In a society steeped in tradition, Princess Lia’s life follows a preordained course. Her parents arrange her marriage to secure an alliance with a neighboring kingdom—to a prince she has never met.
On the morning of her wedding, Lia flees to a distant village. She settles into a new life, hopeful when two mysterious and handsome strangers arrive—and unaware that one is the jilted prince and the other an assassin sent to kill her. Deception abounds, and Lia finds herself on the brink of unlocking perilous secrets—even as she finds herself falling in love.
This book came out in 2014. Yep, it took me that long to read it 😂 It's just that, when I saw that it has 492 pages, I kinda...didn't wanna commit to reading that much.
It's no secret that I prefer shorter books, but it's also true that, if a book is good, it doesn't matter how long it is. The main thing is that the writing is so good it makes you forget you are reading, therefore you don't realize how long it took you to read it. And lemme tell you something, I definitely knew I was reading a long book. I felt in my bones and my tired eyes every single page of long unnecessary descriptions, storytelling and whatnot. I got to about 60% of the book and it felt like it would never end.
Don't get me wrong, this is not a bad book. It's actually rather decent. But boy did I have to wait for something to happen. First 40% is mostly Lia living her cozy bartender life away from her royal responsibilities while chatting up these 2 mysterious handsome guys - one a prince, the other an assassin sent to kill her. I can't say that it was all boring, but it definitely dragged a lot. Then around 50% I think, something happens and the story takes a different turn.
After an interesting plot twist, the story starts to drag again. Then there's another 40% of the characters just doing this one thing (don't wanna spoil anything so I'm being vague), and finally, the last chapter brings us something new again.
On the other hand, the characters here were amazing. Lia and Pauline were such strong female characters, both in a different way. They also had an amazing friendship full of support and understanding. Rafe and Kaden were almost equally interesting. Of course, Rafe being the...more interesting one 😂 At least to me...
His interactions with Lia were so adorable and the way he talks about her...ughh such a cutie. Kaden was fascinating as well, especially with everything that happens later. Idk what happens in the next 2 books, but even reading just this one, I can tell he is a complex character despite having fewer "chapters" than Rafe.
Another thing I have to compliment is that this book doesn't hold back. It's got that same seriousness that we have with The Hunger Games for example, where war is not sugar coated and the characters aren't protected by the "main character glass bell". There's a war going on, there are casualties, there are things you have to suffer through, and of course, there are always going to be mean people doing cruel stuff to others.
I'm probably not going to continue with this series because I don't have the energy for it. BUT I will give this author another shot with Dance of Thieves. Probably...I mean...it has 512 pages 😅
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