I am genuinely unsure what to make of this book.
So first of all, it has a lot of pretty well-worn tropes. I don’t usually hold that against a writer, some of my favourite stories are re-imaginings of older works. But the “re-imagining” part is definitely not playing a role here, the main characters are decreed to be long-lost heirs and bam, they’re in Faeville. The are instantly incredibly powerful, albeit untrained. They can’t not be Queens it’s not allowed. There’s no story there, it’s just fait accompli.
The characters were all identical. The point of view flipped back and forth between the two sisters and I couldn’t tell them apart. I also couldn’t keep the Heirs straight in my head because they all seemed to the be the same.
And the girls are so dumb. Why are you getting drunk around people who want you dead. I would spend every minute studying and practicing – I would have especially wanted to know everything about how the different orders gain power after the first siren encounter.
I also think that there could have been a better way to resolve the whole inheritance thing. The big families don’t want the royal family back so… get them to pay you off? There would have to be a deal where the sisters still learn enough magic to defend themselves if somebody comes into the mortal world to kill them, but fae are famous for making deals so make a deal. A big wadge of money and a few private tutoring sessions and I’ll stay out of Faeville. Honestly I wouldn’t want that throne either, the entire society is based on being an asshole.
But having said all that, I still found I was getting sucked in enough to want to know what happens in the next book. This one obviously ended at the absolute low point for the sisters, so there is nowhere to go but up. Time to get some revenge and kick some Heir ass.