Spellbinding start to a YA fantasy series
Amanda Joy's 'A River of Royal Blood' is an exciting debut novel, and a spellbinding start to a YA fantasy series.
This enthralling read kept me highly invested both in the story world's power structures (magical; historical/political), and in the storyline of central character - and narrator - Princess Eva.
However, I agree with the criticisms of some early reviewers. The book's underdeveloped in light of the ambitious story it strives to tell, and (possibly as a result) relies on telling rather than showing. These issues are in some ways most apparent in the character interactions/relationships between Eva and her mother, the queen, and Eva and her sister, the rival princess Isa.
With the above being mentioned, I do want to reiterate how invested I am in Eva's character. Her sense of responsibility to others, her conflicted feelings toward power, her expanding sense of self... These are all amazing character features to track.
I can't wait for the next step of Eva's journey - for the sequel to 'A River of Royal Blood'. Thank you to Amanda Joy, Putnam (Penguin Random House), and Bookish First for my advance reading copy.
This enthralling read kept me highly invested both in the story world's power structures (magical; historical/political), and in the storyline of central character - and narrator - Princess Eva.
However, I agree with the criticisms of some early reviewers. The book's underdeveloped in light of the ambitious story it strives to tell, and (possibly as a result) relies on telling rather than showing. These issues are in some ways most apparent in the character interactions/relationships between Eva and her mother, the queen, and Eva and her sister, the rival princess Isa.
With the above being mentioned, I do want to reiterate how invested I am in Eva's character. Her sense of responsibility to others, her conflicted feelings toward power, her expanding sense of self... These are all amazing character features to track.
I can't wait for the next step of Eva's journey - for the sequel to 'A River of Royal Blood'. Thank you to Amanda Joy, Putnam (Penguin Random House), and Bookish First for my advance reading copy.