ABANDONED. Evil man trying to train someone to be a prince or primcess to replace the missing heir to the throne.

[Blue]

For a friend and myself now that he has remembered more I think I read it too.

Thinks this was YA and in paperback.

There is a man who like kidnaps boys off the street and trains them to be a prince (or it could be girls to be a princess my friend isn't sure he only read the back of the book).

Kills the ones that will not work for the job and only keeps three or four to train up completely.

There is a war going on and the evil man wants control.

It is not The False Prince

[Kate]

Blue ~~
Perhaps you could encourage your friend to come on the site. It helps if there can be direct response to questions asked. Still, we won't deny your request!

Where is the book set? What time period, too?
When did your friend read it?
Was it new at the time your friend read it?
Is the POV of the man, or one or more of the children?
What age are the children?

Also ~~
You can "bump" your thread every month or so. This pushes your thread back to the top of the folder instead of languishing here on page 82 where fewer eyes will see it. Get back in the game! Bump!
You can do this by typing a new comment at the end of the thread, or even by typing the word "bump."
Good luck!

[Blue]

He says it was set in a fantasy world that is sort of renaissance.

He read the back of the book a couple of years ago and he thinks the book was a couple of years old.

The POV is multiple POVs (he thinks), or it could be just from one of the kids with an occasional one from someone else.

The children are say 12-17 years old.

Thanks for bumping I forgot to bump this one when I bumped my other ones.

[Blue]

bump

[Blue]

bump

[Blue]

bump

[Blue]

More details that my friend remembered that made me think I also read it.

- They are boys kidnapped off the street not girls
- Started with something like 15 to 20 boys
- One of the boys witnesses the murder of one of the boys who isn't right for the role
- I think the evil man had a tattoo
- The evil man chooses a smarmy boy to play the prince and takes him to the palace, everyone rejoices at the lost prince being brought back until they go to the throne room and the actual Prince is sitting with his father's sword across his lap and the Hand of the King (closest term I can think of) beside him
- Evil man throws a dagger towards the real prince and a palace guard seeing the Hand standing by the scruffy boy on the throne jumps in the way to save him

I kind of forgot about this book until we were discussing it the other day.

I think it may have been a duology not a trilogy and I cannot remember if I read book 2.

It is not Finnikin of the Rock either.

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

Blue, did you move this to Abandoned?