Princes and Fools Blog Tour: Review, Excerpt & Giveaway

Review

Princes and Fools (The Teller of Destiny #2) 

by A.H. De Carrasco

“My journey didn’t end with my entering this palace. I must own who I am, even if I must suffer through Lunule’s games… I cannot run away.”

Safe within Paz Etur’s palace, Raphere feels her luck about to change. After the hard-earned approval of the King’s Counselor, Raphere hopes the worst is over. Then she meets Prince Lunule. Opinionated, chauvinistic and more than a touch malicious,  Prince Lunule seems to enjoy making her life a constant hell.

Her missing mercenary, Rant Pae, cannot help her. She must find a way out of this situation on her own, before it becomes dangerous. Raphere is more than desperate to find the Jivan Tome now. She fears her life, her sanity, and her heart might depend on it.

*****

Two mortals hang in the balance. One covets the crown. The other left his family behind after a tragedy for which he is to blame. Both are irresistibly drawn to the Pikestan girl, Raphere, whose fierce heart imprisons them as they lay claim to her. Whether incited by love or power, the princes may find their reward at the sharp end of a sword.

 My Review:

I've just got to spit it out, I loved this book sooooooo much more than the first one! The characters were so developed and thought out and the storyline was amazing!

I'm going to start off with what I didn't like about the story, simply because there wasn't a lot and I want to get all of that out of the way so that I can gush over the good stuff. Like the first book, I still don't understand a lot of the magical aspects in the world. But unlike with From Continue, the sequel doesn't really need a lot of magical explanation. And that's it for the bad stuff, now let's get to the good parts!

So, I remember that I mentioned in my review of book number one how I was very fond of Rant Pae. Well, we're introduced to another male love interest who goes by the name Lunnule. Prince Lunnule in many ways reminds me of King Joffrey, but not in a bad way. Lunnule is used to getting what he wants, and it shows, and sometimes he needs to be slapped, with a baseball bat, but he's just such a cool character. This doesn't mean that I stopped liking Rant Pae. Even though he's mysteriously absent for the a good portion of the book, I still enjoyed his character, and in all honesty it'd be hard to pick out which one I like more. Raphere, who was hard to like before, is a completely new and different character in this book. She's daring and hot-headed and I was just so proud of her.

The plot of this book doesn't really take us on any long epic journeys, however it didn't really need to. We're pretty much focused on the royal court and all of the lords and ladies involved in said royal court. Of course, I've always wanted to be a princess, so this was a wonderful thing to read about. Plus, Papen's just so cute and energetic! (An excerpt featuring this character is down below.) I sped through Princes and Fools because of its magical ability to weave court intrigue and fantasy and I'm super glad that I did. Now I need to get to book #3. The author should NOT have left me hanging like that.

All in all, this book was really good. I'm definitely excited to pick up the next book and I encourage you to either get started on the series, or to stick it out. Trust me, it'll be worth it.

Genre: Young / New Adult Fantasy

Tour Organized by: Indie Sage, LLC

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Excerpt One from Teller of Destiny, Book Two:Prince and Fools

  

…Knowing she was safe, Rant had moved on with his life. It was as Raphere had expected. And dreaded.

“I—” Her voice caught in her throat as a deep melancholy gripped her. “I wish to be alone now.”

“Of course.” The wanderer bowed slightly. The wax pebble disappeared beyond her sleeve.

“Thank you for such good news.” Raphere’s voice sounded dead, even to her.

Tranquia went to her bedside and lifted Raphere’s arm. The wanderer studied the slightly raised pink blemishes, the fading remnants of her trip through the Veil.

“Let’s start your lessons tomorrow.” She lowered Raphere’s arm to the bedcovers then kindly touch her cheek. “You are ready to begin your life here as my student.”

Raphere nodded, her cheek pressed against the cool skin of the wanderer’s palm. Tranquia’s hand felt so soft, as if the woman had not known toil or hardship, in this lifetime at least.

