Royal Decoy by Heather Frost Pages: 370
on June 18, 2020
Series: Fate of Eyrinthia #1
Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Fantasy & Magic
Source: Paperback ARC from Publisher
Also in this series: Royal Spy , Royal Captive, Shield & Blade (Fate of Eyrinthia #3.5)A SERVANT blackmailed into becoming a princess’s decoy.A BODYGUARD determined to keep her alive.
A PRINCE forced to execute his father’s brutal laws.A PRISONER used to keep him compliant.
A WORLD on the brink of war.
In one horrible night, Clare goes from kitchen maid to royal decoy. She has three months to become the princess's perfect double so she can ensure her betrothal to an enemy prince. Desperate to survive, Clare throws herself into self-defense training, taught by her distractingly attractive bodyguard. The danger increases when a ruthless assassin begins stalking her, intent on ending the tenuous peace.
Across the northern mountains, Prince Grayson is his father’s ultimate weapon. He carries out the king’s harsh orders because the one person he cares about is his father’s prisoner. Grayson's silent obedience is tested when his father plans to exploit the marriage alliance between two of their greatest enemies. If Grayson submits, the blood of thousands will spill. If he resists, the girl who means everything to him will die.
The fate of Eyrinthia hangs in the balance. Some want peace. Some want war. All will be thrown into chaos.
Royal Decoy is the first book in the young adult fantasy series, Fate of Eyrinthia by author Heather Frost. Man, I loved this book! It made me so excited and antsy for the next book in this series. It honestly had everything I look for in a fantasy novel…great characters, an interesting complex plot, fantastic world building and plenty of awesome political intrigue/court politics and secrets to keep readers guessing and riveted to the story.
Royal Decoy is told in multiple perspectives and follows two separate plotlines in two different kingdoms. Not only did I love the different stories, but I was dying to figure out how they would intersect with each other because we really have no idea at the start of the book. Our main character Clare (in her plotline) is a kitchen maid that finds herself as a more than bystander on an assassination attempt on the princess. After that, she is basically forced to become the Princess’ decoy. Through this timeline we meet the royal family of Devendra. Devendra has two major enemies- Mortise and Ryden.
The other plotline is told from the point of view of Prince Grayson of Ryden. I enjoyed seeing how different the kingdoms were. Ryden is very bloody and violent. They rule with an iron fist and would very much like to inspire fear in their people. Grayson seemed to be cut from a different cloth than his brothers and father and I very much liked seeing his point of view, and seeing Mia the girl he was infatuted with. I will admit that I wasn’t really ever sure about Mia, and I think because of that I preferred to read Clare’s timeline because it was easier for me to connect with her and the guards she was training with. (plus, I loved Bennick)
Royal Decoy is an immensely readable story. Once I picked it up, I was done for. I couldn’t put it down for anything. I completely fell in love with Clare and the story. Heather Frost did a fantastic job with this world. I felt the complex pull and tug of the different kingdoms. I felt Ryden not wanting MOrtise and Devendra to allign, I felt all of their desperation to avoid attack, all the while the whole world sits poised at the edge of war. It was all very powerful, even when it was simmering in the background. And in the foreground were fantastically developed characters, wonderful simmering romantic tension that I could not get enough of. I need the next book in this series right now!
If you are a fan of fantasies featuring great characters and romance, an interesting complex plot told in multiple perspectives, fantastic world building and plenty of awesome political intrigue Royal Decoy is a book you will love! It releases next week, and I think this is a book that should be on your radar! It is one of my favorite fantasy reads of the year!
side note: I am on a roll with fantastic fantasy books. If you love fantasy hit me up in the comments below because I have read some amazing books these last few months. Just check out my past reviews on my website or on my goodreads account, because I have read some really great books this year!
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About Heather Frost
Heather Frost writes mostly YA fiction and has a soft spot for tortured characters, breath-stealing romance, and happy endings. She is the author of the Seers trilogy. She has a BS in Creative Writing and a minor in Folklore, which means she got to read fairy tales and ghost stories and call it homework.
When she’s not writing, Heather likes to read, travel, and hold Lord of the Rings movie marathons. She owns two typewriters, sings in the car, and dreams of living in a castle someday. She currently lives in a beautiful valley surrounded by towering mountains in the wilds of Utah.
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 2020 New Release Challenge
- Flights of Fantasy Reading Challenge 2020
Andrea Carroll
I can’t wait to read it! Definitely on my classroom library wish list.
sherry fundin
great review. the face of the girl on the cover is kinda weird
sherry @ fundinmental
Sandy Klocinski
Can’t wait to read this awesome book! Love the cover graphics
Lily Kwan
My favorite genre is romance.