Customer Reviews

The False Princess

5 star:		(37)
4 star:		(26)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Nalia has led a privileged life as princess and heir to the throne of Thorvaldor, until her sixteenth birthday. Nalia is then told that she is not really the princess. She has simply been a stand-in for the real princess, living in hiding until she came of age. Now known as Sinda, the false princess is shipped back to an aunt that she doesn't know to live a poor, meager life. But Sinda has a latent talent for magic. When she returns to the city to study magic, Sinda reunites with her childhood friend and discovers an incredible secret that will affect the entire kingdom.

Nalia/Sinda is a complicated girl, who faces adversity with strength and humility. She's easy to like, and though at first naïve, Sinda learns from her mistakes and always tries to do the right thing, even at the sake of her own safety. Her friendship-turned-romance with her childhood friend Keirnan is sweet and endearing.

The story is completely engaging from the very beginning, and proves impossible to put down. Full of drama, magic, suspense, and romance, this is an impressive debut. Though marketed for young adults, fantasy fans of all ages should enjoy. O'Neal's vibrant characters are matched with a fast-paced adventure and intrigue that was over too soon.

What if you found out were not a princess like you thought you were but instead you were practically a nobody? This is the story of Sinda (Princess Nalia first), she lives in a palace and has a life any girl would dream about but that suddenly changes when she finds out she isn't the princess but just her decoy. They traded Sinda with the real princess to keep the princess safe from the tale that said she would be killed before her 16th birthday. I almost cried when they kicked her out with only a few belongings and told her it was best to just sever the relationship fast so it would heal quicker. How could anybody do this I thought?! This story sounds familiar but it doesn't end like you would imagine!

I decided to pick this book up to enjoy a simple and fun read and I was not disappointed. I really enjoyed this cute story! The False Princess is jammed packed with a unique plot, delightful characters, action/adventure, mystery and of course romance! The story line is unpredictable and unique and I was sucked in to the drama right from page one. I thought at times I could figure out how it was going to end but I never did.

I loved the characters; Sinda was quirky, clumsy, and a bit dreary and she reminded me of a typical teenage girl. She was so full of anger at times that you just couldn't help but to relate to her, very realistic character. Kiernan was also wonderful, he was always sarcastic but I just loved that he made an effort to continue to encourage Sinda to be the best and not beat herself up.

Some of the story was not as good as I would have hoped; like cheesy lines and not enough dialogue between the characters but this was still a great book. Very clean romance scenes that I would let my daughter read at any age. Very good story!

... but I don't like ratimg books based on the author's experience. I either enjoyed a book or I didn't.

In this case it's the golden middle. "The False Princess" wasn't the best book I've ever read, but it also wasn't the worst.
The characters were likeable, the general idea of the novel not knew, but well used an the writing itself was good.

My main problem was the huge amount of internal dialogue. I hate it when sentences go "And then months passed while I did mostly this, smetimes that and felt ...". Yadda yadda. You get the idea. And let me tell you, O'Neal filled pages and pages with this. Especially with the end coming I suddenly found myself skipping pages.

The end seemed to drag a bit, the climax stretched out over several chapters, leaving me somewhat bored.

All in all, worth reading, just don't let the 5-star reviews fool you. It's good but not perfect.

I love the concept of the False Princess. It's intriguing and devious and devastating, and that's just the idea. With quite a few glowing, 5-star reviews, I was ready to be knocked over and wowed by this book. Instead it was lukewarm. It wasn't at all bad. There wasn't anything horrible or upsetting. But there also wasn't anything spectacular. I feel like the book barely skimmed the surface of its potential. I wanted to see more depth to everything: more of the world and how magic plays a part in day-to-day life, more romance and heat between the main characters.

I think in the end part of the problem was that the book is heavy on exposition. The MC tells us everything that's happening, but doesn't show us. We weren't often involved in the scene, but hearing about it later or skimming over it to move onto something else. There were pages and pages of exposition without a lot of dialogue and in-scene interactions.

My favorite part of the book was two of the secondary character, which I think says a lot.

Overall, it was a quick and pleasant read, but pretty forgettable.

