Review : The Goddess' Choice ( Kronicles of Korthlundia #1 )

The Goddess's Choice
Author: Jamie Marchant
Publication date:April 18th 2012
Publisher: Reliquary Press
Genre: YA Fantasy
Purchase from: Amazon, B&N

The crown princess Samantha fears she’s mad; no one but she sees colors glowing around people. The peasant Robrek Angusstamm believes he’s a demon; animals speak to him, and his healing powers far outstrip those of his village’s priests. Despite their fears, their combined powers make them the goddess’s choice to rule the kingdom of Korthlundia.
Samantha's ability enables her to discern a person's character through their multi-colored aura, and Robrek's makes him the strongest healer the kingdom has seen in centuries. 

But their gifts also endanger their lives. Royals scheme to usurp the throne by marrying or killing Samantha, and priests plot to burn Robrek at the stake. Robrek escapes the priests only to be captured by Samantha's arch-enemy, Duke Argblutal; Argblutal intends to force the princess to marry him by exploiting Robrek's powers. To save their own lives and stop the realm from sinking into civil war, Robrek and Samantha must consolidate their powers and unite the people behind them.

Received from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Jamie Marchant. You are fabulous.

I love the fantasy genre, so when I received this one I certainly was excited what with that synopsis and that gorgeous cover. But I was pleasantly surprised as to how good this book was and how well the fairy-tale was integrated into it.

The Goddess' Choice is based on a Norwegian Fairytale, 'The Princess and The Glass Hill'. I'd never heard of it before so I took to the internet to find out more about it. Jamie Marchant mentions that the girl in the following fairy-tale is mentioned as nothing more than a prize handed off to the knight than manages to climb the Glass Hill and collect all the golden apples.

Boy did she make Samantha a lot more than that.
Samantha is a strong character from the get-go. I didn't like her very much in the beginning really. She didn't really seem to be really as good a princess as she really is. But she does make you root for her. Robrek is equally as strong as Samantha and though they both made me feel like punching their faces in I just couldn't help but root for them as I knew why they did behave the way they did. The things they went through. Gosh Robrek really does go through a lot.

If Robrek was at Hogwarts, he'd be a Gryffindor. Horribly brave and a whole lot of ego problems ;) .

This story has only the basics of The Princess and The Glass Hill. The rest is all her own. And the sheer brilliance of it!! The story line has it all a despicable villian Argbutal, romantic angst and drama, a few 18+ scenes.

Loved the characters, each of them had a well defined personality, even down to the those magical horses. If you like fantasy and sorcery this one is for you. Looking forward to the next book from Marchant.

I even had the pleasure of asking this great writer a few questions. Do head over to my Interview with Jamie Marchant to find out more about her book, what she's writing and herself.

Rating: 4 Quills

quill design: QioDen