Hey, fellow bookwyrms!

Have you ever had a friend tell you to read a book that you just kept putting off? Well, I sure have. More times than once, too. This past week I finally decided to read The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen and once I started it, I couldn’t close it.

My first thought when I finished was, why didn’t I read this sooner. My second thought was, does the library have book two? My third thought was, Oh no! Someone else beat me to it and now I have to wait to borrow it!

If I were old enough to have my flame, I would have blown out a blast of fire. Of course, I would have been careful not to do it around trees or books. But you get the picture.

So what is this book, and why is it my new favorite?

From the streets to the palace

Sage is a bit of an imp. He’s got a quick wit and a mouth that often lands him into trouble, but he’s also got a strong sense of right and wrong. If he sees something wrong, he’s not going to keep quiet about it.

But what happens when your greatest strength becomes your greatest liability?

You see, Sage has been “recruited” by a nobleman by the name of Conner to participate in the biggest scam of in the history of Carthya. Conner plans to train an orphan to impersonate the king’s long-lost son and set him on the throne in order to prevent a civil war from destroying the kingdom. But Sage has a gut feeling that Conner isn’t telling him everything.

As one of four orphans forced to compete for the role, Sage must find a way to convince Conner that he’s his prince without losing himself in the process. But, the closer he gets to the throne the more he realizes just how deadly a game it is that he’s playing.

Why did I wait so long to read this?

The best thing about this story is its mystery and the suspense. I like to make little predictions to myself when I’m reading to see if I can figure out how the story might end. Sometimes I’m right. Sometimes I wrong. But this book kept me guessing about a couple of things all the way up to the end. Plus, as soon as I finished I immediately wanted to start the next book. That’s one perk about reading a completed series (if you have all the books available, that is)!

The False Prince is the first book in the Ascendance Trilogy, followed by The Runaway King and The Shadow Throne. The books were published in 2012, 2013, and 2014, respectively. Before I review older books, I check to make sure they’re still available. 

Good news! Not only did I find them in my local library, I also found paperback versions from Barnes and Noble and Amazon. I’m not sure if they’re still in print, so I can’t say how long they’ll be available to purchase in book form. They’re also available as e-books and audio books, so you can enjoy them however you like best.

I give The False Prince 5 dark chocolate eggs and I recommend you find it as soon as possible. Based on what I’ve read, The Ascension Trilogy would make a great summer read for bookwyrms aged 10 and up.

Okay, I’m going to sit by the phone for the next week waiting for the library notification saying The Runaway King is ready for Jen and me to pick up!

Catch you next time!

Note: No goods or services were exchanged for this review. The opinions expressed are the reviewer’s own.