I absolutely love book with medieval Irish (or in this case Scottish) settings and Celtic mythology so I was really looking forward to this. The Oddling Prince is a light read with a fascinating plot, but was sadly there was just something missing for me to truly enjoy it.

The book’s strongest element is the fairytale-esque writing. The gorgeous descriptions and peaceful atmosphere draws the reader into the story. Coupled with the fact that the book is not that long, The Oddling Prince was an easy to get through. Another aspect that I liked was the relationship between Aric and Albaric: their newfound friendship was so pure and heartwarming. The ending, however, was…something. I didn’t necessarily dislike it, I’m just still not sure how I feel about it? The Oddling Prince is a whimsical, interesting story, but I there were certain things missing that unfortunately didn’t allow me to enjoy it as much as I had hoped.

I was excited to read this book, but ended up confused, bored and disappointed. The language and style was flowery and old fashioned, which may have been intentional, but wasn't to my taste. The characters felt flat to me, and don't get me,started on the relationship between the brothers. It was borderline creepy. There is an instant connection, which feels weird, and at times feels like more than brothers, which is disturbing. But my overwhelming feeling was boredom. I just didn't care, and ended,up speeding through the second half of the book.

Interesting concept, lackluster execution: A king lays dying from a mysterious malady that is connected to a magical glowing ring on his finger.He doesn't remember putting the ring on and it doesn't seem as though anyone can get it off, which means the king will die...enter the oddling prince. This young man appears from fae origins to save the king, at apparent cost to himself. It's soon discovered that this unusual young man is connected to the royal family who take him into their court where he learns what it means to be part of a mortal family.

This book has a very fairytale feel to it but I admit that I struggled a bit with the dramatic and flowery language. The relationship between the brothers seemed to be described in very confusing terms so that at times, I was left wondering if the author was hinting at a closer relationship than brothers should have, which obviously made me feel creeped out. Most of the book is about the bond between brothers but the characters themselves never felt all the way fleshed out. I never felt like I had a good sense of the characters personalities or could really relate to their situations, By the time I was halfway through the book, my mind was wandering and I was ready to speed read to the end.

I appreciate being able to read an advance copy of this book on Netgalley and am leaving an honest review.

While this novel is being pushed as a fae fantasy story, I do not think it delivers the kind of fae story that fans of Holly Black or Marie Brennan expect. The Fae take a backseat to a story about familial love and good overcoming evil. The part of me which loves a good Fae tale was disappointed. As a YA fantasy novel, The Oddling Prince is unique, well-written, and packed with wonderful characters.

The Oddling Prince reminds me of Peter S Beagle's The Last Unicorn in that the writing is lyrical and magical in its own right (write, right, get it?). The prose is meant to be read aloud, shared, and experienced as much as the story. Given many fantasy novels have the same omnipotent narrator with little difference in overall style, the voice in which Springer tells this story is creative and fun. She really makes you feel as if you are in the medieval era hearing the tale from Aric near a crackling fire with a cup of tea and a blanket. 

The characters are essentially good. I struggled with this a bit because I am typically a grim-dark or dark fantasy reader. I like my villains with a sense of morals and righteousness and I like my heroes with darkness and tragedy. The main character is pure goodness. He has a beautiful soul and a wonderful heart. I loved him and aspire to be such a positive force in the world, but I wanted him to have a moment of darkness or selfishness. Just one slip up to make him seem like a real teenager.

I did enjoy this novel quite a bit. I think it is a beautiful book that any fantasy lover will enjoy. 

Thank you to NetGalley, Nancy Springer, and Tachyon Publications for the eARC that fueled this review.

I adored this book! Old Scotland mixed with Fae and war. Two brothers that know nothing of each other and bond. It was an epic fantasy and I just want more!

Aric is seventeen and heir to the throne of the kingdom of Calidon. His father has taken ill and seems to grow sicker everyday. The cause seems to be an enchanted ring that no one can remove and things look bad for the king. Just when hope seems lost a Fae sprints in and removes the ring saving the king's life. His health steadily returns and everything Aria thought he knew was wrong.

Albaric is the son of the Queen of Elfland and Aric's half brother. When he saves his father from death he is surprised to find his father has forgotten all about him and he has a half brother that is human. He stays, trying to rebound with his father and get to know this brother as war looms over them.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ecopy of this book for a fair and honest review.

When it comes to books I consider myself not a very harsh critic. Average I would say. I rarely give out 1 star and it makes me feel bad if I do. But if I wouldn’t do it this time I would not be honest with myself or all of you. The Oddling Prince unfortunately did not live up to its promise and left me very unsatisfied.

