The Shadow Prince
by Bree Despain
Series: Into the Dark #1
Published: March 11, 2014
Genres: Mythology, Paranormal Romance, Retelling, Young Adult
Format: eARC (512 pages)
Source: For Review
Haden Lord, the disgraced prince of the Underrealm, has been sent to the mortal world to entice a girl into returning with him to the land of the dead. Posing as a student at Olympus Hills High—a haven for children of the rich and famous—Haden must single out the one girl rumored to be able to restore immortality to his race.
Daphne Raines has dreams much bigger than her tiny southern Utah town, so when her rock star dad suddenly reappears, offering her full tuition to Olympus Hills High’s prestigious music program, she sees an opportunity to catch the break she needs to make it as a singer. But upon moving into her estranged father’s mansion in California, and attending her glamorous new school, Daphne soon realizes she isn’t the only student in Olympus who doesn’t quite belong.
The Shadow Prince felt like a YA version of Percy Jackson. Like Percy Jackson, it’s Greek mythology that asks the question, “What would the Greek Gods be like if they were around today?” It also does an awesome job of making a Greek myth modern. This retelling of the Persephone myth uses a different version that shows Persephone making her own choices and having power because of it. I love how the traditional version of Persephone is questioned and suggests it was turned into a cautionary tale to keep girls from wandering away from home. There were so many fun allusions to Greek mythology (Apollo Canyon, Ellis Fields, Olympus Hills and my favorite – Pomegranate lip gloss).
First of all – yay for this being set in my home state of Utah! I was a little apprehensive at first of the start of the novel. The set up was very predictable. Luckily it got better as it went along. All the theories I came up with ended up being wrong which I loved.
Man I loved these characters. Haden is one emotionally stifled and impulsive dude who, as Daphne puts it, “sometimes talks like Thor.” Haden is such a sad character. I’m drawn to sad characters like I am to sad stories. There’s something beautiful about sadness. Daphne was very likable too. She has a passionate love of music, cares so much for her family, and is willing to do whatever it takes to make her own dreams come true. Their romance was off the charts.
Overall, this was a great mythology retelling that the author made her own with characters that I loved.
Content Rating: Mild. I don’t remember very much language (if any) and I don’t remember any extended make-out scenes.
This post contains affiliate links and I receive a small percentage of sales made through these links. I received this book for review from the publisher, Egmont, in exchange for an honest review. I was not told what to say, I was not paid to write this review and all the opinions expressed are my own. I read an Advanced Reading Copy for this review.
About Bree Despain
Bree Despain is the author of the Dark Divine trilogy and the upcoming Into The Dark trilogy. Bree rediscovered her childhood love for creating stories when she took a semester off college to write and direct plays for at-risk, inner-city teens from Philadelphia and New York. She currently lives in Salt Lake City, Utah with her husband, two young sons, and her beloved TiVo.
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
My name is Jessica. I love to read Young Adult and classic literature. I’ve been a book blogger for six years and I haven’t gotten tired of it yet. I’m a very curious reader. Writing about all the questions and thoughts I had while reading a book is the best hobby ever.
That is so cool that the book takes place in your home state. I feel that rarely happens for me. Most of the books that I read take place in New York. Yea for home state books! :)
I knew Bree was coming out with a new book but this is the first I’ve seen of it. I’m a sucker for mythology so I’ll probably have to read this one.