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The Splintered Princess
Every empress must learn to play hard or lose it all.
Alynah Commonborn has always believed she's meant for a simple life on her parents' farm. But when she recklessly chooses a dagger in the sunlit corner of a teeming marketplace, it foretells her destiny as an empress. The cost of that destiny, however, means she'll eventually kill someone she loves with that same blade.
Then he steps onto her path. A man who never tells her his name but who becomes irrevocably entwined with her life during a single day of bliss - a dozen hours - before he's taken by their common enemy.
He breaks off a piece of his spirit and sends it to her, and they share hundreds of nights, thousands of heartbeats, and countless breathless moments.
When she's abducted by the overlord who might be her real father to train as the protector of his young queen, she immerses herself in training, determined to escape and find her true love... even though he's become something depraved and pitiless.
This is an adult fantasy, so it contains some adult themes and occasional adult language. Don't be deceived that it starts when the character is only 16. It may start off seeming YA, but the series is very much adult.
Alynah Commonborn has always believed she's meant for a simple life on her parents' farm. But when she recklessly chooses a dagger in the sunlit corner of a teeming marketplace, it foretells her destiny as an empress. The cost of that destiny, however, means she'll eventually kill someone she loves with that same blade.
Then he steps onto her path. A man who never tells her his name but who becomes irrevocably entwined with her life during a single day of bliss - a dozen hours - before he's taken by their common enemy.
He breaks off a piece of his spirit and sends it to her, and they share hundreds of nights, thousands of heartbeats, and countless breathless moments.
When she's abducted by the overlord who might be her real father to train as the protector of his young queen, she immerses herself in training, determined to escape and find her true love... even though he's become something depraved and pitiless.
This is an adult fantasy, so it contains some adult themes and occasional adult language. Don't be deceived that it starts when the character is only 16. It may start off seeming YA, but the series is very much adult.
411 pages, Paperback
Published November 28, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 6, 2022
TL;DR: An unusual NA fantasy romance with more than a hint of YA about its frivolity, it takes the themes of love and dreams and gradually worms its way into your heart. Confusing at times, but you won't escape it without an emotional bruising.
Fans of New Adult dark fantasy romances would love this, especially if you enjoy books by Sarah J. Maas and the like but would prefer your sex scenes not to be graphic. And perhaps if you don't mind a little of that Young Adult outlandishness; those moments when you look at the characters and wonder why no one questions any of these abnormal events when even in this fantasy world they're a little out there. But underneath it all runs themes of manipulative love and staying true to dreams long held, and a little scattered the plot may have seemed, those central points thread everything together.
Our story starts off with the 16 year old Alynah Commonborn, a precocious farmer's daughter, being gifted an enchanted dagger from a mysterious merchant. The dagger chooses it's wielder, and for some reason it's chosen her, fating her to one day become empress of the land. Confused and maybe a little afraid, she runs... Straight into a handsome boy who she knows only as K. Instantly smitten, they spend the day together flirting with each other and the dangers their relationship could hold. Sadly it is not to be; the boy is from a notorious family known to be assassins, yet even his training cannot stop him from being stolen away by raiders of a nearby kingdom renowned for the dark magic they perform on their captives. Alynah pines for her mystery boy, only to find a snippet of his spirit escaped torture to be with her always. Despite his protests, she dreams of reuniting his broken body with his kind soul one day... But those dreams are dashed when her king snatches her away for his own twisted purposes. She is the perfect lookalike for his daughter, and so he has a use for her: train as a warrior, act as a decoy, protect his family from the dark magics that took her beloved K. Can she stay true to the boy she loved when he might not even exist any more? What of her destiny to become an empress? And what of the soldier boy and less than regal queen who might be worming their way into her hardened heart?
