Review: not my go-to story for romance
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 03 3, 2014
Review posted on Books on Silver Wings blog.2.5 stars rounded to 3 starsTo end the war between fae and dragons, a fae king will marry a dragon princess. Arryn, the fae king, is new on the throne and after a long period of warring with the dragons, decides to marry a dragon princess to bring peace. Shann is the dragon princess sent to New Phalba to be the queen, but no one expects her to come in human form. The Phalbans are wary of their new queen and distrustful about dragon culture. Combined with threats from inside New Phalba as well as outside, Arryn's marriage with Shann may not save their kingdoms after all.I love the idea of the fae and dragon marrying to end war and keep peace, even though the idea isn't novel. The romance is a nice touch and contrasts well with the mystery and warring attitude of the fae court.Shann's character grew during the story. She started out as a shy, inexperienced princess to finding courage and trust to become an empress. It's interesting to read about how she adjusts to life with the fae, who have totally different customs and a hostility towards the dragons.Arryn, on the other hand, feels very much like a storybook character. He's subjected to all the circumstances in the story and reacts in a way the author wants. He falls in love with Shann almost immediately but casts her out at the first hint of deceit to build up the drama. His character is not willful or compelling, so he's not memorable for me.The ending almost seems like a cliff-hanger ending. There are many loose ends that I wanted to be resolved. For example, the story is missing a piece about Shann's brother and father and how they will handle the new changes in the royal family. I didn't get the feeling that Phalbans were reluctant to go to war and the soldier's reluctance to shed blood at the end seems unnatural. There's got to be some more resistant among the Phalban people. The revealing of the traitor is very sudden and unexpected. I think the whole mystery and suspense can be more intense and a better plotting would benefit the story a lot.Overall, I love the world building, but this will not be my go-to story for romance.*review copy received in exchange for an honest review*