Review by Book Reader18 -- The Stolen Heir by Tayma Tameem
-
Book Reader18
- Posts: 31
- Joined: 04 Jun 2019, 13:53
- Currently Reading:
- Bookshelf Size: 26
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-book-reader18.html
- Latest Review: Kalayla by Jeannie Nicholas
Review by Book Reader18 -- The Stolen Heir by Tayma Tameem
[Following is a volunteer review of "The Stolen Heir" by Tayma Tameem.]
The Stolen Heir by Tayma Tameem is the tale of a missing prince and a family war. Leorin and Morack are young royalty, destined to one day rule the kingdoms of Thumeria and Paleria. Years later they each rule their respective kingdoms and have kids of their own. Jumen, son of Leorin, and Auralia, daughter of Morack, fall in love and marry. They soon have a beautiful baby boy that is destined to be more powerful than any of his relatives. Hours after the baby is born, he is mysteriously stolen from his loving parents. Blaming each other for the hole in their family, they both decide to start a war against the other’s kingdom. Far away from the dueling royals, Erik is a boy growing up on the streets. Constantly cold and hungry, Erik is shocked to discover that he has mysterious powers. Angry and powerful, Erik starts on a journey to rain revenge on the royal families that do not care about their own subjects. The reader gets to see into the lives of the dueling royals and the common folk, and even a glimpse into the lives of the people that stole the powerful prince. It is a frustrating ride, knowing secrets that the characters themselves are ignorant of, but it is also a very interesting story.
This book is very original in the way that the story is set up. The writing style, especially towards the beginning of the book, is formatted as a sort of prequel to the main plot. I’ve never seen this done before and I found it to be really interesting. That said, this also makes the first part of the book move a bit slowly, since it is setting the stage for the main storyline. I also enjoyed the creativity of characters’ names. These eccentric names gave the story a very original feel and helped to immerse the reader in the magical world being described.
I will say that trying to keep up with the many moving pieces in the story is difficult as the book progresses. I think having a character guide at the beginning of the book to remind readers of who each character is would’ve been very helpful. It was also confusing to keep up with what time period each chapter is set in, sometimes years would pass between chapters but the reader would have to piece that together midway through the chapter.
I would rate this book a 3 out of 4 stars. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, it was an exciting read and the ending leaves the reader hoping for a sequel. However, due to the issues listed above such as confusion about characters and time frame, I cannot give it a full score.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a frustratingly tragic fantasy book. It’s a love story, a magic story, and an underdog story all in one. Overall I think anyone with an imaginative mind would appreciate this book.
******
The Stolen Heir
View: on Bookshelves
The Stolen Heir by Tayma Tameem is the tale of a missing prince and a family war. Leorin and Morack are young royalty, destined to one day rule the kingdoms of Thumeria and Paleria. Years later they each rule their respective kingdoms and have kids of their own. Jumen, son of Leorin, and Auralia, daughter of Morack, fall in love and marry. They soon have a beautiful baby boy that is destined to be more powerful than any of his relatives. Hours after the baby is born, he is mysteriously stolen from his loving parents. Blaming each other for the hole in their family, they both decide to start a war against the other’s kingdom. Far away from the dueling royals, Erik is a boy growing up on the streets. Constantly cold and hungry, Erik is shocked to discover that he has mysterious powers. Angry and powerful, Erik starts on a journey to rain revenge on the royal families that do not care about their own subjects. The reader gets to see into the lives of the dueling royals and the common folk, and even a glimpse into the lives of the people that stole the powerful prince. It is a frustrating ride, knowing secrets that the characters themselves are ignorant of, but it is also a very interesting story.
This book is very original in the way that the story is set up. The writing style, especially towards the beginning of the book, is formatted as a sort of prequel to the main plot. I’ve never seen this done before and I found it to be really interesting. That said, this also makes the first part of the book move a bit slowly, since it is setting the stage for the main storyline. I also enjoyed the creativity of characters’ names. These eccentric names gave the story a very original feel and helped to immerse the reader in the magical world being described.
I will say that trying to keep up with the many moving pieces in the story is difficult as the book progresses. I think having a character guide at the beginning of the book to remind readers of who each character is would’ve been very helpful. It was also confusing to keep up with what time period each chapter is set in, sometimes years would pass between chapters but the reader would have to piece that together midway through the chapter.
I would rate this book a 3 out of 4 stars. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, it was an exciting read and the ending leaves the reader hoping for a sequel. However, due to the issues listed above such as confusion about characters and time frame, I cannot give it a full score.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a frustratingly tragic fantasy book. It’s a love story, a magic story, and an underdog story all in one. Overall I think anyone with an imaginative mind would appreciate this book.
******
The Stolen Heir
View: on Bookshelves
Latest Review: Kalayla by Jeannie Nicholas
