The Women of Fantasy

Summary: Tess, Princess of Costenopolie, learns she is not the princess at all, but a decoy for the real princess who was raised in a nunnery. The blow is softened by discovering she is destined to be a player in a powerful game, and has magical abilities.

Review: This is Dawn Cook’s second fantasy series, her first being the Truth books. This first installment in the new series is a highly adventure packed read, written in first person – not overly common for the fantasy genre. There are places where Cook stumbles, and small parts of the story that do not add up, but nothing major. Tess is a strong, vital character with very un-princess like knife throwing skills and tolerance to deadly poison. She is a very likable character, and reacts realistically to the situation. We learn that being a princess isn’t so easy – but not knowing who you are is even worse.
I enjoyed this book for its ease of reading and the likable characters. There was enough romance to keep me entertained but not so much that it distracted from the story. Maybe not epic fantasy material, but a good read with an ending that made me go out and get the second book the next day.

Overall an excellent read. 3 1/2 out of 5.

Posted by Jen at Saturday, February 17, 2007