This is an epic fantasy which is so immersive that we kind of checked out of all other parts of our life till we finished it. And at the
end of the book, we’ve just not had enough. We absolutely need more.
Nineteen-year-old Princess Natasia (Tasia), daughter of
Emperor Andreth, ruler of the Four Realms, is a typical getting-into-trouble
and pushing-boundaries type of teen. She’s developed quite a reputation for
sleeping with too many lordlings, for being rash, reckless and wilful. Things
start changing when there is an assassination attempt on Tasia while she is
returning from one of her night time, sneak-out trysts. The first precautionary
measure is getting the princess a personal body guard who’ll be with her 24x7.
The bodyguard is the stoic Josyln of Terinto whom Tasia
describes as her ‘sword carrying wet nurse’. Tasia is particularly unhappy with
the addition of a bodyguard in her life because unbeknownst to all, she has a
deeply emotional and sexual relationship with her handmaiden, Mylla.
Things get even more complicated when the Emperor makes Tasia his heir. With
someone already trying to kill Tasia and dissatisfaction over an unending war
going on in the east of the realm there are muted noises which could mean a
rebellion in the kingdom.
Tasia, the Princess of Dorsa, is immediately likeable from
the very first scene. Tasia’s character undergoes a huge character arc in the
book. We quite love (and there are moments when we are in love with) Tasia. She
is a fully realised and three dimensional character with plusses and minuses
but always, always real. We also liked the fact that Tasia is clearly physically bisexual but emotionally gay since she only has strong emotional responses to women. This is a truth that is seldom (if ever) written. Joscyln is unfolded slowly and sympathetically. She
kept reminding us of Brienne of Tarth from Game
of Thrones and while we expected (the chemistry between them is great from
word go), we weren’t totally convinced about a romance between Tasia and
Joscyln. However, with excellent build-up, by the time the two get together, it
is totally convincing. It is quite q win for the author that even Mylla is
someone we could feel for and sympathise with despite her great betrayal. There
are political machinations, historical realities of racism, patriarchy, political
alliances and then there are elements of fantasy introduced in the latter half
of the book. The only real problem with the book is that it got over.
The voice actor, Elizabeth Saydah gives a fantastic
performance and kept us utterly and completely hooked for the 15+ hours.
This is one helluva fantastic read.
⭐⭐⭐⭐☆★
