Release Day Review: The Shadow Prince by Bree Despain
The Shadow Prince by Bree Despain
Into the Dark #1
Haden Lord, the disgraced prince of the Underrealm, has been sent to the mortal world to entice a girl into returning with him to the land of the dead. Posing as a student at Olympus Hills High—a haven for children of the rich and famous—Haden must single out the one girl rumored to be able to restore immortality to his race.
Daphne Raines has dreams much bigger than her tiny southern Utah town, so when her rock star dad suddenly reappears, offering her full tuition to Olympus Hills High’s prestigious music program, she sees an opportunity to catch the break she needs to make it as a singer. But upon moving into her estranged father’s mansion in California, and attending her glamorous new school, Daphne soon realizes she isn’t the only student in Olympus who doesn’t quite belong.
Haden and Daphne—destined for each other—know nothing of the true stakes their fated courtship entails. As war between the gods brews, the teenagers’ lives collide. But Daphne won’t be wooed easily and when it seems their prophesied link could happen, Haden realizes something he never intended—he’s fallen in love. Now to save themselves, Haden and Daphne must rewrite their destinies. But as their destinies change, so do the fates of both their worlds.
I'm a huge fan of mythology so as soon as I read the blurb for THE SHADOW PRINCE I knew I would be picking it up. I was really impressed with the different aspects of that mythology in THE SHADOW PRINCE. They were rather unique, but still close enough to the traditional Greek path I know and love. From the Underlords to the Skylords, there were more than a few twists and turns in this book, which I really loved. And Hades and Persephone? Probably one of my favorite tales of all.
I'm very romance driven when it comes to my reading choices, so of course the couple in a book is generally the first thing I look at. In THE SHADOW PRINCE, the romance worked mostly well, if just a bit off kilter, but I think that had more to do with the plot line than anything. Daphne was a bit all over the place as her background and extremely sheltered upbringing didn't quite lend to her handing everything the best. And Haden, well he just isn't human, nor exposed to anything we consider normal, so to say he doesn't quite handle things well. So, it made things a bit awkward and a bunch of two steps forward and one and a half back. But by the end things did seem to start heading towards the sweeter end and had me rooting for them. There's obviously a long road ahead of them, but they get my vote.
One thing I really need to learn to do is not overshoot my expectations of a book just because it's about a subject that I love as it seems more often than not things don't quite live up, and that was somewhat the case here. Yes, the book was enjoyable, and the mythology interesting, but not to the extent to meet what I had hoped. But again, a lot of that is probably due to my admittedly high expectations rather than a true fault on the book. Still, the pacing was a bit slow, and I'm still not overly sure of the plot line. I mean yeah it slowly became clearer, but it was a long time coming. Considering how long this book is, it made for a rather slow read. In fact I think a good bit could have been cut out or condensed down at least and that's the biggest reason aside from the early stilted romance this one earned a 3 rather than a four from me. That being said, I will definitely be continuing on with the series.
(Received a copy from the publisher via Edelweiss)
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a GREAT read
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