3.5
I wrote this review as I progressed through the book:
I hate her father. Really, really hate him. The things he did to his own children and wife? Despicable! Though I still don’t fully understand what he did to Milo—did he rape him? (If so, that makes him even worse, the worst of the worst.) And Melissa—did he cut her tongue?
Compared to all the hell her siblings have gone through, I think she’s a brat. They live in constant torture, especially Diana, and all she does is bicker and try to escape because she doesn’t want to be a princess. Come on! Your siblings are living in hell, and you’re crying because you want to go outside. I get that her father mentally abused her, but compared to the rest? Grow up.
I can’t stand Danielle. She’s so self-centered and only thinks about herself under the excuse of “protecting her family and kingdom.” Everything she does is just because “I’m the princess.” And all that bravado about being brave and strong? She forgets it three seconds later and makes things even worse.
I also feel the story is a bit dull—I found myself getting bored while reading.
I just finished the book, and I can’t stop thinking about how, in the end, she never learned how to fight. That was supposed to be the whole point in the beginning, yet she never even touched a dagger.
Additionally, I felt the story tried to redeem the father at the end, but even in his “recovered” state and on his deathbed, he didn’t think to apologize to a single one of his children for everything he did to them—traumas they will never fully recover from. I also feel like the book was missing at least half a chapter showing how the siblings planned to heal from everything.
By the way, so Diana was evil in the end? She was sent to the dungeon, and she confessed to being fully aware of everything happening.
In conclusion, I liked it, although the first half almost gave me reader’s block (and claustrophobia throughout). But the second half? I finished it in two days, so I think I’ll read another book by the author.
"Words are the most deadly weapons of all, princess. But they're the most difficult to master."
“Don't let yourself believe that because one man says you aren't something, everyone else believes the same."
"Amicia, the strength of a kingdom lies in those
who are not nobility. You should never be ashamed of coming from small beginnings. Be proud of what you have accomplished and judge yourself on what you've done. Not what people expect you to do."