The Slave Prince By Jeyna Grace || Book Review

Hey Guys! It is Max here and I will be bringing all of you along with me to review a book called ‘The Slave Prince’ by Jeyna Grace. Some of you may know who Jeyna is as I had a review of her book called ‘The Battle Of Oz’ up on my blog which I totally despised. Despite my dislikes for that book, this brand new novel that Jeyna had written caught me completely off guard. And yes, you are right. This book was… no words can describe how beautiful this book was, so I will just go with the word fabulous!

The Slave Prince is a Young Adult, Fantasy novel following a character named Thom who is a young prince of Alpenwhist as he discovered his true identity and ran for his life due to the King’s threads of murdering him alive.

So, without further ado, let us get into the review for this wonderful novel!

Disclaimers:

• All thoughts and opinions are on my own and…
• The book was sent to me by the author for review…
• The review for this book is spoiler-proof. So, feel free to stay until the very end of this article!

“As the smoke absorbed within itself, a white-scaled, chimerical form of a dragon materialized.”- The Slave Prince, Jeyna Grace.

Synopsis:

For fifteen years, Thom believed he was a prince of Alpenwhist. He had climbed the castle turrets to survey his kingdom, learned to duel with the sharpest blades, and stirred up palace intrigue in disguise. But one day his identity is suddenly shattered by the revelations of a blind woman: he learns that he isn’t a prince at all, but a wretched slave.

In a kingdom where ruthlessness is part of everyday life, Thom fears this new truth could be deadly. He takes flight, running from the life he knew and the one he despises, but the call to free his people beckons him home. Armed with a magic stone that instructs him through surreal visions, he must topple his once beloved brother who has since become a tyrannical king.

A fantastical retelling of the story of Moses, Thom’s adventure forces him to question if he can succeed in his quest without truly understanding who he is. He must unravel his past, present, and future before he can set his people free.

My thoughts: The Beginning

*Sob* It’s over.

Before we get into the review, I would like to do an official cover review for this beautiful novel. This novel has one of the most stunning covers that I have seen in my entire life. First of all, the colours that were added to the making of this novel’s cover were vibrant and it seemed pleasantly alive. Secondly, the mini shadow of the boy’s back who I assume is Thom, is minimalistic and simple which leads to it being beautiful. Thirdly, the font for the title of the novel and the mini crown on top of it all is just perfect. Everything blends in without a flaw and thus, I enjoy- and still do- the cover of this book!

Let us begin with this book review by commenting on the pacing of the novel. This is a short novel which has a page count of 280. The pacing was quick and the sequences that followed afterwards were even quicker and it does not have any flaw in it. Everything worked out well and it had coalesced together with the right chemicals and the right equations to slog with. It took me 1.25 days to finish this novel and yes, that is how quick the pacing was and how I was entirely glued to the book to find out what was happening next. Thus, I loved the pacing and the way it was presented! 

Moving on, we have the world-building and the atmosphere of the novel that I would like to talk about. The world-building for this novel was great in the beginning, it was described distinctly and readers’ alike would have a clear picture of the world and the characters that were in it but it was muddled a little at the end of the novel where the actions were taking place. For example, there were places in the kingdom where the author did not touch on and it would be salubrious if she did and the expanse of the world will be bigger and therefore, more stories to be unfolded. Thus, I enjoyed the world-building for this novel but it would be better if it was expanded.

In addition to the previous paragraph, I would now like to approach the atmosphere of the novel. The atmosphere had a nice blend of suspense, love, pride and faith. It was suspenseful because of the war between the princes, it had an air of love because of their mother’s death over the longing of her child, it had an atmosphere of pride due to the King’s relentless order and finally, it had an ambience of faith which put each of the characters to test for how credence they were in their magical stone. Therefore, I liked the atmosphere of the novel. 

Moreover, I would like to prattle on the topic that this novel had addressed on. The topic which this novel had sat upon was racial prejudice. The inequality for the people in this novel shimmered my skin with ferocity and I thought it was very well done because it captured the way our society is as of this very day. Therefore, I wholeheartedly relished on this book for starting a conversation for the people who are in this prejudice.

Furthermore, I would like to give a voice on the romance in this novel. I enjoyed how there were not any romance in this novel even though the author was hinting at the feelings that Thom felt when he hugged and was around Seanna. Although I root for them to be together, I- ultimately- thought that it would be a better book if the romance is non-existent in this novel and it was! Therefore, I enjoyed this book which does not contain any romance in it! 

Into the bargain, we have the plot, plot holes and the predictability of the novel that I would like to talk about. As many of you know- if you have read the synopsis that this book is a retelling of Moses from the Bible. Thom and Moses were in the same situation but Thom’s story was a little different from Moses because Magic was appended in the story. The plot which I would not expose as I would like you to experience what I have had an insight of the novel for yourself. However, what I would say is that the plot was sewn up nicely in the end and it does not have an abrupt ending and also, it does not have any plot holes, to begin with. In addition, the novel was not predictable and it had a lot of plot twists and it had all started on page 10! Therefore, I enjoyed the plot and the hypothetical plot holes of this blockbuster!