It's a long book and a lot to take in. What starts off as maybe a little more YA than I'd expected (teenage insta-love, a magical spirit boy with no name, and an unexplained destiny had me confused) becomes something darker and more complex, even if it does feel closer to YA than adult in nature. I couldn't help but wish that there had been more of some things (world building and foreshadowing - especially the things that are explained later on, as knowing them sooner would have helped so much without spoiling anything) and less of others (Alynah's flip-flopping between love interests and which destiny she would choose - her contrary nature could make her seem confusing to me). I found there was a lot of needing to suspend disbelief in the way characters reacted to events, how conveniently timed things could be, or how there seemed to be things that didn't quite add up
I think it's safe to say that everyone's a little bit "extra" in Alynah's world, from the sneering bad guys and so-unfair adults to the lovelorn women and the many mysterious men of mystery. Alynah herself was a harder character to grasp. She can come across as spiky and difficult, but she's still one of those extremely readable YA-ish characters. I didn't think she acted her age (I'd have believed if she and her peers had been teenagers rather than 20-somethings), particularly when it came to her years-long obsession with K, and felt it a little odd how an untrained farm girl could become a fighter so fast. As the love interest K was hard to know too, existing mostly as a strange spirit embodying youthful joy and sorrow, and like his beloved could come across as a bit mercurial in what he actually wanted. I came to like side characters like Queen Finnia (she had such a strong personality, even if it was an extremely acidic one! ) and even the is-he/isn't-he good Gavriel because they become so much more than one note side pieces. They're real and flawed and hurting in their own way, fighting for dreams they can't have. I loved how their relationships developed and deepened without you even realizing it.
The romance is where things get a little unusual. On the one hand we have the ethereal childhood first love who doesn't even have a name (or body). On the other we have a manipulative man who forces himself on people and sees girls as a game. I'm not a big fan of the love triangle, but barring one encounter it doesn't feel so much like reading one. I liked how it makes you question what it means for characters to love when hate and hurt and terrible circumstances are what push people together. There are some insightful moments beyond on what it means to love: is it something to be owed, or formed because there is no other choice but to try? You may think the answers obvious, but here the emotional character arcs muddy the waters.
Fair warning, there are allusions to sexual encounters and lust, but nothing shown in detail on the page. There are one or two witnessed sex scenes between other characters, again not overly detailed, a fair amount of effing, and some generally crude remarks. No steam here, but it's not innocent sweet and clean stuff either.
It does pack in a lot of ethereal strangeness to the standard fantasy world, told for the most part in an unusual lyrical style. Alynah's compelling narration gives it all a strong (or should that be headstrong?) tone, full of youthful bluster and rage that never strays too far into over hormonal YA territory. The gradually increasing complexity of the plot and world was also a big draw, as it became satisfying to learn more about the three kingdoms and their uneasy existence. I wish we'd had more, and sooner, not least about the ever spirits and Demnian spirit magic that sounds so interesting and is key to what's going on.
There are a lot of unanswered questions by the end, and even though Alynah's contrariness could be frustrating, I found myself invested in her story. Like with SJM, once you can suspend disbelief it's an enjoyably strange tale and one that you dearly wish could end well even if you have no idea how it ever could. Predictable it certainly is not, and it won't go easy on your heart as it comes to a brutal and bruising cliffhanger climax.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Fans of New Adult dark fantasy romances would love this, especially if you enjoy books by Sarah J. Maas and the like but would prefer your sex scenes not to be graphic. And perhaps if you don't mind a little of that Young Adult outlandishness; those moments when you look at the characters and wonder why no one questions any of these abnormal events when even in this fantasy world they're a little out there. But underneath it all runs themes of manipulative love and staying true to dreams long held, and a little scattered the plot may have seemed, those central points thread everything together.
Our story starts off with the 16 year old Alynah Commonborn, a precocious farmer's daughter, being gifted an enchanted dagger from a mysterious merchant. The dagger chooses it's wielder, and for some reason it's chosen her, fating her to one day become empress of the land. Confused and maybe a little afraid, she runs... Straight into a handsome boy who she knows only as K. Instantly smitten, they spend the day together flirting with each other and the dangers their relationship could hold. Sadly it is not to be; the boy is from a notorious family known to be assassins, yet even his training cannot stop him from being stolen away by raiders of a nearby kingdom renowned for the dark magic they perform on their captives. Alynah pines for her mystery boy, only to find a snippet of his spirit escaped torture to be with her always. Despite his protests, she dreams of reuniting his broken body with his kind soul one day... But those dreams are dashed when her king snatches her away for his own twisted purposes. She is the perfect lookalike for his daughter, and so he has a use for her: train as a warrior, act as a decoy, protect his family from the dark magics that took her beloved K. Can she stay true to the boy she loved when he might not even exist any more? What of her destiny to become an empress? And what of the soldier boy and less than regal queen who might be worming their way into her hardened heart?
