Throne of Lies (Amethysta Trilogy #1)Author: Sara Secora
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Release Date: August 2016
Source: This book was given to me by YA Bound Book tours in exchange for an honest review.
Summary from Goodreads:
As a seventeen-year-old ruler chafing under the obligations of her bloodline, Princess Amethysta Serelle finds the royal life anything but enchanting.
Betrothed to a nefarious highborn, Amethysta’s heart mourns her lost chance at love—that is, until she becomes mesmerized by someone other than her suitor, and her heart begins to beat anew.
Desperate to keep her daughter on the path toward duty and the throne, the queen keeps a deadly secret. But as Amethysta balances the burden of expectations and freedom, the glowing, blue truth will not stay hidden for much longer.
Desire and duty battle on, further complicated by strange occurrences happening to Amethysta’s body. She struggles for control as her once unquestioned reality is obliterated.
Will she discover the truth, in her heart and hands, before it’s too late?
My Review: Princess Amethysta has always hated her life as a princess. She is forced to remain inside the castle walls. She is supposed to be a dutiful daughter and prepare for her role as queen. Still, she wishes for a normal life and to have the freedom to leave the palace grounds. She also feels that she is different aside from being a princess. She finds herself harboring magic. The only person who knows the truth of who she is is her mother. Yet, her mother remains silent, not telling her Amethysta’s identity. When her mother dies, Amethysta finds herself unprotected in a kingdom that will punish her for being different. Can Amethysta be able to conceal her identity and control her magic?
Princess Amethysta is a hard character to like. There were some moments where I did like her. She can be very strong at times. She is a romantic and yearns for a happy ending. Yet, most of the times, I found her weak and reckless. She is mostly a damsel-in-distress in this book. I also did not like her actions. She made a lot of rash decisions. As the narrator, I found her voice to be very whiny. However, there were some moments in which she was a very engaging narrator. Amethysta is a young girl who is very persistent in finding her identity.
Overall, this book is about a woman’s quest of self-discovery. The message of this book is that there is always hope. The characters are very one-dimensional and needed more work on character development. I also found two-thirds of the book to be filler and most of it should have been left out because it did not help the plot overall. Because the book took a different direction, two-thirds of the book, it is hard to see the direction it is going until the very end. I thought that there should have been a smoother transition. Yet, it felt like there were two different storylines merged together. I also thought the ending did not have a good resolution and ended abruptly. Also, this novel did not answer the questions in this novel. We still do not know Amethysta’s identity by the end as we had in the beginning. Despite it’s flaws, it was an enjoyable and fluffy story that held my interest. The sequel sounds promising, and hopefully the reader will finally get some answers as to Amethysta’s identity. I recommend this book for fans of Princess Ben, Seraphina, and The Escape of Princess Madeleine.
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Author Bio
Secora has always been in love with writing, and in 2007 she turned her talents to the arduous endeavor of authoring an exciting fantasy trilogy. Her whimsical stories are full of enchantment, mystique, and insight—destined to intrigue readers of any age.
Secora lives in Detroit, Michigan, where she continues to explore old and new avenues for her talent and hard work. You can visit her on her website, Goodreads, Twitter, Instagram, and Youtube.
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