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Monday, February 2, 2015

To Buy or Not to Buy: Into the Dark: The Shadow Prince by Bree Despain

In my never-ending struggle to clean up my Kindle wish list and samples on my iPad, I bring the next installment of To Buy or Not to Buy.

Into the Dark: The Shadow Prince by Bree Despain

Book Description (From Amazon):
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.

A pulsating romance of epic proportions, Bree Despain’s The Shadow Prince will leave her fans breathless for the next book in the Into The Dark series.

My First Impression:
Haden is a prince of the underworld. He is lined up with all the other underlords while the Oracle makes her way through the ranks. One champion will be chosen. Everyone expects the chosen one to be Rowan the son and heir. If King Ren could choose, it would be Rowan. Haden has been disowned by King Ren, but remains within the ranks of the underlords due to a promise he made to Haden’s mother upon her deathbed. So, it is a surprise to everyone when the Oracle chooses Haden as the champion.

His quest is to go to the human world and locate the Cypher, the girl who can restore what has taken from the underlords. He will have 6 months to find her and bring her willingly back to the underworld. If he can accomplish this quest, King Ren will once again establish Haden as the heir and he will once again be able to call the King his “Father.”

Daphne lives in a small town in Utah where she works at her mother’s flower shop. She longs to experience freedom, but her mother won’t allow her to leave the town limits. She had tried to run away once which ended in disaster so a bargain was struck. Daphne doesn't run away and her mother will let her further afield once she gets her license.

However, her mother keeps making excuses for Daphne to not get her license. Daphne wants to experience the world and she aspires to a career in music, like her father. She wants to enter a talent show. There will be scouts there for colleges and she is hoping to earn a scholarship so she can get out of town.

So, it’s another Persephone story. I’m kind of over the Persephone stories.

Decision?
Not to buy

2 comments:

  1. I'm really liking this new feature of yours! If you're tired of Persephone retellings, then I vote No Buy on this one. Too many books out there to waste your time on something that doesn't pique your interest!

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    Replies
    1. Well, thanks for the positive note! This post was meant as a way to document the samples I read. I have read a lot in the past several months. Since that felt like all the time I had to read, I wanted a way to show that I am actually reading something.

      It also allows me to post an opinion when I am actually not able to finish a book and write a review. I have a good number of these written up, so I can always plug them in if I haven't been able to write a post.

      The idea really struck me, though when I thought about how short a sample and how many pages a book has to reel the reader in. I thought my initial opinion upon reading the sample might help readers decide if they want to give a book a try.

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