Let's Take A Look: The False Prince by Jennifer Nielsen

The False Prince; easily one of my favorite books and I can proudly proclaim that I have read it multiple times. In this story we are introduced to the very peculiar Sage. Sarcastic and rather unwilling to participate in a scheme meant to deceive an entire kingdom; I wasn't crazy about him at first. Don't get me wrong Nielsen's writing is beyond amazing; her ability to grapple with complex dialogue - and a enough description to make you fall into the world but not so much that you can't fill in little pieces with your own imagination - is beyond normal limits. All the same, Sage, for the lack of a better term, was too much of a brat for me. I preferred the lesser known character, Roden. As usual with stories like this, Sage kind of grew on me and at the end I found myself rooting for him. 

The False Prince is one part of a three book series; the Ascendance Trilogy. The second book; The Runaway King will be in my next review. Sadly; I cannot review the third book (The Shadow Throne) as I haven't managed to get my hands on it. Anyway; back to the initial review of this book. Sage comes from a group home and surprisingly, is unwilling to adapt to a life of riches and modesty. He quickly falls for a quiet servant; whom of course he is allowed to have no contact with under any circumstances. After all; he is meant to play the part of a prince. One of my favorite quotes from this book is:

"A person can be educated and still be stupid, and a wise man can have no education at all" 

Sage and a group of boys are taken from various homes in order to be educated in the ways of a prince. Why? Because the prince of the kingdom (forgive me I cannot recall the name of it off the top of my head) has died and his younger brother no where to be found. To avoid the scandal of someone else taking the throne, one of the King's administration take it upon themselves to groom an orphaned boy into playing a popper of sorts. Sage is just one of the lucky (or unlucky?) few who are dragged into this. Of coarse where would the story be without a rival? Tobias, as rotten as he can be is overall not a disgusting character. He has a sneering attitude that makes me cringe and makes me want to smack him in the face but; good job on Nielesen's part. I found myself hating the men that pitted the boys against each other rather than Tobias himself. Cregan is one of those men and I can say with a forced assurance that I hate his guts. Just one of those characters you know? Mott on the other hand; Cregan's mate and a guard and one of the boys' teachers, is bearable and in the end is on my list of characters to forever adore. 

Well as it is two o'clock in the morning now and seeing as I could go on about this book for hours, I will end it here. As always; thank you so much for reading and please comment and subscribe! If there are any books you'd like to recommend please let me know! 

Coming Next: Let's Take A Look: The Runaway King by Jennifer Nielsen

Then: Author Corner: Inside the mind of Jennifer Nielsen - Exclusive Interview

Until next time,
Calista Gonzales