Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for the ARC!
This novel follows the story of Persephone and Azriel. Persephone being a "slave" and Azriel coming to save her from owner, revealing that he has to take her somewhere and to trust him wholeheartedly. Along with her trusty animal friends, they embark on a journey that Azriel believes could set him and his people free from the tyranny of the king's regent.

I found that the story description was extremely interesting and thought it would be something I would enjoy, but I found that the pacing and overall execution was a tad lack-luster. The beginning started off pretty fun with the introduction of the two main characters and their funny banter, but as it hit the middle, the pacing of the book completely slowed down. And really only until the last couple chapters did it pick up and did readers receive a plot twist that was not the biggest surprise.

Overall, I think that the story has a lot of potential of being really good, especially with the set up for the next instalment. I just hope that the pacing improves and that readers get some more lore and romance!

It's rare that I can't finish a book that I receive for a review, but I just couldn't stomach this. The trend of snarky boy meets "tough" girl is boring at this point, and I could definitely do without the female character (preposterously named Persephone) being threatened with a spanking by the equally preposterously named Azriel, whom we are apparently supposed to like) and being stripped topless and whipped. All in the first few pages. I had to put it down at that point.

Thoroughly enjoyable! Fun characters, fun romance, exciting world. I had a little bit of difficulty with the pacing, but it still didn't affect my reading enjoyment much. Just made it feel a little bumby rather than a smooth, fluid reading experience.

Sometimes, you just need a quick little fantasy adventure with two snarky leads to get you through your day.

Prophecy is a low-fantasy adventure story filled with plenty of humor and romance. I've seen it compared to The Princess Bride, and while I haven't watched the whole movie, this book did remind me of some of the scenes I'd seen. I probably would have read this book in one sitting if I had the time, and it was refreshing to read due to its shorter length and quick pacing. I also really like the style of the prose, especially in the dialogue.
The fantasy elements in the story are relatively limited to the "prophecy" that foretells the importance of certain characters in the story. Otherwise, we follow Persephone, a slave longing for freedom, and Azriel, the thief who intends to grant that to her...although he may have ulterior motives. Like I said, the plot is very fast-paced. While the first part of the story is more adventure-focused, the second half has more politics and court intrigue. The story is fairly predictable, but there are some major plot twists at the end, and I didn't mind the familiar tropes. My only issue now is that I have to wait at least a year for a sequel.
The characters are very charming, and I think they're what drew me into the story. Persephone is a very intriguing main character, and I really liked her as a character. Azriel was my favorite (unsurprising, right) because snarky boys with possibly tragic backstories automatically win my favoritism. There are a handful of other characters with limited importance, but I'm excited to see more of Rachael, Tiny, and some of the other side characters.
Fantasy fans looking for a quick adventure story with plenty of twists and action will enjoy Prophecy.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the free e-ARC!

4.5/5

I absolutely loved this book! I read it in one setting because it was so good and I could not get enough of the characters. I really loved the characters the author created and there journey that they took. The story was fast paced but detailed where I felt immersed but not bored. I will be recommending this book to all of my family and friends.

I can see the similarities between the Once Upon A Broken Heart series, and this one since they both have a prophecy aspect. As for the other authors that this book is being compared to, I have not read any of their books so I cannot say for them. I also see a similarity between Stephanie Garber's writing style and this one. Still, it almost reminded me of Lauren Roberts’ writing style or even Holly Black's.
The characters reminded me of the ones in The Cruel Prince, especially the MMC. He reminded me a lot of Cardan, which I quite enjoyed. But it was almost like I didn’t know the characters which I understand because this is the first book in a series that I did not realize before today, looking at it on Goodreads. Another book, this reminds me of is The Stolen Heir; the sort of adventurous feel of it, and also Dance of Thieves where I remember a lot of similarities there as well. Those two, I feel should've been mentioned in the list of books Prochecy is similar to.
I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to finish this book because I’m not in a fantasy mood right now but I flew through it. It was quite fast-paced. It kept me entertained the whole time. The dialogue was fantastic! Almost up there with Holly Blacks and Lauren Roberts! I will definitely be purchasing this book when it comes out in January and am very glad that I read it, and discovered a new series for me to obsess over!
The lore/world-building in this book was very well flushed out for the most part. I still do feel like I have some questions at the end, which is completely okay because again this is the first book in a series. Normally that happens in the first books. There was one particular character that drove me insane the whole entire time. He just kept failing and failing and not accepting it, and I was quite annoyed with him. I will not say his name to avoid spoilers.
I’m trying to avoid spoilers this entire time because I would feel so bad if I were the one who spoiled it when this book comes out next year! Overall, I did like the two main characters, especially the MMC. I enjoyed him very much because of his dialogue and his banter with the FMC. I loved that! Now I am a bit upset that I have to wait until not next year, but possibly the previous year to find out what happens. I'm on a cliff here and I don’t like it!
Anyway, if you enjoyed Dance of Thieves, Once Upon a Broken Heart, Powerless, or any book in the Folk of the Air universe you would enjoy this. What a great true young adult book!!

It was a fun read! I don't know if it does justice to the description but it was a quick and interesting book to read. A very positive point was Persephone, I really liked her character!!