A kingdom, a princess, maybe two or three, magic, adventure and romance are some of the elements represented in: The False Princess. The story begins the day Nalia AKA Sinda discovers her life has been a lie; the kingdom she thinks to belong to is a mirage and she has only been a puppet to protect the real princess from a terrible prophecy. Without that much emotion from whom she believes are her parents, she's sent out of the castle to live with the only relative she was not aware of and live the life she was NEVER prepared for even if it means leaving Kiernan behind. I was trapped inside this story and captivating would be a word to describe it. I liked the world where the story is narrated, making me want more. It's so rich and impressive that prequels and spinoffs would not be bad idea at all. I'm impressed that in O'Neal's world, it speaks for itself. There's no need for the characters to tell Thorvaldor's stories. In character developing terms, O'Neal enjoys of certain "magic"; the characters, even those whom you'll only get glimpses from will make you fall in love and want to know more from them. Our narrator Sinda is simply exquisite; she's funny, strong and has a free spirit. This girl's on top of my favorite characters. When she receives the news of not being who she thought during her entire life and that the circumstances she's about to live are not the ones she's used to; she won't lay down and cry, on the contrary, her courage and determination pushes her forward. It's refreshing to see this type of heroine in YA Literature. The story's even more interesting with every chapter and Sinda's journey as an ex princess, common girl to wizard is interesting. The romance is adorable and I loved it. The False Princess, the story of a "princess" who doesn't own a crown but possesses the courage and determination to save a kingdom.

As far as YA fantasy-romance goes, this is one of the best! Why? Because:

1. It's CLEAN! Apart from a mention of one character wanting to "bed" another (which doesn't even happen) and a few kissing scenes (which are NOT super descriptive or dwelling on sexuality), it is clean. I was amazed and thrilled.
2. The romance blossoms slowly, not instantly, like many other stories. It began with a friendship over many years, and didn't end with lust. It was forgiveness, acceptance, and love!
3. The characters were believable. The author's descriptions of her characters are splendid. I can almost see them; it feels like I know them!

My only problem with this book is that the story of Sinda's family wasn't carried farther. I was expecting more in that area, but unfortunately never got it.

Great read, lots of fun. You will not regret reading this YA novel.

This book was creative and interesting enough, but I wasn't sucked in by any means. That's the main reason I knocked off 2 stars for this review.

Let's start with the main character. I can't even think of any words to describe her, because SHE can't even think of any words to describe her. She has no idea who she is, and I guess that's understandable seeing everything she thought she knew about herself is torn away in the first few pages, but it would have been easier to relate to her had she at least had some traits that stuck around after being de-princessified. Eventually she comes to as a stubborn, confident, intelligent person, but it's too little too late. She even questions her own motives for doing the things she does: is she doing it to help everyone else, or is she doing it for herself, to give herself a place in the world? The only thing we know for sure is that she wants to do things herself, which may include answering this question. So we're expected to stick around while she figures it out.

Next, the setting. I just couldn't believe it at all. It's supposed to take place in the year 1161 in some country called Thorvaldor, which is still ruled by a monarchy? A little difficult to relate to. Add to that the fact that most of the characters talk like modern-day (or maybe 19th-century) English people, and it just doesn't make sense.

On to the romance. I found it sweet and endearing that Kiernan-- excellent name, by the way-- and Sinda-- horrible name-- have fallen in love after being best friends practically their whole lives, but I wish that more focus had been placed on this. I don't require that all my books have a heavy romantic element, but I think it would have helped this one a lot. Kiernan wasn't present nearly enough and when he was, they hardly ever focused on their relationship. They were always discussing the other plot elements like the princess-switching and King Kelman's Door and the magic, so the romance seemed a little rushed even though you knew it was there the whole time.

Finally, the ending. It didn't disappoint, necessarily, but it was a pretty typical Happily-Ever-After scenario that you'd expect from any story with the word "Princess" in the title. Saw it coming from a mile away.

Overall the plot was pretty interesting, but not a total page-turner, and it's a good read if you're not looking for something to keep you occupied and entranced for long periods of time.

