The Shattered Court by M.J. Scott
Book One of the Four Arts series
Publisher: Roc
Publication Date: April 28, 2015
Rating: 5 stars
Source: eARC from NetGalley
***Warning: this is an adult book, and for the eyes of mature readers***
Summary (from Goodreads):
Entangled in a court ruled by tradition and intrigue, a young witch must come to terms with newfound power and desire—and a choice between loyalty and survival.…
The royal witches of Anglion have bowed to tradition for centuries. If a woman of royal blood manifests powers, she is immediately bound by rites of marriage. She will serve her lord by practicing the tamer magics of the earth—ensuring good harvests and predicting the weather. Any magic more dangerous is forbidden.
Lady Sophia Kendall, thirty-second in line to the throne, is only days away from finding out if she will be blessed—or perhaps cursed—with magic. When a vicious attack by Anglion’s ancient enemies leaves the kingdom in chaos, Sophia is forced to flee the court. Her protector by happenstance is Lieutenant Cameron Mackenzie, a member of the royal guard, raised all his life to be fiercely loyal to the Crown.
Then Sophia’s powers manifest stronger than she ever imagined they would, and Cameron and she are inextricably linked in the process. As a witch unbound by marriage rites, Sophia is not only a threat to the established order of her country, but is also a weapon for those who seek to destroy it. Faced with old secrets and new truths, she must decide if she will fight for her country or succumb to the delicious temptation of power.…
What I Liked:
HOLY WOW THIS BOOK WAS SO GREAT! I had a strong inkling that I would LOVE it, but I didn't expect to love it this much. I'm itching to reread it already, and I literally just put it down. I don't even know how I'm going to put together a coherent review that will do this book justice. I read this one cover to cover, straight through, no breaks. I could not rip myself away from this book. I reached the end and... kept looking for more! I find that, out of the several hundreds of books I read a year, I don't give many five stars. This one deserved the hard-earned five stars - and then some!
This isn't my first adult fantasy novel read, but it certainly won't be my last. When I first received this novel a month ago, there were just about no reviews or ratings for this book, so it was really nice to read this with no expectations from outside sources - just my own! I've seen a few others reviews in the past couple of days, and all have been positive (which is awesome)!
A note - this book is an adult fiction novel. Like, super adult. It's not a romance novel, so don't go thinking it's erotica. But there are a few very explicit scenes in this book. I don't want any of my blog young readers to think this is an adult fantasy fiction novel, like The Queen of the Tearling. There is explicit sex in this book. There are details. You are warned. Young and mature readers alike.
Lady Sophia Kendall is thirty-second in line to the throne of Anglion, which is perfectly fine by her. She is just days away from turning twenty one, in which any magical abilities that she has will begin to manifest. If she has any. If she does, then she will be bound to the goddess, and will marry an important lord. If she doesn't have any magic, then she will be married to a lesser lord. Either way, she has little choice in her future. But when the palace is attacked while she and a lieutenant are away retrieving goods for the princess (Sophia's relative and friend), Sophia misses her birthday ritual. She turns twenty-one and is unbound. Through unforeseen circumstances, she and the lieutenant, Cameron, are linked, but Sophia is in much danger, as an unbound royal witch. With the princess taking over her newly deceased father's position on the throne, Sophia will have to watch her back for dangers and threats from anywhere and everyone at the tension-filled court.
Fantasy is my favorite genre - specifically medieval/epic fantasy. Specifically, medieval epic fantasy (if there is a such thing). This book involves kings/queens/lords (which is why I'm calling it "medieval"), but there is magic and witches and mages and a goddess and rituals, so it's also epic fantasy. Basically, this novel is the stuff of my dreams. Which is why I had a good feeling that I would love it. And I did!
From the start, I liked Sophia. It's obvious that she isn't the biggest fan of court life. Her family is not royal or rich, and she does not have nearly as much privilege as the princess does. Sophia is thirty-second in line to the throne, and she isn't a royal witch yet, so she isn't of terrible importance. Sophia is always questioning things; she wants to know why royal witches only command earth magic - why not water magic (which Anglion people are forbidden to speak of, by the enemy, Illyvia, practice), or blood magic. Sophia is obedient and serves Eloisa (the princess and later, queen-to-be and then queen). Yet, she has a slightly rebellious streak to her.