After the wanderer had left, Raphere exhaled not realizing until then how tense she’d been. She bent her knees and pressed her thighs to her torso. An oppressive heaviness filled her stomach and pulled her downward. She had felt so when Mune’s limbs reverted to lifeless branches. She pressed the curve of her palms into the hollow of her eyes to keep them from springing tears.

What had she expected? A goodbye? He had never promised more than this journey. Mission completed, the mercenary carried on with his life, expecting her to do the same—without him.

A sob formed like an egg in her throat, but she stubbornly resisted releasing it. It hovered low, cutting off her air, leaving her voiceless like the night they had first met.

Truly, it had meant little to him. Spring and their summer journey together played over in her mind. He had toyed with her affection when Verisa tired of him, he had distanced himself when Tully was near, he had spurned her outside the swamps, and he had even laughed when talking of their kisses. How could she have been so stupid?

Too powerful, the sob broke free and Raphere gasped. Rolling onto her stomach, she wiped her wet nose with the sleeve of her nightgown. No tears!

Resting her chin on her folded arms, she remembered when Rant had killed Hopf to protect her. Why? Maybe she would never know.

Such torments plagued her head. Raphere burrowed her nose into her pillow and growled in frustration, pressing her fists to her temples so tightly, she barely heard the scratching noises coming from the balcony outside. She tried to ignore the sound, but after a few moments it reoccurred, this time louder, and continued. Belatedly, she realized someone was climbing over her balcony.

Lifting onto her elbows she covered her mouth with her hands, stifling a happy squeak. Rant! He had come to see her!

She hopped out of bed. How could she have doubted him? Grinning she rushed to the doors and swung them open, only to find a boy with one foot over the railing. They both screamed. For a moment she saw his terrified expression before the boy toppled off the balcony. Tree branches broke his fall, and he landed on his rump in the leafy foliage below. He quickly jumped back to his feet and brushed himself off, twigs sticking every which way in his sandy-brown hair.

“Truly, I didn’t mean to alarm you,” he explained from the ground. “I just didn’t know you’d look so horrible.”

Raphere sucked in her breath as disappointment changed to outrage. Her brow furrowed deeply, dimpling her swollen face. “What did you say?” she demanded. And the brat repeated his words precisely.

“You—you nasty wretch!”

His jaw dropped open nearly to his knees. His hands lifted to his slight hips.

“I am not a wretch! I’m Papen, the king’s son.”

Raphere inched closer to the railing. He didn’t look like a prince. His clothes resembled a stable hand’s rags.

“And that gives you the right to joke about a woman’s misfortune?”

“No, but you’re not a woman. You’re too young, too lanky.” He smiled impishly. “You have lumps in the wrong places.”

Raphere slammed the balcony doors and sought her bed. She covered her head with a pillow to block out his protests outside. Desperately, she wished it had been Rant on her balcony. Such a foolish hope! She suffered alone; completely alone but for a silly, obnoxious stable boy caterwauling under her balcony.

His howling stopped only to be replaced by the sharp tap of stones thrown at the window. She jumped out of bed and yelled, “Enough! Go away!”

Finally, silence answered her. With a miserable sigh, she fell back upon her bed and stared at the canopy.

Rant wasn’t coming. He had left her to a new life. Was her purpose now to live in this palace and learn from a woman she didn’t trust? What had been a firm certitude a week ago, a force that resisted a powerful Dark Lord and pulled Raphere through the swamps to stand bitter and ragged before the court, suddenly crumbled like burnt bread.

She worried herself to sleep, pining for her mercenary prince who, she was most certain, didn’t give a damn about her anymore.

About the Author

A. H. De Carrasco embarked upon the writer’s journey at a young age, writing illustrated fan fiction for her grade school classmates’ favorite shows. Several decades later, she is publishing her collection of fantasy novels for teenagers and adults. Lately, she writes beside a waterfall as her husband tests his goggles and flippers. Her cats look on in displeasure from the screen door, but purr happily when she writes at her desk. 

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  *Note: I received a copy of this book to review from the publisher. This in no way altered my opinion/review.