It's a long book and a lot to take in. What starts off as maybe a little more YA than I'd expected (teenage insta-love, a magical spirit boy with no name, and an unexplained destiny had me confused) becomes something darker and more complex, even if it does feel closer to YA than adult in nature. I couldn't help but wish that there had been more of some things (world building and foreshadowing - especially the things that are explained later on, as knowing them sooner would have helped so much without spoiling anything) and less of others (Alynah's flip-flopping between love interests and which destiny she would choose - her contrary nature could make her seem confusing to me). I found there was a lot of needing to suspend disbelief in the way characters reacted to events, how conveniently timed things could be, or how there seemed to be things that didn't quite add up
I think it's safe to say that everyone's a little bit "extra" in Alynah's world, from the sneering bad guys and so-unfair adults to the lovelorn women and the many mysterious men of mystery. Alynah herself was a harder character to grasp. She can come across as spiky and difficult, but she's still one of those extremely readable YA-ish characters. I didn't think she acted her age (I'd have believed if she and her peers had been teenagers rather than 20-somethings), particularly when it came to her years-long obsession with K, and felt it a little odd how an untrained farm girl could become a fighter so fast. As the love interest K was hard to know too, existing mostly as a strange spirit embodying youthful joy and sorrow, and like his beloved could come across as a bit mercurial in what he actually wanted. I came to like side characters like Queen Finnia (she had such a strong personality, even if it was an extremely acidic one! ) and even the is-he/isn't-he good Gavriel because they become so much more than one note side pieces. They're real and flawed and hurting in their own way, fighting for dreams they can't have. I loved how their relationships developed and deepened without you even realizing it.
The romance is where things get a little unusual. On the one hand we have the ethereal childhood first love who doesn't even have a name (or body). On the other we have a manipulative man who forces himself on people and sees girls as a game. I'm not a big fan of the love triangle, but barring one encounter it doesn't feel so much like reading one. I liked how it makes you question what it means for characters to love when hate and hurt and terrible circumstances are what push people together. There are some insightful moments beyond on what it means to love: is it something to be owed, or formed because there is no other choice but to try? You may think the answers obvious, but here the emotional character arcs muddy the waters.
Fair warning, there are allusions to sexual encounters and lust, but nothing shown in detail on the page. There are one or two witnessed sex scenes between other characters, again not overly detailed, a fair amount of effing, and some generally crude remarks. No steam here, but it's not innocent sweet and clean stuff either.
It does pack in a lot of ethereal strangeness to the standard fantasy world, told for the most part in an unusual lyrical style. Alynah's compelling narration gives it all a strong (or should that be headstrong?) tone, full of youthful bluster and rage that never strays too far into over hormonal YA territory. The gradually increasing complexity of the plot and world was also a big draw, as it became satisfying to learn more about the three kingdoms and their uneasy existence. I wish we'd had more, and sooner, not least about the ever spirits and Demnian spirit magic that sounds so interesting and is key to what's going on.
There are a lot of unanswered questions by the end, and even though Alynah's contrariness could be frustrating, I found myself invested in her story. Like with SJM, once you can suspend disbelief it's an enjoyably strange tale and one that you dearly wish could end well even if you have no idea how it ever could. Predictable it certainly is not, and it won't go easy on your heart as it comes to a brutal and bruising cliffhanger climax.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
March 12, 2022
Alynah's Adventures . . .
Alynah was finally permitted to roam the market and she chose a dagger that would change her life. It points to her destiny as an empress and predicts she will kill someone she loves with that blade. Meeting a young man known as ‘K’, they spend a day of bliss together until he is captured and taken away to be tortured by black magic. He sends her a piece of his spirit, but will he survive under his captives’ cruelty? Will she ever find him again? When Alynah is taken by the overlord to become protector of his young queen, perhaps she can escape then to find her true love. But will it be too late to save him?
There is so much going on in this lengthy story. But it is well-written and keeps the reader’s attention.
