His entire life, the crowned prince of Genai had lived under the iron fist of his father. But when you’re the son of the king of blood, certain things are expected of you. Which Preston had always accepted, for such is life. But on the night of his coronation when he accidentally crosses paths with Sadie Pierce, suddenly he’s forced into a position that will forever alter his life.
Sadie, who’d always lived a simple life in the gardens, learns in a rather drastic way that nothing in her life is as it seems when she suddenly finds herself in the presence of the crown prince of Genai.–from the description of The Gift That was Promised
Being raised on different sides of the land, with such different morals, upbringings, and statuses; how will the two fare when the king of blood announces they are to be betrothed? Which coincidentally is right after Sadie reveals to the crowned prince, that she isn’t the typical human. Will they be able to find a common ground? Or will the threat that lies between them be too much to bear?
Thank you so much to the author for providing me with a digital copy for review!
Honestly, this is probably one of the hardest reviews I’ve written as of yet! Subjectively, I have to give this book two out of five stars, since it doesn’t quite fit what I usually look for in a book. However, objectively and without my own personal preferences biasing my rating, it probably deserves closer to three stars. Maybe even three-and-a-half?
Anyway, I tried to keep a good balance between sharing my personal opinions and objectively rating this book in this review for The Gift That was Promised. Hopefully, I succeeded!
Review
I want to start with the positives. The author’s writing itself is very good; so, I definitely appreciated that. I actually had to DNF a book right before starting this because of poor writing, so it was really a breath of fresh air. (ThaAdditionally, I liked the world-building when it came to Genai. You know how much of a sucker I am for world-building, so that shouldn’t be surprising. Honestly, I only wish we could have seen more of this fictional world!
As for the plot, this is where I have to be careful balancing being subjective and objective. Basically, I expected this book to focus more on the fantasy aspect of the story. It didn’t, though. Really, this was more of a romance novel. And while I definitely don’t have anything against romance, really, I do tend to stray away from straight-up romance novels. I also didn’t really feel the main relationship in the book, but, again, that’s personal preference speaking. (I like my fluff and warmth, okay?)
In short, I expected more focus on the fantasy elements; the battles, the politics, and all that. I really enjoyed those parts when they came up! But it definitely got overshadowed by the romance. Though, that also means that this is a book you would enjoy if that’s what you’re looking for!
I also really liked a number of the characters; I appreciated their strength and perseverance. Lacy, in particular, was a great addition to the book; seeing her grow over the course of the story was great. I also feel like Maloni was an interesting character that we didn’t see enough of; I kind of hope to see more of her in future books in this series. Honestly, she gave me similar vibes as Iris from Red Queen; needless to say, I was intrigued.
TL,DR Recommendation
In short, I think there’s definitely an audience for this book. It has some good things going for it, and there are plenty of romance lovers who would likely really enjoy it. Personally, it wasn’t quite what I was looking for, and it was different than what I expected, but hey; we all have different tastes, right?
Anyway, if you do choose to read this, drop a comment below and let me know your thoughts! Also, if you enjoyed this review for The Gift That was Promised, check out my Book Reviews tab to see more of my reviews.
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CONTENT WARNING: Abuse, dark themes, mature content/themes.
