Shattered Princess is the first book in Avery Song’s and
Veronica Agnus’ new supernatural spin-off series. These two authors combine
forces yet again to give readers a fast-paced engaging story that introduces
readers to Castalia – a dragon fae hybrid. Castalia’s first few years of life
are far from the type that should be true for a young child, but an act of love
for one how stood by her when she was at her loneliest moments will take her to
a new realm and open new doors that she would have never thought possible. As
she grows she will learn more about herself and the potential future that lies
ahead. She will learn about the dangers that lurk around every corner for those
who are deemed a threat to another’s quest for power and how she must fight to
survive it all.
Shattered Princess is one of those books that quickly
grabbed my attention and had me page-turning to the end. When I had to put this
book down…I was most reluctant to do so because that’s just how much the
authors captivated me. I love that I get to have Castalia has a young child at
the beginning of this book. For me, it helps to set the stage for how she grows
to be who she is as a teenager and then as an “adult” later on. I say “adult”
because we all know that just because you reach the “age of adulthood” doesn’t
automatically mean you are an “adult.” Just like “age of consent” doesn’t
automatically mean you should go jumping off into bed with someone because you
are now “of age.”
I should probably say at this point…this book probably won’t
be for everyone. Even for those who love paranormal romances and enjoy these
paranormal prison books, there may be some…unpleasant elements to this book
that they will struggle with. Castalia endures a lot as a small child and one
of the early characters makes it quite clear that they had darker intentions in
mind when it comes to young Castalia. It’s mentioned throughout the story in
different places so it’s not like readers can just read it one place, skip that
part, and then it’s over.
There are a couple of time skips in this story, but I don’t
mind as I know that it would have dragged the storyline down to have to read
about her development years between six and 16 and then again between 16 and 18
years old. Overall, I enjoy Castalia as a character. She’s engaging and quite a
bit of fun. The other characters – Cerberus, Loki, and Lucifer all pique my
interest as well. While Loki is supposed to be the “main” love interest at the
moment, I feel that he’s a bit lost in the storyline. I expected him to be mentioned
more than he is, so sometimes I lose focus of him. Cerberus really reminds me
of Hellsin from another Avery Song’s series. Hellsin is a mixed back for me,
but Cerberus I gravitate more towards. He seems more fun and less…of that
controlling, territorial vibe that Hellsin gives off.
I truly enjoyed this book, but it’s not without its personal
drawbacks for me. I’m probably old-school for this, but a six-year-old talking
about the age of consent to have sex and how at 16 it’s almost literally impossible
for them to not have sex…it just comes off wrong/inappropriate for me. She’s a
child. I know she’s been through a lot, but it just seems wrong for her to be
saying something like that. The other thing that I didn’t really like was when
she, in my opinion, goes to have a tantrum when she meets a certain character.
I get that she was upset, but the outburst was 1) predictable (the characters
tend to do so in each series) and 2) I felt it was childish. She asks for an
explanation, and when one is attempted to be offered she screams over the other
person, refuses to listen, then storms off. I was disappointed with her “sorry”
when she learns the truth. “Sorry” really doesn’t cut it for an apology.
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