Author: Bree Despain
Publication Date: March 11th 2014
~A copy was provided by EgmontUSA via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review~
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Haden Lord, the disgraced prince of the Underrealm, has been sent to the mortal world to entice a girl into returning with him to the land of the dead. Posing as a student at Olympus Hills High—a haven for children of the rich and famous—Haden must single out the one girl rumored to be able to restore immortality to his race.
Daphne Raines has dreams much bigger than her tiny southern Utah town, so when her rock star dad suddenly reappears, offering her full tuition to Olympus Hills High’s prestigious music program, she sees an opportunity to catch the break she needs to make it as a singer. But upon moving into her estranged father’s mansion in California, and attending her glamorous new school, Daphne soon realizes she isn’t the only student in Olympus who doesn’t quite belong.
Haden and Daphne—destined for each other—know nothing of the true stakes their fated courtship entails. As war between the gods brews, the teenagers’ lives collide. But Daphne won’t be wooed easily and when it seems their prophesied link could happen, Haden realizes something he never intended—he’s fallen in love. Now to save themselves, Haden and Daphne must rewrite their destinies. But as their destinies change, so do the fates of both their worlds.
Daphne Raines has dreams much bigger than her tiny southern Utah town, so when her rock star dad suddenly reappears, offering her full tuition to Olympus Hills High’s prestigious music program, she sees an opportunity to catch the break she needs to make it as a singer. But upon moving into her estranged father’s mansion in California, and attending her glamorous new school, Daphne soon realizes she isn’t the only student in Olympus who doesn’t quite belong.
Haden and Daphne—destined for each other—know nothing of the true stakes their fated courtship entails. As war between the gods brews, the teenagers’ lives collide. But Daphne won’t be wooed easily and when it seems their prophesied link could happen, Haden realizes something he never intended—he’s fallen in love. Now to save themselves, Haden and Daphne must rewrite their destinies. But as their destinies change, so do the fates of both their worlds.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The rest of it? Nope. The mythology just couldn't be saved by the characters. Which was a shame, because It started really well, in dual perspectives of Haden (an underlord) and Daphne (the, I just want to break free character) we were introduced to, got to know them, with bits and pieces of information of their lives without it being boring or overkill, and I was thinking they were pretty strong leads. So what went wrong? When they actually met each other.
Please.
Greek Mythology in YA, what can go wrong? Really, just don't
ask yourself that question.
Since I've read a lot of them, and most of them have been good, The Shadow Prince,
however was average. The mythology was fun and though I'm not the person who
could go through one and go "that's wrong", it was pretty good. That
part was fine. You have the preface of the myth of Persephone and Hades, overlapping with the tale of Orpheus and Eurydice.The rest of it? Nope. The mythology just couldn't be saved by the characters. Which was a shame, because It started really well, in dual perspectives of Haden (an underlord) and Daphne (the, I just want to break free character) we were introduced to, got to know them, with bits and pieces of information of their lives without it being boring or overkill, and I was thinking they were pretty strong leads. So what went wrong? When they actually met each other.
You see and read it repeatedly, over and over, headstrong
(albeit selfish) characters that suddenly turn whiny and annoying once the
instalust kicks in. It's a fatal disease once you get it, the story goes
bye-bye. Okay, I'll be a little nicer, it wasn't instalove, but I did not ship
the romance whatsoever. It was cheesy, and weird, and with some of the most award
worthy cringe scenes.
Then there's the lovely indecisiveness of Daphne, she thinks
he's a freak, then she thinks he's a stalker, then she's thinks he's a
murderer, then she thinks he's okay, then she starts liking him, then she
kisses him, then he's a freak again, then it's revealed and of course she'll go
to Vegas with him.Please.
I know the base of plot reflects on the characters and how
they react and interact with each other, and I know Haden supposed to be the
way he is, or at least the way an Underlord would act, but it was stiff and
awkward and there was no flow whatsoever. It's like they were just standing
there waiting what to be told to do next, there was no possible way of you ever
imagining these characters being real. They didn't feel real, and neither did
the interactions. They ultimately just lacked depth.
Alongside the mythology and annoying characters was the
actual continuation of the plot. Which was slow, and slow, and slow, and then
oh it's over. The way the characters got to the places they were, were A)
awfully coincidental: which made the characters look as thick as bricks. You
could see the twist a mile off. COME ON. I mean, the only one that didn't
actually annoy me was Simon, because the guys not slap your face silly stupid.
And B) again with the
unrealistic situation.
I really wanted to like The Shadow Prince, but the slow
pacing, conveniences and the characters just wouldn't let me.
Rating: 3/5
