Born into a kingdom where those of magical Gifts are rejected, feared, and even killed, Serena has spent her life striving to hide her ability and keep her younger brother safe. The bastard son of the hated king and father he hardly knows, Prince Milosh is considered an outcast. He never expects to feel anything but contempt for the peasant girl who unexpectedly shows up in his life, forcing him to answer questions he never wished to ask. When two very different worlds are thrown together under less than desirable circumstances, both hold deep judgment towards the other. But will they learn to see beyond their stations and birth so that they may defeat the coming darkness, or will labels given to them at birth continue to define them?
Plot
This is a short and fast-paced book. From the opening chapter onward, there is little downtime and lots of action. It does make for an engaging read, but also left me feeling a bit breathless by the time I set the book down. It is a plot-heavy story which is good because it has a great premise and an interesting plot. However, having it be so fast-paced and plot-centric left character development and world-building somewhat less compelling.
Characters
Serena is the protagonist of the story and she is intriguing. She carries a secret and seems to have a strong desire to the right thing at all times, even if it gets her in trouble. She was an easy protagonist to connect with and I absolutely love the relationship she shared with her younger brother Hunter. However, her enemies-to-lovers relationship with Prince Milosh didn’t reach quite as well to me. Since the book is so fast-paced, it didn’t feel like a gradual change in their relationship but something very sudden that left confused as to what had changed between them.
Setting
As mentioned before, the fast plot of the book left little time for the reader to explore the world that Serena lives in. We get to see little of how the world operates outside of the castle and outside of Serena and Miosh’s relationship. Additionally, we don’t see enough of the “Gifted” or even Serena’s own gift to feel like we understand all the rules of this magic system.
My Recommendation
The Broken Prince is Kara Linaburg’s debut novel and the first book in her duology. It is a fast-paced book that I’d recommend to lovers of the YA Fantasy genre looking for a diverting vacation or long-weekend read. The enemies-to-lovers dynamic didn’t work well for me but maybe perfect for those who are a fan of that trope. Additionally, I would have liked to see more of the world and Serena’s gift but for a quick, light read, that isn’t essential.
