I think this is one of those YA coming of age fantasy adventures that does not include a romance, unless there will be a sequel. We do have two main characters, Selestra and Nox, but they are not star-crossed lovers. In fact, they could be counted frenemies. Basically, they want the same thing. They want their freedom from the immortal King. Nox thinks the way to get that is to kill Selestra.
A little backstory, Nox is a soldier in the Last Army. The King has used the army to conquer most of the Six Islands. Selestra is the daughter of the current King's Witch. She's called the Heir. She's locked up and kept from meeting people. The King's Witch mainly oversees the annual Festival of Predictions, a vile event where people gamble their lives for a wish that could be for anything. Losing means the King eats your soul and so continues his immortality.
The festival lasts about a month. At the end of it, 100 people must die, although most of the 200 permitted to participate will die. Selestra really wants no part of it. Her mother, the current witch, and the King remind her she is only the Heir and can just as easily die as any other person. Selestra and Nox flee to the one remaining island that has not been conquered to find allies. What they do find changes everything.
I can't tell you what they find, because then you wouldn't need to read this charming, at times funny, story. Just the trip to the holdout island is a trip. I enjoyed the book more than I thought I would. I think you will to.
I received the book I read from the publishers through a website contest in exchange for a honest review.
A little backstory, Nox is a soldier in the Last Army. The King has used the army to conquer most of the Six Islands. Selestra is the daughter of the current King's Witch. She's called the Heir. She's locked up and kept from meeting people. The King's Witch mainly oversees the annual Festival of Predictions, a vile event where people gamble their lives for a wish that could be for anything. Losing means the King eats your soul and so continues his immortality.
The festival lasts about a month. At the end of it, 100 people must die, although most of the 200 permitted to participate will die. Selestra really wants no part of it. Her mother, the current witch, and the King remind her she is only the Heir and can just as easily die as any other person. Selestra and Nox flee to the one remaining island that has not been conquered to find allies. What they do find changes everything.
I can't tell you what they find, because then you wouldn't need to read this charming, at times funny, story. Just the trip to the holdout island is a trip. I enjoyed the book more than I thought I would. I think you will to.
I received the book I read from the publishers through a website contest in exchange for a honest review.