Reviewed By: Jessica P.
Publisher: Imprint
Recommended Age: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy, Retelling
Two proud kingdoms stand on opposite shores, with only a bloody history between them.
As best friend and lady-in-waiting to the princess, Branwen is guided by two principles: devotion to her homeland and hatred for the raiders who killed her parents. When she unknowingly saves the life of her enemy, he awakens her ancient healing magic and opens her heart. Branwen begins to dream of peace, but the princess she serves is not so easily convinced. Fighting for what's right, even as her powers grow beyond her control, will set Branwen against both her best friend and the only man she's ever loved.
Inspired by the star-crossed tale of Tristan and Eseult, this is the story of the legend’s true heroine: Branwen. For fans of Graceling and The Mists of Avalon, this is the first book of a lush fantasy trilogy about warring countries, family secrets, and forbidden romance.
About the Author: Kristina Pérez is a half-Argentine/half-Norwegian native New Yorker. She has spent the past two decades working as a journalist and academic in Europe and Asia. She is the author of The Myth of Morgan la Fey and holds a PhD in Medieval Literature from the University of Cambridge. Sweet Black Waves is her debut novel.
This one started out really well I fell in love with Branwen and man do I love Celtic mythology! The Mists Of Avalon was one and still is one of my favorite stories.
Do I Recommend this book? I do recommend this one if you don’t mind a few issues.
Branwen was the star of this title and even she started making some very bad choices by the end of this book. That being said it was still pretty good. I do wish that the magical aspect would have taken more center stage. As we get pretty far in this with only a handful of magic creeping up. So I’m hoping we get more in book two.
The world building was pretty good. I loved all the descriptions and the use of the old ones etc. I do hope we get even more in the coming titles.
In the end for this one, I think it could have been shortened just a bit. There’s a lot of stuff in here that felt like filler. I also think that a dual POV of the cousins would have been great as well. It hopefully would have made me hate the princess less.
All in all, I will most likely check out the next book just to see what happens. If you make it to the end of this one be prepared for one killer cliffhanger!
Go Into This One Knowing: Light magic, old gods, heavy on the Celtic mythology, insta love, selfish princess
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FTC Guidelines: In accordance with FTC guidelines regarding endorsements and testimonials for bloggers, I would like my readers to know that many of the books I review are provided to me for free by the publisher or author of the book in exchange for an honest review. If am compensated for any reviews on this site I will state that post has been sponsored.
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