“[Air] can’t be seen, so it’s underestimated. Like me.”
So says Arabella, the narrator of this character-driven romantasy. She is one of four magical royal siblings in the kingdom of Alchos. Each of them controls one element, air in the case of Princess Arabella. Their mother broke with tradition by having multiple children and dividing control of earth, air, fire, and water among them, and now they must enter a series of trial to determine who will become the heir to the throne.
Ara, like her siblings, had long assumed that the eldest sibling would be heir to the throne, and she has no interest in competing for the role of queen herself. While grappling with this challenge, she is also dealing with trying to get to know Jamys, the prince she has been betrothed to, even as her body and heart seem to belong to Tomas, a long-term friend of the family.
Cammaratta is largely focused on the romance aspect of this novel, leading to a slower pace and less focus on intense world-building. Instead we see Ara’s internal conflict. She wants to do her duty to her kingdom by marrying Jamys, and she does at least like him, but she can’t seem to let go of Tomas. Cammaratta doesn’t make things easy for her either, such as by making Jamys a villain. One could easily root for either romantic option. Ara is a flawed and very human woman, and well fleshed-out as a character.
Against this backdrop of sibling rivalry and and romantic choice, there is also some tension with a neighboring country and some inexplicable events that some speculate are related to magic. All of this was well-paced. Given everything that was happening, combined with the slow pacing in the beginning of the novel, I didn’t see how Cammaratta could wrap it all up without feeling rushed, but she did it well while leaving room not just for additional books that will focus on the other siblings but also further exploration of the political situation in countries bordering Alchos.
Overall this was a light fantasy that was enjoyable to read, and I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the books in the series.
I received this book as an e-ARC from NetGalley in exchange for a review, but my opinions are my own.
