Romantasy Melody
The Forgotten Prince by Tanya Anne Crosby – Book Review
Mar 20
3 min read
Book Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Series: The Goldenchild Prophecy (Book 3)
Genre: New Adult Historical Fantasy
Spice: Medium
Summary:
After taking back the city of Trevena from her estranged husband, Loc’s, control, Princess Gwendolyn of Cornwall must make the difficult decision to leave her home and birthright in the hands of her brand-new ally, Caradoc. Gwen would prefer to stay and help rebuild her city, but to unite the tribes of Pretania and defeat Loc, she will have to retrieve the Claímh Solais from the Fae realm. The legendary sword of light was once kept in the vault of Trevena, but Málik took the sword back to the Fae King before Gwen’s father was killed. Now, Gwen will have to trust the reticent Fae male is leading her down the right path to go and retrieve the sword. Along with her protector Bryn, the mercurial Fae female Esme, and the erudite Druid Lir, Gwen and Málik will travel back to the Druid’s home to try to convince them to let Gwen use their portal to the Fae realm. Along the way, Gwen must make tough decisions to lead her party and become the Queen she wishes to be. But will she place her faith in the right person, or is one of the members of her party using Gwen for their own purposes?
Reaction:
The Forgotten Prince is like a comfort blanket for those that enjoy the classic fantasy tale of a ragtag bunch travelling across the land on a quest to retrieve a magical object. Except in this travelling party, Gwen progressively doubts who she can trust, bringing in elements of a whodunnit mystery. The twists and turns of the plot keep the reader engaged, and just like its predecessor’s this book has a great ending. Gwen is really growing up as a character. She’s standing up for herself but still has realistic doubts about whether she will be able to achieve her goals and unite the tribes. She is also learning how to control her own narrative instead of worrying about how others perceive her. The fantasy lore keeps getting deeper and more interesting as the story continues. Once again, these elements are incorporated so seamlessly into the story that it almost doesn’t seem like a fantasy book. The one thing that wasn’t how I expected was the pace of the book. Typically, in a book that’s main plot device is a quest, it’s made very clear what the quest’s end goal is from the beginning of the story. But the goal I had in my mind for the quest was not actually achieved in this book, which just threw me off my rhythm a bit as I read through the story and left me a bit dissatisfied at the end…even though I loved the ending. I’m super intrigued to see where Gwen’s story goes as this book does end on quite the cliffhanger.
What I enjoyed:
· I’m finally clicking with Gwen’s character in this book. She’s showing some true leadership and outgrowing this mold of a woman that has plagued her for the first two installments of the series. Instead, she’s taking elements she appreciated from the various individuals she’s looked up to but rejecting the things she recognized as their weaknesses to become the strongest leader she can be.
· A theme within Gwen’s party is a lack of trust; Gwen has constant doubts about whether people are telling her the truth. This led to interesting dynamics between the characters in addition to the jealousy Gwen continues to have over Málik and Esme’s rapport. I’m a sucker for this kind of charged environment!
· I both love and hate how slowly Málik and Esme’s secrets are being revealed. They come along so sparingly, but every time they start talking about their Fae origins and legends I’m on the edge of my seat.
What I didn't enjoy:
