Though she is the oldest daughter, Princess Faraine lives in
the background, shunned from court and kept out of sight. She’s told her
gods-gift makes her a liability to the crown, and has learned to give place to
her beautiful, favored younger sister in all things.
When the handsome and enigmatic Shadow King
comes seeking a bride, Faraine is not surprised that her sister is his choice.
King Vor is not eager to take a human bride, but
he is willing to do what is necessary for the sake of his people. When he
meets the lively Princess Ilsevel, he quickly agrees to a marriage arrangement.
So why can’t he get the haunting eyes of her older sister out
of his head?
Nancy’s
Thoughts:
Bride of the Shadow King is the first of three romantasy novels under a series banner
of the same title. The forbidden love romance is nearly flawless, and the
worldbuilding is different and intriguing despite occasional sparse
descriptions.
Princess
Faraine, the heroine, has been banished to a distant convent far from the court
of Gavaria, her homeland, because she inadvertently wrecked her father’s plan
to marry her to a prince she loathed. We meet her as she is returning home to
convince her sister Ilsevel, who has locked herself in a tower and is throwing
crockery at anyone who approaches, that she must marry the Shadow King, Vor,
for the good of their kingdom. They’re at war with Prince Ruaven, a fae, and
they need the fierce soldiers of the trolde realm. Vor needs the human magic to
vanquish the deadly beings intruding into his kingdom.
Prince
Ruaven’s fae attack Faraine’s entourage. Faraine isn’t trained to fight, but
she displays courage and determination to survive in the face of these lethal
foes. Her party is outnumbered and suffering casualties at a rapid pace.
Fortunately, the trolde king and his escort, who are en route to Gavaria so he
can woo Ilsevel, come across the battle and wade in. They rescue Faraine and
her brother.
Faraine
has the gift of sensing the emotions of those around her. She can also affect
their emotions. To keep the flood of feelings she senses from overwhelming her,
she has a crystal necklace she grips to help her stay centered. Despite the
carnage of the fight surrounding her and Vor, all she picks up from him is
calm. That has tremendous appeal for her. He admires her poise and finds the
hint of song he senses around her intriguing.
Faraine
knows, however, that her father, King Lorangar, would not want her to become
friendly with Vor. Lorangar intends Vor to wed the lovely Ilsevel. Faraine has
been summoned home only to convince her sister to go along with this plan.
After
they arrive at Beldroth, the Gavarian king’s palace, Vor remains intrigued by
Faraine and seeks her out. She feels drawn to him but gently discourages his
interest, which could lead him to prefer her to Ilsevel. Her father would be
furious at the mere idea.
The
push/pull of their shared attraction is well done. Faraine’s fear of offending
her father is understandable in context and sets up the situation that leads to
disaster later in the story. Discouraged from pursuing her, Vor turns his
attention to Ilsevel. Faraine continues to intrigue him, but he needs this
alliance to gain access to human magic. If that means he must court only
Ilsevel, he will do so.
Both
Vor and Faraine are resolved to do their duty despite the personal cost, but
they aren’t whiny about it. Their matter-of-face acceptance of the situation
despite their disappointment is sympathetic, and I was rooting for them both.
The
betrothal goes forward. Faraine returns to her convent. Vor resolves to put his
feelings for Faraine aside, stop thinking of her, and devote himself to
Ilsevel. After Vor returns to his own realm to prepare for his bride, who’s
going on a pre-wedding pilgrimage, tragedy strikes. I won’t spoil the story by
saying what happens, only that King Larongar’s focus on Ilsevel and his refusal
to trust Vor lead to a sequence of dire events that sweep up Faraine, Vor, and
his court.
The
supporting characters are individuals with layers, not cookie-cutter figures. A
character who isn’t especially sympathetic in the beginning of the story comes
into her own by the end, and I’m now interested to see what happens to her in
the next two books.
All
that is great, so readers may wonder why I’m giving the book 4.5 stars instead
of five. It’s because there were too many stoppers for me. Otherworldly
creatures aren’t fully described, unfamiliar terms aren’t explained, and I
don’t know why I what the problem is that leads to Prince Ruaven’s incursions
except I’m told he’s the bad guy—and not much else. There’s a big inconsistency
about the rules of travel between realms at a crucial moment.
Every
time I hit an unfamiliar term in a book, it stops me unless its meaning is
obvious from context. Every time I encounter an unfamiliar creature, I need a
description to get a visual in my head. Without it, I don’t have a clear
picture of the action in the scene and am frustrated. If I’m stopping to wonder
about the meaning of a term or the appearance of a creature, I’m not reading
the story. I’m pulled out of it.
The
trolde kingdom is a brilliant concept, and the characters we meet there are
well-drawn and varied. The landscapes are nicely done, with clear, detailed
imagery and contrasts between the Under Realm and Gavaria. The problems I had
were in smaller moments. Because I hit so many points where I wanted more—a
couple of adjectives, a short phrase—to give me a picture, I often felt
frustrated.
The
following are just a few examples.
Casualties
need “an ugghra healer,” but what is that? What sets them apart from
other healers? Or is there even a difference?
The
trolde ride shadowy creatures called morleths, which are interdimensional and
can manifest from shadows, which is really cool. For description, though, we’re
told they have sinuous, barbed tails and snort smoke or sparks. They have fur
over scales on their withers and flanks. All that’s great, but we don’t know
what shape or size their heads or bodies are or how tall they are or how many
legs they have. Presumably they have at least four since people sit on their
backs, but it could be six or even, like Odin’s legendary mount, Sleipnir,
eight.
There
are numerous references to roag poison. Is that the creature or the
plant that produces the poison? If so, what kind of creature or plant is it?
I’m assuming roag doesn’t mean poison because that would be redundant.
At
the point when Vor’s bride is about to cross into his lands, the Under Realm,
her attendants make a big fuss about the rule that she can only take with her
what he has given her. She therefore wears a new gown he sent for her. A
companion lies to the trolde woman in attendance about something the bride wants to take having been a gift
from Vor, so she gets to take that. Yet the bride wears a veil she brought from
home and no one says anything about that.
For
some readers, a cool-sounding term and a vague description suffice, and that’s
fine. But I need more. Rating this book overall, I give the romance plot a five
and the worldbuilding a four, solely I was so often stopped by needing more
explanation.
The
story moves at a good pace except from the bits I stumbled over, and it kept my
interest. Despite the stumbles, I would’ve continued reading even if I hadn’t
committed to review the book.
The
story ends on a cliffhanger. That isn’t an issue for me, but readers who prefer
a complete story may want to wait until the next two books are released to read
this one.
4.5
stars
~Nancy
