Publisher: Chardonian Press
Series: Elven Princess #1
Format: e-PUB
Source: Netgalley
ADD TO GOODREADS
Amazon
Elven princess Arabella is set to marry the human Prince Phillip but her countrymen do not hesitate to express their anger with her parents' attempt to improve relations with the humans. With death threats plaguing her, Arabella is forced into hiding.
When her sanctuary is usurped by pirates, Arabella goes on the run with humans who vow to help and keep her safe. She finds herself drawn to one of the humans, the dashing Robert, who steals her heart.
Arabella would like nothing more than time to get to know Robert better, but with pirates attacking and her wedding date approaching, time is one thing she doesn't have. Arabella's on a flight for her life and must reconcile with the truth—she can never be with the one she wants.
If only her heart would agree.
**Thank you Netgalley and Chardonian Press for granting me access to this title in exchange for an honest review.
Let me start off by saying I went into this one with very
low expectations, because I had read Janeal Falor's Ever Darkening and highly
disliked it. But the premise to Bound by Birthright really dr.ew me in because
it could have been amazing, but unfortunately I was disappointed yet again.
Like I said, the premise sounded wonderful-an elven princess
betrothed to a human prince so that their two kingdoms would unite? Heck yes,
sign me up. But after reading the first chapter, I knew this book was doomed.
Princess Arabella is practicing her sword fighting skills
and is surrounded by guards, and yet a would be assassin decides that would be
a good time to try and kill her. Um, wtf?! What kind of rookie assassin tries
to kill a target when she is surrounded by ARMED GUARDS??? A real assassin
would come under the cover of night when she is most vulnerable. I honestly
laughed when I read that scene because it was so ridiculous.
But wait, it gets better. After that, her parents demand
that she be hidden so that she stays safe, but they have no way of contacting
each other to make sure nothing bad happens. What could go wrong?
Everything goes wrong, and Arabella is an idiot. She
constantly wanders off from camp to go and think which almost leads to her
getting kidnapped. She's rash, impulsive, and makes bad choices. Not to mention
that the scenes are so quick that we barely have time to get to know any of the
characters. They all sound the exact same. I will say that towards the end Arabella realized what a spoiled brat she had been and finally decided to act right towards her servants, who were all with her on this journey.
The romance was eye rolling, because as soon as she sees
Robert, she's pretty much thinking about him non-stop. Yeah, he's a good guy
but come on now. It takes more than being ridiculously good looking to fall in
love with someone.
The writing felt very juvenile. It did not read like a
Fantasy novel at all. The word "scumbag" was used and it just felt so
ridiculously out of place. There were other instances, but that's the one that
really stood out to me.
There's also the extreme lack of world building. I want to
know more. Why do the humans and the elves hate each other? Nothing is really
explained, we are just supposed to accept it.
Then there is the "betrayal." I eye rolled so hard
at this because it is ALWAYS someone close to a royal family that does the
betraying. Arabella's parents must have been crappy rulers to not see that
their own man was planning this all of these years. Were they obviously blind
to everything going on in the land? Probably.
The only thing that really saved the book from being a total
disaster was the twist at the end. I was not expecting that at all. It's the
only thing that might make me want to continue the series, but I haven't
decided yet.
No comments:
Post a Comment