A lush and gorgeously written debut, packed with action, intrigue, and a thrilling love triangle.
Alexa Hollen is a fighter. Forced to disguise herself as a boy and serve in the king's army, Alex uses her quick wit and fierce sword-fighting skills to earn a spot on the elite prince's guard. But when a powerful sorcerer sneaks into the palace in the dead of night, even Alex, who is virtually unbeatable, can't prevent him from abducting her, her fellow guard and friend Rylan, and Prince Damian, taking them through the treacherous wilds of the jungle and deep into enemy territory.
The longer Alex is held captive with both Rylan and the prince, the more she realizes that she is not the only one who has been keeping dangerous secrets. And suddenly, after her own secret is revealed, Alex finds herself confronted with two men vying for her heart: the safe and steady Rylan, who has always cared for her, and the dark, intriguing Damian. With hidden foes lurking around every corner, is Alex strong enough to save herself and the kingdom she's sworn to protect?
My Thoughts:
Another fun, fun, fun, simple, easy reading, book. If you're into the kind of story where girl has to disguise herself as a boy to survive and then he is revealed as a she and then a LOVE triangle starts, then this is for you.
I loved the backstory that led Alexa to have to disguise herself as a boy and become part of an elite force protecting the prince. It was made the story more plausible for the back story in the reason which her father trained her so she already knew her way around a sword, which helped eliminate the moments in the story when you would normally roll your eyes at the heroine's ability to step into the role of a strong female character without any prior experience, you know?
The fact that there are magical elements, that didn't come into play until later, helped establish why she was able to not only blend in, but helped the reader understand why this disguising role was so easy for Alexa and why she was able to carry it for so long.
I enjoyed the fact that there were twists and turns at the END of the story that you don't really see coming and when you do, you slap your hand to your forehead and go, "DUH!"
I liked the fact that although there is a love triangle it isn't disgustingly overwhelming that all you want to do is bang your head against the wall, desk, window, table etc. No, instead it was just there but at times I DID roll my eyes and ALMOST band my head but it was still not overwhelming for me.
The prince was one of my favorite characters because there was a lot more to him then you originally think and when you continue to read you are constantly surprised. It was awesome!
Rylan is more like the brother to me and if Alexa ends up with him I'm be mad. ;) he seemed a little whinny at times which made me want to slap him and say, "snap out of it man!" all because he knows Alexa is a girl now and thinks things can be different! seriously?! what happens? why do some male characters change into these sappy puppies?!
The ending was the best. I liked the fact that Alexa does not come out of this unscathed...interested? good!
Overall the action was great and alive, the story interesting and fun.
Sexual Content: moderate (PG-13 with scenes of a house of females of all ages just for the sake of getting them pregnant)
Violence: Moderate
Language: moderate (PG)
Violence: moderate (PG sword fighting, magical fighting)
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