Aurelia by Anne Osterlund Release Date: Now Puffin Ratings Action Romance Characters Overall Purchase on Amazon. Purchase at Powell’s. Find independent bookstores.

Someone wants crown princess Aurelia dead. And it’s up to her childhood friend, Robert, to figure out who’s trying to kill her while trying not to fall in love with her.

As Aurelia learns of the attempts on her life, she realizes she must do whatever she can to take her life into her own hands and save herself.

This was one of those charming books I picked up on a whim during a very long weekend, hoping to have a few hours of escape, and it did not disappoint. What drew me to the book, besides just the cover, was the list of “Other Books You May Enjoy” in the first few pages, which listed a number of titles that I love and some I shall have to check out now. The book certainly wasn’t the best I’d ever read, but it was an enjoyable romantic fantasy intrigue book, with a main character who is head strong and saves herself. In fact, I really feel like the ending sets up for another book, that Aurelia’s journey has just begun.

Now, this isn’t the kind of book you should think too hard about. The plot is relatively simple for all that it is a political intrigue book, and in that regard it’s rather the middle grade version of something like Crown Duel. But it read so quickly and I felt enough for the characters that the holes never bothered me. They might bother other people though, so you have fair warning that this was a “OMG, finals killed me” sort of read. If you enjoy Sharon Shinn or some of Eva Ibbotson’s titles, you’ll probably like this.

After reading this, I’m left wondering if the ending was a well-done twist or predictable. The book is set-up early on as “evil stepmother is trying to kill her!!!!” or it could possibly be a rival king. Now, being the astute reader that I am, I just kept thinking that this was far too obvious. So I started thinking about who was being set-up as the absolute least likely villain (of course, with the exception of the love interest, because it’s obviously not one of those kinds of books), and it turned out to be that person. So, was that predictable or not? I’m undecided. In general the ending was a bit of a let down anyway, and I rather hope the book has a sequel, because Aurelia’s story really wasn’t over on the last page.

Ratings Reasons:
Action 3 ½ – The book moved at a good pace, but it was also at least semi-predictable and it was a very straightforward line of plot and reasoning. Read it more for romance than action.

Romance 4 ½ – I love the “childhood friends grow up and fall in love” premise in most books, and I enjoyed it here as well. The romance isn’t the most complex or “realistic,” but it’s a sweet fairytale kind that makes me giggle a lot.

Characters 3 ½ – A weaker point of the book, the characters are rather two-dimensional and crafted to fit their place in the plot.

Overall 3 ½ – If you’re a fan of Shinn and Ibbotson style romance books, then I’d eagerly recommend it. If you want a lot more thought in your titles, then you might not find it as interesting.

Extras:
As I mentioned, Sharon Shinn and Eva Ibbotson are both good comparison writers. Their books tend to be sweet and relatively simple, but charming of their own accord. Ibbotson feels more like one of those "everything they wrote is the same as the last" writers more than Shinn does, but still, the reader knows exactly what to expect when they pick up one of their books.

Crown Duel by Sherwood Smith is a similar book with a bit more depth. There the political intrigue takes more of a center stage and the book tells a much more complex story, but with a similar core.

Parents: 10+ Solid lightweight romance book for tweens and teens, nothing improper.

Trackback Post

Related Posts