Tilla's father is Lord Kent, but she is considered a bastard and not one of his "true born" royal children. Her half sibling, Jax, is also a bastard, so they spend their days hanging out together, exploring the castle and the tunnels. Tilla says this doesn't bother her, but she secretly wishes she was growing up as a legitimate child living in the lap of luxury. One day princess Lyriana is visiting the castle and decides to sit at the bastard's table during the feast instead of with the legitimate royals. This sets everyone off and sets many things into motion. In fact, that evening Tilla and friends, along with the princess, witness a crime that sends them fleeing for their lives. Royal Bastards by Andrew Shvarts is an adventurous debut that fans of fantasy will appreciate the most.

Tilla is an interesting character in Royal Bastards. As the story continues, her character is developed a bit more, which I liked as I wasn't really connecting with her during the first half of the story. I did appreciate her struggle of being a bastards vs. her true feelings of wanting to be recognized and treated fairly. She enjoys some privileges of being a "royal," but isn't exactly legitimate, so she is living in that in between state.

What stood out to me when reading Royal Bastards was the adventure. It's really action-packed and I think reluctant YA readers may enjoy this aspect of the novel. The world-buiding was pretty good and the pace, especially during the second half of the novel, was also quite quick. It definitely held my attention!

I did have a few issues with dialogue as well as some of the fantasy elements that Shvarts included in the text. It seemed like just about every aspect of fantasy was included, which made it feel a bit too much at times.

Overall, Royal Bastards was just a middle-of-the-road fantasy for me. It didn't stand out as I was hoping; nonetheless, if an adventure story is your thing, definitely give this first installment in a new series a try.

Royal Bastards by Andrew Shvarts is a book I have been looking forward to since I read the summary…really, you had me at the title on this one Mr. Shvarts. This book had everything I look forward to in the books I read, great characters, a bit of romance/swoons, and an intriguing story.

The main character is Tilla and she happens to be the bastard daughter of Lord Kent, the man who leads the Western Province. It was hard not to feel bad for Tilla and understand her desire to be seen as more than Lord Kent’s backup – if and when he needed her – and because of who she was, she didn’t have a true place in the castle. As his daughter, she was expected to attend functions and represent him well but she was never really treated as his daughter because he has never legitimized her. It is because of this that she is able to sneak around with her half-brother and get away with some of the things she does.

As the story opens, the visiting princess Lyrianna is being honored with a feast and that’s when the princess surprises everyone and chooses to sit at the bastard’s table. Of course Tilla is there but so are some other characters that will come to play very important roles in the rest of the story. Miles is the son of one of the most powerful women in the West. His mother’s house is wealthy and the originator of the sun stones that light up the castle. Zell is the son of the Zitochi chief. He isn’t a bastard in the true sense of the word – he earned his status within his clan.

The group makes plans to go to the beach that night (along with Tilla’s half-brother Jax) and they end up taking the tunnels under the castle to the beach and by chance, they find themselves witnessing a crime they never expected. This forces all of them to run and they are immediately set up as scapegoats to the murder of princess Lyrianna’s Archmagus uncle and the kicker here is that it is their parents that have started the rebellion and put all their lives on the line.

Outside of the actual story, the characters and the friendships really help to drive this story forward. I loved how everyone was immediately thrown into this uncontrollable situation and even though they don’t really trust each other yet, they are all working towards one goal, surviving. That means getting the princess to safety and turning in their parents to the king. Despite all their differences, they all eventually become close. I thought all of the friendships / relationships were well done and realistic. The relationship Tilla develops with Zell was a bit of a slow burn…until it wasn’t and the friendship she develops with Lyrianna was great too.

I especially loved the relationship Tilla had with Jax, her half-brother. While they have the same mother, they have very different lives because of who their fathers are. Despite that, they are still close and would do anything to protect one another. Tilla quickly understands that while she might be able to turn around and beg her father to give her another chance but that would never be the same for Jax, Lyrianna, and Zell and that is what persuades her to keep running.


The world that Shvarts created is one that revolves around the Kingdom of Lightspire and Lord Kent’s desire to have the West be separate from Lightspire. The rebellion creates the conflict that these characters are up against and even when I thought they made it, Shvarts had me on the edge of my seat because the entire group was still in danger. It is pretty obvious who the “bad guys” are but when you look at it from the perspective of Lord Kent and the other Westerners, it is easy to understand why they are doing what they are…the question though is whether there could have been another way. With that said, throwing their children under the bus was pretty shady.

