Book Blog #114: The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen

Title: The False Prince
Author: Jennifer A. Nielsen
# of Pages: 342 (paperback)
Genres: YA, Middle Grade,  Adventure
Rating: ★★★★☆
Synopsis: In a discontent kingdom, civil war is brewing. To unify the divided people, Conner, a nobleman of the court, devises a cunning plan to find an impersonator of the king’s long-lost son and install him as a puppet prince. Four orphans are recruited to compete for the role, including a defiant boy named Sage. Sage knows that Conner’s motives are more than questionable, yet his life balances on a sword’s point—he must be chosen to play the prince or he will certainly be killed. But Sage’s rivals have their own agendas as well. 

As Sage moves from a rundown orphanage to Conner’s sumptuous palace, layer upon layer of treachery and deceit unfold, until finally, a truth is revealed that, in the end, may very well prove more dangerous than all of the lies taken together.
Review: This review is based off the second reading through the book.

I didn't realize it the first time I read it, but The False Prince is written at about the same level as Tuesdays at the Castle.

Part of the reason why I rated this book four stars instead of five (like I did previously) is because I didn't enjoy it as much as I did the first time. Of course, this may be the result of already knowing the plot, but I did notice a few imperfections I didn't notice before.

Conner's plan seemed incredibly flawed. I'm not sure how he expected to make a convincing prince in two weeks. Plus, the training that Sage/Jaron received did not seem sufficient for him to pretend to be a prince.

The way the background to how Jaron became Sage seemed a bit weak. A whole bunch of information was just awkwardly thrown at the reader at once, and the chapters it took to explain it all disrupted the flow of the story.

Overall, still a very good book! Although the writing style is appropriate for a middle-grade reading level, it is still entertaining for all ages.

Book Blog #113: The Forsaken by Lisa M. Stasse

Title: The Forsaken
Author: Lisa M. Stasse
# of Pages: 375 (paperback)
Genre: YA, Science Fiction, Romance
Rating: ★★☆☆☆
Synopsis: As an obedient orphan of the U.N.A. (the super-country that was once Mexico, the US, and Canada), Alenna learned at an early age to blend in and be quiet - having your parents taken by the police will do that to a girl. But Alenna can't help standing out when she fails a test that all sixteen-year-olds have to take: The test says she has a high capacity for brutal violence, and so she is sent to the wheel, an island where all would-be criminals end up.

The life expectancy of prisoners on the wheel is just two years, but with dirty, violent, and chaotic conditions, the time seems a lot longer as Alenna is forced to deal with civil wars for land ownership and machines that snatch kids out of their makeshift homes. Desperate, she and a charismatic warrior named Liam concoct a potentially fatal plan to flee the island. Survival may seem impossible, but Alenna is determined to achieve it anyway.
Review: For Stasse's first book, it wasn't that bad.

However, it was compared to other YA novels. The romance was undeveloped, and the reader's connection with the characters was nonexistent.

Below are the notes that I have taken while reading The Forsaken.

"'Look, I'm just trying to learn the ropes here. Don't get mad at me.'"

Actually, Alenna is in the wrong. She should understand that on this island, safety precautions may be taken. When Alenna was complaining about the tribe treating David like a full-fledged drone, Gadya has every right to yell at her. David had been hanging around with the enemy; who knows what his relationship is with them? Plus, Alenna doesn't even know this guy very well. This scene in which Gadya yells at Alenna is just a poor transition to Gadya's backstory. It stood out way too much to me because Alenna was acting irrationally.


I wish there was more than 30 pages of dystopia development before Alenna entered the wheel. The characters keep talking about the UNA and providing little snippets of information, but I would have rather experienced it first-hand through Alenna.


I don't like Liam and Alenna's relationship. They don't even know each other very well, yet they're both attracted to each other. And then Alenna gives him a stupid excuse of why she shouldn't date him, but ends up kissing him anyway later. Doesn't make any sense, and the chemistry is practically non-existent.


The big reveal of who was behind the mask was a bit predictable. It was either going to be Alenna's father or Minister Harka since Alenna recognized his voice. So that was disappointing.


The ending kiss really needed more detail. I mean, "We kissed passionately"? That's not going to cut it. It's no wonder why I couldn't feel the chemistry between the two!

You should probably use your time to read a better book than this one.