Narrator: Christian Barillas
Series: Ravenspire #3
Published by Harper Audio on 2018-02-13
Length: 400 pages
Length: 11 hours and 44 minutes
Reviewing Audiobook, Hardcover from Audible, My Book Shelf
Rating:
Reading Challenges: 2022 Audiobook Challenge, 2022 Backlist Reader Challenge, 2022 Beat the Backlist, 2022 Finishing the Series Reading Challenge
Javan Najafai, crown prince of Akram, has spent the last ten years at an elite boarding school, far away from his kingdom. But his eagerly awaited return home is cut short when a mysterious imposter takes his place—and no one believes Javan is the true prince.
After barely escaping the imposter’s assassins, Javan is thrown into Maqbara, the kingdom’s most dangerous prison. The only way to gain an audience with the king — and reveal Javan’s identity — is to fight in Maqbara’s yearly tournament. But winning is much harder than acing competitions at school, and soon Javan finds himself beset not just by the terrifying creatures in the arena, but also a band of prisoners allied against him, and even the warden herself.
The only person who can help him is Sajda, who has been enslaved by Maqbara’s warden since she was a child, and whose guarded demeanor and powerful right hook keep the prisoners in check. Working with Sajda might be the only way Javan can escape alive — but she has dangerous secrets.
Together, Javan and Sajda have to outwit the vicious warden, outfight the deadly creatures, and outlast the murderous prisoners intent on killing Javan. If they fail, they’ll be trapped in Maqbara for good—and the secret Sajda’s been hiding will bury them both.
I thoroughly enjoyed this one! The Traitor Prince by C.J. Redwine is the third book in her fairy-tale retelling series Ravenspire. This one is a combination retelling of The Prince and the Pauper and The False Prince. While I’m not familiar with the later, I found tidbits of the former sprinkled through Redwine’s tale. It’s been ten years since the crowned prince of Akram has been home, and nearing the completion of his training, Javan is more than ready to assume the duties and responsibilities that await him. However, conspirators against the throne have other plans.
Javan is an easy character to love. He is good to his core, noble, honest, and a hard worker. He puts all of those traits to his use when he is falsely imprisoned for attacking the crowned prince. Having not been to Akram in ten years, it is easy for someone who looks enough like him to assume Javan’s place, and now imprisoned, Javan must find a way to talk to the only person who would know him: his father. To do that, he must win a contest where the competitors fight in a gladiator style arena. This goes against everything Javan has been taught, however he is all that stands between his kingdom and those who wish to rule it in his stead.
On his first night of imprisonment, Javan meets Sadja, another prisoner, slave of the Warden. I like Sadja. She’s rough around the edges with a wild spirit, desperate to escape her chains. Sadja has a secret though, one that could cause Javan to turn on her. My heart hurt for her as she struggled with her identity and who she really was.
Overall, I really enjoyed The Traitor Prince. It’s exciting, romantic, and full of adventure. A few characters from the other books make brief appearances as well. I love Javan and his loyalty to his people. It’s hard to find fault with him. If you enjoy fairy tale retellings or fantasy with light romance, I highly recommend it.
This month’s prompt was about “tales of old.” I knew immediately that I wanted to return to Ravenspire with its fairytale retellings. This has been on my TBR shelf since it was first announced. Redwine hasn’t disappointed me yet!
This sounds good, these YA fantasies always draw me in but I usually end up wanting more on the romance front. Set in a series but the couple’s story not stretching out for three books has me more interested, though.
It’s a good series! The romance is very light though.