In a discontent kingdom, civil war is brewing. To unify the divided people, Conner, a nobleman of the court, devises a cunning plan to find an impersonator of the king’s long-lost son and install him as a puppet prince. Four orphans are recruited to compete for the role, including a defiant boy named Sage. Sage knows that Conner’s motives are more than questionable, yet his life balances on a sword’s point—he must be chosen to play the prince or he will certainly be killed. But Sage’s rivals have their own agendas as well.
As Sage moves from a rundown orphanage to Conner’s sumptuous palace, layer upon layer of treachery and deceit unfold, until finally, a truth is revealed that, in the end, may very well prove more dangerous than all of the lies taken together.
Wonderfully crafted and harsh, The False Prince is an adventure waiting to be read.
For Sage, I had to keep reminding myself he is only 15. He seems so wise but also perfectly disagreeable as a teenager with angst should be. For our side characters, Mott is one of my favorites. I love how he is a man with good heart in a wrong situation. For our other contenders, Roden was my favorite and although I was slightly disappointed in his character arc, I understood why it played out that way. Conner is a harsh man. One who balanced the line of villain and hero. I could quite tell until the end which side he actually fell on.
I will say it is extremely light on the romance. There really isn’t any in this first book, however you can potentially see something developing. I will be curious how it plays out in future books. Overall, really fantastic story line. I will say I kept guessing at the plot twist and I was correct but didn’t guess it until over half way through the book. It was very well hidden.
A fantasy ride of mystery I truly enjoyed. Definitely worth a pick up!
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