The False Prince

The False Prince (The Ascendance Trilogy #1) by Jennifer A. Nielsen

Age: Young Adult, Middle Grade
Category: Fantasy
Rating: 4 stars

Rosie Thinks: Although this book has been out since 2012, for some reason this is the first time I'd ever seen it on Goodreads. I knew this for a fact, since the summary hooked me in straightaway and made me ditch the other book I was reading halfway through. And this book certainly delivered!

To save a kingdom on the brink of civil war, Conner, a nobleman, recruits four orphans to compete to become the lost prince. It starts off quite Anastasia-like, but the characters and the plot soon move well beyond that. It is told in the perspective of Sage, one of the orphans competing. Unlike the others, he struggles to be free of Conner's not-so-altruistic machinations. He's rude, poor-mannered, a thief, incredibly intelligent and I loved him so much as an MC! With the twists and setting, telling this story in first person POV could've killed it easily for me, but somehow it worked. Sage's voice was always quick, witty and hilarious, but it didn't detract from the sometimes sombre tone of the novel.

I was a bit wary when I saw this novel marked on Goodreads as not only YA, but also Middle Grade. I am happy reading YA, but Middle Grade would be getting a bit too young for me! Thankfully, it didn't come across as a book written for children, even though it still would probably be suited for Middle Grade, despite the dark themes sometimes.

The fantasy side of this story isn't so pronounced - the world-building wasn't very detailed, beyond what was needed for the storytelling. Instead, Nielsen focused more on the characters and weaving a fairly intricate web of lies. Sage is a perfect liar, but this becomes more of an endearing quality than a fault, if that is even possible! The other characters are all well characterised, with very few of them falling into stereotypical roles. I really enjoyed reading this and am so happy the summary didn't let me down!

Percy Jackson & the Olympians and Heroes of the Olympus

Percy Jackson & the Olympians by Rick Riordan
Heroes of Olympus by Rick Riordan

Age: Middle Grade
Category: Fantasy; romance
Rating: 5 stars

Ali Thinks: Now that the last book of the Heroes of Olympus series is out, nine years after the first Percy Jackson book was published, I can finally talk about my favorite book series (while I mourn the loss of the next-book excitement). It all started off with Percy Jackson, an 11-year old boy who’s wrongly accused of stealing the Greek god of gods’ lightning bolt because apparently he’s not only half god himself, but the son of Poseidon.

On a quest to prove his innocence, he realizes there’s a lot more that meets the eye, and the Titans want to rise again. And, to his chagrin there he is right smack dab in the middle of some great prophecy to save or end the world on his sixteenth birthday. Fast-forward five years, and the world doesn’t end on Percy’s 16th, he thinks he’s got the rest of his life— the summer, at least— to hang out with his friends, his brother, and his girlfriend. What actually happens, however, is the start of Heroes of Olympus where Percy Jackson has gone missing, and three new characters are introduced, one of them knowing nothing but his name. It’s soon realized that the next Great Prophecy is already in motion and that seven half-bloods from a mix of Greek and Roman descent must (again) save the world from Mother Earth, Gaea.

Read more »