4 out of 5 stars
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Manifest Destiny: An Unholy Alliance by Jaiden Baynes is a story of death, abuse, betrayal, and hate. It follows the life of a devious young princess who defies all odds and expectations, building an empire and toppling planetary powers.
Norne, the second princess to Acrosia, is arranged to marry Drakon II, the Prince of Tartarus. Having lived her life in the shadow of her elder sister, a true beauty, she is sent to marry Drakon even as a substitute for her sister. While putting off the meeting with her intended for as long as she can, she stumbles upon a giant lumbering oaf who, at first glance, looked to be an inept boar. Within hours, she is disabused of the notions she had formerly held, and on the blood of the Tartarus family, an alliance is formed between an icy princess and a demon spawn. There began a series of conquests, formed relationships, betrayals, and destruction. With their allegiance to each other, Norne and Chaos form an indestructible duo. Between Norne's intelligence and scary deviousness as well as Chaos' unending power and wit, the universe is at their feet, or is it?
I loved the author's writing skills in this book. The intrigue was top-notch, and there was so much action in the book that it didn't get boring. I also liked how Norne was portrayed to be able to feel a few human emotions despite her sociopathic tendencies. She forms a bit of an attachment with Cyrus and even feels betrayed by Grak's actions. She even is obviously infatuated with Chaos. It at least made her a bit more relatable.
I, however, did dislike a few things about this book. It was loaded and filled with so much violence and vice that the book became a pain to read. With the book revolving around its psychopathic heroes, it seemed like the author tried to pack in as much hate, death, and violence as could be possible into one book. It did get a bit unsettling. Norne's character also got less believable in the entire story and in comparison with other characters, with how she seemed to constantly be the best out of everyone around her, including Chaos, despite her age, although her powers had been inherited from her father and not from a demon god even, and was always a step ahead.
I give this book a rating of 4 out of 5 stars. This is because even though the author flawlessly delivered his work, I didn't enjoy reading this story, mostly due to the violence in it. The book was professionally edited. I would recommend this book to anyone that likes war-filled fantasy fiction.
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Manifest Destiny
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