A review by kateslowreads
The Conjurer Princess by Vivian Vande Velde

1.0

Vande Velde likes to play with irony and moral ambiguity, but the problem with her nihilistic tack is that somewhere in the midst of this novel, nothing seemed to matter anymore. Near the beginning of the book, Lylene receives her wizarding power (note: one crappy power) through something suspiciously like a demonic summoning ritual, and in exchange ages eighty years. She can will away the years onto other people to make herself younger, but what kind of jerk would do that, right? Apparently, the main character. And not on bad guys, no, she wills a few years away to random villagers, shopkeepers and even the mercenaries that help her. The plot seemed very weak in this book, and the characters’ struggles rather pointless, which left me a very unimpressed reader.