I don’t want to say a lot about what happens as I don’t want to spoil any bit of this book. I found myself unable to put it down as I needed to know how things were going to turn out for all of these characters. There were one or two things that I saw coming and a few things I didn’t. If you are looking for something that has action, swoony parts, danger and magic, definitely check out Royal Bastards. I’m hopeful there is a follow up for this book, there is definitely an opening at the end of this book to have Tilla’s story continue and I would fully support that (if that influences anyone).

3.5 stars.

Tilla is the bastard of her father, the Lord of Kent. Together with her half-brother Jax the stablehand, she gets drunk and hangs out with the other stablehands, content to while her days bathing, drinking and partying until her father either adopts her or disowns her. Then everything turns to literal shit when Tilla, Jax, fellow bastard Miles, a Zitochi warrior named Zell and the Princess Lyrania accidentally witness a brutal murder and accidentally save Lyrania's life in the process. Branded as outlaws, the five must flee towards the safety of Lyrania's home.

This isn't a typical YA novel. First off: there's some pretty gritty death scenes. Secondly, there's a lot of swearing. Thirdly, there's sex and crude language. It's a fairly interesting trifecta and makes the novel seem a lot more realistic . . . for a fantasy novel. I enjoyed it in patches, although there were a couple of turns of character that really came out of the blue, and I liked that Tilla grew up into an adult instead of a spoilt brat.

The one main gripe I had was Tilla's "combat training." I can handle magic, supernatural creatures and fantasy intrigue/politicking, but c'mon, you're trying to have me believe that a lackadaisical teenage girl who has spent her entire life lounging about drinking and sitting on her ass is suddenly able to beat the snot out of trained, elite warriors after an hour or so of training every day for like, two weeks? Oh, and this training comes after riding all day long and being on the road, none of which she is actually prepared for because she's a spoilt, soft castle-rat. Uh huh. Riiiiight.

I received this ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.

Royal Bastards is an easy-to-read, action packed read, that although fantasy is not super-intense fantasy. Narrated by our main character Tilla, the story is told in a modern style. It’s banterous, playful and witty while simultaneously dangerous, bloody and violent.

We follow a bunch of five teens, 4 ‘outsiders’ and a Princess who are thrust together when they see something they shouldn’t have and find a bounty set on their heads.

Tilla is the daughter of Lord Kent of the Western Province and a low born woman. All she has ever wanted is to be legitimised, allowed to sit at her father’s side rather than at the bastard table at the back of the hall. But her father now has trueborn heirs and so Tilla spends the majority of her time with her half brother (same low born mother) Jax. I really liked Jax and the playful nature of their sibling relationship.

Then we have Miles, the bastard and only son of a Lady, Lord Kent’s best friend. We have a Princess who seeks to defy convention and a Zitochi warrior, Zell, who is sullen, serious and strong.

I very much liked the fact that although narrated through Tilla, we got to know the other characters and their back stories. I felt we saw the progression of each of the characters, with Tilla obviously being the predonimant one.

As fantasies go this isn’t too heavy. If you feel intimidated by fantasy then perhaps this YA fantasy would be a good place to start?

I did find the light narrative style to be somewhat at odds with the violence and implied violence. I guess it showed Tilla’s naivety as this disparity definitely seemed to lessen as the story progressed.

All in all, a good read with some interesting characters. I believe this is the first book in a trilogy so I look forward to book two.

We loved this book so much at our house that as soon as it was in hard back we purchased a copy for personal use!

Upon hearing this premise I didn't have to think twice about reading it, it simply had to happen. I have somewhat of an *obsessive* history with bastards, as the concept of illegitimate children of royals is so damn intriguing. Jon Snow and Bash from Reign, need I say more?

The world building is incredible, I felt as though I was reading a future installment of an already established setting, let alone a debut book. A lot of fantasy books fall victim to overbearing explanations and too much world building. Yet, instead of endless pages of 'information dumping' as I like to call it, we learn snippets throughout the book and only begin to fully understand it by the end, keeping the mystery throughout.

At the start of the story we meet an array of very dynamic characters, whom all add to the edgy feel of the novel and I was most impressed by the way they were all developed. The contrasting personalities of each member of the gang also allows you to find someone to relate to throughout the story. All these characters have incredibly intricate back stories, trust me when I tell you will be floored. The first impressions of each character are so deceitful!

