(Ravenspire #2)
Publication
Date: February 14, 2017
Hardcover, 432 pages, Balzer + Bray
Genres:
YA, Fantasy, Fairytale Retellings
The world has turned upside down
for Thad and Ari Glavan, the bastard twins of Súndraille’s king. Their mother
was murdered. The royal family died mysteriously. And now Thad sits on the
throne of a kingdom whose streets are suddenly overrun with violence he can’t
stop.
Growing up ignored by the nobility,
Ari never wanted to be a proper princess. And when Thad suddenly starts
training Ari to take his place, she realizes that her brother’s ascension to
the throne wasn’t fate. It was the work of a Wish Granter named Alistair Teague
who tricked Thad into wishing away both the safety of his people and his soul
in exchange for the crown.
So Ari recruits the help of Thad’s
enigmatic new weapons master, Sebastian Vaughn, to teach her how to fight
Teague. With secret ties to Teague’s criminal empire, Sebastian might just hold
the key to discovering Alistair’s weaknesses, saving Ari’s brother—and herself.
But Teague is ruthless and more
than ready to destroy anyone who dares stand in his way—and now he has his
sights set on the princess. And if Ari can’t outwit him, she’ll lose Sebastian,
her brother…and her soul.
My Review
I’ve been reading C.J. Redwine’s books since she first
released Defiance oh-so-many-years
ago. So, it’s no surprise that I picked this one up. What is a surprise is why
it took me so long to actually sit down and read it. I knew I was going to
enjoy it, yet, I still kept putting it off.
What I liked about this book mainly had to do with the
romance aspect of the storyline, not because the other aspects were bad, I just
really enjoyed reading a fantasy/fairytale retelling that A) didn’t involve a
girl falling for a prince, and B) two young characters who grow to care about
each other after having been friends first. It was so cute to see Ari the
princess put Sebastian in his place, and vice versa. They have a good dynamic
going.
While their relationship strongly carried the story, I also
loved how each character had a well-written backstory. I very much enjoyed how
complicated Sebastian’s past was. His arc throughout the book feels so real.
Ari, on the other hand, doesn’t have as real of a backstory, but how
complicated her family history is as the bastard daughter of the king was
fascinating.
As for the plot of the book, that’s where things went
slightly downhill for me. And when I say slightly, I mean only enough to keep
me from reading the entire book in one sitting. I just had to parcel my reading
out in chunks of 50-100 pages versus binge-reading it all.
Alistair Teague, aka Rumpelstiltskin, wasn’t the best
villain. He was okay, but his overall schemes didn’t pack as much wallop as I
was hoping. Thus, the fight against him was a little less impactful than The Shadow Queen’s. He’s still terrible,
but less terrible than I wished for.
All in all, if you’re looking for a fairytale story to fill
in some of your Once Upon a Time
gaps, this book and its predecessor are definitely for you. You’ll root for the
main characters and curse C.J. Redwine for ever causing them harm.
*Note: I purchased
a copy of this book for myself. This in no way affected my opinion/review.
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