We are entirely crazy about Princess of Dorsa and the eponymous Princess of the series, Nastasia
(Tasia). We loved Tasia’s character arc in the first book and we waiting to see
her develop further and come into her own as a leader and an Empress. On that
front, this book doesn’t disappoint.
At the end of the first book, Tasia and her love, Josclyn
have been rent apart. Tasia is accused of patricide and regicide and found guilty.
She escapes with the help of Wise Man Evrart, who is also of the Brotherhood of
Culo. Joscyln makes a deal with the devil to return to the present for one year
so that she can keep the beleaguered Tasia safe and hopefully, ensure Tasia’s
future safety.
Book 2 takes off with this context.
Josclyn returns from Shadowlands after her deal with the Prince
of Shadows. Unbeknownst to her, her deal makes her something of a quasi-shadow
herself which means that shadows will always seek her and find her. That makes
her an unsafe presence. Tasia has been given refuge by M’Tongliss of Terinto.
The usurper Regent is willing to cede one-third of the Eastern lands to end the
war in the East. This move is however motivated by short-sighted avarice of an
ambitious Lord who also happens to be Tasia’s grandfather and one of the main
conspirators in killing the Emperor and framing Tasia. Though she’s supposed to
be a traitor, Tasia feels strongly about the Empire and about the safety and
prosperity of her people. She plans to disrupt the delegation to the East and takes
action for it. Josclyn continues looking for Tasia and realises that the threat
to the Empire is far greater than imagined and the true threat comes from
Shadowlands. To make the Empire and the Princess safe, she needs to eliminate
or at least contain the Shadow threat.
This book has two distinct storylines: Tasia’s and Josclyn’s.
In addition to two storylines, the narrative slides between past and present.
It is also more fantasy-heavy than the previous outing. We loved Tasia still. Something
about her is heroic, vulnerable, struggling but strong and entirely appealing. There
are few characters we’ve rooted for more strongly.
Frankly, we skipped a lot of Josclyn parts, especially a lot
of unnecessary (for us – but maybe necessary for building atmosphere) detailing,
descriptions and blow-by-blow of fights. Not that we don’t like her, but Tasia
is way more charismatic.
The longing for each other is constant, so the romance is alive
all through the book though they don’t meet till almost the end. While we liked
this book, we could’ve done with Tasia getting more success with her plans and her
willingness to take risks. We feel quite let down that Tasia’s bravery is
almost entirely unrewarded.
The book borrows from a number of other works including
Melissa Good’s Xena fanfic (unfurling of senses), Twilight (bubble and then armour of protective energy), zombie
tales (Shadows infecting people and creating unfeeling zombie-like creatures)
amongst others.
Still, this is a good read with a fantastic MC in Tasia.
⭐⭐⭐☆