First, we have Tilla- the daughter of the Lord of the Western Province, who is a very realistic protagonist and her constant yearning to prove to her father that she is just as worthy as his legitimate children made a great addition to the overall plot.
Jax- Tilla's brother, is the dream literary sibling we all aspire to have. He works at the castle stables and has the most well timed one liners ever, he's so charming, I couldn't handle it.
Miles- Tilla's childhood friend, the smart one of the group.
Zell- a seemingly cold-hearted fighter with no remorse who is outcast by his family. He is hands down the most complicated character in the book, the reasoning behind his cautious personality HAD ME IN PIECES.
A key point that will make you devour this book is that it's hilarious. It being a fantasy, I wasn't expecting so much banter! The amount of friendly shade being thrown totally enthralled me as being fluent in sass myself, I was having the best time. I mean, Jax actually says to Zell "You basically don't have emotions between 'gotta kill' and 'yay, I killed'. HOW does that not make you spit out your coffee?!

What I appreciated the most was how progressive the plot was. Most of the characters have only just met, meaning they are unsure as to how to act around each other or whether they can even be trusted after being forced to stick together. This comes across really well as you begin to notice their familiarity with each other increase. It is a common book trope for characters to instantly act as thought they have been drinking buddies for the past fifty years, there is none of that nonsense in Royal Bastards.

As a final point I'd like to mention the feels that will ultimately break your soul in half and send it down to hell for processing. As insane as this sounds, I became so attached to all these characters that all the plot twists and betrayals completely unhinged me. It is definitely an adventure novel as the plot focuses heavily on getting a message to the king, meaning we encounter gruesome monsters and foreign villages, the action never ends!

Royal Bastards is a fun read full of adventure and friendship. As the group flees for their lives they develop friendships and learn to depend on one another. As their trust grows their companionship and banter becomes the most enjoyable aspect of the book. The group battles to survive while they also struggle with their choices and loyalty, discovering that nothing about war is black and white, and no matter the side they choose they will be supporting the inhuman behavior of leaders and watching a lot of people die.

The story is told through Tilla's first person narrative, her voice and tone are conversational and very modern and sometimes reminded me of a mallrat. Despite this being an unusual voice in a fantasy setting it worked well for this book; the light, comical tone counterbalances the dark and gory violence. Tilla comes across as a snarky, feisty, straightforward hero. She unapologetically ogles every guy in sight, which was sometimes nearly unbearable, but it fit well with her personality. Tilla has a very strong moral compass and she makes her choices from the heart, often endangering herself and her friends to do what is right, but always understanding and accepting the consequences of her choices.

I wish there had been more to the obvious and borderline cliche plot twists, that there had been a twist to the twist to make it something new and not just your average accursed sudden and inevitable betrayal.

This is a fun book that teens will definitely enjoy, but I would recommend it for older teens only. There is a considerable amount of swearing, drinking, some excessive drinking, the only sex in the book occurs off-page after a cutscene, there is a lot of bawdy talk, and lots of violence. While none of things are particularly offensive, I would only recommend this to a more mature teenager. And it's totally fine for all us adults who can't get enough of the young adult genre.

The hardest part of a book you cannot put down is waiting for the sequel.

The author managed to enthrall you with his world of patriotism, betrayals, love and war. The only thing missing is a little bit of humour. It was a fantastic read and I would recommend to any fantasy lover.

This was a really fun read. I loved the MC's less-than-traditional role - a bastard born to the king - and the POV this gave her. She's an ignored underdog, caught between the world of her royal father and other peasants. The older she's grown, the more her father has ignored her. The night a visiting princess arrive, Tilla has decided she's going to align herself with the commoners, and stop trying to curry favor with a father who can't give her any.

Then Tilla, her friends and the princess witness an assassination. Her father and his allies break the peace treaty binding them to the princess's family, and realize Tilla watched them do it. From that point, Tilla and her group is hunted. They can't return to the castle so they decide to turncoat, and return the princess to her father...now Tilla's father's enemy. They've got to cross the country to get to safety and Tilla must set her face against everything she once knew to survive.

The conflict is well drawn, and Tilla's friends become more fleshed out as the story goes on. This is the first in a series but even as Tilla reaches safety, she realizes she's never going to be safe again. Or at peace, for every choice she makes from then on is a betrayal to someone. I'm looking forward to the next book!

