The Princess of Aenya by Nick Alimonos was a good book, but I think I would enjoy it more reading it a second time. From the beginning, there’s an onslaught of action and story coming from multiple characters at once. The main storyline follows Radia and Demacharon as they fight to survive. But Hugo and Esse, a soldier and a servant, are introduced, as well as Ugh, a Bogren, and Eros, an assassin hired to kill Radia.
Through alternating chapters, the reader has to follow all of these storylines before they eventually intertwine in the end of the book and, for me at least, this was difficult. Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoyed the individual storylines and characters.
Hugo and Esse deserve their own book. I would love for a companion novel to be made about them leading the rebellion in Tyrnael while Radia had to be in hiding. Esse was bred to be a servant, someone designed to not stand out or aspire to anything more than serving others. But she fought against that lifelong training to lead a rebellion against a sadistic tyrant. Before Zaibos, Tyrnael was at peace for a thousand years. No one had any experience protesting or rebelling because there wasn’t a need. But Esse stepped up and started to lead! Honestly, her story is just as fascinating as Radia’s, and a lot more relatable. I love stories about people who take their fate into their own hands so Esse’s story would be a great one.
I really liked Eros as well. He represents the dark side of Tyrnael. Just because there was peace doesn’t mean everyone was happy. Sexual intercourse is forbidden in Tyrnael. Eros was born from sexual intercourse so he and his mother were branded and ostracized. He was forced to become an assassin to support and protect his mother. Honestly, I wanted him to fail and succeed at the same time because succeeding meant killing Radia but it also meant the brand getting lifted from his mother.
However, while I enjoyed the characters and could follow and enjoy the plot overall, there’s still a lot I’m confused about. There are five storylines to juggle, six if you count Demarchon’s flashbacks. Not only are we following Radia, but we are also following Eros, Ugh, Esse, and Zaibos through their stories. It’s a lot to take in and keep straight.
The Princess of Aenya was an enjoyable read and the ending was satisfying. However, I would get a lot more out of the story if I reread it.
Get The Princess of Aenya on Amazon.
Nick Alimonos is a member of the Read for a Better World Hall of Fame for donating to Trees for the Future in exchange for an honest review. Learn more about my Read for a Better World program here.
In post Civil War New York City, Detective Pat O'Malley is living inside Poe's Cottage in the Bronx. O'Malley is haunted by Poe one night, and the detective finds a strange note. As a result, O'Malley decides to prove that Edgar Allan Poe did not die in Baltimore from an alcoholic binge but was, instead, murdered. O'Malley quickly becomes embroiled in a "cold case" that thrusts him into the lair of one of the most sinister and ruthless killers in 1865 New York City.
Jim Musgrave's Forevermore is a quick read in four acts that will keep your mind razor sharp trying to solve the mystery of Poe's murder. Pat O'Malley must first find out how to become intimate with females before he can discover the final clue in this puzzle of wits, murder and romance.
"If any literary work is too long to be read at one sitting, we must be content to dispense with the immensely important effect derivable from unity of impression for, if two sittings be required, the affairs of the world interfere, and everything like totality is at once destroyed." Edgar Allan Poe
I adore Edgar Allan Poe and when I started Forevermore by Jim Musgrave I thought, "Oh no...another book about how bad Poe was." Was I in for a marvelous shock! The author, Jim Musgrave, envisioned a young man who admired Poe, even lived in his cottage, and wished to find out what Poe died of, why and who was responsible for the death of the dark poet.
Delving into Poe's life just before he died, Patrick O'Malley began his quest into Poe's death. The search for the truth led him to many famous writers such as Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, who hated Poe. John Anderson, the owner of a tobacco shop, who violated a young woman who worked for him, is another. She was the famous "Mary" from one of Poe's novels. O'Malley was told Anderson paid Poe to write the tale to avoid suspicion regarding her death. Oddly enough, John Anderson lived in Sleepy Hollow made famous by the tale of the "Headless Horseman". Other famous names were sprinkled throughout this mystery. Literary references ran rampant and Musgrave was adept at making them fit into his tale.
You will also be introduced to the low life. McKenzie, who became a protector, was head of the Plug Uglies. I'll let you read the book to find out what that means. I also met a certain Madame who introduced O'Malley to heights he had never attained before. You will find Joshua Reynolds a person who could have been the subject of Poe's worst visions.
There is no generally accepted reason for Poe's death. Some said alcohol, some dementia and others believed diabetes. We know he died in Baltimore in the gutter, dressed like a bum. Mr. Musgrave weaved a wonderful tale and came up with a perfectly believable reason for not only how Poe died, but also why he died like a bum. He was killed. If you want to know by whom, you will have to read the book.
Most historians uphold that literary legend Edgar Allan Poe died from complications to his crippling alcoholism. But private detective Pat O’Malley believes otherwise. He believes that Poe was actually a victim of murder. In Forevermore, O’Malley sets forth on a mission of danger and romance to uncover the truth behind the demise of his old friend and one of America’s most important authors.
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