Title: Water Princess, Fire Prince
Series: The Rizkaland Legends (Book #1)
Year: 2015
Author: Kendra E. Ardnek
Summary: When the Lady Dragon does come,
Hold fast, do not fear, do not run.
Your Water Princess will fight,
Fire Prince will set all to right.
Each shall come from a Fall,
Their union will save you all.
Despite the fact that she's on track for competing in the Olympics, and he's practically raised his younger brothers since they lost their mom in a car accident, Clara Mandras and Andrew Stevenson are pretty much normal teens. They have normal hopes, normal dreams, and they live in a normal world.
All this is torn away from them when they are thrust into another world and declared Water Princess and Fire Prince. With no experience ruling a country, meeting each other for the first time, and being expected to fight the Lady Dragon – an evil sorceress plaguing the world of Rizkaland – Clara and Andrew are underprepared and inexperienced. Unless they learn to work together despite their standing opposition, Rizkaland's hope will be lost.
What is to come will change their lives forever. (from Goodreads)
Hold fast, do not fear, do not run.
Your Water Princess will fight,
Fire Prince will set all to right.
Each shall come from a Fall,
Their union will save you all.
Despite the fact that she's on track for competing in the Olympics, and he's practically raised his younger brothers since they lost their mom in a car accident, Clara Mandras and Andrew Stevenson are pretty much normal teens. They have normal hopes, normal dreams, and they live in a normal world.
All this is torn away from them when they are thrust into another world and declared Water Princess and Fire Prince. With no experience ruling a country, meeting each other for the first time, and being expected to fight the Lady Dragon – an evil sorceress plaguing the world of Rizkaland – Clara and Andrew are underprepared and inexperienced. Unless they learn to work together despite their standing opposition, Rizkaland's hope will be lost.
What is to come will change their lives forever. (from Goodreads)
Main Characters:
~ Clara Mandras
~ Andrew Stevenson
~ Clara Mandras
~ Andrew Stevenson
Review: When Kendra was looking for advance readers for this book, there was absolutely no question in my mind. I'd already been waiting long enough to read it, so it was imperative to get my hands on it just as soon as possible.
Yes, it was that important.
And honestly, it blew me away. It was everything and yet nothing like what I had imagined. Wonderful. What did I like about it so much? Read on, Lizzy. (P&P reference because of reasons)
First of all, Kendra is fantastic when it comes to world building, and even though she's created so many different worlds for her stories, each one is unique and wonderful, and this one is no exception. Rizkaland and Klarand were just epically penned into being and I loved them. For one thing, it's not round. And the water comes in every color of the rainbow and each color has a different flavor and a different purpose. I'm afraid I had very many rainbow songs stuck in my head as I read this. But it was marvelous.
REALISTIC CHARACTERS! For once, we have two kids thrown into a strange world, and they react like a normal kid would! They don't automatically assume their standing and adapt perfectly. Nope. It takes them a bit of time to figure out what's going on, and even balk at what's expected of them. As much fun as it would be to be thrown into a new world, it would also be terrifying and strange, and Clara and Andrew were true to that impression.
Also -- I LOVED the shameless references to Alice in Wonderland, Narnia, The Prince and the Pauper, Pride and Prejudice, etc. There were probably many more that I didn't catch, but they were wonderful. You'd expect kids from our world to reference things from our world, right? Right! And the inside joke made me laugh out loud:
[Clara] sighed. "But now that you mention it, you're right. I just don't think this is a movie. Probably just a book."
"A book?"
"And, knowing our luck, not even one of the good ones. Probably some self-published work." She shook her head. "I'd hate to know what the cover art looks like. Probably some photoshop fail."
[Andrew] laughed. "That would be just our luck."
No, Kendra, it was most certainly NOT a photoshop fail. Still, this was probably my absolute favorite scene in the book.
