The book is slowly building and it’s has some interesting parts. So in the end it had me hooked and I want to know more.

Gorgeous and magical! Nancy’s early fantasy was always full of love, friendship and heroism and at the core of her stories, acceptance and being true to yourself. Doing what is right, even when what is right, isn’t always what is going to make you happy. This was an beautifully done call-back to her beginnings, and everything I fell in love with thirty-plus years ago, is present here.

If you’re unfamiliar with her early fantasy you may find the writing awkward at first until you get used to the style. It’s not that it’s overly complicated but it is more like poetry or a ballad, in the way it rises and falls in rhythm. It’s beautiful and is as much a part of the story, as the setting and the characters, lending it a feeling similar to an old folk tale.

The story tells of the deep friendship and love between the found brothers and their willingness to do anything for one another which contrasts the relationship that the king had with his own brothers, and their willingness to sacrifice one another to get what they want. Much like in a folktale there is a quietness to the underlying message of greed and putting yourself first and how unhappy you can become because of it.

The book isn’t perfect by any means, there were some confusing moments with the Why’s of the ring, and a few plot points that are a bit hand-wavy- but my last star is always about enjoyment before it’s about perfection, and I enjoyed the heck out of this book. Five stars from me and a hope that Nancy Springer will continue to visit her early fantasy.

Other notes-
Princess Marissa was utterly charming. I fell in love with her spunky cute self in a matter of a few paragraphs.

This book was unique and a thrilling ride. The novel, set in Scotland, is a fast paced tale of two brothers whose deep, familial love has to defy the odds to overcome just about every obstacle that could be thrown there way. I could not put this book down -- the story line drags you in, holds you tight, and will not let you go until you've come to the beautiful conclusion of the book. I found the two main characters to be very three dimensional and we get an excellent viewpoint into Aric (the main character) and his thoughts and feelings. I gave the book four stars instead of five for two reasons; first is sometimes the book was a little too fast paced. As in, I was sometimes a little surprised that the plot had taken a turn and I hadn't quite caught up yet. The second reason is I felt that the secondary characters (Albaric, Queen Evalin, Marissa) weren't quite as three dimensional as the main character. While I understand that this is the norm, I felt slightly despondent in that I wasn't given the chance to know them quite as well as Aric. They came too close to falling flat on the page for comfort.

Overall, this book is a wonderful, fast paced read that lovers of fantasy will enjoy.

This beautiful story follows our main character Aric (Yes! Finally a male protagonist in YA fantasy) and he is the young prince of a lonely kingdom in Northern Scotland. His father, the king, is dying because of a strange and spooky ring around his finger but luckily, a fae (that's right! Faeries!) suddenly appears and saves the king by removing this ring. Well, not all is what it seems when history reveals itself. I really don't want to spoil anymore than that.

The writing style is easy and straightforward. Nancy's choice of words just roll off the tongue which also allows it to be a very quick read. Aric is a freaking teddy bear and is too precious for this world. I'm so tired of mean angsty princes but we get the opposite with Aric. He's honest and forgiving. Actually, I fell in love with all of the characters. There are so many great friendships.

For a fantasy setting, this book will ease you into a very atmospheric world with a homey feel and it'll leave you wanting more. I know when I'm stressed out, this story will have my back.

This ARC was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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This is the first book I have read by this author, and it was different from my experience with other fantasy novels/series. It took me some time to get used to the archaic writing style, but it was not very difficult. In fact, there were several times when I found a phrase quite powerful, mostly when Aric was talking to his brother. I also realise that this type of writing style appeals to many a reader. I liked the length of this book, it was enough to accommodate the events that took place in it. The pacing was done well, with no time spent on unnecessary side quests or minor plots.

I liked Aric, the main character, and his morals and loyalty to his father. The other characters were not bad either, it's just hard to pick anyone that was particularly memorable. There was one main problem I had with the characterization. As in the fantasy novels of old, the elves in this novel were described as fair creatures, and so were the human characters. It is this lack of diversity in the characters that irritated me somewhat. Other than that, I didn't have any issues with the characterization. I liked the backstory of Aric's father and it was very interesting to see how the man himself changed throughout the span of the book. Aric's father was the character I liked best because of how well-developed he was.

The setting was quite beautifully described, and I really liked how certain locations were described as being peaceful at one point then dark and foreboding when the characters were facing a dire situation.

The ending was predictable for me, although I didn't have all the details figured out. I was not entirely satisfied with the power of the ring, either. I wish the magic in this novel was in the form of a well-developed system, instead of simply stating that the ring is powerful and a trickster. It would have been intriguing, for example, if the ring's 'trickster' trait were developed into a fully manipulative and near-sentient ability granted to the object by magic; something to avoid the fantasy cliché of saying 'this object is magical because it belongs to the blah/it is blessed by the blah'.

Overall, it was a good book. The plot was good if somewhat typical, the pacing was good, but I wish the magic system and certain characters had been developed more (even if it made the book slightly longer). I have not read any previous work by this author but, unfortunately, due to the old writing style, I most likely will not do so in the future either. I would recommend this to those who enjoy a good read in the style of older fantasy novels.
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Short review on Litsy:

ARC provided by NetGalley for an honest review.
A good book in the style of older fantasy novels. I liked the pacing, it avoided side quests and the like, I liked the characters (mainly Aric's father). The writing was a little too old-fashioned for me, but might appeal to many readers, and the ending was predictable. I also wish the magic system had been developed further. Recommended for those who enjoy older fantasy novels.
Overall rating: 3/5

This book was oddly addicting. I couldn't put it down and by the end, I really really enjoyed this book.

I thought the writing was very cool here and had a unique style. It definitely gave it that fantasy vibe which I loved. As for the story itself, it just wasn’t for me.

As a huge fan of the fae mythology I was eager to read this book that promised the reunion of two brothers, one fae and one mortal, as they learn to love each other while facing the threats to their kingdom from enemies both foreign and within. Unfortunately, I spent the first half confused as to what all happened leading up to the sick king and Oddling Prince and then suffered with boredom through the rest.

The language used in this is very fantasy driven which is fine although there were a few moments that took me awhile to understand what they were trying to say, however at the beginning there was an entire section that I had to stop and double check to make sure this was a story about brothers and not lovers because on more than one occasion the descriptions and emotions pulled from the characters blurred that line, though the actions themselves never crossed it. There’s also the matter of using an insult to describe one of them in order to create fear or animosity against them only to have that end up being the solution to the final problem which I thought was odd given the context even though it was written to be an act of love.

There major conflict if you can even call it that almost seems like an afterthought with the troubled relationship with the King and his family at the forefront but never quite answering the questions as to why things changed so drastically. There’s a slight answer but given the events leading up to it it almost seems like a cop out and there’s little explanation in regards to the mysteries of the ring which I thought would at least explain some of the personality issues in regards to the mythology in which it was created and less as a result of a tormented psyche.

This book didn’t do anything for me and I mostly spent my time reading and checking to see how much longer I had to suffer before it was over.

**thank you to the publishers and netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for a fair and honest review**