The biggest problem I had with this book was that I was bored. It is that I read this in one sitting because if I had stopped I probably would not have picked it back up again. The synopsis sounded very engaging. A sibling relationship in the backdrop of a war with an added in bonus of the Fey. But the execution left no thrill of enjoyment possible for me. The plot just didn’t seem to know where it was going itself. And for a book with not even 300 pages that is not easily overlooked. It trudged on in that direction and then decided it was going to go there with an ending that didn’t make any sense at all. The war or conflict the country was in felt like an afterthought tossed in amidst the family drama.

Our characters didn’t stand out at all to me. Alric is our prince who is at the death bed of his father when a fey stranger arrives to save his father. This stranger turns out to be his half brother. I did not understand Alric. He was written like the perfect person. Always making the right decision. His connection to his half brother, Albaric, also felt weird as there was this instant loyalty and closeness between the two that didn’t make sense or was very well explained. I have to say that before it was revealed (at the very start of the book already though) that Albaric was his half brother it felt like Albaric was meant to be his love interest with the way Alric described him. And that little disturbing line continued on throughout the rest of the book. Never crossed but it was uncomfortable to read. Then he suddenly falls in love with a 14 year old girl which came out of nowhere.

Albaric was like a puppy dog, getting endlessly kicked by his father who would not accept him. I think I actually liked, and I am stretching the meaning of this word, the king the best because at least he wasn’t perfect. I can understood why he would have such a hard time accepting Albaric from his time with the Fey he didn’t remember. But the book came again with some other halfheartedly explanation and then completely overdid the king’s reaction.

Overall this book was just too messy for me to enjoy.

I received this book from #netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have never read a book by this author but kept hearing great things about this book and I am so glad that the publisher released this book to me, but after reading the book I did feel that the book had a few faults to it. I still enjoyed it but I did rate it at 3 stars because of me feeling torn in between loving it and not sure about it.

Aric is a 17 year old prince of a stony kingdom in Scotland. The Kingdom is sort of isolated. The story is about his father that is lying on his deathbed with a powerful ring on his finger that has not be able to be removed. Out of no where an unknown prince barges in and saves the king's life by removing the ring. The surprising thing that caught me off guard was that the son was a FAE. I was very excited they added this aspect to the book. What the father did not know was this was his son, Albaric, from the otherworld. The king had forgotten the time he spent in the Otherworld. Albaric is not sure where he belongs., He feels he doesn't fit in anywhere. But along the way the father and son bond quickly, so Aric sets out to help Albaric find a place where he belongs. Along the journey they are faced with battles but the learn to fight together.

The end was not what I expected but with that being said I still really enjoyed this book even though I did find it falling short at times. I still think that if this book does continue into another book, I would definitely pick it up because I think the author could do great things with it. .

Nancy Springer has still got it!

The Oddling Prince is a wonderfully fantastic story of two brothers. One, Aric, has been raised as the king’s heir; the other, Albaric and son of the Queen of Elfland, has been lost to memory. The King of Calidon is cursed with a ring that he cannot remove that sickens him, and he’s unable to eat or drink. As he lies on his deathbed, Albaric appears to aid him. Aric and Albaric are immediately bonded, brothers inextricably drawn to each other, adoring each other. Yet the King has no memory of his time in Elfland or loving and teaching Albaric as he grew.

Wound through the story are songs and the myth of the White King. As the King recovers his health, his soul seems wounded as he changes from a kind and just king to a hateful, violent tyrant. As the violence escalates, the kingdom withers, and an old enemy resurfaces. Can Aric and Albaric save their father and the kingdom?


If you love fantasy and rich nuanced storytelling, you’ll love The Oddling Prince. The story is superb, the writing glorious, the world-building subtle and immersive, and the characters are complex. A very satisfying read and an instant reminder of why Nancy Springer is one of the best fantasy writers ever, up there with Diana Wynne Jones, Brandon Sanderson, and the other greats. So glad she came out of “retirement” to gift us another soul-searching read. Highly recommended.

If you haven’t read any other Nancy Springer books, you owe it to yourself to grab some of her other series and start reading. You’ll be glad you did.

I received this book as an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) through NetGalley. My opinions are my own.

It's been many years since I've read Nancy Springer but have fond memories of reading her folk lore inspired fantasy,. I was delighted to spot a new story in Netgalley and read this in just under a couple of days. All the magic I remember from her earlier books is still there - a well crafted example of fairytale influenced writing (that is so in vogue right now even though Springer and others have been doing this for years!) with a strong celtic folklore influence. I shall certainly be looking out for more!

This book could have been so much better than it was. The beginning was very slow and I almost gave up on it. The Prince Aric gushes far too much over Albaric. The story could have moved along so much better without that excess. My favorite character could have made this into a successful trilogy instead of rushing everything into the end of this book. Without giving away the plotting that character will become the hostage and that would have been a great point to set up a second book. Instead everything is rushed into the end. The personality shift of a certain character was never well explained or well done.

**Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review**

I feel like this is going to be a book that people either love or dislike, and sadly this book was not for me.

On one hand, I adored the writing. Nancy Springer's writing is eloquent and flows smoothly throughout the whole book. Honestly, her prose is incredibly unique and one of the most beautiful I've ever come across. However, there was an insta-love/connection between two of the main characters which didn't feel authentic or realistic to me. That being said, this book is definitely meant to be read as more of a fairytale type story. You can't go in expecting huge character development or relationships forming and deepening as the novel goes on. I'm not saying that is a bad thing, it just isn't what I was personally expecting and it held me back from being able to fully connect with the characters and the story.

My rating is 4,5 stars.
I loved this book. Granted there are things that I didn't particularly understand or agree with, still I loved that book. There's the story where you have magic, kingdom in Scotland, rivalry, fear of rivalry, fathers sons relationships, brotherhood.
I loved Marissa, such a funny charcter. I so often hated the King which I think speaks positively of the book if it could produce such emotions. It's hard to describe the book without spoilers, so I won't do it, but I absolutely recommend to read it.

In the ancient moors of Scotland, the king of Calidon lies on his deathbed, cursed by a ring that cannot be removed from his finger. When a mysterious fey stranger appears to save the king, he also carries a secret that could tear the royal family apart.

The kingdom’s only hope will lie with two young men raised worlds apart. Aric is the beloved heir to the throne of Calidon; Albaric is clearly of noble origin yet strangely out of place.

Although a fairly short book it is epic-best book I have read so far this year!!!

Being a huge fan of fantasy, I was intrigued with this premise. Unfortunately this book missed it's mark for me. Springer's writing is very descriptive, and definitely has a lot of fantasy elements to it, but more often than not I was confused with her wordings. Same with the relationship with the brothers. Through out the book it felt like there was confusion on if they were brothers or something more than that. There were various elements to this book that if they were developed more, I think I could have liked the book, but it was a little too all over the place for me to connect with it at all.

**A copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**

The Oddling Prince struck an odd chord, and I wish I could have finished the entire book. It’s a story about family, two brothers to be exact, and their journey to become family. The setting is the ancient moors of Scotland where the current king is dying of a mysterious illness. The beginning of this book was interesting and it kept me excited for the first few chapters, but unfortunately I just couldn’t read past chapter eleven. For me the details are so important and the characters did not feel Scottish to me. The setting didn’t feel Scottish either. This made it hard to concentrate on the actual story itself, which is disappointing, because the writing is very well done and the story has so much potential. If the accents were correct and the setting detailed with more depth, those details would have added to the story, therefore, been less distracting. I’ve never read anything by Nancy Springer previously but I look forward to reading more of her work in the future, just a different series.

I did enjoy this book but not as much as I though. I would, the plot sounded very interesting but something about it wasn't for me. The plot was so well thought out and executed great with amazing characters so I would still recommend it.

4.25 stars
"My king," said Albaric, "Aric will not die. For if he does, I will go with him, and he knows it."

In a land, far far away, two complete strangers meet on a tragic day when the life of the king seems to be doomed, and with just a glance an unbreakable bound of love, loyalty and brotherhood is born.
This is the story of Aric, heir of the king and prince of Calidon, and Albaric, the oddling prince. A story that shows the power of brotherly love, such a great power able to defy even the love felt for one's parents. Such a great power able to defy even death.
"We were mistaken," I told her. "I was not a marvel, to be so transparent like glass. I was merely incomplete."

I don't even know where to begin explaining this heartwarming/heartbreaking novel, but I do know one thing: Aric and Albaric are one of the most well-written brotps I've ever read about. They're so different in their origins and their "race", one human and one half Elf, but what keeps them together is the trust they have in each other, that sharing of thoughts and feeling, that mutual brotherly love that nothing can break, not even a father. It was truly moving to witness how much they take care of each other, how they can understand with just a glance when something's off, how words are not necessary to convey what they feel.
Sometimes I felt like they were simply two faces of the same coin, two halves of the same painting, two sides of the same personality.
This is why, despite my tears, I couldn't help by being happy when reading the ending, SPOILER when these two separated halves finally become one with that moving image of Albaric transforming into a wave that soaks Aric merging two souls in one single body. END OF SPOILER
"A king is a man who wears a crown, but after a while the crown begins to wear the man."