While there's nothing really wrong with this book, I found there not to be anything particularly memorable about it either. Sinda, unfortunately, just isn't a very interesting person; she tries hard, and she's nice, but she fails to ever really be engaging, especially since the narrative spends so much time describing how she hugs herself, fights back tears, feels her heart drop, etc... it's like having a piece of unbuttered toast for a protagonist. That comparison also applies to the world at large; apart from a few fantasy sounding names and some vague references to swords and magic, there's nothing particularly fantastical or interesting about Sinda's realm that makes it stand out or feel magical in any way, with the end result being that both the setting and most of the characters are utterly forgettable.

One thing that kept bothering me was the unnamed King and Queen, Sinda's false parents. The book, and everyone, refers to them over and over as JUST "the king" or "the queen"... don't these people have names? No "Queen Emma" or "King Adam"? It makes it hard to really care about anything going on and made me roll my eyes more than once whenever Sinda remembered "how much she cared about the king" from time to time, especially since they don't have any personality. There are also a few repetitive odd turns of phrase; throat flashing, eyes frosting? Sounds like a medical condition!

False Princess is an inoffensive but unmemorable book that might be best suited towards preteen girls. It's extremely predictable and spends far too much time detailing Sinda's anxieties about what other people think of her or how sad she is, and comes with a rather bland, preachy but well meaning moral about rich vs poor to boot. Get it if you're looking for something light and fluffy to waste away an afternoon, but look elsewhere if you want a high-fantasy, exciting epic.

I had been wanting to read this book forever and was excited to finally get a chance to read it. This is Eilis O'Neal's debut book and she did a great job on it. This is a wonderful fantasy full of mystery, numerous plot twists, magic, and a touch of romance.

Nalia has lead a sheltered and well-educated life as the Princess set to inherit the Throne of Thorvaldor. Nalia's world comes crashing down around her when on her sixteenth birthday she is told that she is not the princess, she is in fact a false princess raised in the real princess's place in order to save the real princess from a horrible prophecy. Nalia is told her name is actually Sinda and she is sent away from everything she has ever known and loved to live with an aunt in the country. Her best friend Kiernan tries to visit to console her, but Sinda is desolate. That is until she finds out that she has powerful magic and begins to unweave a number of mysteries surrounding the false princess and the magic that surrounds her.

This is one of those very sweet princess type stories but kind of in reverse...the girl finds out she's not a princess instead of finding out she is one. I loved watching Sinda's journey from being a Princess to being a "no one" and then her struggle to figure out who she wanted to be. Sinda is smart girl and a gentle girl, but she has a little bit of fire in her and as she learns to kindle the fire and believe in herself she becomes a force to be reckoned with.

Many of the side characters are fascinating too. Kiernan is a wonderful male lead; he has so many conflicting interests but is determined to remain a true friend to Sinda no matter what her situation. Kieran and Sinda have a romance based on a lifetime of support and love and it is a very sweet romance to read about.

There is a lot of magic in this book as well and I enjoyed watching Sinda as she struggled to control her magic powers. The plot is paced very well and has plenty of twists and turns so you are constantly left trying to guess what will happen next and trying to put together the pieces of the mystery before Sinda does.

This was on of those books that everytime I sat down I had a little trouble getting into it for the first few minutes, then once I got into the story I couldn't put it down.

Overall I really enjoyed this story. It is full of wonderful characters, a sweet and subtle romance between the two main characters, magic, and a wonderful mystery. Fans of Brightly Woven, Tamora Pierce's Books, or Kristin Cashore's book should check this book out. I look forward to O'Neal's next book.

So many YA novels these days include age-inappropriate sexual content that I was surprised and delighted that Ms. O'Neal kept her novel strictly PG. In fact, aside from a brief mention by one character that he hopes to "bed" another (which doesn't happen), and a couple of tame kissing scenes, I would say that the bulk of it is G-rated. This is one YA romance that I have no qualms allowing my daughter to read.

I agree with some of the other reviewers that there is a bit too much exposition and that some of the plot points are totally predictable. There was one subplot about Sinda's family history that Ms. O'Neal started but then just completely dropped. I kept expecting it to play some important role in the story's resolution but it never did. I'm not sure why the author even included it because it wound up being extraneous information.

Overall, however, I enjoyed reading "The False Princess". Recommended for fans of fairy-tale love stories.