Although this book had interesting characters and a well developed world, I felt bogged down by too much description and introspection that felt repetitive. I wanted to stay with the characters to see how things turned out in the end, but was not surprised by the ending and didn't feel the need to run out and buy the next book. The 360 pages in this book felt longer. ( )

The premise of the book will be familiar to more experienced fantasy readers. History professor Max Ravenhill discovers he's not who he thinks he is. He's not even human. He's an exile from the lands of the Fae, guardian of the Talismans that can select the next High Prince and end the cycle of death and corruption. Now, as Max's exile comes to an end, the Basilisk Prince is determined to capture him and use the Talismans to make himself High Prince.

It took me a few chapters to get into the book. Malan jumps right into the action with a fairly brutal (off-screen) massacre, and it also took me a while to grasp the fantasy side of her worldbuilding. It wasn't until a few chapters into the book, when Max and his protector Cassandra left our world and returned home, that I started to wrap my brain around everything.

With that said, I enjoyed the book a great deal by the end. Max and Cassandra were fun, and it was interesting to see the relationship between the guardian (who knows what's going on) and Max (whose memories have been altered, so he doesn't even know Cassandra at first). Malan even gives us glimpses of "humanity" from the Basilisk Prince, and I always like conflicted characters.

While some elements of the story felt familiar, others were intriguingly original. I enjoyed Malan's take on enchanted weapons and armor, and the creative ways they can be used. Her revelation about the Hounds (hunting beasts, from the original Hunt) was fascinating enough I wanted her to spend more time on it.

Actually, that was my biggest frustration. Some of Malan's most fascinating ideas seemed to get skimmed over. I wanted to learn more about the Naturals and the Solitaries, the other "races" of Max's realm. I wanted to understand guidebeasts better. And if the biggest complaint about a book is, "I wanted more," I think that's a pretty positive thing. ( )

The story of a man in our world who discovers he's the prince--sorry, Prince--of another realm. Enjoyable--certainly never any daydream I ever had. BUT. So many capitalized words I thought I was going to die. I understand that fantasy novels, and even more literary novels, capitalize words deemed important, but this book took it Way Too Far. When that many words are capitalized, capitalization looses all sense of importance and it becomes an annoyance--a pretentious, juvenile annoyance. It actually did distract from my enjoyment of the book. And since this was a book going from trade to mass market, it wasn't something I could change. I hope she restrains herself a bit more in her next book. ( )