This book is undoubtedly one of the best fantasy books I’ve ever read! It is basically about a girl named Cecile who gets sold to the trolls by an idiot of a gold digger, and how she’s transported into the world of Trollus, full of troll people who are cursed underneath a rock and hope that one day a songbird will break the curse. That songbird being Cecile.
I have so much to say about this book – seriously, there are too many feels webbed over one another. It’s hard to pick everything apart. I’ll start with our main character.
Cecile is a definite kickass heroine. She’s brave, but not to the point where it isn’t realistic, she uses her brain (emphasis on brain, because most YA heroines lack this *cough* Meghan Chase from the Iron Fey series) and she certainly doesn’t trip over her feet upon meeting the love interest. In fact, I was extremely pleased to find there wasn’t any insta-love.
This brings us to Tristan. Yup, our sardonic little hottie whose looks don’t just compensate for his lack of personality. He actually has both. I liked how the book also shows us how much he actually does care about his people, how he has plans of his own, doesn’t immediately fall in lurve with Cecile, and isn’t some petty teenage boy without any redeeming qualities. Personally, I think every high fantasy should have a Tristan.
The setting is placed underground, which I thought was pretty cool because it gives off this eerie and dark vibe. The trolls aren’t written off as just being ruthless savages. No, the author explores their suffering, their duties, their way of life, and their dwindling hopes. So many characters aren’t just cardboard cutouts, but each intricately molded into real people (trolls?) with ambitions of their own. Besides that, no character felt like a waste of pages, either, since somehow every one of them contributed to the plot.
The magic in here is so engaging, and to me, that’s what I liked reading about the most. I even loved the smaller aspects, such as how trolls can’t lie (I never knew that!) but that there are so many loopholes and that promises are taken very, very seriously.
So, yes. This book is amazing, addicting, and possibly one of the best ones out there. If you haven’t read it, then please, exit’s on the left. Go and READ IT.
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