I am a firm believer that just because we grow older, that doesn’t necessarily mean we have to grow up. That we can still read stories with heroes and villains, good and evil, witches and princes and magic and mystery and adventure. In short, that we can still read books like The Prince and the Witch by L.A. Thompson.
I was kindly given the chance to read an e-book of this from netgalley in exchange for my honest thoughts. So, here they are!
Book: The Prince and the Witch
Author: L.A. Thompson
Release date: 23rd April 2022
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Rating: 4 stars
This book is just charming. It feels like a fairy story for adults. A prince who is cursed and will die on his 17th birthday. Witches who caused it. A quest to find a cure and keep him alive.
The writing is beautiful – the vivid descriptions bring the world to life; the hustle and bustle of the market, the extravagance of the palace, the dark eeriness of the forest and the warm and welcoming community of the witches’ coven. I was transported to each location in the book and I went along on Edward’s adventures with him. The Prince and the Witch is written in a way that is easy to read, so I flew threw the book in no time, enjoying every page.
Edward as the lead character is lovable. I did feel for him – he was just a sixteen-year-old, soon to be seventeen, who just wanted to live. Really live. I felt for him as he desperately tried to find answers and a cure, whilst at the same time enjoying the exhilaration of not being trapped in the palace but rather out and feeling the wind on his face.
I love that a big theme in the book is exactly that of life. What is the point in life if you’re not living but just existing? Reading Edward resigning himself to the curse but enjoying every second he gets to live and experience the wonder of the world first was so heartwarming. The more I read about Edward pushing himself and the more I got to see the wonder through his eyes, the more I loved his character and was rooting for him.
Whilst this was a fairly typical fantasy book – boy cursed and wants to go find a cure and adventure ensues…the plot was still fun and enjoyable to read. Yes, it is good to read books that challenge your views, open your eyes, make you think and have a lot of depth to them. But it is equally as good to read books that are just fun and bring you joy and adventure. For me, The Prince and the Witch is an example of such a book. At times the plot was predictable, yes, but the way it was written meant the predictability didn’t make it any less enjoyable. And that’s not to say the whole book was predictable and I knew how it would end from page one – there were plenty of plot twists throughout the book that kept me entertained, there were plot twists I saw coming, and plot twists I didn’t. Even those I saw coming still managed to make me gasp when I read them!
As far as I’m aware, this book is standalone, and the ending was really satisfying with all the loose ends tied up. Having said that, the ending has definitely been left open for the potential of sequels. This book is not a groundbreaking piece of literature, granted, but it is a really good book that I really enjoyed reading. It felt reminiscent to me of all the books I read growing up and the amount I loved The Prince and the Witch just goes to show that you’re never too old for a fairy story really, are you?
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