{Review+Giveaway} The Shadow Prince by Bree Despain

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.

The Shadow Prince is a whopper of a book. It comes in at over 500 pages long , and the only thing I was thinking when I was done with it was, “That wasn’t long enough. I want more!” I love mythology and I really enjoyed all of the attention to mythological details that Bree wove into the story. Mythology really was everywhere, throughout the street names in the town to the class lectures at school. It was an immersion into the stories of Persephone and Hades, which just so happens to be one of my very favorite myths. For example, One of Daphne’s teachers was teaching her class about some versions of the Persephone myth and she was describing a thesis paper she wrote in college and I thought even that sounded fascinating. I would totally read her paper. So I may be a bit of a mythology nerd, but this book is perfect for both mythology enthusiasts like me and newbies alike.
I loved how strong willed Daphne was. She is not going to back down from anything or anyone. But she wasn’t so stubborn as to be pig headed. She could admit when she was wrong. That is a balance that I seldom see in main characters. They are normally all or nothing. And I loved how passionate Daphne was about music. She could see music in everything. It was pretty magical, and Bree made all of it come to life in the story through her descriptive writing. This is a book that would have one of the most killer playlists out there- that’s for sure.
Hayden is chosen as a surprising guardian. Right off the bat he is the underdog and I couldn’t help but root for him. I felt bad about the harsh reactions he drew from everyone in his home court. And throughout the book he kept alluding to this big, bad horrible thing that he did to earn his people’s hatred. It was driving me crazy trying to guess what it was. Watching Hayden fall in love with Daphne was really sweet. You know it is going to happen from the start, but even so it will make you smile. I am pretty in love with them myself.
The Shadow Prince is the first book in the Into the Dark Series, and I already know that I am going to freakin’ LOVE this series. Not only did this book have me on the edge of my seat over the action scenes, but it had me laughing out loud and awh-ing at some of Hayden’s parts. It is told in dual narrative, which served the story well. We got to see a peak into Hayden’s head as well as get to see into his world. A great book for fans of mythology and for people who are new to the story of Hades and Persephone. This series is a hit!

Bree Despain is the author of The Dark Divine trilogy: The Dark Divine, The Lost Saint, and The Savage Grace. She rediscovered her childhood love for creating stories when she took a semester off from college to write and direct plays for at-risk, inner-city teens from Philadelphia and New York. She currently lives in Salt Lake City, Utah, with her husband, two young sons, and her beloved TiVo. You can visit her online atwww.breedespain.com.

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