My rating: green4

Hey, everybody! I just finished The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima and I’m kind of sad to say that… I should have read this book a long time ago! It was really good! The Demon King follows the perspective of Princess Raisa and Han Alister, a reformed thief. Both these characters battle the limited amount of choices their positions put them in and from them, readers get to see different perspectives of Fellsmarch (the capital) in order  to get the whole picture of what is going on in the queendom of the Fells.

At first, I felt like I couldn’t get into it. I was immensely bored and almost wouldn’t have continued reading the book. But after struggling for a few chapters, I finally got in the zone and started speed reading like nobody’s business! 😉 I really liked how Cinda Williams Chima chose to reveal certain pieces of information and even use the perspectives of our main characters by complimenting them in order to advance the story. Even though their stories do not seem as interconnected at first, it’s nice to see how the perpectives slide from one character to the other without ruining the story. In fact, in some cases, it’s such a smooth transition between their stories that it works out great! It’s just that as I got to the ending, I was more interested in what was happening and may have been guilty of skimming a couple of pages in order to find out… 😀

I was really impressed by Raisa, and not just by her character: stubborn, caring and a warrior at heart. What I was really impressed by was the fact that Raisa admits she has flaws. After reading The Great Hunt where the princess was pretty bland and proper in everything, it was nice to read someone who was more critical of herself and her surroundings. It’s also a plus that her time away from court helped her learn different skills other than the ones forced upon her by her mother, Queen Marianna as well as society. I just wish she listened to her instincts more!

And then there was Han! He was a real treat to read and I couldn’t help but get excited every time I’d get to his POV. He just has a certain charm about him, you know?  It’s not just Raisa that gets to be more complex than the average princess stereotype, but Han as well. Han is in between so many things during the book. He doesn’t want to cause trouble, but trouble seems to follow him no matter what. He wishes to be able and stay with his friends in the clan camp, but he also has a duty to his mother and sister as well. He’s more than what he seems and I can’t wait to see his development in the future!

That’s all I have to say about The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima. As much as would like to marathon this series (since I have The Exiled Queen ready at hand), I also really want to read another book! How about you? What are you reading this Friday? Hope it’s a great book! If you have any thoughts or questions about The Demon King feel free to leave them in the Comments Section below. Have a great weekend!

–  Sumaya

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