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A review by alliewithbooks
The Noble of Sperath by Siera Maley
4.0
As with so many of the books I review, I had a hard time rating this one. I'll explain that later on in the review, but just know that the rating for this book changed so much in my head (mostly only from 5 to 4, or 4 to 5 stars), but it was certainly a conundrum for me.
The Noble of Sperath is a fantasy, though not really a fantasy with very much magic in it. The only sort of "magic" within this fantasy world is the religion that the people of this world follow that dictates the emperor of all of the kingdoms. It's a little confusing, but basically every kingdom has a royal family that rules over their people, but then there is an emperor that rules over all of them. It's certainly interesting and didn't feel strange or forced within the narrative, but it's certainly a strange concept, though I can understand how it works. I suppose the royal families of these kingdoms would be closer to what a Lord or Lady would be as they "rule" over their specific towns and such.
We follow the story of a nameless girl who has just woken up and realized that she has the huge task of finding 12 people from each kingdom and choosing between them to find the new emperor (these emperors can be either male or female and there doesn't seem to be any sort of sexism or preference towards a male ruler). She promptly names herself Lia with the help of her new friend Kaleb and is then sent on a mission to find her first contender for the role of emperor, Princess Jade from the kingdom of Sperath. Jade has five suitors all vying for her affection and the role as king when she is crowned as queen. However, Jade doesn't seem very keen on marrying any of the men, and there is a rumor around the castle that she prefers women to men. It's never explicitly stated whether she only likes women, or if perhaps she likes both men and women, but it's made clear in the text that and from Jade herself that she likes women. It is hinted at (not as explicitly) that Lia also likes women. However, though she flirts with Jade, it's not made clear whether she genuinely likes her or if she's merely using her to gain trust.
On that same note, I think it's pertinent to say that this is a VERY slow burn. I read a review for this book on Amazon saying that the two girls fall in love too fast, but there's literally nothing within the text that supports this claim. (Beware: this might be a spoiler) There are no actual, concrete couples in this book. I definitely ship Lia and Jade pretty hardcore, but by the end of the novel no one is in a relationship. This book focuses less on romance and much more on political intrigue and self-discovery. This is part of a series, so I suspect that the next book will focus more heavily on romance as Jade and Lia get to know each other better (or at least I hope so!).
I think it's also important to note that this book is ownvoices for the wlw representation as the author identifies as a lesbian. Despite the lack of relationships or couples or ships within the novel, I found that I wasn't very focused on it anyway, and the slow burn nature of the story made me excited for the next book.
Overall, I really enjoyed the book, and I feel as though my true rating is a 4.5 stars rather than just 4. To be honest, I'm still waiting for Goodreads to allow half stars, because that would make my life so much easier! Anyway, I really enjoyed this book and definitely recommend it to those of you who don't mind a bit of slow burn romance in your life. I found the fantasy elements really intriguing, and I was happy to find a fantasy that had women who love women in it, and it wasn't treated as strange or taboo or anything like that.
The Noble of Sperath is a fantasy, though not really a fantasy with very much magic in it. The only sort of "magic" within this fantasy world is the religion that the people of this world follow that dictates the emperor of all of the kingdoms. It's a little confusing, but basically every kingdom has a royal family that rules over their people, but then there is an emperor that rules over all of them. It's certainly interesting and didn't feel strange or forced within the narrative, but it's certainly a strange concept, though I can understand how it works. I suppose the royal families of these kingdoms would be closer to what a Lord or Lady would be as they "rule" over their specific towns and such.
We follow the story of a nameless girl who has just woken up and realized that she has the huge task of finding 12 people from each kingdom and choosing between them to find the new emperor (these emperors can be either male or female and there doesn't seem to be any sort of sexism or preference towards a male ruler). She promptly names herself Lia with the help of her new friend Kaleb and is then sent on a mission to find her first contender for the role of emperor, Princess Jade from the kingdom of Sperath. Jade has five suitors all vying for her affection and the role as king when she is crowned as queen. However, Jade doesn't seem very keen on marrying any of the men, and there is a rumor around the castle that she prefers women to men. It's never explicitly stated whether she only likes women, or if perhaps she likes both men and women, but it's made clear in the text that and from Jade herself that she likes women. It is hinted at (not as explicitly) that Lia also likes women. However, though she flirts with Jade, it's not made clear whether she genuinely likes her or if she's merely using her to gain trust.
On that same note, I think it's pertinent to say that this is a VERY slow burn. I read a review for this book on Amazon saying that the two girls fall in love too fast, but there's literally nothing within the text that supports this claim. (Beware: this might be a spoiler) There are no actual, concrete couples in this book. I definitely ship Lia and Jade pretty hardcore, but by the end of the novel no one is in a relationship. This book focuses less on romance and much more on political intrigue and self-discovery. This is part of a series, so I suspect that the next book will focus more heavily on romance as Jade and Lia get to know each other better (or at least I hope so!).
I think it's also important to note that this book is ownvoices for the wlw representation as the author identifies as a lesbian. Despite the lack of relationships or couples or ships within the novel, I found that I wasn't very focused on it anyway, and the slow burn nature of the story made me excited for the next book.
Overall, I really enjoyed the book, and I feel as though my true rating is a 4.5 stars rather than just 4. To be honest, I'm still waiting for Goodreads to allow half stars, because that would make my life so much easier! Anyway, I really enjoyed this book and definitely recommend it to those of you who don't mind a bit of slow burn romance in your life. I found the fantasy elements really intriguing, and I was happy to find a fantasy that had women who love women in it, and it wasn't treated as strange or taboo or anything like that.