I also wanted to take a moment to say something about Clara. I'd been expecting her to be a warrior princess, but I'll admit I was a little skeptical. Warrior princesses tend to be very feministic, with the I-can-do-what-I-want-because-I'm-better-than-anyone-else attitude, and it really drives me bonkers. I don't enjoy heroines like that. But Clara wasn't. True, she was amazingly skilled at fighting. She has plenty of spunk, but even right from the beginning, she has a vulnerable side. There's no nonsense about her, but she has her own share of fears. Plus, she had some wonderful character development.
To be truthful, though, I will admit I was disappointed with the ending. While everything was monstrously satisfactory, I had anticipated a greater final battle with Amber. It was fine the way it was, but I was hoping for some more action, and I felt it wrapped everything up just a little too fast.
Yes, it was that important.
And honestly, it blew me away. It was everything and yet nothing like what I had imagined. Wonderful. What did I like about it so much? Read on, Lizzy. (P&P reference because of reasons)
First of all, Kendra is fantastic when it comes to world building, and even though she's created so many different worlds for her stories, each one is unique and wonderful, and this one is no exception. Rizkaland and Klarand were just epically penned into being and I loved them. For one thing, it's not round. And the water comes in every color of the rainbow and each color has a different flavor and a different purpose. I'm afraid I had very many rainbow songs stuck in my head as I read this. But it was marvelous.
REALISTIC CHARACTERS! For once, we have two kids thrown into a strange world, and they react like a normal kid would! They don't automatically assume their standing and adapt perfectly. Nope. It takes them a bit of time to figure out what's going on, and even balk at what's expected of them. As much fun as it would be to be thrown into a new world, it would also be terrifying and strange, and Clara and Andrew were true to that impression.
Also -- I LOVED the shameless references to Alice in Wonderland, Narnia, The Prince and the Pauper, Pride and Prejudice, etc. There were probably many more that I didn't catch, but they were wonderful. You'd expect kids from our world to reference things from our world, right? Right! And the inside joke made me laugh out loud:
[Clara] sighed. "But now that you mention it, you're right. I just don't think this is a movie. Probably just a book."
"A book?"
"And, knowing our luck, not even one of the good ones. Probably some self-published work." She shook her head. "I'd hate to know what the cover art looks like. Probably some photoshop fail."
[Andrew] laughed. "That would be just our luck."
No, Kendra, it was most certainly NOT a photoshop fail. Still, this was probably my absolute favorite scene in the book.
I also wanted to take a moment to say something about Clara. I'd been expecting her to be a warrior princess, but I'll admit I was a little skeptical. Warrior princesses tend to be very feministic, with the I-can-do-what-I-want-because-I'm-better-than-anyone-else attitude, and it really drives me bonkers. I don't enjoy heroines like that. But Clara wasn't. True, she was amazingly skilled at fighting. She has plenty of spunk, but even right from the beginning, she has a vulnerable side. There's no nonsense about her, but she has her own share of fears. Plus, she had some wonderful character development.
To be truthful, though, I will admit I was disappointed with the ending. While everything was monstrously satisfactory, I had anticipated a greater final battle with Amber. It was fine the way it was, but I was hoping for some more action, and I felt it wrapped everything up just a little too fast.
Advisory: Fantasy violence. But quite suitable for the tone of the novel. I have no further need to elaborate.
Also, some romance -- there is a type of arranged marriage in here, and it takes a while for boy and girl to fall in love. They do share some kisses near the end of the story, after some physical contact (i.e. hand-holding, hugging, sleeping next to each other, etc.), but nothing inappropriate. There were also a few comments that I didn't care much for in regards to girls in bathtubs and in swimsuits, but they weren't very descriptive.
Also, some romance -- there is a type of arranged marriage in here, and it takes a while for boy and girl to fall in love. They do share some kisses near the end of the story, after some physical contact (i.e. hand-holding, hugging, sleeping next to each other, etc.), but nothing inappropriate. There were also a few comments that I didn't care much for in regards to girls in bathtubs and in swimsuits, but they weren't very descriptive.
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
*Please note: I was given an advanced reader's copy of this book by the author in exchange for my honest review.*
