The Tune of Legends
by E.H. Jahr
Style: Fantasy / Romance
ISBN: 9798987523704
Print Size: 270 pages
Reviewed by Andrea Marks-Joseph
A rebellious faerie princess conspires towards her conniving father on this swoonworthy journey.
Princess Margaret is in a troublesome place after we first meet her. Actually. She’s angrily sitting in make-up chairs, on the point of ignore her years of coaching to be a frontrunner and to lean into the docile position of princess on the ball. She’s additionally grieving the lack of her husband, who died 5 years in the past in a shipwreck from which she was rescued.
“Years in the past, Margaret spent her days within the throne room, or her father’s examine, studying alongside him for when the day got here that she would rule. Now, she was relegated to ballrooms and parlors.”
Margaret is straight away relatable in the best way that she’s unable to cover her contempt for the act of lacing up corseted robes to entertain fellow royals at tea events. “She hated the psychological effort it took to keep up the general public façade of a contented, docile princess.”
Creator E. H. Jahr writes the readability that Margaret finds in her grief and in confronting her personal dying in an accessible and profound manner. She’s residing in probably the most tortuous timeline, having misplaced her good friend and scuffling with survivor’s guilt, whereas being sidelined at a job the place she felt she had objective and potential.
Every little thing modifications when Margaret begins to overhear palace workers speaking about her father’s plans. First, to marry her off as a part of his more and more elaborate succession plan (“Her father hadn’t simply betrothed her to Xavier; he had bought the whole kingdom together with her, leaving not solely herself however her individuals topic to Vandorian rule.”). Later, that her father has been elevating taxes for the townspeople who can barely afford to outlive as it’s. And that her late husband Lukas knew that the taxes her father collected weren’t arriving on the native faculties to which they have been due.
Lukas’s greatest good friend, Christopher, who pulled Margaret from the ocean when she was drowning on the sinking ship, is now commander of the royal guard. Christopher performs an necessary position in enlightening her to the reality of her father’s crafty methods. He’s affected person with Margaret and unaffected when she acts out in grief or frustration. He checks in on her and guides her towards the conclusion that her father is deep right into a plan to not solely betray her belief, however ignore his individuals’s wants by colluding with a demon to extend his energy.
Christopher is the spark that reminds Margaret why she should combat to push by way of her grief and disappointment for her individuals. He conjures up her to flee the palace and escape the shock strategic marriage that her father has deliberate. This begins an journey that opens her eyes to the reality of the nations’ wants, and to the reality behind the warped historical past she’d been taught and believed all her life.
Creator E. H. Jahr handles this subject—of colonial powers rewriting historical past to swimsuit their wants and to placate any dissent of their individuals, erasing complete nations and whitewashing their violent intentions—with sensible readability, and Margaret handles the information with grace. She’s a fierce, impartial one who displays actually admirable braveness and integrity within the face of turmoil and trauma. She’s courageous within the actions she’s prepared to take, however she’s additionally courageous in the best way she’s prepared to simply accept that the truths she’s recognized her complete life aren’t the truth. She discovers many laborious truths all through this story, assembly many alternative individuals (faeries, druids, and demons—who every clarify to Margaret in their very own manner that they’re all people who skilled in numerous magical expertise) who present her what the world is basically like. Margaret faces these truths with a willpower to do them justice, and acts accordingly.
Christopher is affected person and protecting. He’s a superb romantic hero and an excellent royal guard. He’s reliable, trustworthy, and calls for higher of Margaret than her lackadaisical perspective in grief. The extra time we spend with him, the extra we study how excellent a match he’s for Margaret. We additionally study that he’s extremely expert in espionage, battle technique, and pleasuring a lover.
Readers with any considerations about Christopher ‘taking on’ the place of Margaret’s lover from his lifeless greatest good friend ought to know that their friendship turning to something romantic occurs regularly and may be very plausible and respectful. They obtained on nicely, creating an in depth friendship, however it was nothing extra, and so there is no such thing as a actual sense of betrayal or manipulation, and there’s no weight behind the concept Christopher was pining for Margaret whereas she was married to his good friend. (“His loyalty to Lukas had been prolonged to her the second the engagement was introduced,” Margaret tells us.)
Christopher was merely an excellent good friend to them each, and as he and Margaret lean on one another and spend extra time collectively, their relationship develops into one thing deeper. Their love story consists of traditional romance reader favorites just like the ‘just one mattress’ trope and even an ‘just one bathtub’ scene! I appreciated that Christopher trusts Margaret to make her personal choices. He merely stands beside her (generally hidden in corners to catch their enemies off-guard) to catch her if she falls, or defend her honor if one thing goes fallacious.
There are just a few factors price noting for content material warnings: Firstly, Margaret often recollects the second of her almost-drowning, after which in fact that she and Christopher each focus on the emotional ache of dealing with the sudden dying of a good friend. There’s additionally a scene the place a recognized villain forcefully kisses and medicines somebody.
Nonetheless, The Tune of Legends is a pleasure to learn—empowering and entertaining. It’s a pleasure to spend time with an excellent heroine like Margaret (and the ladies she meets alongside the best way!) and to fall in love with the person who helps reignite her ardour to save lots of the dominion.
Thisis an ideal mix of royal drama and rebellious faerie princess studying the reality about her father. That is the story of a lady saving her kingdom, powered by a unprecedented love story and a way of accountability to her individuals. Margaret goes from princess in coaching to rule some day, to grieving widow, to royal dress-up doll and “figurehead, at greatest,” finally evolving into a lady on the run, collaborator with nations she believed have been extinct, and eventually, savior to a number of nations. There’s a staggering reveal close to the top that’s going to take each me and Margaret months to actually grasp the affect of, and a plot twist close to the very finish that had me cheering out loud.
I’d extremely suggest this glorious e book which may simply be learn in a single sitting. E. H. Jahr’s wealthy worldbuilding is layered in royal technique and delightful magic techniques, providing a narrative that sparkles with scrumptious romance.
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