This book was SO GOOD. I was hooked from the first page!

Firstly, the friendships! The friendships were the driving force of what made this book wonderful. The sibling relationship between Tilla and Jax was incredibly beautiful, and without giving away any spoilers, I was an utter wreck near the end. This was a delightful adventure, and I can't wait to see what happens next!

I will write a proper review asap, once I've gathered my thoughts. But I will say now that I will be recommending this book to EVERYONE!

A perfect read with a memorable main character and her band of merry "men" This book is not to be missed.

Tilla is a bastard. Living in between two worlds, she doesn't know where she quite belongs. She's not quite a lady, but is being given a status and education that is definitely higher than her half-brother the stable hand. Tilla longs for her father's approval, so when he asks for her to be on her best behavior at the upcoming visit from the royal family she complies. Tilla and the other bastards, her childhood friend Miles and Zitochi warrior Zell are surprised, however, when the royal princess Lyriana decides to slum it at the bastard table. Along with Tilla's brother Jax, the teens decide to sneak through the castle's tunnels to show the princess the ocean, but they are shocked when they see their parent's murder Lyriana's uncle in a plot to take over the kingdom.

On the run from their own families, the teens learn a lot about each other, and what it is they really want in life. Super fun fantasy read!

I was so excited to read this book because it sounded like something different and fun, and that it certainly was! The Royal Bastards is set in a fantasy world full of political intrigue. A group of young bastards, along with a princess, are inadvertently witness to a betrayal to the crown and go on the run for their lives. It just so happens that the ones trying to kill them are their own parents who want to rebel against the current king and have independence in their territories. They quickly realize there’s even more at stake than they thought and try to stop this plan from coming to fruition.

While this story is a fantasy world set in sort of medieval times, it felt very modern to me. For me, that was a good thing and I think it made the pace of the story flow really fast. I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough! I also really enjoyed the main heroine, which is usually a hit or miss for me in these types of stories. Tilla is sixteen and she’s always wanted to be recognized by her father, to attend the balls and wear the pretty gowns. When she realizes the things she’s wanted are not what they seem, she has her own internal struggle that I thought she handled pretty well all things considered.

Of course, there’s also a romance. I thought this was done in a very cute way, and although at times it felt a bit rushed (especially towards the end) I still managed to care for both of them and found them adorable together. The development of their relationship while they are on the run made sense and I could see their connection and bond slowly cementing.

The side characters were also as important to my enjoyment of the story. I liked them all for different reasons and they rounded the story really nicely. I will admit that there was one thing towards the end of the book that really hit me hard because I found it quite unnecessary for the plot advancement at that point and it felt like it was added for shock value to me. But maybe this will be a more important plot point in an upcoming book.

Will I continue reading Andrew Shvarts? Absolutely! ROYAL BASTARDS was fun, youthful, refreshing and original. It’s not a plot that hasn’t been done before but he’s definitely done it in his own unique way and I just couldn’t put it down. This was a great debut and one I plan to keep my eye on.

I enjoyed this book!!! I loved the characters and the storyline! I could not put this book down! I already know of some patrons at my library that I will have to suggest this book too!

"Yeah, well, you basically don't have emotions between 'gotta kill' and 'yay, I killed,' so that's not really a surprise."

Life as a royal bastard is never easy, but for Tilla, it's far from the lot she wants in life. She spends her days drinking away the hours with her half-brother, Jax, holding to a small, childlike hope that her father, Lord of House Kent, will someday legitimize her. Despite these problems, life is simple enough, until the Princess Lyriana comes to visit, and everything goes wrong.

Witnessing a murder that should never have happened, and certainly wasn't intended for their eyes, Tilla and Jax find themselves on the run, along with Lyriana, Miles (the bastard of House Hampstedt), and Zell, a Zitochi warrior whose dishonor has bastardized him, too. They've been framed for a crime punishable by death, and war is on the horizon; can they survive long enough to stop the uprising and save themselves?

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ALL OF MY LOVE, YOU GUYS. I would give this book 10/5 stars if I could, I swear. I honestly went into the book without a clue of what I should expect, and while I was optimistic, my hopes weren't that high. This book literally shattered every single expectation I held. The writing style is easy and fun, without being childish. The characters share a witty banter that never gets old, and helps to lighten the heavier moments whenever necessary. Each character is complex and three-dimensional, with surprises, likes and dislikes, emotions and feelings - nobody in this book felt like a "prop", which is an unfortunately common occurrence with books involving this many front-and-center characters, from my experience.

