Review and Giveaway: The Last Princess by Galaxy Craze

Publisher: Little Brown

Pages: 295

Received: Received from Hatchette Book Group Canada in exchange for an honest review

Release Date: May 1, 2012
Buy From Amazon.ca / Buy From Chapters.ca

Goodreads Synopsis:

Happily ever after is a thing of the past.

A series of natural disasters has decimated the earth. Cut off from the rest of the world, England is a dark place. The sun rarely shines, food is scarce, and groups of criminals roam the woods, searching for prey. The people are growing restless.

When a ruthless revolutionary sets out to overthrow the crown, he makes the royal family his first target. Blood is shed in Buckingham Palace, and only sixteen-year-old Princess Eliza manages to escape.

Determined to kill the man who destroyed her family, Eliza joins the enemy forces in disguise. She has nothing left to live for but revenge, until she meets someone who helps her remember how to hope—and to love—once more. Now she must risk everything to ensure that she not become... The Last Princess.

My Review:

I was very taken with the synopsis of this book, Princess who fights to avenge her family. It sounded like it would be a great read with lots of action in it. I can say that I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would.

I did like that the setting of this was a post-apocalyptic England. I've never been to England but did feel like I was there in a way with the descriptions of Buckingham Palace and the land around there. I love books about princesses and royal families.

Right from the beginning of the book Galaxy shows that this is a story that is full of action, and it is definitely non-stop fighting and running. I really love books that are paced full of action. Galaxy does a great job with her writing bringing all these scenes to life. Many of the scenes are a tad gruesome even (beheadings, people digging their own graves). There was a lot of violence throughout this book, some of it was even a tad unnecessary, like it was there for more action.

The book was very fast paced and moved from one event to another without stopping. I found that because this was happening I didn't get a chance to connect with Eliza's character. I felt that at one moment Eliza was losing her family and the next she had joined the enemy forces, and just as quickly  is running away from them. Everything just went really quickly that I didn't get enough time in one place.

What mostly disappointed me while reading this book was the world building. I found that nothing was truly explained in the book. Eliza kept referring to the Seventeen Days, but I did not find a full explanation as to what happened during those times. I found I wanted more of an explanation as to why England was in the state it was in.

There was also romance added in, but that felt almost forced. This is a book that is supposed to be about Eliza surviving the loss of her family and going in for revenge, I felt like the romance aspect should not have been there, it didn't fit with everything else happening.

All in all, this book had a great start but I just couldn't get myself into it because of the fast pace. This is a book for people who are into more action and not much story.

*GIVEAWAY*

Up for grabs is a finished copy of the book (US/Canada only) Just leave a comment with your email. Giveaway ends June 1st! Good luck :)