Review: The Oddling Prince (N. Springer)
It's really hard for me to sort out all of my feelings about this book because I am still pretty confused. And a little frustrated. But mostly confused. I was super excited to read this book, I may or may not have done a happy dance when I got approved. But the story was pretty much nothing like what I expected from the blurb.
Extremely minor spoilers follow, this twist is revealed within the first 20 pages or so of the book but impossible to not talk about.
The Oddling Prince opens with the king, Aric's father, lying on his deathbed, wearing a mysterious ring that is slowly killing him. When a mysterious fey stranger shows up and saves the king's life, Aric's world is turned upside down when he realizes that this stranger is actually his half brother. Instantly connected to his newfound sibling, Aric must fight to find a place for Albaric in a world where there is none.
I loved the fey aspect of this book, especially the history part since I'm a sucker for fantasy history. I would actually say that the mini history lesson within the first 50 pages or so of the book was my favorite part of the whole thing. That, or Bluefire, because I have an insane soft spot for horses. But I really did love the fey backstory that Springer managed to weave into the novel, because it was unique (loving the sky horses here) and didn't really remind me of any other fey books I had read lately.
Also, I would like to extend an A++ for magical item use to this novel, because the creativity was real here. Magic hair, animal telepathy, music... sign me up. I wholeheartedly approved of this aspect, and loved it. I wish I could say more but I'm trying to keep spoilers to a minimum here.
The part that I really didn't like, and what brought the rating down so much, was that this book was like a giant circle. There was a point in there, but the story just kept circling the point and repeating certain plot structures/elements, and I feel like we never fully reached that point of understanding or meaningful conflict. There was one major conflict that just kept repeating in a circle and never went away, which bothered me a ton.
Also, the ending. I was not a huge fan of that ending. It was confusing, and kind of weird quite frankly. Points for originality, but it was really not my thing.
The Oddling Prince is slated for release on May 15, 2018.
3/5 Stars
Disclaimer: I received an eARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way affected my feelings towards, review of, or opinions on the book.