Tilla? Total feminist badass. She wants to drink with the guys, but she wants to be recognized as her father's heir. She craves his respect, yet is infuriated by his refusal to legitimize her. She wants to wear fun dresses and live it up in a castle, but she asks to be taught how to fight, and craves the aches and pains that come after every training session with Zell. She keeps her mind open to the possibilities and doesn't let herself become jaded, though she's also careful to keep her wits about her. I seriously lived for this MC, as well as her half-brother, Jax. Jax is witty and hilarious, and so precious and sweet, and their sibling bonding moments completely melted me. I love a good family dynamic, and these two have the best sibling relationship I have seen in a book in years.

While Lyriana is a general pain in the ass for a great deal of the book, she's never unbearable, and I appreciate the fact that she redeemed herself by the end. Zell is your fairly predictable stoic murder-y guy with a gooey, soft heart of gold underneath, but that didn't stop me from rooting for him the entire way. Miles alternates between being an annoying little shit and being fairly badass, though he was definitely my least favorite character, especially for the way he acted from the beginning like he was owed something by Tilla. Speaking of which, this book legitimately stormed into the whole dudes-whining-about-friend-zoning debacle and just blew that shit to pieces and I cheered through every minute of it.

Now, as far as the setting goes: if you like Game of Thrones, I would especially recommend this book to you, because I got hardcore ASOIAF vibes from the politics and world-building of this book - on a much smaller, YA-friendly scale, granted. I don't mean that as a bad thing at all; I love a book with a good royalty/nobility/political setup, and this one didn't fail to deliver. I also need to tell you that, despite the fact that this book is definitely one of those "characters running from danger" books from practically start to finish, it never feels repetitive or tiring. Every time it risks becoming stale, there's another twist, action scene, or hilarious conversation to perk things right back up.

I don't think I can say much more without throwing out some spoilers, but I'll end this review on this note: this book is definitely in my top 5 of 2017 list so far, and I am absolutely ecstatic that there are going to be more books in the series. This is, by far, the best ARC that I have had the pleasure of reading and reviewing since I started blogging, and my next book order is going to involve a completed copy, because I could easily see myself rereading this book in the future, and Andrew Shvarts deserves all the royalties for creating such a delightful little world. I can't wait for the next installment.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes adventure, fantasy, a little magic, a little romance, a lot of laughter and friendship, and a damn good time.

Huge thank you to NetGalley and Disney-Hyperion for the ARC!

Royal Bastards by Andrew Shvarts is a book I have been looking forward to since I read the summary…really, you had me at the title on this one Mr. Shvarts. This book had everything I look forward to in the books I read, great characters, a bit of romance/swoons, and an intriguing story.

The main character is Tilla and she happens to be the bastard daughter of Lord Kent, the man who leads the Western Province. It was hard not to feel bad for Tilla and understand her desire to be seen as more than Lord Kent’s backup – if and when he needed her – and because of who she was, she didn’t have a true place in the castle. As his daughter, she was expected to attend functions and represent him well but she was never really treated as his daughter because he has never legitimized her. It is because of this that she is able to sneak around with her half-brother and get away with some of the things she does.

As the story opens, the visiting princess Lyrianna is being honored with a feast and that’s when the princess surprises everyone and chooses to sit at the bastard’s table. Of course Tilla is there but so are some other characters that will come to play very important roles in the rest of the story. Miles is the son of one of the most powerful women in the West. His mother’s house is wealthy and the originator of the sun stones that light up the castle. Zell is the son of the Zitochi chief. He isn’t a bastard in the true sense of the word – he earned his status within his clan.

The group makes plans to go to the beach that night (along with Tilla’s half-brother Jax) and they end up taking the tunnels under the castle to the beach and by chance, they find themselves witnessing a crime they never expected. This forces all of them to run and they are immediately set up as scapegoats to the murder of princess Lyrianna’s Archmagus uncle and the kicker here is that it is their parents that have started the rebellion and put all their lives on the line.

