I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Nor once dreamed of seeing the wondrous wealth and beauty of Ilara, the kingdom that’s ruled her village for as long as anyone can remember. But when a childhood accident left her with a permanent scar, it became clear that her identical twin sister, Zadie, would likely be chosen to marry the Crown Prince—while Nor remained behind, unable to ever set foot on land.

Then Zadie is gravely injured, and Nor is sent to Ilara in her place. To Nor’s dismay, her future husband, Prince Ceren, is as forbidding and cold as his home—a castle carved into a mountain and devoid of sunlight. And as she grows closer to Ceren’s brother, the charming Prince Talin, Nor uncovers startling truths about a failing royal bloodline, a murdered queen…and a plot to destroy the home she was once so eager to leave.

In order to save her people, Nor must learn to negotiate the treacherous protocols of a court where lies reign and obsession rules. But discovering her own formidable strength may be the one move that costs her everything: the crown, Varenia and Zadie.

Short and Sweet

Princes from Ilara have married maidens from Varenia for generations. Nor has always known that it was either her or her sister, Zadie that would be picked to go to Ilara, but all of that changed when Nor ended up with a scar on her face. When Zadie is injured before she is set to leave for Ilara Nor is picked to go in her place. Everything isn’t as great as Nor imagined it would be, Prince Ceren is cold and off-putting. When Nor becomes closer to Prince Talin she learns a lot of things that she wasn’t aware of before coming to Ilara. Now Nor has to find a way to navigate Ilara and save her people.

Characters

Nor: Nor is our main character and I liked her. Nor was strong and wasn’t afraid to speak her mind, she risked taking Zadies place knowing that she could be killed if she was caught. Nor loves her family and the people of Varenia even if they treat her badly, she’s was still willing to do what was right and try to save them.

Zadie: Zadie is Nor’s twin sister and one of the most beautiful girls in Varenia. Zadie is constricted by a lot of rules mainly because her mother doesn’t want Zadie to jeopardize her chance at going to Ilara. Zadie is meek and doesn’t speak out much and thats one thing I didn’t like about her, especially after her accident.

Sami: Sami is Nor and Zadie’s childhood friend and their only friend. Sami is the son of the governor but he doesn’t have much say in what his father does, but Sami does plan on being governor of Varenia one day and wants to rule differently than his father.

Talin: Talin is Ceren’s younger half brother. He may seem kinder than his brother but he may have his own motives, which is why Nor has to watch out for him. Talin is helpful in trying to keep Nor safe from Ceren but Talin isn’t always around because he doesn’t live in the castle with everyone.

Ceren: I thought that Ceren would have some kind of redeeming qualities, but that wasn’t the case at all. You want to feel bad for him because he’s sick, but then he’ll just do something thats awful to counteract you feeling bad. He loves to make people feel uncomfortable and he’s just plain cruel.

Romance

Nor and Ceren: Since Nor took the place of Zadie, Nor is going to become Ceren’s wife. These two didn’t have any chemistry. I don’t think Ceren likes anyone at all. Ceren is cold and cruel and only kept Nor around to use her.

Nor and Talin: Nor has been attracted to Talin since he came to Varenia. Nor didn’t know Talin was a prince until she came to Ilara. Talin is different from his brother in that he’s kind and willing to make Nor feel comfortable.

Zadie and Sami: Zadie and Sami have always been in love, which is why it was hard for both of them when they found out that Zadie was chosen to go to Ilara. This leads to Zadie doing something dangerous, which was a risk because in the end she didn’t know if Sami would even stay with her after what she did.

My Thoughts

~ I thought it was interesting that the people in Varenia are only used to the sea while everyone from Ilara is used to the land. When Nor finally gets to Ilara she learns that adjusting to land isn’t as easy as she thought it would be.

~ I thought Nor’s mother was horrible and was an antagonist herself. Nor’s mother would be the antagonist on Varenia while Ceren would be the antagonist in Ilara. I thought Nor’s mothers attitude was horrible and she obviously favored Zadie because she would be the one chosen to go to Ilara, she also tried to blame Nor for Zadie’s accident.

~ This book started off very slow, I’m sure it was slow to build up the setting and the plot but I don’t think it really helped build up the plot. When we finally got to the plot and some action the book was basically over.

~ Nor decides that while she’s in Ilara she’ll do some spying and try to report back to Sami by meeting him at a market.

~ In Ilara it’s the women who are supposed to be in charge but since there hasn’t been any female heirs and the queens have died before their husbands, the kings have ruled.

~ In Varenia there are pink pearls that can be traded in for currency and these pearls also have healing properties, which is why Ceren is interested in learning more about them and is trying to keep them for himself.

~ While in Ilara Nor is confined to the castle and isn’t allowed to leave unless Ceren gives her permission.

~In the castle Nor makes an alliance with Melina, an older woman who also came from Varenia. Nor has to be careful when meeting with Melina because Ceren doesn’t like her.

~ Nor learns a lot about things that have happened in the past and Ceren’s future plans which will affect the people in Varenia.

~ I thought the ending was okay it could have been better I think if the pace of the book was a little faster and the plot didn’t occur towards the end of the book there could have been more added that would have made the book more exciting.

Overall

The book ended on a cliffhanger and I’m interested to see what will happen next with Nor especially because of everything that happened in the end. I liked this book but I thought that the pacing was slow and there wasn’t much that happened until the end.