And eye color was everything. It was a way to interpret a person’s talents. Certain abilities were intrinsic to a person, depending on the shade of their eyes.

Of Rioters and Royals

Author: M.L. Greye

Publication Date: 18 Jan 2019

Genre: YA, Fantasy

Pages: 304

Publisher: Amazon Digital

Synopsis:

Emry is a Royal – a princess of Enlennd. As is tradition, she must have a knight at her side as her protector. The only way to appoint one is through The Trials. Her Challengers from the five regions of Enlennd must compete for the infamous title of Princess’s Knight. The problem, though, is that the people of Enlennd are split into two categories: Rioters and Royals. Finding the perfect knight may be the last of her worries. War is coming to Enlennd. 

Declan is a Rioter. An upriser. An anarchist. He mistrusts the Jewels – the sovereign family of Enlennd. Yet, he is offering himself up as a Challenger in The Trials. The Mistress, leader of the Rioters, has a mission for him. The first step is for him to become the Princess’s Knight. He is ready for the task, until he actually meets Emry and discovers that betraying her would be much more difficult than he’d thought. 

My Thoughts:

When I first started reading the prologue, I was a little bogged down with the sheer amount of information presented in order to set the foundation for the book. It was not particularly exciting for me, which put a bit of a sour taste in my mouth when I was starting chapter one. My palate was immediately cleansed once I dove into this riveting story full of magic, adventure, plot twists, and romance.

I was really intrigued by the idea of a person’s eye color predetermining the elemental magic that he or she would would harness. For example, Declan is a teal, so he has unnatural speed and partial control over nature. Princess Emerald on the hand is a silver, which is incredibly rare as are her magical abilities.

I loved the The Hunger Games esque style Trials that Declan and the other challengers faced in order to procure the prestigious position of Princess Emerald’s Knight. While Declan originally volunteers for the Trials as a means to gain access to the Princess so he can kidnap her and bring her back to the leader of the Rioters, things become complicated when he realizes that he would be betraying the girl that he saved all those years ago.

Overall, I think that Greye did a great job of immersing us into this magical universe, and I am intrigued to see how her series continues to unfold.  

Thank you to M.L. Greye for providing an ebook of this story in exchange for an honest review. This had no bearing on the outcome of this review.

Rating: 4 stars

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