The False Princess by Eilis O'Neal

 My Review:

4 STARS

What if you found out were not a princess like you thought you were but instead you were practically a nobody?  This is the story of Sinda (Princess Nalia first), she lives in a palace and has a life any girl would dream about but that suddenly changes when she finds out she isn't the princess but just her decoy. They traded Sinda with the real princess to keep the princess safe from the tale that said she would be killed before her 16th birthday.  I almost cried when they kicked her out with only a few belongings and told her it was best to just sever the relationship fast so it would heal quicker.  How could anybody do this I thought?!  This story sounds familiar but it doesn't end like you would imagine!

I decided to pick this book up to enjoy a simple and fun read and I was not disappointed. I really enjoyed this cute story! The False Princess is jammed packed with a unique plot, delightful characters, action/adventure, mystery and of course romance!  The story line is unpredictable and unique and I was sucked in to the drama right from page one.  I thought at times I could figure out how it was going to end but I never did.

I loved the characters; Sinda was quirky, clumsy, and a bit dreary and she reminded me of a typical teenage girl. She was so full of anger at times that you just couldn't help but to relate to her, very realistic character.  Kiernan was also wonderful, he was always sarcastic but I just loved that he made an effort to continue to encourage Sinda to be the best and not beat herself up.

Some of the story was not as good as I would have hoped; like cheesy lines and not enough dialogue between the characters but this was still a great book.  Very clean romance scenes that I would let my daughter read at any age. Very good story!

About the book:

Princess and heir to the throne of Thorvaldor, Nalia's led a privileged life at court.  But everything changes when it's revealed, just after her sixteenth birthday, that she is a false princess, a stand-in for the real Nalia, who has been hidden away for her protection.  Cast out with little more than the clothes on her back, the girl now called Sinda must leave behind the city of Vivaskari, her best friend, Keirnan, and the only life she's ever known.

Sinda is sent to live with her only surviving relative, an aunt who is a dyer in a distant village. She is a cold, scornful woman with little patience for her newfound niece, and Sinda proves inept at even the simplest tasks.  But when Sinda discovers that magic runs through her veins - long-suppressed, dangerous magic that she must learn to control - she realizes that she can never learn to be a simple village girl.

Returning to Vivaskari for answers, Sinda finds her purpose as a wizard scribe, rediscovers the boy who saw her all along, and uncovers a secret that could change the course of Thorvaldor's history, forever.

A dazzling first novel, The False Princess is an engrossing fantasy full of mystery, action, and romance.