this life. However, I was sold a dream and it will remain a dream because this was not what I was expecting.
The world building I felt was non-existent. Honestly, using a Greek myth and combining it with the modern world does not mean you are allowed to be lazy with the world that you are creating. Also, a lot of the world building is done through Haden’s whiney info-dumps, which does nothing for the world that Despain is trying to create. In these moments, there is no life given to the world created and Haden becomes unbearable. I also don’t like that there isn’t a real explanation given to what a boon is, like what? :|
Bree Despain’s writing is medicore, and just enough to keep the story flowing and keeping you interested. I honestly only held on until the end because I will suffer through horrible, horrible things if only to get any kind of Greek mythology fantasy book. When I say horrible, horrible things I mean all of the dreaded YA clichés, you will find in this book. I did a lot of eye-rolling because, seriously, you’re just bombarded with them.
Haden Lord is such an awful character, he is seriously sooooooooooo bad. He is so incredibly whiney, and I often found myself frustrated with him. I made so many notes in my iBooks about his whining and telling him to stfu, because seriously … so annoying. Daphne does have her moments, but Haden’s definitely out did hers. My main beef with Haden is that he would always have a spiel about proving his father wrong, about bringing honour back to his name, etc. etc. and then LITERALLY five seconds later he is all, oh woe is me, I am ashamed of who I am, etc. etc. I mean … what? No. Stop. You are useless.
Daphne was as expected of a Mary-Sue. For the majority of the book, though, I was concerned about how UNCONCERNED she was about not having her cell phone. What teenaged girl does not freak out about that shit?
Despite the low rating and how much I ragged on Haden, I am interested to see where Despain takes the rest of the series. Therefore, I am most likely going to read the next book in this series.
angparc's review against another edition
4.0
The Shadow Prince de Bree Despain.
Siendo super sincero con ustedes este libro tiene muchísimas fallas, pero es mitología griega, y me gustó mucho, so-
Siendo super sincero con ustedes este libro tiene muchísimas fallas, pero es mitología griega, y me gustó mucho, so-
sqeeker's review against another edition
5.0
- This has been sitting on my nightstand since the launch party, and I am kicking myself for not reading it sooner. I loved it!
- This is my new favorite Hades and Persephone story. It had everything: action, romance, friendships, mystery, tension, music, great characters, and a great story.
- The plot was really well done. It was intricate and interwoven. I was hooked from the beginning, and the ending delivered.
- I loved every character. They were all great, and each have their own roles to play. I suspect some characters will play bigger roles later.
- I have nothing bad to say about this book. Just gush gush gush!
- This is my new favorite Hades and Persephone story. It had everything: action, romance, friendships, mystery, tension, music, great characters, and a great story.
- The plot was really well done. It was intricate and interwoven. I was hooked from the beginning, and the ending delivered.
- I loved every character. They were all great, and each have their own roles to play. I suspect some characters will play bigger roles later.
- I have nothing bad to say about this book. Just gush gush gush!