One of the nice things about AAR is that with so many different reviewers, you’re bound to get at least two different perspectives on any one single author. Even seemingly universal praise, like for Lord of Scoundrels, can have a dissenting voice. I love that. Now, Amy Raby is no Loretta Chase, but her last two books did get good grades here. Looks like I’m the other perspective this time – if not for review, there is no way this book would have stayed beyond 50 pages.

Despite the following review this is not actually a terrible book. Really. Normally I would totally be into a fantasy romance (slim pickings these days), with lots of political wrangling and attempted assassinations, an arranged marriage between two young adults (19 and 22, one of whom already has a child), and an astronomer heroine. I give extra points just for concept alone.

But concept can only take you so far, and in execution I was bored – mind-numbingly, let’s-start-next-year’s-taxes, read-six-other-books-and-reorganize-my-harddrive bored. My biggest problem is the fantasy world: how should I put it? Juvenile? Hodge-podge? Unoriginal? Totally, un-flipping-believably all over the place? Honestly, it read like ninth-grade fan fiction with smatterings of half the fantasy authors in the library, and names concocted by throwing darts at an atlas. I’ve always wanted to name my heroine Celeste, so let’s do that. But gee, the Nordic sound is so mysterious and icy, so her country will be called Kjall. What other consonants and vowels could go together, let’s see, let’s see…I know, “y” could go in random places! And I can amputate the silent last vowels!! And O.M.G., I can borrow Latinate words from the Romans too!!! There’s so much to pillage from, I can’t keep up!!!!!!

Honestly, my standards were not high for his book. I’ve read so much fantasy, both romance-specific and not, that I have a very clear idea of what I like and where my standards are. I did not go in expecting Robin McKinley levels of world building and characterization because that comes once in a lifetime, and you know what? That’s okay. Ms. Raby put thought and hard work into the sea chants and folk lore and large cast of characters and political wrangling, and good on her. I applaud the effort. But the prose is so simplistic, so weirdly banal; the world building manages to take everything unique about fantasy and history and concoct something wholly trite; and there’s just so damn much of everything – I lost my patience. I really couldn’t give a flying monkey’s ass about anything.

Prince Rayn and Princess Celeste manage to tick several original boxes but still come across as total turnips. There’s the astronomy and the relative youth, and the child-by-former-lover and historical barriers between their families – but really, just because on paper they’re not run-of-the-mill doesn’t make them more interesting people to read about. They’re that blind date your sister told you about who’s an engineer who has gone skydiving in New Zealand and volunteered for Engineers Without Borders, but is tragically completely without charisma or life. So Prince Rayn manages to be supportive of Celeste’s astronomy? Good for him. An assassin dumps the couple overboard? You should have finished them off.