Review: A beautiful tale for Christian fantasy lovers
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 20, 2012
Summary:Tayte Bashan is the princess of Undae Island and she has been waiting for her prophesied prince.  The King was supposed to send the prince for her to marry and to help her lead her people, but instead the King sends Athan, a tutor.  At least Tayte thinks he's a tutor... actually Athan is the prince in disguise.  However, Tayte is dismayed.  She feels the tutor as been sent to fix things because she has not been a good ruler.  Which, unfortunately, is true.  The people of Undae have become lazy and distracted and they do not recognize Tayte's rule.Athan not only helps her gain the respect of her people, but he also introduces Tayte, and the people of Undea, to the King.  In the processes of restoring the Island, and uncovering a plot to overthrow Tayte's rule, Tayte undeniably falls in love with Athan, and he with her.  But Tayte must decide which path to take.  Does she give in to her love for Athan or does she hold out for a greater love of the prince promised to her by the King?What I Liked:The romance between Athan and Tayte.  I thought this was very nicely developed throughout the course of the book.  It was wonderfully aching toward the end when the Athan wanted nothing more than to tell Tayte that he was the prince, but he knew he must obey the King.  Equally, heartbreaking was Tayte's love for Athan.  She wanted so badly to be with him, but she knew she wanted to please the King by waiting for her prince.I also really liked the imagery and themes through the book.  The King (God) sending out His adopted children to all corners of the world with the mission of teaching people about His good news.  The King's timing being perfect and His ways being mysterious.  How the King loves and desires a constant relationship with his people.What I Wasn't Thrilled With:As much as I loved this story I thought it may have been a bit long.  After the conflict on the island was resolved, it felt too long to get to the ultimate reveal of Athan as the prince.  However, I still enjoyed the anticipation of the reveal.The only other thing that bothered me a little bit was the ease of the conversations with the King.  Tayte just jumps right into talking to the King and understanding the King whereas most people who come to know the Lord struggle with this intimate relationship in the beginning of their walk.  It may cause new Christians to feel discouraged that they can't find similar ease.What I LOVED:I loved how Clover showed that even though a person is an adopted child of the King (God) they still have things they need to learn, they still have things that God is trying to work out of them or through them.  Even the prince, who had been a child of the King for so long, had important things to learn from his journey as the tutor.  Many of the things the characters learned were wonderful reminders for me.  Athan's need to remember that the King was not just Lord, but a Daddy who loved him as a son. And Tayte's need to learn to fully trust the King no matter how wrong it feels at the time.  Wonderful!This is a beautifully written tale.  I would highly recommend it to any Christian fantasy lover.  To see more of my fantasy reviews go to:[...]