Alynah was finally permitted to roam the market and she chose a dagger that would change her life. It points to her destiny as an empress and predicts she will kill someone she loves with that blade. Meeting a young man known as ‘K’, they spend a day of bliss together until he is captured and taken away to be tortured by black magic. He sends her a piece of his spirit, but will he survive under his captives’ cruelty? Will she ever find him again? When Alynah is taken by the overlord to become protector of his young queen, perhaps she can escape then to find her true love. But will it be too late to save him?
There is so much going on in this lengthy story. But it is well-written and keeps the reader’s attention.
December 10, 2023
This book had me feeling just as depressed as FMC by the ending. The purple prose was hard to get into; I almost DNF’d at 1%, 4%, 10%. I only really felt like the story had hooked me at around 25%. The role reversal of the two MMCs was skillfully done—one is at first hard to like, and then hard not to love, and vice versa. Spice is offscreen, which is normally whatever for me, (I read innocent and spicy books interchangeably) but I felt the lack of it really hurt the story in this particular case. In my opinion MMC’s fucked-up-ness could have been shown a lot more effectively if we had actually been there for it. And if there was an example of MMC’s goodness in equal measure to compare. I’m not sure if I’ll buy the second book to find out what happens… I can’t help but doubt in a satisfactory HEA after I got to the end of this one.
March 8, 2022
This book has several amazing qualities:
1) Character development. The characters are compellingly multidimensional and credible.
2) Plot. This is the weirdest, twistiest book ever! It doesn't follow any predictable formulas. It's basically the anti-Hallmark movie. You won't even have a guess as to where the book is headed, because you'll just be like... no clue.
3) Relationship development. The characters' interactions and developed relationships feel organic and realistic while at the same time being unique unto themselves. In particular, I love-love-love the relationship between !
4) A kick-ass heroine who fights for everything she holds dear and trains hard to master combat.
What I didn't like:
1) The ending!
2) I just felt sorry for Alynah that her life was so hard! But that's not really a criticism of the book. I tend to prefer less conflict than most readers.
3) I had opinions about how Alynah should've handled her relationships with , and I was upset when I expressed those opinions to Alynah, but she didn't listen. Characters! Who said they're allowed to think for themselves?!
I give this book a solid 4.8 stars!
1) Character development. The characters are compellingly multidimensional and credible.
2) Plot. This is the weirdest, twistiest book ever! It doesn't follow any predictable formulas. It's basically the anti-Hallmark movie. You won't even have a guess as to where the book is headed, because you'll just be like... no clue.
3) Relationship development. The characters' interactions and developed relationships feel organic and realistic while at the same time being unique unto themselves. In particular, I love-love-love the relationship between !
4) A kick-ass heroine who fights for everything she holds dear and trains hard to master combat.
What I didn't like:
1) The ending!
2) I just felt sorry for Alynah that her life was so hard! But that's not really a criticism of the book. I tend to prefer less conflict than most readers.
3) I had opinions about how Alynah should've handled her relationships with , and I was upset when I expressed those opinions to Alynah, but she didn't listen. Characters! Who said they're allowed to think for themselves?!
I give this book a solid 4.8 stars!
March 13, 2022
Wow this is a fanasty romance adventure. Emotional, heartfelt, heartstopping unrequited of longing and desire for what seems impossible and dreams not allowed to be. This is fast paced and action packed full to twists, secrets, turns and intrigue. The world building is fantastic and the characters are strong and complex. There is a darker side and adult element to this book which has Alayna training to be a fighter and become if involved in plots. It does have a dark gothic feel. It is a rollercoaster of emotion and very moving. A love triangle with intrigue, romance, hope and impossible odds. This story is a mix of sweetness and darkness that holds your attention and hope for a better future but not all can be. The ending is still making me emotional and I need more books. It is well written and an amazing dark fantasy read.. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
March 13, 2022
This is a dark story. It follows young Alynah from innocence to hardened ferocity. Taking this journey with her is not easy, and I found myself many times feeling frustrated with how events were playing out, right along with her. She is constantly being torn between what she should want and what she actually wants, and often confuses the two. All I can say is that I hope she becomes a fierce queen, and dishes out payback to all who have taken from her. I will definitely continue this series. *I received an ARC of this book, and have provided an honest review.*
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews