story craft

Genre: YA Fantasy

Format: Hardcover

My rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Favorite quote: “She felt free, but freedom wasn’t what she’d thought it would be. It was a fire blazing in the heart of a rainstorm. It was the star-swept sky trapped inside her . . . and she could barely contain the power of it.”

Review:

What’s not to love about a book with a kind-hearted prince and a dark she-elf warrior? Both Prince Javan and Sajda end up at the heart of darkness in Javan’s kingdom of Akram. This story was a little bit fairytale and a little big Gladiator. Though I’m not exactly sure how Russel Crowe would’ve handled the epic fae monsters released into the arena. But dear prince Javan handled them quite well actually.

Before I go too far down that rabbit trail and absolutely spoil the book for you, let me tell you about Javan and Sajda without giving you the whole story. (For real, that’s hard for me though because I am a verbal processor, so I want to tell you everything all while I work out the story in my heart.)

So, Sajda, despite being enslaved with iron shackles that keep her dark elf powers (mostly) in check, has a take charge attitude. She’s bold. She’s tough. She’s cold, calm, and collected. And she’s had to be all of those things until now.

Enter Javan. Perfectionist, always-hoping-to-please-his-father, Javan. But don’t let my description of the people pleasing, tenderhearted prince fool you—he is a skilled warrior in his own right. He just doesn’t have any cool magic to tap into. He does have a pet tiger, though, and I actually wish we’d seen a little bit more of Malik. I was totally ready for him to tear into the imposter prince and go searching for his true master. Alas, he is at least suspicious it seems.

Either way, Javan is honorable and an all-around likable guy even if he is too much about the plan and needs to learn to let go a little. His story broke my heart, and he’s probably the most clear tie to faith-based themes in any of these books. So, we see him wrestle with questions many of us might wrestle with. Like “Where is God (Yl’ Halik) when life is tough?” or “Why does God allow evil?” or “Why doesn’t God deliver us from difficult and/or dangerous situations?” I love walking alongside Javan as he seeks the answers to these questions and grows his faith as he does.

Though Javan is more in tune with his heart and feelings, it helps him bring the cool—and seemingly cold-hearted—Sajda out of her shell. He helps her see that power in itself isn’t bad; it’s how we use that power, the heart of the power-wielder, that matters. She goes from all control to learning how to feel deeply and be vulnerable. Instead of seeing herself as a monster, she learns that maybe we all have the potential to become monsters. It’s a choice between love and hate, good and evil.

Both the prince and the dark elf want to see the kingdom thrive—down to the poorest of the poor. As they pursue freedom, we see both of them put themselves at risk for the sake of others. And the love that grows as they do will have you using every heart emoji at your disposal.

My take:

No matter what you experience, God can use even the worst things to grow you into exactly who he wants you to be. He can free you and strengthen you to lead others to that same freedom.