Finally, we have the action sequences in this novel that I would love to speak on. The actions in this book were awesome! Everything felt very real and the magic which had made extinct species come alive was yet again, being felt as factual. I know I am exaggerating here but if you are reading the novel or you had read the novel, you will be able to decipher what I am trying to say. 

Now, let us get into the writing section of this review!

Writing: Middle Section Of The Review

The writing style for this novel was crisp, articulate and lyrical. You can totally see the difference between the style of writing for The Battle for Oz compare to The Slave Prince. The quality of Jeyna’s writing had become better and you can perceive the way of how Jeyna had grown as an author. Now, let us talk about the way this book was written.

The lyrical writing style. I cannot help but fall in love with how wonderful the author’s writing style was. Every corner of the pages and its lines were filled with imaginative descriptions and the words- you all- the choices of words were the best part, they were all filled with purple prose and adjectives that I devoured the lyrical style of writing for this novel! Every single sentence in this book filled me with joy and I cannot wait to have more of this type of writing style in my delightful life!

Articulate writing style. The story was written in a way that was easy to follow and even if you missed some words, you will still be able to grasp on the details and information that the author required you to know. A simpler way of explaining this segment of the writing style is: It does not require a lot of focus even though it is a fantasy novel. And therefore, I liked how articulate and tranquil the writing style was to provide the readers with ease.

Crisp writing style. The verbs that the author had provided was strong and it had an everlasting impression that enabled the readers to visualize the sublime of the world and the characters that were in it. In addition, the writing style had a clear language which delivered a story which we will hold dearly. Thus, I enjoyed the writing style being clear and crisp.

Now, let us get into the characters’ section of this review!

Character: 4/5 Section Of The Review

Thom: His characterization in this book was so well-built. His actions and the causes that followed after were also, well thought out. Although he had some illogical decisions and mistakes that he had done that should not be dismissed as nothing, I still thought that it was realistic because we, as a human being, make mistakes all the time, so I liked how the author had added this element into his character. In addition, I liked how he replied the other characters with sarcasm which of course, was not a good thing but in this novel, it was a good thing because it was humorous. Furthermore, his character arc from the beginning until the ending of the novel had sprouted throughout the story- for example, in the beginning, he was a show-off and he was mean to so many human beings but as the story went on, those traits started disappearing and were replaced by kindness. Thus, I loved this character and he probably will be on my list of the favourite character of all time.  

Dedric: I really enjoyed- again, how well-built this character was. Although he was the villain of the story, you will somehow commiserate with the way he acted and the actions that he had taken which had led him to the downfall of his pitiful life. In the beginning, you will see a child who wanted happiness and pride in everything that he put his focus on but those were bashfully taken away by his father who was the King due to his love for a commoner. And following the events of Thom’s absconding, we can see that his temperament was slowing slipping away and that had engendered the decisions that he had taken which were discussed later in the novel. Thus, I enjoyed reading about a villain which I empathize with.

Seanna: She was a character that I enjoyed but do not know much about. I understand that the story is not about her but I thought that the characters besides Thom and Dedric should be well-developed as well. We meet her in the middle of the novel where Thom stayed in her house and worked for her family and as you might have expected, they quickly became friends. But other than the friends part that drove the character arc, everything else for the elements in her nature remained untouched and unexplored. For example, there was a scene in this book that anecdote on the event of the sand puppies and she was extremely upset and refused to talk to Thom about it. Why was she depressed? The question will remain unknown forever. Oh, I forgot. There was a part where she talked about her past- her mother’s death. That was devastating and I thought it impelled her character arc alongside her friendship with Thom as well! But all in all, her character was still not that well-developed. 

Reid: His characterization was not well-developed as well. I had similar issues with his character as I had with Seanna’s. He was Thom’s long-lost brother and I thought the author would touch on the topic of their past- like how was life before he was being taken away but the author did not touch on the topic and I was a little disappointed but still, there were enough details of the past and how the slaves- Eklaysians, were treated with racial prejudice and therefore, I would let it go. However, I felt that Reid was only there to assists Thom and not to do anything other than that and thus, I did not really feel a strong emotional connection for them to be together whatsoever. 

Overall: The Ending

I am giving this novel a 90% rating. It was such a fantastic story and I thought all of you would enjoy it if you give this wondrous novel a try. I am definitely looking forward to the books that Jeyna would be publishing in the future!

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This is the end of my spoiler-free review for The Slave Prince By Jeyna Grace! I hope you all enjoyed it and follow me with your email/Wordpress account to get notifications when I post a new article! Bye!