Secret Heir by M.J. Prince

The Book:

Book Title: Secret Heir

Book Author: M.J. Prince

Page Count: 348

Publishing Date: February 27th, 2018

Publisher: Royal Press

Date Read: January 13th, 2018

Synopsis: Since the beginning of time, tales have been told about Eden. But all the stories are wrong.

Running parallel alongside Earth, but never touching, there exists not just a garden, but an entire world of vivid colours and breathtaking beauty where the Seraph reside.

Jazmine has lived in ten different foster homes, in ten different towns and all her life she has felt like she doesn’t belong – not in the trailer park which happens to be foster home number ten, not anywhere on Earth. 

After a universe shattering revelation, she discovers why. Far from being the nothing and no one, with no past and no future, that Jazmine had always believed herself to be, she discovers that she is in fact an heir to one of the seven remaining Seraph Dynasties. 

She is Jazmine Evenstar, the last heir to the sovereign Evenstar Dynasty.

Thrust into the world of wealth and privilege in which the impossibly beautiful and equally cruel Dynasty heirs reside, Jazmine is forced to manoeuvre the tangled web that holds the Dynasties together.

Against the backdrop of breathtaking star filled nights, sweeping coastlines, grand marble halls and decadent palaces, Jazmine tries to find her place in this beautiful new world whilst fighting not to lose herself in the process.

But the fairy tale quickly unravels. 

Half human and the illegitimate daughter of the late suicide King of Eden, the other Dynasty heirs make it clear that Jazmine does not belong in their world. 

Raphael St. Tristan, heir to the rival sovereign St. Tristan Dynasty and next in line to the throne of Eden, the guy with the face of an angel but who is as wicked as the devil himself, promises to break her. 

Jazmine quickly learns that the beauty of Eden is nothing but a deception as she uncovers the secrets festering at the heart of it. But can she disentangle herself from the web of deception and intrigue that the Dynasty heirs have spun? Can she stop herself from falling into Raphael St. Tristan’s trap before he can fulfil his promise to shatter her completely? Or are those stories about Eden true after all and will she be foolish enough to taste the forbidden fruit that is Eden itself?

                                         

The Review:

Secret Heir is breathtaking and heart-pounding! It has fantasy, passion, and betrayal. For those who love adult books with a young adult feel, and steamy romance scenes, this one is for you.

After reading the synopsis I was immediately drawn in with promises of a parallel fantasy world of vivid color, an outcast main character, and a devilishly handsome angel. This one definitely fulfilled those promises. This one had intrigue and mystery. It had romance and betrayal, and had a mix of young adult and adult writing style.

Did I enjoy this one? For the most part, yes. The writing was well done. It was descriptive and unique and kept me wanting more. The world building was nicely done with colorful bits of imagination and beauty.

What I found to be a little awkward was that it read like a young adult book, but had very mature adult sex scenes. It was marketed as “new adult,” which covers the maturity level of the romance and sexual content, but the ages of the characters, and the plot line felt more suited to a young adult book. I would have enjoyed it more if the sex scenes were less graphic, to suit the enjoyable young adult feel, or if the characters were in college instead of high school, and didn’t deal with any “high school/ relationship” drama.

The characters were decently developed. I never really got invested in one single character, but felt that I learned enough about each one to follow them along the story line. I had a few characters that I liked, and a few characters that I didn’t. I enjoyed the sassiness of Jazmine, and the friendship love from Dani, but I abhorred the bitchiness from Layla, and the “hate to love” attitude from Raph.

The story itself had its own uniqueness to it, along with some typical young adult aspects. It was a quick, enjoyable read. I loved the creation of Eden, and the different dynasties that ruled it. I loved the uniqueness of the world history and the powers of the Seraph in relation to earth. I didn’t enjoy the sex scenes, but I did like the fact that the male character looked to the female character for permission before engaging in anything.

Secret Heir was exciting. It had me racing through it, on the edge of my seat. Could it have been better? Yes, but it still stood on its own with fantastical aspects of beauty, intrigue, originality, and exhilaration!

Thank you to the author for providing me with this free e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

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              Darque Dreamer

        Blogger/ Punk Rocker / Quirky Housewife

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