THE KING'S DAUGHTERS by Nathalie Mallet

I anxiously waited for this book for months because Ms. Mallet's first book, PRINCES OF THE GOLDEN CAGE, was my favorite of 2008. It finally arrived and I read it in between contractions and even took it to the hospital with me when I gave birth, although I was too exhausted to read it while there. And so I finished reading KING'S while nursing. Anyway, it was great adventure story and just what I needed to help me through all that.



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Prince Amir is on his way to Sorvinka with Princess Eva, whom he fell in love with in PRINCES. He's planning on asking her father for her hand in marriage. The trip's been rough. They started out with a full entourage of servants and soldiers and gifts and such, but they've been attacked repeatedly along the way. Plus, it's been getting colder and darker the closer they get to Eva's home. Amir's a desert prince and he's not used to that. I live in Alaska, so I've seen people endure their first winter in a cold climate. If they don't adapt, they either die or go back. You've got to be climatized for the cold, but things are even worse for Amir. Sorvinka isn't the wonderful place Eva left when she was brought to the desert to marry the next Sulton, which she didn't do by the way. Besides cold and dark, it's also gotten more violent and hopeless. But, that's not the worse of it for Amir.



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Eva's also gotten rather cold. I remember thinking at that point, "What is wrong with this girl? If I was her, I'd be all over Amir like a bad rash!"



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So, Amir and Eva and what's left of their stuff and entourage arrive in Sorvinka, only to be treated like invaders. Amir manages to save one eunach servant, Milo. By eunach, yes, I mean he's been deprived of certain male equipment usually thought to be necessary for pleasing a lady. As it turns out, Milo's rather resourceful in that respect and in regards to a cute little kitchen maid, but I digress.



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Amir tries to impress the King with gifts and all that, and fails miserably, undoubtedly because Eva failed to explain cultural differences. What a dunderhead! At this point, I was thinking, "Are you sure about this girl? And if you are, maybe you should consider eloping. Vegas is nice this time of year."



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During the course of these events, Amir meets Diego who's betrothed to Eva's younger sister and outta his freakin' mind. I love characters who are outta their freakin' minds. I always have at least one each story I write. He also learns the reasons why everyone's on edge. One of Eva's other sisters has been kidnapped. Two more are kidnapped shortly thereafter. Besides landing in a strange country, Amir's landed in the middle of a major mess.



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Amir's rather resourceful himself. In PRINCES, he proved himself a talented investigator and so he sets out to learn who's abducting the princesses. Along the way, he learns the Queen, who's been sick for years, is a lot nicer than the King, but her two girlfriends are constantly at each other's throats. One of them likes to stir up potions and she doesn't seem to really know what she's doing. Diego, the prince who's supposedly outta his ever-lovin' mind, is the only one willing to be his friend, so he's got no choice but to take him along on investigations. And Eva's still giving Arctic Princesses a bad name.



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Amir keeps hearing about a witch called Baba Yaga. If you know anything about Eastern European mythology, you know she's a popular baddie over there. I couldn't remember much about her, just that. Anyway, Amir and company set out to discover the truth, save the princesses, and prove themselves worthy, while all the other characters twist and turn the plot. At one point, Amir is kissed by a rebel chick and I thought, "Forget Eva! This one's a better kisser!"



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I'll always love PRINCES OF THE GOLDEN CAGE best, I think. http://enduringromance.blogspot.com/2008/03/princes-of-golden-cage-by-nathalie.html I seem to be that way with other authors too. I always love the first book I read of theirs best. Don't know why. However, Ms. Mallet successfully dragged me this way and that and I didn't figure things out on my own because I was too swept up in it all. As much as I read, I'm rarely surprised by a story. So, when I am surprised by a story, it's a wonderful treat. http://www.nathaliemallet.com/