Outside of the actual story, the characters and the friendships really help to drive this story forward. I loved how everyone was immediately thrown into this uncontrollable situation and even though they don’t really trust each other yet, they are all working towards one goal, surviving. That means getting the princess to safety and turning in their parents to the king. Despite all their differences, they all eventually become close. I thought all of the friendships / relationships were well done and realistic. The relationship Tilla develops with Zell was a bit of a slow burn…until it wasn’t and the friendship she develops with Lyrianna was great too.

I especially loved the relationship Tilla had with Jax, her half-brother. While they have the same mother, they have very different lives because of who their fathers are. Despite that, they are still close and would do anything to protect one another. Tilla quickly understands that while she might be able to turn around and beg her father to give her another chance but that would never be the same for Jax, Lyrianna, and Zell and that is what persuades her to keep running.


The world that Shvarts created is one that revolves around the Kingdom of Lightspire and Lord Kent’s desire to have the West be separate from Lightspire. The rebellion creates the conflict that these characters are up against and even when I thought they made it, Shvarts had me on the edge of my seat because the entire group was still in danger. It is pretty obvious who the “bad guys” are but when you look at it from the perspective of Lord Kent and the other Westerners, it is easy to understand why they are doing what they are…the question though is whether there could have been another way. With that said, throwing their children under the bus was pretty shady.

I don’t want to say a lot about what happens as I don’t want to spoil any bit of this book. I found myself unable to put it down as I needed to know how things were going to turn out for all of these characters. There were one or two things that I saw coming and a few things I didn’t. If you are looking for something that has action, swoony parts, danger and magic, definitely check out Royal Bastards. I’m hopeful there is a follow up for this book, there is definitely an opening at the end of this book to have Tilla’s story continue and I would fully support that (if that influences anyone).

***Review posted on The Eater of Books! blog***

Royal Bastards by Andrew Shvarts
Book One of the Royal Bastards trilogy
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Publication Date: May 30, 2017
Rating: 3 stars
Source: ARC sent by the publisher

Summary (from Goodreads):

Being a bastard blows. Tilla would know. Her father, Lord Kent of the Western Province, loved her as a child, but cast her aside as soon as he had trueborn children.

At sixteen, Tilla spends her days exploring long-forgotten tunnels beneath the castle with her stablehand half brother, Jax, and her nights drinking with the servants, passing out on Jax’s floor while her castle bedroom collects dust. Tilla secretly longs to sit by her father’s side, resplendent in a sparkling gown, enjoying feasts with the rest of the family. Instead, she sits with the other bastards, like Miles of House Hampstedt, an awkward scholar who’s been in love with Tilla since they were children.

Then, at a feast honoring the visiting princess Lyriana, the royal shocks everyone by choosing to sit at the Bastards’ Table. Before she knows it, Tilla is leading the sheltered princess on a late-night escapade. Along with Jax, Miles, and fellow bastard Zell, a Zitochi warrior from the north, they stumble upon a crime they were never meant to witness.

Rebellion is brewing in the west, and a brutal coup leaves Lyriana’s uncle, the Royal Archmagus, dead—with Lyriana next on the list. The group flees for their lives, relentlessly pursued by murderous mercenaries; their own parents have put a price on their heads to prevent the king and his powerful Royal Mages from discovering their treachery.

The bastards band together, realizing they alone have the power to prevent a civil war that will tear their kingdom apart—if they can warn the king in time. And if they can survive the journey . . .

What I Liked:

I hate writing three-star reviews! In this book's case, I didn't hate it or love it - I just didn't care enough. This wasn't anything special or original and I wasn't invested enough to take a stand, whether positive or negative. The book has some strengths and weaknesses, but overall it wasn't something that stood out or wowed me.

A short synopsis: Tilla is a bastard, her father's oldest child. She and her half-brother Jax have lived the lives of bastard children for years - forgotten, raised apart from their "family", and treated differently. Everything changes when Princess Lyriana and her uncle, the Royal Archmagus, comes to visit the West Province (over which Tilla's father exerts power). Tilla, Jax, Lyriana, a bastard named Miles, and a Zitochi bastard named Zell are forced to flee when they witness Tilla's father and Miles's mother killing the Royal Archmagus and plotting to kill the Princess too. With a price on their heads and a war to stop, the bastards run for their lives. Being a bastard might have been what saved all of their lives, and they'll need to use this to their advantage against their own families.

