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Haden Lord, the disgraced prince of the Underrealm, has been sent to the mortal world to entice a girl into returning with him to the land of the dead. Posing as a student at Olympus Hills High—a haven for children of the rich and famous—Haden must single out the one girl rumored to be able to restore immortality to his race.
Daphne Raines has dreams much bigger than her tiny southern Utah town, so when her rock star dad suddenly reappears, offering her full tuition to Olympus Hills High’s prestigious music program, she sees an opportunity to catch the break she needs to make it as a singer. But upon moving into her estranged father’s mansion in California, and attending her glamorous new school, Daphne soon realizes she isn’t the only student in Olympus who doesn’t quite belong.
Haden and Daphne—destined for each other—know nothing of the true stakes their fated courtship entails. As war between the gods brews, the teenagers’ lives collide. But Daphne won’t be wooed easily and when it seems their prophesied link could happen, Haden realizes something he never intended—he’s fallen in love. Now to save themselves, Haden and Daphne must rewrite their destinies. But as their destinies change, so do the fates of both their worlds.
***
I hate to say it because I had high hopes with The Shadow Prince, with an apparent mix of Greek mythology and music, but this book is underwhelming. It's pretty painful for me to get through it and there's just nothing I can like about this book. It must sound harsh, but that's what I feel.
Daphne Raines is the main protagonist. And she's such a bland character. I can see no character strength in her other than being exceptionally snarky when she's annoyed. Normally I like snarkiness but this combination just doesn't appeal to me. That's what makes her so annoying and I have NO interesting about her anymore. I don't care if she can hear the music of life or whatever the hell she's hearing all the time. There's no way I can attach myself to Daphne.
Haden is worse. There are things about him that just doesn't make sense. I'm not talking about the mystery part of the story. I'm talking about the guy himself. One minute he's all "I'm going to take you to my father and earn my honor and absolutely nothing can stop me", and then the next he's like "no, I'm going to protect Daphne I can't let her go into the Underrealm". There's no explanation whatsoever about his sudden change of behavior. None. Hello, schizophrenia much? His emotions makes NO sense to me, and I thought he could be an awesome character. Color me disappointed.
The story itself is not so much better either. There are times where I don't know what's happening and I don't know the point of the existence of these scenes when I look back. The first chapter is actually fine, but it falls flat after that. And then it's like a chase that never ends and it bores me to death. Get to the point, please! I don't need dramas that has nothing to do with the book itself.
Overall there's nothing about the book that catches my attention and I suggest you skip this book if you really want to find a good YA read.
Rating: 3.5/10
