A review by liralen
The False Princess, by Eilis O'Neal
3.0
Ooh, surprisingly satisfying. Nalia's her parents' only daughter, the princess and heir to the throne. Except...then she learns the truth: she's a stand-in, brought in to replace the true princess and prevent that real princess from dying a violent death before she turned sixteen.
'Nalia', who learns that her given name is Sinda, is cast out to live with her one remaining blood relative, a peasant woman. This is where I started shouting (silently; I was audiobooking at work) 'you idiots! You raised her in a palace, told her she was a princess, and risked her dying a violent and bloody death only to cast her aside without so much as a second glance?' But that's one of the things the book did really well. Sinda's pretty much on the same page. She understands what the palace's rationale might be (give her too much money and/or power and she might become a threat to the throne) but also sees how much more difficult they have made her life. As a commoner, she cannot marry a nobleman (as she was raised to do); the skills she have learned have left her unprepared for the life of a commoner (which she was born to). Eventually, Sinda realises that she must take her future in her own hands...and eventually, she realises that the new truths she has learned about the royal lineage are not truths at all, but part of a long-game attempt at a bloodless coup.
My favourite side character is Sinda's aunt, I think. She's a reserved woman, reserved to the point of coldness, but she also manages a fair amount of complexity: she's not a bad woman, or even a harsh one, but she's just as aware as Sinda is (if not more aware) that Sinda cannot fit into her simple way of life. She'll take Sinda in and try to do right by her, but that doesn't mean she'll like it or welcome Sinda with open arms.
There's a lot here. The story could have spun out in an entirely different way, moving away from the royal family for good as Sinda stayed with her aunt or focused on magic...but instead the story is layered to pull back in around and around, bringing bits and pieces from the beginning of the story in later. Nicely done. 3.5 stars.
'Nalia', who learns that her given name is Sinda, is cast out to live with her one remaining blood relative, a peasant woman. This is where I started shouting (silently; I was audiobooking at work) 'you idiots! You raised her in a palace, told her she was a princess, and risked her dying a violent and bloody death only to cast her aside without so much as a second glance?' But that's one of the things the book did really well. Sinda's pretty much on the same page. She understands what the palace's rationale might be (give her too much money and/or power and she might become a threat to the throne) but also sees how much more difficult they have made her life. As a commoner, she cannot marry a nobleman (as she was raised to do); the skills she have learned have left her unprepared for the life of a commoner (which she was born to). Eventually, Sinda realises that she must take her future in her own hands...and eventually, she realises that the new truths she has learned about the royal lineage are not truths at all, but part of a long-game attempt at a bloodless coup.
My favourite side character is Sinda's aunt, I think. She's a reserved woman, reserved to the point of coldness, but she also manages a fair amount of complexity: she's not a bad woman, or even a harsh one, but she's just as aware as Sinda is (if not more aware) that Sinda cannot fit into her simple way of life. She'll take Sinda in and try to do right by her, but that doesn't mean she'll like it or welcome Sinda with open arms.
There's a lot here. The story could have spun out in an entirely different way, moving away from the royal family for good as Sinda stayed with her aunt or focused on magic...but instead the story is layered to pull back in around and around, bringing bits and pieces from the beginning of the story in later. Nicely done. 3.5 stars.