The good things - for one, I finished the book, and it wasn't a difficult task to do. It's a fairly engaging read, though there are plenty of times when the paragraphs dragged on. I effectively skimmed and flipped pages until I reached dialogue. Anyway, the book wasn't too boring, which is a big plus.

For the most part, I liked the cast of characters. This book is written in Tilla's first-person POV, but there are five protagonists: Tilla, Lyriana, Miles, Jax, and Zell. Tilla and Jax are half-siblings (they have the same mother). Tilla's father is a lord of House Kent. Jax's father is a royal soldier. Miles's mother is a lady of House Hampstedt. Zell is the second son of the Zitochi Chief of Clans. Lyriana is the Princess of Lightspire who rules them all (except the Zitochi, sort of). These five are very different, and for the most part, likable. I loved and was intrigued by Zell, and I thought Jax was hilarious. But the other three (especially Miles), meh. I didn't really care for them. Tilla was okay, Lyriana was bland, Miles was irritating. I liked Zell a lot because he is a cold warrior who is very intelligent and ruthless too. He is capable and clever, but also selfless. My type of guy!

The friendship and camaraderie of the group is a great aspect that needed a little work but for the most part, was good. I felt that camaraderie between Tilla, Lyriana, Jax, and Zell. Miles stuck out like a sore thumb.

The book is slow initially, but things pick up as the group of teens journey on to Lightspire, where they hope to find safety. First they will try to find a Lord Galen Reza, who should shelter them. The majority of the novel is this journey, and it isn't too bad, though it's not terribly action-packed either (not until the end).

The romance is okay - there are two sets of romances. Tilla and Zell have a thing going on, and things get heated between them. I approve. Jax and Lyriana have a very subtle thing going on, though nothing physical happens between them (though they fall for each other). Tilla and Zell's romance moves very slowly and then very quickly ("I love you" was thrown okay... which seemed quick to me). I liked Tilla and Zell together.

The ending was good, no cliffhanger, nothing painful. I hate cliffhangers, so I'm fine with that.

What I Did Not Like:

Ehhhhhhhh. That's the feeling that I'm left with, after finishing this book. It isn't a bad book! But it's not great either. Not really stuck out to me to make it "amazing" or "sensational".

Some of the things that stuck out to me as annoying - the writing style/Tilla's voice. Wow, talk about juvenile. The way the dialogue is written... some of the phrases seemed so out of place - and outdated in a modern sense. Which is ridiculous, because this is a FANTASY novel that shouldn't have any "modern" phrases in it, outdated or not.

For example: hooking up? Old fogeys? Rooting for you? Take it to the next level? Gosh there were more - I cringed every time I read those phrases. They seemed so out of place and entirely unnecessary. The only person that talked like I would expect from a high fantasy novel was Zell.

Tilla's voice was so conversational in a mundane way. I understand that this is her narrative, but the way she brings the story across is weirdly conversational and it just didn't work for me.

Ugh, Miles. I read some reviews that mentioned a love triangle and as soon as I "met" Miles, in the first few chapters, I knew exactly where this love triangle was going. It's not a true love triangle because Tilla doesn't care for or want Miles at all - she doesn't even really see him as a friend - but Miles is totally obsessed with Tilla. Miles is a pesky fly that I wanted to smash, right from the beginning, and not because he came across as weirdly obsessed with Tilla. He's just... irritating? There was always something about him that made me want to punch him.

So there is and yet isn't a love triangle. I can tell you that the love triangle is taking care of effectively, in the end (not that we had anything to worry about, with how close Zell and Tilla had gotten). Hopefully no new "legs" of the triangle pop up, like Lyriana's cousin. Settle down, YA authors, not everyone has to be in love with the heroine (that's stupid and unrealistic).

More ugh about Miles is his behavior. He is almost possessive of Tilla (you'll see why), and he does this thing out of spite because she friend-zoned him (*cringe*). Can we not perpetrate the idea of men's fragile egos and how terribly they handle rejection (some of them)? I get that it was used as a plot point in the book, but it's ridiculous. My face must have looked like this when I read that scene: -_-

Overall this book wasn't boring but there were plenty of rambling paragraphs that I skipped altogether and apparently didn't need to read them. So much info-dumping and storytelling - no thank you! When a paragraph started to feel like a run-on sentence, I was out. Look, guys. I'm an educated young woman in her twenties and I've read boring classics in the very recent past, so it's not my intelligence at fault here. Try not to info-dump so much, authors. It's taxing on readers.

