Synopsis:

THE CHOSEN ONE IS DEAD.

Speak the truth.
That is what Elenor has been taught to value above all else, but when her brother dies, leaving her next in line for the Throne of Lirin, truth becomes a matter of opinion.

Stand for what is right.
Gabriel thought his years of fighting against oppression were over when he agreed to assassinate the royal family. He never expected to end up helping one of them.

As the carefully woven webs of deception surrounding Elenor and Gabriel begin to unravel, Princess and Rebel must set aside their differences and work together for the sake of the Kingdom they both love.

Meanwhile, from the rainy streets of Lirin to the scorching dunes of the Mondaer Desert, the ripples of their actions have inadvertently broken a chain of events five centuries in the making. Ancient forces move in the shadows, calling in debts and striking deals. A monster with a thousand faces fingers his knife, ready to kill, and a pair of fugitives run for their lives.

With Magic itself misbehaving and old alliances crumbling to dust, it is up to an unlikely group of friends and enemies to pick up the pieces the chosen one left behind.

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Wow! I loved this book!

I went into this novel with the misconception that this is a YA novel. It’s not. Which becomes evident on the very first page with the first of many F bombs.

This book begins with an assassination attempt on the current monarchs. The Crown Prince, Wilam, has been working with the Rebellion to bring about the downfall of his tyrant father and incompetent mother. All seems to be going well until his sister, Elenor, saves her father’s life. Wilam is murdered, one of the rebels dies, another tries to kidnap Elenor only to be poisoned by her and the entire plot is ruined.

The world is shaken by the Prince’s death. Plans that revolved around him are now in ruins.

Although I really liked this book, there were a couple things that I could have lived without. There is a rather large amount swearing in this novel, especially the F word. I also could have survived just fine without the um…”sex” scene. It was exactly sex but close enough. I don’t think it was totally necessary to further the relationship between those two characters.

What I liked far out weighs what I didn’t. The characters are all interesting and unique. Fay was my least favorite character, but I didn’t completely hate her. I really felt like Elenor grew as both a person and a future queen through the novel. I would have loved to know more about Gabriel but given his situation in this book, it’s easy to understand why he wouldn’t have much growth. There’s definitely room for that in the sequel.

The world building was great, though there’s still room for more. I didn’t totally understand the magic system as first as it’s referred to “rifting” but after a while it became more clear. I loved how the gods were real tangible beings that interacted with their “chosen” people to further their own plans.

The way the plot is woven, and all the little lies and deceptions are slowly revealed or made clear is masterful! At about the midway point, certain characters come together and Elenor learns more of what is really going in her kingdom. Her internal and physical struggles feel so real, she’s easy to relate to, even if she was a bit annoying at first.

It was great that there’s LGBTQ representation in this book and it doesn’t seem to be taboo in this world.

I absolutely cannot wait for the sequel!

My thanks to the author for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

My rating for this book is 4.5 our of 5 stars and I recommend it to anyone who loves fantasy, character driven novels and fast paced and intricate plots.

Thanks for reading!