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| TITLE: Stolen Songbird (The Malediction Trilogy #1) AUTHOR: Danielle L. Jensen PUBLISHER: Strange Chemistry PUB DATE: Apr 1 2014 |
For those who have loved Seraphina and Graceling comes another truly fabulous fantasy...
For five centuries, a witch’s curse has bound the trolls to their city beneath the ruins of Forsaken Mountain. Time enough for their dark and nefarious magic to fade from human memory and into myth. But a prophesy has been spoken of a union with the power to set the trolls free, and when Cécile de Troyes is kidnapped and taken beneath the mountain, she learns there is far more to the myth of the trolls than she could have imagined.
Cécile has only one thing on her mind after she is brought to Trollus: escape. Only the trolls are clever, fast, and inhumanly strong. She will have to bide her time, wait for the perfect opportunity.
But something unexpected happens while she’s waiting – she begins to fall for the enigmatic troll prince to whom she has been bonded and married. She begins to make friends. And she begins to see that she may be the only hope for the half-bloods – part troll, part human creatures who are slaves to the full-blooded trolls. There is a rebellion brewing. And her prince, Tristan, the future king, is its secret leader.
As Cécile becomes involved in the intricate political games of Trollus, she becomes more than a farmer’s daughter. She becomes a princess, the hope of a people, and a witch with magic powerful enough to change Trollus forever.
For five centuries, a witch’s curse has bound the trolls to their city beneath the ruins of Forsaken Mountain. Time enough for their dark and nefarious magic to fade from human memory and into myth. But a prophesy has been spoken of a union with the power to set the trolls free, and when Cécile de Troyes is kidnapped and taken beneath the mountain, she learns there is far more to the myth of the trolls than she could have imagined.
Cécile has only one thing on her mind after she is brought to Trollus: escape. Only the trolls are clever, fast, and inhumanly strong. She will have to bide her time, wait for the perfect opportunity.
But something unexpected happens while she’s waiting – she begins to fall for the enigmatic troll prince to whom she has been bonded and married. She begins to make friends. And she begins to see that she may be the only hope for the half-bloods – part troll, part human creatures who are slaves to the full-blooded trolls. There is a rebellion brewing. And her prince, Tristan, the future king, is its secret leader.
As Cécile becomes involved in the intricate political games of Trollus, she becomes more than a farmer’s daughter. She becomes a princess, the hope of a people, and a witch with magic powerful enough to change Trollus forever.
- Source: Goodreads
Rating:
“They aren’t ugly… More like beautiful things that have had the misfortune of being broken.”
Such a gorgeously done romance!
Stolen Songbird kind of reminds me of Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge. Both having high-spirited protagonists forced to marry these wicked yet drool-worthy young men that although you despise, you also kind of can’t help but root for. Oh, come on! Don’t give me that look; I’m not the only one with a “drawn to bad boys” complex. Admit it!
Anyway, although Cruel Beauty tends to be a lot faster when it comes to pacing, and Stolen Songbird has given readers a more tedious lengthy story flow, I felt I liked the latter better. Stolen Songbird was able to give me a better view on the magical aspect of the story. As long as the chapters may have been, it was also informative, something I felt that I didn’t get enough of from Cruel Beauty. The pacing may have been slow but it was very well written that I hardly noticed how many pages I’ve already gone through.
I adored Cecile and Tristan. They were equally interesting in terms of being individual characters and as a couple. Oh, how I gushed over the development of their love story. I was delighted to see a romance that didn’t start off with a “love at first sight” innuendo.
I am yet again, a little lost with the other characters in this book, which is always my problem with books that have a number of characters. Some have names that are quite a mouthful. And they all seemed to be a little crazy, but I like them that way. They add in an interesting mix to the story.
The mystery of the trolls and their history has yet to unfold but the lot of stories and speculations over what really happened is a riveting part that I couldn’t stop pondering over.
The trek through Stolen Songbird may have been long and descriptive, but trust me when I say the wait on how things unravel in the end was worthwhile.
*Thank you, Strange Chemistry, Angry Robot Ltd. and NetGalley for allowing me to view Stolen Songbird.