I'll stop there. General feeling? Meh.

Would I Recommend It:

I don't really recommend this book because it's so meh and uninspiring. It didn't really impress me - ME, a fantasy addict. I expected to be wowed and swept off my feet, with the amount of promo and attention this book was getting. Since this series is a trilogy, and this author is a debut author who clearly likes to throw in as many cliche YA tropes as possible, I may wait until the series ends to possibly binge-read books two and three. Or skip them altogether. My expectations are low.

Rating:

3 stars. 2.5 stars? I'm not feeling negatively towards the book but I'm not feeling positively towards it either. I can't even say I feel disappointed, though I probably should, given how excited I was about the book and how much I really don't care about it after reading it. Meh. I tried!

As the oldest daughter of Lord Kent Tilla should be the heir to the Western Province and treated like a princess. Unfortunately for her she's a bastard and although her father doted on her as a child he has completely ignored her since his legitimate children were came along. Tilla spends most of her time with her half-brother (on her mother's side) Jax, exploring the old tunnels underneath the castle and getting in trouble with the other servants but she secretly longs for her father to make her his official heir so that she could claim her place at his side.

Even though she's the bastard child and basically a spare part she still has to attend official functions but she's relegated to the bastards table along with her childhood friend Miles who is the bastard son of another wealthy family in the province. When a they receive a visit from members of the Royal family everyone is shocked when Princess Lyriana chooses to join Tilla, Miles and Zell (the son of a visiting Zitochi warrior) at the bastard table. Lyriana has never had much freedom and she challenges the others to take her on an adventure but things turn sour when they witness a shocking crime and suddenly find all of their lives are in danger. Their only hope of survival is making it across the kingdom to reunite with Lyriana's family and if they fail the entire country could be facing a bitter civil war.

I had so much fun reading this book, Andrew Shvarts swiftly swept me into his world and he made it incredibly easy for me to feel really invested in his characters. He's one of those authors who isn't afraid to put his characters into some pretty dark situations though so you'll find yourself constantly worrying about wether they'll all be alive by the end of the book. The story is action packed from very early on and it definitely had me on the edge of my seat when I was reading. Although it can be quite dark in places the humorous banter between the main characters added just the right amount of fun to offset it and this was a thoroughly enjoyable read.

I love Tilla, she's such a wonderfully written character who can be both insecure because of the way her father treats her but also incredibly happy when she's with her brother, she wants to learn to protect herself and she puts the effort in to train with Zell until she's quite badass but at the same time she still worries about the silly things that teenage girls worry about. She's just such a normal girl and she relies on all of the other misfits as much as they rely on her. One of my favourite things about the book was the brilliant relationship she had with her brother Jax, the two teased each other mercilessly but at the same time they were always there for each other and they had an incredibly strong bond. Jax was actually one of my favourite characters, he was just such a fun guy who was a bit of a ladies man and enjoyed winding up all of the others.

Zell was the most mysterious of them all, raised as a warrior by the Zitochi tribe he was from a very different background to the others but he was a brilliant ninja warrior who was very handy to have around when they were in trouble and I really enjoyed the way he slowly opened up to Tilla and the others. Miles was the nerd of the group, someone who was really intelligent but not so great at the physical stuff and who has been crushing on Tilla since they were children. I loved that fairly early on he got to prove himself by helping save Tilla when they were under attack, it was nice to see that the bookworm got to save the day over Jax and Zell who were both far better fighters. I had my doubts about Lyriana when she was first introduced, she's been so sheltered that she's fairly naive about the world around her and I worried that she'd end up being a bit useless but she has a lot of hidden depths that made her much more interesting.

I could rave about this book for hours because there is just so much to love about it - the fact I stayed up until 3:30am to finish it probably says it all really! The story is full of shocking twists (although I'll admit I did see a fairly major one coming), the action is superb, the characters are well written and the banter is spot on. I still haven't quite forgiven Andrew Shvarts for ripping my heart to shreds near the end but even so I can't wait to get my hands on the next book in the series!

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley for an honest review.

Wow, just wow this book was great. I really have nothing bad to say about it. The characters were great and the story was this really fun adventure. There was never a section that I got bored or skipped through. Tilla was a really refreshing heroine. She was honest and kind while at the same time being sassy and hilarious. I am so looking forward to the rest of the series.