Format: Hardcover, 432 pages
Release Date: June 14, 2022
Publisher: Balzer & Bray
Source: Publisher
Genre: Young Adult / Fantasy / Romance
The first in a YA
political fantasy duology about a fierce princess determined to bring
lasting peace to her kingdom regardless of the cost to her heart.
Princess
Charis Willowthorn is the dutiful sword of Calera. Raised to be
ruthless and cunning, her only goal is to hold her war-torn kingdom
together long enough to find a path toward peace with their ancient foe,
Montevallo, even if the cost is her own heart.
When violence
erupts in the castle itself and an unseen enemy begins sinking Calera’s
ships, Charis realizes a threat much greater than Montevallo is coming
for her people. So she forms a plan. By day, she is Calera’s formidable
princess intent on forging an alliance with Montevallo. By night, she
disguises herself as a smuggler and roams the sea with a trusted group
of loyalists, hunting for their new enemies. And through it all, there’s
the one boy she can’t have—who guards her life but steals her heart.
But her enemies are much closer than Charis realizes, and her heart isn’t the only thing she has left to lose.
C.J. Redwine's Rise of the Vicious Princess is an action-packed start to a new duology full of political intrigue, smugglers, and sea monsters. The story is a truly classic-feeling epic fantasy with all the ingredients that YA fantasy readers adore—exciting adventure, strange beasts, and of course a fabulous romance. Princess Charis Willowthorn is the dutiful sword of Calera. Raised to be ruthless and cunning, her only goal is to hold her war-torn kingdom together long enough to find a path toward peace with their ancient foe, Montevallo, even if the cost is her own heart.
When violence erupts in the castle itself and an unseen enemy begins sinking Calera’s ships, Charis realizes a threat much greater than Montevallo is coming for her people. So she forms a plan. By day, she is Calera’s formidable princess intent on forging an alliance with Montevallo. By night, she disguises herself as a smuggler and roams the sea with a trusted group of loyalists, hunting for their new enemies. And through it all, there’s the one boy she can’t have—who guards her life but steals her heart.
Charis’s mother is unrelenting in her demands and expectations of Charis, and Charis proves she is up for the challenge. Though only seventeen, she is a strong leader, and she faces many difficult challenges. Charis’s father is the opposite of his wife. Kind and loving, he shows Charis that there is more to life than becoming Queen. They have a close relationship, and they bring so much happiness to each other, which Charis doesn’t really have with many people.
Charis is a capable and fearsome heroine, with a reputation for violence. But she is also a princess determined to carve out her own path and take care of the citizens who depend on her. Constantly on her guard, there is only one person able to get close enough to see the real Charis—her bodyguard, Tal. But with her kingdom’s future riding on her political marriage to an enemy prince, this is a classic, star-crossed romance, with some truly surprising twists.
Redwine
does a good job of transitioning between the various of versions
of Charis. Whether its a Captain on the seas, Charis in her private
chambers with her bodyguard, or her Highness in a strategy meeting to
defend Calera from its long time enemy Montevallo. I would have loved to have picked up a copy of the final product. There is a map that shows the numerous countries that are mentioned throughout the book, and their relative location to Calera. As this is the first part of a duology, of course there's a brutal cliffhanger ending which will likely push people to pick up the sequel.
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