Despite the brotp being the main reason for my high rating, there's something else that left me fascinated: the depiction of human corruption represented by the king. Or better, how human souls can be corrupted by greed, envy, fear, jealousy, mistrust and... shame. That's right, being ashamed of themselves is the first step for starting envying and even fearing others because we think they're better than us, and the second step is hating them. Wanting them to disappear. Shame can lead to madness even the kindest man, as the story shows. But it also shows that there's always place for redemption and forgiveness.

There's no doubt that Albaric was the one who's stolen my heart with his innocence and yet his cleverness, his courage and strenght and yet his need of love. He's truly an oddling prince, but oddling as "mysterious, heavenly, pure, special, lacking of any vice and sin".
But there was somebody else who caught my attention and, unfortunately, didn't get the space she deserved: Marissa. She's also an "oddling princess", in a certain way. She's different from the other people because she does actually pay attention to the people around her and can understand things that superficiality hids to mortal eyes. And, exactly like Albaric, she's hated because of her "diversity" by one of those people who should cherish her the most: her fater. Despite this and her young age, she proves to be a brave, clever young woman who does not fear to speak the truth to make the good prevail.
"There is poetry in him now," Mother said serenely. "And, I hope, music."

Last but not least, I'd like to take a moment to appreciate the writing style. It had a song-like quality like the old tales, like the ballads sung during the XVII century, full of poetry and beauty and music. As a non-native English speaker, it's been hard sometimes to understand the meaning of some rather unconventional words, but this did nothing but enhance the magical atmosphere of the whole story. I was enraptured. I was fascinated. I was in love.

Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Hmm, even after flying through this book, I’m not entirely sure how I feel about it. It’s possibly because I’ve been having a rather anxious few days, and so I’ve been trying to plough through my to be read pile in the hopes of feeling productive, but something about this book just didn’t work for me. The plot ticked along just fine, and the characters seemed okay, but it just felt a little lifeless for me.

While I liked the idea of a novel which concentrated on the bonds of brotherhood rather than romance, I just didn’t quite feel the connection to Aric or Albaric. The two characters didn’t have anything wrong with them exactly, I simply couldn’t connect to them.

I think maybe there wasn’t enough fleshing out there, and the story felt a little rushed at times. The book skims over a lot of events too quickly, meaning the novel didn’t have enough of a foundation. There were some events, such as the king’s mood swings, which could have been done better, with more time for the reader to adjust to it, and perhaps more time in the build up showing the good side of his personality too, not just the bad. It was gripping to open the novel and immediately see him on the brink of death, but never at any point throughout the novel did I particularly care if his son saved him or not, because I never got to see him as a good character. Which is a pity, because there was some great potential to add a lot of depth there.

Furthermore, there were elements of the book which I found troubling. Of course, it is set in medieval Britain, so it doesn’t surprise me that things are different, and I’m not against authors highlighting these differences, but I just felt like the whole thing was a bit… icky? The love interest of the novel is a fourteen year-old girl, who the main character admits is too young to marry, and yet despite him frequently suggesting it is just an engagement to see where things go when she grows up, meaning the ball is in her court, I still felt a bit gross when I saw him describing her as ‘my little love.’ Mostly because the things he described about her as being beautiful, usually referred back to her age and her coming into maturity, which doesn’t sit right with me.

With all of this in consideration, I’d give The Oddling Prince a 5.5/10. It was a quick read, and there were some enjoyable parts hidden in it, but between the disturbing romance and the too-fast pace, I can’t really rate it highly.

If you’re a fan of Robin Hobb’s Assassin’s… series, you’ll probably like this novel. It will be released in the UK on May 15th, [according to Netgalley and Goodreads. Waterstones, Book Depository and Amazon seem to be showing different dates].

How long has it been since the last time I read such an idealistic fantasy book with notions like chivalry, friendship and honour? The starry-eyed narrative would remind me of children's or middle-school fantasy stories, if it weren't for the interspersed hints of rather adult themes, which took me by surprise sometimes, though other than that, very little happens in this starry-eyed narrative:

Albaric, prince Aric's fey half-brother born of the mortal king Baldaric's forced affair with the Queen of Elfland, arrives just in time to save their father and forfeits his own immortality by doing so, barring him from the Otherworld. What follows is a lot of redundant Celtic family drama and a (short) roadtrip between brothers to find a new, accepting place for Albaric in this world.

While I appreciated the immersive writing style and the exploration of the brothers' utter devotion to each other (that would be unmistakably romantic in any other constellation), the novel felt long-winded, yet at the same time too simplistic for an adult audience. It's a pity, because I thoroughly enjoyed Springer's classic fantasy voice! It was the unexpected end that got me around to a three-star rating after all, and the originality of the work on the whole. But lord do I need a grimdark story right now.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t finish this book. It was way to slow for me, and I couldn’t get into it. But I do love the cover.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own