Book Review: The Traitor Prince by C. J. Redwine
The Traitor Prince (Ravenspire #3)
by C. J. Redwine
Blurb: Javan Najafai, crown prince of Akram, has spent the last ten years at an elite boarding school, far away from his kingdom. But his eagerly awaited return home is cut short when a mysterious imposter takes his place—and no one believes Javan is the true prince.
After barely escaping the imposter’s assassins, Javan is thrown into Maqbara, the kingdom’s most dangerous prison. The only way to gain an audience with the king — and reveal Javan’s identity — is to fight in Maqbara’s yearly tournament. But winning is much harder than acing competitions at school, and soon Javan finds himself beset not just by the terrifying creatures in the arena, but also a band of prisoners allied against him, and even the warden herself.
The only person who can help him is Sajda, who has been enslaved by Maqbara’s warden since she was a child, and whose guarded demeanor and powerful right hook keep the prisoners in check. Working with Sajda might be the only way Javan can escape alive — but she has dangerous secrets.
Together, Javan and Sajda have to outwit the vicious warden, outfight the deadly creatures, and outlast the murderous prisoners intent on killing Javan. If they fail, they’ll be trapped in Maqbara for good—and the secret Sajda’s been hiding will bury them both.
Cover Review: I love the Ravenspire book covers. They're so pretty. This one has a cool dark purple color that mixes well with the highlights of red and silver. There's also a strong circle theme here and it catches the eye.
Plot: Absolutely riveting. I could barely put it down while I was reading and read most of it about two days. This is a retelling of The Prince and the Pauper and was so cleverly done. I adored it even more than The Wish Granter, which was the previous book in the series.
Characters: There were three main points of view- Javen, the prince, Sajda the warden's slave, and Rahim, the prince's look-alike.
Javen was raised to rule his kingdom but then is suddenly accused of being an impostor and thrown in his kingdom's worst jail. In the end, it actually makes him a better character and a better king. The romance between him and Sajda was so sweet and beautiful.
Sajda is the one with the secret which I won't tell, although it comes out pretty early in the story. She was a beautifully flawed character. She tough because she needed to be, but also loved things like competing with Javen and looking at the stars.
Rahim had the least page time, but you really came to understand where he was coming from, even if he was a despicable piece of trash not worthy of a merciful death. (Do I have strong feelings about this? Not at all.) He was a great villain though.
World: The story this time takes place in the kingdom of Akram, which had a distinctly Arabic vibe (another thing I love about this series, all the different kingdoms). But most of the story actually takes place in the giant underground prison, which I thought was clever and interesting. It made for a great setting.
Other: One, I loved Javen's faith. It reminded me a lot of Christianity in the fact that he comes to realize the god he believes in placed him in the prison for a reason, even though he prayed for deliverance. It's powerful message in a world where most people give up faith instead of growing in it.
Two, it was really clean. Not a lot of kissing and no curse words that I can remember. It was a little violent, but then it does take place in a prison, so what can you expect?
Rating:
Have you read this book? What other unusual stories would you like to see retold? Tell me in the comments.
Suggested Posts:
Comments
Post a Comment