Summary
In Tilla’s world, lineage matters. Since her mother was a castle servant, Tilla’s father, Lord Kent, would never make Tilla “legitimate.” He has other daughters for that. Tilla’s lot in life is to be one of the “bastards.” And sometimes she’s okay with that. She can hang out with her half brother, Jax, who is a stable hand. They explore the castle’s secret tunnels. And she can be relatively free of the demands of the aristocracy.
When Princess Lyriana comes to the West to visit House Kent, she is immediately drawn to Tilla and the other teen “bastards,” Miles and Zell. The princess wants to know more about the common people in her kingdom including the cast off children of the Lords and Ladies.
An excursion to the ocean with the princess changes everything when the teens witness something they were never supposed to see. They are soon running for their lives and questioning everything they thought they knew about their homes and their families.
Review
Wow! This was a great thriller. The premise was clever. I knew from the start that this would be a read-straight-through kind of story. The energy was high and the pacing was terrific. Twists kept me guessing what might happen next.
I loved the characters. The five main kids are well defined and bring something unique to their quest to stay alive. They ask hard questions about their task. It’s not always clear if they are on the “right” side. I liked that depth and the wrestling the characters had to do.
The ending wraps things up for this story – no cliff hangers. But there’s definitely going to be another book because this story is far from over. For me I’d say this is a high school and older book due to mature content including language and violence. This will be a terrific story for older readers, including adults who love a great thriller!
Thanks to the publisher, Disney-Hyperion, for an electronic review copy of this book, offered in exchange for an honest review!