Sophia and Cameron are not friends, in the beginning of the novel. Cameron is one of Eloisa's personal bodyguards. He is twenty-seven, a third son with a courtesy title, and has a fierce loyalty and allegiance to the Red Guard, and to the princess/queen. Cameron is escorting Sophia to a shop to pick up things for Eloisa when the palace is attacked, and Cameron takes Sophia far away from the palace (he's protecting the closest member of the royal family). But then Sophia turns twenty-one, and comes into immense power. Cameron and Sophia are unintentionally linked, and these circumstances lead to other circumstances. Soon, they have stick together, in order to figure things out. There are people after Sophia, now that she is a royal witch, and a quite powerful one, at that.
I love the story. It's very interesting, very engaging, and not at all boring. A lot of times, I find adult fiction novels (that AREN'T romance novels) incredibly dull and boring. Good luck to you adults who ENJOY reading those books, that are very monotonous and dry. This book was not like that at all. I read this book extremely easily and enjoyed it as I was reading. It isn't particularly long, either, and it wasn't confusing or detailed-laden (not overwhelming with the names, places, world-building, etc.). Speaking of world-building...
I love the fantasy world that Scott has created. Her world-building is very well-crafted. Fantasy is difficult, because you have to build a world, setting, environment, etc. from the ground up. I love fantasy, and one reason why is because of this seemingly unreal, created world that authors construct. Scott does an excellent job of building this world, setting the scene, and keeping readers in the story, without overwhelming or confusing readers with details or world-building.
Plus, the magic and witches aspects of this book were really cool. I'm not always a fan of books that feature witches, but I liked that aspect of this book a lot. I also think it's pretty great that while the female witches have limited power (at least, in Anglion), the men also have limited power (as is evident by the warrior's limited powers). Magic is extremely important in this book. Sophia is even more powerful than Eloisa (which is dangerous), especially since she is unbound to the goddess. Scary powerful!
I LOVED the romance in this book. This isn't a romance novel, but there is romance in the story. The romance isn't the most important part of the story, although Cameron and Sophia's relationship is very important (you have to read this one to know why). I love what Scott did with their relationship, and the romance. I was so convinced that the romance would take a certain turn at the end of this novel, but it didn't! I love what Scott did! There was nothing terribly upsetting about the romance. Cameron and Sophia slowly begin to trust and care for each other, though their relationship started off with a bang and a flare.
Keep in mind that this IS an adult novel, and the characters are NOT teenagers. They are pawns in the court, at the mercy of whoever has the throne (it was the king, but by the end of the novel, it is Eloisa, his daughter). Courts tend to have lots of scandals, arranged marriages, consorts, etc. I was scared that the romance in this book would be terribly screwed up, because this IS a political fantasy world. But the romance doesn't have a ton of drama - at least, not enough for me to want to stop reading. I LOVED the romance. But as I said, it's an ADULT novel, we're talking about a political fantasy world, and this book is not dealing with children or teenagers.
The climax and ending of the story had me reading as fast as I could, and looking for more, when the ending came. I had a feeling that a particular part of the ending (not related to the romance) would take Cameron and Sophia to where they are, and I was right. I'm VERY excited to read the next book, and see what will happen. Squee!
What I Did Not Like:
I can't quite think of anything that I didn't like at the moment. I feel like everything in this novel just kind of fit together. Things happened for a reason. Even if there were things that I initially did not like, I could understand why those things happened or what the purpose of them was. If you know what I mean.
Would I Recommend It:
YES! To adult fantasy readers especially. If you're not comfortable with explicit adult-y scenes and themes, then perhaps this is not a novel for you. The fantasy and politics are strong in this one as well, but don't be discouraged, because neither will bog you down or overwhelm you. In my opinion. Maybe I'm too used to fantasy to notice anymore. But remember, this is an ADULT book. For ADULT reasons.
Rating:
5 stars. So well-deserved. I am so glad I had the chance to read this novel - I'm grateful to the publisher! I hope the next book will be just as amazing as this one - or more so!
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