Review: Fit for a Prince

I received an ARC of Fit for a Throne, the third and final book in the Fit for a Crown romantasy trilogy by Abigail Manning, one of my favorite authors. The problem was that I hadn't read the first two books yet! I decided to rectify that, starting with Fit for a Prince. In truth, I'd been avoiding this book for a while because the premise sounded rather bleak. A story beginning with the death of a prince, where his former betrothed is tortured and forced to marry one of the sons of his murderer, doesn't sound very appealing. Now that I've read it, I can say that the marketing was \spot-on. Anyone who is sold by the promos will get exactly what they sign up for, along with a shocking and unexpected twist at the end.

Princess Diaspro watches in horror as the kingdom she was meant to be part of burns and falls to the wicked King Septimus. When she tells him that she was betrothed to the fallen prince, he decides to force her to marry one of his sons instead, claiming that if she was good enough to be a princess of Ivalon, then she must be good enough to become a princess of Aemastia. Diaspro is subsequently locked away with servants who are loyal to her home kingdom and kept under strict rules regarding where she can go, when she can eat, and who she can talk to. She proceeds to immediately break every one of these rules and torments all three princes with her rebellious nature.

Diaspro is not the type of heroine I usually enjoy reading about. She is cold, calculating, and ruthless. She sees marriage as a means of survival and has absolutely no interest in love or romance. None of the princes seem like a good match for her, if one even exists. Atlas, her main choice, is just as cold and calculating as she is. Lochlan despises her and wants her dead, never sparing an opportunity to demonstrate that to her. Cedric is kind-hearted, which she sees as a weakness because he wouldn't fight for her. Over the course of the book, she plays games with their heads until their feelings for her become impossible to ignore, whether those may be of hatred or love.

Abigail Manning is an expert storyteller who keeps readers turning the pages and constantly shocks them with new twists and surprises. I had several suspicions about what the big twist might be at the end, and none of them were even close to accurate. The twist explained a lot of things that were hinted at in the story and made me curious about the next two books in the series. It reminded me of several anime shows, but I can't reveal what those are without spoiling the ending. I already started the second book and found that I care about Diaspro a bit more now that I know her secret.

Fit for a Prince is a dark, brooding fantasy tale devoid of humor or hope. The protagonist has little to no emotion and experiences no joy over the course of the story. That said, if you've seen any of the marketing for this series and thought it looked appealing, you will probably enjoy this book. I have enough confidence in Abigail Manning's writing that I may enjoy the other two books more than I did this one. If you're looking for a no-spice romantasy that's full of action, suspense, and surprises, don't hesitate to check out this series.