Friends with ARCs | The Traitor Prince (Ravenspire #3) by C.J. Redwine

Collaborative feature with Alexa since Nov 2013. We read ARCs together and post our reviews on the same date.

The Traitor Prince by C.J. Redwine
pub 2/13/18 by Balzer + Bray
Young Adult - Fantasy
Received from pub via Edelweiss

Plot • Javan, the crown prince of Akram, has spent the last ten years at an elite boarding school, studying and excelling to make his father proud and honor his late mother. On the day he's meant to return home, assassins attempt to murder him and an imposter takes his place. While he manages to survive, no one believes he's actually the prince. Instead he gets thrown into Maqbara, the kingdom's most dangerous prison. The only way he can find an audience with the king and prove his identity is to win the tournament. But to do that he'll have to outsmart the warden, the inmates, this imposter and find allies.

Characters • While the story and background was interesting, it was very much the main character, Javan, and his allies that made me want to keep reading. Javan's life is turned upside down but he never falters from what he needs to do. He wants to protect his father, the throne and bring justice to the kingdom as he witnesses what cruelties his people face. He's humble and smart enough to know he can't do it alone and that's where Sajda, the warden's slave, comes in. Sadja is distrustful and initially wants nothing to do with Javan. But soon enough, they get under each other's skin and I enjoyed watching that unfold. The author writes their chemistry SO well.

Writing • Of the three books in this series, I did feel like the writing in this one was the weakest. Both the beginning and especially the ending felt abrupt and rushed and the villain wasn't given enough depth. His backstory is alluded to but I think knowing more would've elevated the story so he wasn't just this one-note evil person.

Overall feelings • I liked the book overall! And while it wasn't my favorite, the romance made it worth reading.

What's your favorite movie where the characters switch places? • This won't come as a surprise but the answer is Parent Trap (the Lindsay Lohan version)!