Sep 7, 2013

The False Prince - Jennifer A. Nielsen

In this first book in a remarkable trilogy, an orphan is forced into a twisted game with deadly stakes.
Choose to lie...or choose to die.
In a discontent kingdom, civil war is brewing. To unify the divided people, Conner, a nobleman of the court, devises a cunning plan to find an impersonator of the king's long-lost son and install him as a puppet prince. Four orphans are recruited to compete for the role, including a defiant boy named Sage. Sage knows that Conner's motives are more than questionable, yet his life balances on a sword's point -- he must be chosen to play the prince or he will certainly be killed. But Sage's rivals have their own agendas as well.
As Sage moves from a rundown orphanage to Conner's sumptuous palace, layer upon layer of treachery and deceit unfold, until finally, a truth is revealed that, in the end, may very well prove more dangerous than all of the lies taken together.
An extraordinary adventure filled with danger and action, lies and deadly truths that will have readers clinging to the edge of their seats.
I forget how I originally heard of this book, but when I saw it at the library I snatched it up!
I started it on a short camping trip my family took and had it finished in a matter of a couple days. It was a very surprising read. Don't let the synopsis fool you, this book has way more going on than meets the eye!
When I started it, I immediately loved the main character, Sage. I laughed so many times and was blown away by his quick thinking and cleverness. He was an excellent character!
There are so many complexities in this book it's hard to give an appropriate review with out spoiling it all! The characters were all very impressive, there was not one of them that didn't surprise me in one way or another!
I cannot stress enough that there is way more going on than what the synopsis says.
At one point I started to make a prediction in my head about the outcome of the story but it hardly got any further than "what if..." before I pushed it aside to keep reading. Turns out that the beginnings of that though were correct!
But that's seriously about as predictable as this book was, I only had an inkling of a suspicion to how it would end.
I really, really, liked this book! It didn't have any romance or a cliffhanger, though I suspect the presents of both in the next book...
I loved how quickly I fell for this book! I loved the characters, the depth, the unpredictability, and the humor! All very well written and put together! A+ for this book!
Title - The False Prince
Author - Jennifer A. Nielsen
Series/Trilogy Title - The Ascendance Trilogy
Book in Series/Trilogy - #1
Pages - 342
Type of Book - Fantasy
Website - http://www.jennielsen.com/

No comments: