By Carmen Ferreiro-Esteban
Published by Tanglewood Press
*received via netGalley for review
Summary: To Andrea, the life of a princess is not a dream; it's tedious and stifling. But the certainties of her life, both good and bad, are thrown into chaos when she accidentally travels to an alternative world, from a cave on a forbidden beach in her family's kingdom to the warm and carefree life of Southern California. Then a careless visit to the cave results in terrible consequences: a brewing war between kingdoms, her sister's love for the wrong man, Andrea's own conflicted feelings for an enemy leader, and dark family secrets exposed. Andrea needs to act to resolve problems which she helped to create, and she faces many difficult choices, torn between duty and desire on so many levels. Readers will enjoy the mix of traditional elements of the fantasy genre,with fresh ideas and a look at our culture through the eyes of a stranger.
My Thoughts: While an overall enjoyable read, there were many parts I found myself disliking. I felt it would have been better as a straight fantasy without the mini trip to California. Since most of the story takes place on Andrea's home planet, the drama between sisters, rival kingdoms, and not fitting into the role of the fourth princess, all could have been handled without it.
I also found I didn't care for the most of the characters. Many had little if any redeeming qualities. From Andrea's mom, who we find out has less of an excuse than her father, to just about every guy in this book. While Andrea was the most in depth character there were times when even her actions made no sense. She flips between this strong, independent to at times whiny with physical outbursts that were out of character.
I liked the overall feeling of the ending even though the forced banishment kind of took away from the romance of it.
Rating: 3.5
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