PRINCES OF THE GOLDEN CAGE by Nathalie Mallet

The difference between ‘Like’ and ‘Love’ for me when reading a novel is usually the speed at which I read it. If I ‘like’ a novel, I read the first half at regular speed and then speed-read the last half. If I ‘love’ a novel, I’m gripped by it from the first page to the last. PRINCES OF THE GOLDEN CAGE by Nathalie Mallet had me by the jugular to the very end.
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Within the first few pages, I was thinking, “Geez, this is just like high school!” The hero is a young man, but I have brothers and I knew their pain.
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PRINCES OF THE GOLDEN CAGE is set in a fantastical pre-Islam Arabian-type country. The Sultan has a revolving door on his harem, metaphorically speaking, and about three hundred children, as a result. Since women can’t succeed the Throne, the princesses are left with their mothers to be used as political pawns when the time is right. The princes are all a threat to the Sultan because succession doesn’t automatically go to the eldest son and because there are so many of them. To prevent the civil war created by this in past generations, all the princes are ‘caged’ in one palace. If they kill each other, well, that’s fine. One less sultan-assassin to deal with. And, yet, at least one of them’s got to survive to take the Sultan’s place when he croaks.
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The hero, Prince Amir, has survived to young adulthood by not drawing attention to himself. Since all his other brothers are greedy and power-hungry, this has not been difficult. The most powerful princes strut around with a court of butt-kissers and he can see them coming. Oh, yes, and they have a harem of cheerleaders…I mean, uh, girls all competing for the most powerful football players…um, I mean, princes’ attention too. This is a drag for poor Amir because, like any young man, he’d like a girlfriend too. Just one would be enough for him. Also unlike the various cliques of princes, Amir doesn’t believe in magic. He’s a geek…uh, I mean, he loves books and scientific experiments and all that.
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So, it’s kind of like high school, only in a much cooler universe and with flashier clothes.
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While the Princes are busy trying to off each other for the Top Job, the Sultan is busy being having grapes popped into his fat mouth while the Grand Vizier is actually running the country.
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Then, Princes start getting killed in a really weird way and by no one they can really tell. There’s screaming, a cold wall, and a shriveled up body. The Princes and servants are all freaking out because they’re just sure it’s a magical curse. Meanwhile, Amir thinks it’s some new-fangled kind of poison. As the body count goes up, he’s forced to investigate more and more, and to consider non-scientific possibilities.
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Amir picks up a 'friend' along the way. Prince Erik (his mama was a Nordic beauty) is like a booger on his finger that just can't shake off. Amir is suspicious of everyone while Eric is more easygoing. Eric has noticed Amir’s compassion towards two of their insane brothers who are kept locked in their rooms. Amir brings them food and cares for them when they have fits. In short, Eric sees the good in Amir whether he likes it or not. But, Eric has a powerful, manipulative mother and former nanny (woo-hoo, nanny!) and an overly strong attachment to his boy servant, Rami.
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Things really kick into high gear with the arrival of Princess Eva, Eric’s cousin. She’s been sent there to marry the next sultan. Since the next sultan hasn’t been selected, she’s one hot commodity to the princes. Meanwhile, the body count keeps going up. And, of course, Amir falls deeply in love with Eva who is nothing like the weak-willed, feather-brained harem girls.
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The plot twists and turns, mounting the tension with every page. I had no idea what was going to happen or who the real Bad Guy was and I was sure Eric’s boy servant was his secret little brother while Amir became convinced he was Eric’s gay lover. There’s riddles and spells and botched experiments, sword duels (love those), and Forbidden Love. It was just an awesome read anyone will love, whether you’re a young man like Amir or a long-married mama like me.

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Thanks a bunch, Ms. Mallet! So, um, when's my ARC of THE KING'S

DAUGHTER getting here? You are sending me one, right? Right? Please? Perrrrrtty please?

:o)

The rest of yas, pop over to http://www.nathaliemallet.com/ to learn more.

Coming up next week, GABRIEL'S GHOST by Linnea Sinclair.