Spellbinding start to a YA fantasy series

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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.