Author: Eilis O'Neal
Release Date: January 25th, 2011
Publisher: EgmontUSA
Pages: 319
Edition: Hardcover
Cover Judge: It's very typical (half-face cover) but I really like that the locket shows her face!
Quote Choice: I LOVE THAT SCENE SO BAD.
Goodreads: Link
Princess and heir to the throne of Thorvaldor, Nalia's led a privileged life at court. But everything changes when it's revealed, just after her sixteenth birthday, that she is a false princess, a stand-in for the real Nalia, who has been hidden away for her protection. Cast out with little more than the clothes on her back, the girl now called Sinda must leave behind the city of Vivaskari, her best friend, Keirnan, and the only life she's ever known.
Sinda is sent to live with her only surviving relative, an aunt who is a dyer in a distant village. She is a cold, scornful woman with little patience for her newfound niece, and Sinda proves inept at even the simplest tasks. But when Sinda discovers that magic runs through her veins - long-suppressed, dangerous magic that she must learn to control - she realizes that she can never learn to be a simple village girl.
Returning to Vivaskari for answers, Sinda finds her purpose as a wizard scribe, rediscovers the boy who saw her all along, and uncovers a secret that could change the course of Thorvaldor's history, forever.
*KICK-ASS HIGH FANTASY ALERT*
Okay, here's the deal: Sinda has been a princess her entire life. She's kind of clumsy, not too graceful, but she's sweet and kind and stubborn, all good qualities for someone who will rule. That is, until her parents let her know that they're not her parents and she's just been a stand-in for the REAL princess, who's arriving in a few days. So, with almost no money and stripped of her title, she is sent to live with her aunt and in a tumble of crazy things, sent on a magical quest to find out about this prophecy that made her a False Princess in the first place.
THIS PLOT GUYS. I absolutely love love love the idea of a Fake Princess and Sinda was the best there is! She was fierce and loving and she had some guts, going on this crazy journey even though at the very beginning, she knows the consequences. Instantly you and Sinda are thrown out into the streets of Thorvaldor and the pace quickly picks up from there. Sinda has no idea how to be a peasant or...well, anything besides a princess and I loved seeing her overcome the struggle that came with finding out everything you loved and had was...well, not yours. I imagine that must be one of the craziest things: to realize your life wasn't ever yours. The way Sinda deals with it is intelligent and so realistic for a teenager who just realized how lonely she was (with the exception of Keirnan, of course, BUT THAT'S FOR LATER) and just how she's going to deal with that.
O'Neal has the kind of writing style that flows with such an ease that pace was never a problem. I never felt bored or robbed of details and everything was descriptive without being too wordy and full of that purple prose. It had a fairy-tale-esque quality to it that I definitely appreciated; lyrical with a dash of dangerous adventure. Also: MAGIC GUYS. Sinda finds out early on she is a magician and she gets taken in by this awesome old lady who wants to teach her how to hone that type of MAD SKILLZ she's been suppressing her whole life.
Finally, Keirnan. Oh, he makes me do the dreamy sigh. I love romances that are nurtured and grown over time, even if that time isn't shown in the book. Keirnan is an immediate love interest and you can see the sparks between them the moment he steps on the page. Plus, they've been best friends for a reallllly long time. YA romances like that are rare but proof that friendship is really a gateway to a relationship and it can be done well.
Happy Reading!
THIS PLOT GUYS. I absolutely love love love the idea of a Fake Princess and Sinda was the best there is! She was fierce and loving and she had some guts, going on this crazy journey even though at the very beginning, she knows the consequences. Instantly you and Sinda are thrown out into the streets of Thorvaldor and the pace quickly picks up from there. Sinda has no idea how to be a peasant or...well, anything besides a princess and I loved seeing her overcome the struggle that came with finding out everything you loved and had was...well, not yours. I imagine that must be one of the craziest things: to realize your life wasn't ever yours. The way Sinda deals with it is intelligent and so realistic for a teenager who just realized how lonely she was (with the exception of Keirnan, of course, BUT THAT'S FOR LATER) and just how she's going to deal with that.
O'Neal has the kind of writing style that flows with such an ease that pace was never a problem. I never felt bored or robbed of details and everything was descriptive without being too wordy and full of that purple prose. It had a fairy-tale-esque quality to it that I definitely appreciated; lyrical with a dash of dangerous adventure. Also: MAGIC GUYS. Sinda finds out early on she is a magician and she gets taken in by this awesome old lady who wants to teach her how to hone that type of MAD SKILLZ she's been suppressing her whole life.
Finally, Keirnan. Oh, he makes me do the dreamy sigh. I love romances that are nurtured and grown over time, even if that time isn't shown in the book. Keirnan is an immediate love interest and you can see the sparks between them the moment he steps on the page. Plus, they've been best friends for a reallllly long time. YA romances like that are rare but proof that friendship is really a gateway to a relationship and it can be done well.
Happy Reading!
