Read: January 10-12 Verdict: 3 Stars
Twylla is only 17 years old and she can't touch anyone or else they drop down dead. Believed to be the Goddesses' Daughter Embodied, Twylla is able to drink poison and not die but this makes her touch deadly and she is used as an assassin for traitors. Twylla loves a lonely life but suddenly things start to change. Her betrothed, the Prince, arrives back from his travels and into her life again and her new guard Lief suddenly has her questioning everything she's ever been told.
This book was good and I did enjoy it but to be honest, I think I was more excited over the beautiful cover of the book rather than the content itself. I enjoyed the world building and the history we received about the stories about the gods and their daughters but for the most part, Twylla basically did nothing. She sat around and moaned about her life, and then she talked to Lief for a bit and then moaned for a bit longer. It got a bit boring after a while. I also found that Twylla mentioned her sister wayyy too often. I mean she has brothers and doesn't seem to care about them a jot. She mentioned them twice, and not in a particularly emotional way but as a reader, I felt like i was totally getting the little sister cliche pushed into my face (The Hunger Games has been there, done that) and i got tired of it. I did really enjoy hearing about The Sin-Eater. I thought it was such a unique custom and anytime she talked about it, I was riveted.
I didn't particularly enjoy the relationship between Twylla and Lief. It was very forced and obvious but I wonder if i would have enjoyed it more if Lief didn't remind me, personality-wise, so much of Po from Graceling which this novel itself resembled (the only difference being that Katsa can fight and be fairly independent - I didn't feel like that with Twylla). It just went too quick for me, and i would have enjoyed them getting more time to actually get to know each other. I also found the lack of female friendships in this book a bit sad and annoying. I understood that Twylla can't really be near anyone and no-one can be near her but I would have liked if she had sparked a friendship with the maid or someone or even have had some kind of trope matronly figure to watch over her. I also found it strange how she was being groomed to be Queen yet they never taught her to read.
Overall, I found this book just a bit too dull for my liking. I don't think I'll be buying the next book, but I'll get it from the library if I see it. It seems to be following two different characters as well so I'm hoping the story will be a bit more exciting and action-packed than this one.
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