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blakeandbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I feel mixed emotions about this one.
What I liked: I loved all of the representation in this book! Cade is a transgender prince, and Valencia/Gael is a bigender person who is both a dama for the princess and an assassin. There is also chronic pain and disability representation that I appreciated so much!! Cade uses an enchanted owl staff called Faolan + Val uses a cane. The scene where they are dancing? I loved it, getting their POVs of what it was like to dance with once another and be attentive to each others disabilities was so cool. I really enjoyed them falling in love too. I loved the time with the monks, and I wish those scenes were longer!!
What I didn’t like: There were so many parts where I had no idea what was going on in terms of placement in the story and plot. A chapter would end with Valencia and another would start with Cade, and I felt like I needed to go back because I didn’t understand and felt like I was missing information and context. It just felt so choppy, which was really disappointing! I think I would’ve enjoyed it more had it been a bit longer to create more world building and discussion around the enchantment that their parents were under + if the ending wasn’t so rushed.
Overall, I definitely think this is a read to still keep on your radar, especially if you’re wanting more representation in your reading experience.
What I liked: I loved all of the representation in this book! Cade is a transgender prince, and Valencia/Gael is a bigender person who is both a dama for the princess and an assassin. There is also chronic pain and disability representation that I appreciated so much!! Cade uses an enchanted owl staff called Faolan + Val uses a cane. The scene where they are dancing? I loved it, getting their POVs of what it was like to dance with once another and be attentive to each others disabilities was so cool. I really enjoyed them falling in love too. I loved the time with the monks, and I wish those scenes were longer!!
What I didn’t like: There were so many parts where I had no idea what was going on in terms of placement in the story and plot. A chapter would end with Valencia and another would start with Cade, and I felt like I needed to go back because I didn’t understand and felt like I was missing information and context. It just felt so choppy, which was really disappointing! I think I would’ve enjoyed it more had it been a bit longer to create more world building and discussion around the enchantment that their parents were under + if the ending wasn’t so rushed.
Overall, I definitely think this is a read to still keep on your radar, especially if you’re wanting more representation in your reading experience.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Murder, Transphobia, Violence, War, Death, and Ableism
lastblossom's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
tl;dr
Mistaken identity combined with enemies-to-lovers make for a high drama story in a competently built fantasy world.
Thoughts
I started reading this book while waiting on a work call, and then I spent the entire actual call wondering when I could get back to the book (sorry, boss). The story hooked me from the first page, and kept up at a fast pace all the way through. I love a mistaken identity plot, and the delicious twists of our two leads each mistaking each other adds so much drama to the proceedings. The world building's strength is its politics and culture, with Spanish and Irish terms sprinkled in to differentiate the two kingdoms. The monastery where Cade lived was easily my favorite part, as a thoughtful and thorough way to write queerness in an alternate world. In comparison, the magic system is somewhat underdeveloped, which lead to a couple points of confusion. The middle of the book where the POVs switch off regularly also has a few jumps in the timeline that I couldn't always follow. The relationship between our leads takes the majority of the focus, with an enemies-to-lovers narrative, and lots of political maneuvering for them and the supporting cast. The end hints that there may be more to come, but it ties up all the plot threads very neatly, so this can be read as a standalone without any problems.
Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for an advance copy! All thoughts in this review are my own.
Mistaken identity combined with enemies-to-lovers make for a high drama story in a competently built fantasy world.
Thoughts
I started reading this book while waiting on a work call, and then I spent the entire actual call wondering when I could get back to the book (sorry, boss). The story hooked me from the first page, and kept up at a fast pace all the way through. I love a mistaken identity plot, and the delicious twists of our two leads each mistaking each other adds so much drama to the proceedings. The world building's strength is its politics and culture, with Spanish and Irish terms sprinkled in to differentiate the two kingdoms. The monastery where Cade lived was easily my favorite part, as a thoughtful and thorough way to write queerness in an alternate world. In comparison, the magic system is somewhat underdeveloped, which lead to a couple points of confusion. The middle of the book where the POVs switch off regularly also has a few jumps in the timeline that I couldn't always follow. The relationship between our leads takes the majority of the focus, with an enemies-to-lovers narrative, and lots of political maneuvering for them and the supporting cast. The end hints that there may be more to come, but it ties up all the plot threads very neatly, so this can be read as a standalone without any problems.
Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for an advance copy! All thoughts in this review are my own.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Blood, and Ableism
Minor: Death of parent and Transphobia
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