Unwanted at home, Molly goes to work for the king of Westria as a humble scullery maid. She arrives at the castle with no education, no manners, and a very disturbing secret: She sees visions, and those visions always come true.
One day, while she's working in the king's great hall, young Prince Alaric passes by. Molly finds him unbearably handsome—but also unbearably rude. But what does it really matter? She'll probably never see him again.
In time Molly is promoted to polishing silver and is given a priceless royal treasure to work on: the king's great ceremonial hand basin. But there's something odd about it. The silver warms to her touch, a voice commands her to watch and listen, and then the visions appear. They tell the story of a dreaded curse that has stalked the royal family for years. There have already been deaths; soon there will be more.
As tragedy after tragedy strikes the royal family, Molly can't help but wonder: Will the beautiful Alaric be next? Together with her friends Tobias and Winifred, Molly must protect the prince and destroy the curse. Could a less likely champion be found to save the kingdom of Westria?
~~~~~~~~~
A month or two ago, I snuck into the library to see what they had on their giveaway shelves. I had heard that they were doing a purge of their children's book section and I was curious. I didn't expect to find much, but man, I hit the jackpot! Old Nancy Drew books, a bunch of other books, and this gem. I took so many that I had to make two trips to my car. I'd feel bad if I hadn't put hundreds of books on those shelves over the years for people to enjoy. Anyway...
The Good:
Great characterization. Each character had their own personality, their own viewpoints. The story itself was also very entertaining with little twists and turns that I didn't see coming. Since this book was written for middle grade readers, I was happy to see that nothing was so complex that a child wouldn't be able to dig into this book and enjoy hours of happy reading.
The Bad:
The beginning of the book felt a little slow, but that's very short lived.
The Summary:
While written for middle grade fantasy fans, I really enjoyed this book. I enjoyed it so much that I went on Amazon to find the other books in the series. I'll be picking them up soon and will hopefully be reviewing them as well. The library's loss was certainly my gain.
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One day, while she's working in the king's great hall, young Prince Alaric passes by. Molly finds him unbearably handsome—but also unbearably rude. But what does it really matter? She'll probably never see him again.
In time Molly is promoted to polishing silver and is given a priceless royal treasure to work on: the king's great ceremonial hand basin. But there's something odd about it. The silver warms to her touch, a voice commands her to watch and listen, and then the visions appear. They tell the story of a dreaded curse that has stalked the royal family for years. There have already been deaths; soon there will be more.
As tragedy after tragedy strikes the royal family, Molly can't help but wonder: Will the beautiful Alaric be next? Together with her friends Tobias and Winifred, Molly must protect the prince and destroy the curse. Could a less likely champion be found to save the kingdom of Westria?
~~~~~~~~~
A month or two ago, I snuck into the library to see what they had on their giveaway shelves. I had heard that they were doing a purge of their children's book section and I was curious. I didn't expect to find much, but man, I hit the jackpot! Old Nancy Drew books, a bunch of other books, and this gem. I took so many that I had to make two trips to my car. I'd feel bad if I hadn't put hundreds of books on those shelves over the years for people to enjoy. Anyway...
The Good:
Great characterization. Each character had their own personality, their own viewpoints. The story itself was also very entertaining with little twists and turns that I didn't see coming. Since this book was written for middle grade readers, I was happy to see that nothing was so complex that a child wouldn't be able to dig into this book and enjoy hours of happy reading.
The Bad:
The beginning of the book felt a little slow, but that's very short lived.
The Summary:
While written for middle grade fantasy fans, I really enjoyed this book. I enjoyed it so much that I went on Amazon to find the other books in the series. I'll be picking them up soon and will hopefully be reviewing them as well. The library's loss was certainly my gain.
If you like what you've read here, please share it with others using these buttons: