Prince of Cahraman by Lucy Tempest
Fantasy. 338 Pages. 4 Stars
Synopsis:
ONE WEEK. FIVE CONTESTANTS. ONE PRINCE. A DEVASTATING DECISION.
Before, she avoided elimination. Now, she must win.
Chosen as one of the Final Five in the Bride Search, Ada has one last chance to find the golden lamp and save her family.
Yet with Cyrus no longer her partner-in-crime, but her target, her plans unravel, tearing her between duty and desire. Now she has one week to pass three increasingly difficult tests fit for a queen.
As the competition takes a perilous bent, secrets are uncovered, demolishing her world as she knows it. Caught between impossible choices, the fates of all she loves depend on her decisions. But she fears that no matter what she does, she’d lose everything and change Cahraman forever.
My Review:
Whoa! Alright. Our girl came out swingin’ in this one! And Tempest ended on quite the cliffy!
So, I think I liked this better than book one. Unlike the first book, I did invest in the first half of this one. But like the first book, after the 50% mark things zipped past like lightning! While I didn’t not enjoy the first half, the second half was far more fast paced. Though, the pacing didn’t feel quite as uneven in this book as it did the last one.
I still caught a few minor inconsistencies–like creatures who hunted by sound and smell, but had no noses?–and typos, sentences with a word left out or some such. Some of the writing felt heavy and bogged down in places with ornate descriptions that, while beautiful, were very frequent. There was still a fair bit of the physical attraction and he’s-so-gorgeous, though it was far more toned down than the previous book. The worldbuilding felt more stable and secure in this book (perhaps because it is the second book? Or perhaps because we stayed in one land), which made it an overall easier read than the first book in my opinion.
That said, I really enjoyed the plot and very much look forward to seeing where Tempest takes this in the next book. She’s certainly using the traditional Aladdin elements in her own way and twisting the story around, which is what draws my personal interest. I like puzzling out where different elements come in and how they affect the story. We still continued with the competition from book one, but Tempest was good at raising the stakes and threading in other plotlines for us to invest in.
Part of that, I believe, was the deeper look we got at certain characters. Now, the contest is over by the end of the book (as evidenced by the title of book three), so part of me wonders if our cast will be reduced in book three, which is kind of a sad thought. I don’t know if I neglected to mention in the previous review, but I really like Cherine and Cora and Fairuza and Ayman. I like the supporting cast and I grew to appreciate them even more in this book. First of all, I can count on like two fingers the number of times I’ve ever seen my own name (or anything similar) in a book, so having a Cora is really cool. (Furthermore, there’s Coralia! Y’all that is sooo close! XD And so pretty!!!) Also, I know who she is and I am both super stoked for her story and slightly terrified for her sake. And that’s all I’ll say about that! Ayman was such a delight to get a deeper look into and I really, really look forward to seeing how his story plays out, both romantically and non-romantically. I guessed who Fairuza was, but it was confirmed toward the latter half of the story. As one of my personal favorite heroines, I’m not sure how I feel about that XD But I really did love the development of Fairuza’s character and am intrigued to see how Tempest handles her story when it comes up. Similarly, the other princess peaks my interest.
Anywho, on to Adelaide. I have to admit, she was getting on my everlovin’ nerves at the beginning of the book. Through most of the last book and about the first 15% of this one, she was so fatalistic! It was like the world was ending: I’m not going to make it! There’s no way I’m staying! It’s all over! I’ve failed! We’re all gonna die! I can’t do this anymore! And on and on! Nothing ever seemed good enough for her. I mean, this girl is scrappy. She’s a survivor. She’s so clever and sarcastic and I love it! But I thought I would go mad if her character arc didn’t at least start to change. And, thankfully, it did. I realize she needed to learn her worth and her value and all that, not just start out knowing it, but boy am I glad that she finally started to learn the lesson! I love her unconventional approach. I love her background as a server and how that has shaped her character and how she sees things. I love that it’s been so applicable throughout this whole story so far and that she’s spunky and adventurous. But after about the fifth time Cyrus or one of the other judges has hinted or downright explained that the search is looking at character qualities, I just wanted to shake Ada when she denied having any place there. Surely, even she could see at some point there was more to a potential queen than the fluff she originally thought.
Anywho, point being, she finally started to get it through her thick skull that she wasn’t this awful, loathsome person and that there was more than one way to skin a cat. I liked how she listened when people came into her life and opened up her views to include more than an either or scenario.
One thing, actually, I did want to mention was how this whole thing sort of started with a tad bit of an insta love feeling, but I really appreciate how–despite his ever-stunning good looks–Cyrus has layers. He’s multifaceted, if a little perfectly portrayed with no discernable flaws as of yet. But seeing how Ada and Cyrus develop and grow and experience things together is really cool. I like that their relationship isn’t just built on the outward appearance. They have shared interests, qualities, and experiences that draw them together. And I liked that.
In terms of content, there were a few somewhat disturbing bits in the later half with some blood and violence. It wasn’t overly graphic, but there were some really creepy creatures–creative creatures–but, well, creepy. There was one minor foul word I caught used three or four times, though only half the time as a curse (and the other half in its proper context). The romance was clean and sweet. I’d be okay giving this book to a mid-teen.
And on to book three for this intriguing twist on the Aladdin tale! (Seriously, she had some plot and character revelations in there that were just cool!)
More:
Book 1 in the Fairytales of Folkshore series (aka Book 1 in the Cahraman Trilogy) is Thief of Cahraman (4 Stars)
Book 3 is is Queen of Cahraman (4 Stars)
Book 4 (aka Book 1 of the Rosemead Duology) is Beast of Rosemead
Book 5 (aka Book 2 in the Rosemead Duology) is Beauty of Rosemead
Book 6 is Princess of Midnight
I’m still working my way through the series, but it is clear that they should be read in order. You can click the links above to find more info on them and scroll down to find my reviews and ratings on Goodreads.
On GraceBought
If you missed it, check out my thoughts on the previous book below. Stay tuned next week for my thoughts on the next book in the series!
Thief of Cahraman