Book Review #23 [The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen]

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.

An extraordinary adventure filled with danger and action, lies and deadly truths that will have readers clinging to the edge of their seats.

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The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen is a wonderful start to a trilogy.

Most of the books I read typical is from a female POV; at times I read books from a male's POV. Sage has officially come on my list as one of my favorite male heroes. Our main character Sage is witty, clever, the typical underdog and a bit of a rebel. Along with 3 other boys Sage is taken from his orphanage by a cunning man named Connor. Connor devices a plan to make one of the 3 impersonate the falling prince (Prince Jaron) of their land. Now, this alone caught my attention, it's pretty obvious how dangerous that plan is.

It's a battle between Sage and the other candidates to win and convince Connor to choose them as the prince, as the ones who are not picked are killed. There's a lot of lies, backstabbing, and mind games amongst everyone in this book but not so much that it's hard to understand.

The story was smooth and easy to follow. I, absolutely loved Sage's voice. Nielsen did a wonderful job in crafting this character, it was hard not to fall for Sage and root for him. He had a tendency to be a step ahead of everyone sometimes without even trying.

The twist in the end was really good, I honestly didn't see it coming until around the actual reveal. I'm glad this is a trilogy and I can't wait to see what Sage will do next.

Rating: 5/5

Quote:

“Master Graves was incensed and said, as punishment for my disruption, I would have to write my letters an extra ten times that day.
"Ten times the better I'll know them, then." I said. "How strange that you should punish me by ensuring I come out more educated than Roden, who has tried to obey you.”
― Jennifer A. Nielsen, The False Prince