#2 in the Allies and Assassins series
Pages: 496
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Received: Own
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads
I'll start out this review by saying I love this series. It's fast-paced, easy to read, filled with peril, and the characters are likable. The first book, Allies and Assassins was a close-in murder mystery ending with high stakes and impending war. I even auto-bought the second book based on the strength of the first (something I rarely do).
A Conspiracy of Princes didn't feel as tight as the first book and there was one particularly juvenile scene that should have been edited right out as it clashed with the tone of the book and didn't serve any purpose. The rest was a mixed bag of lots of fun and kind of meh.
Jared's mission was less interesting and very contrived (though, still fun enough), and, disappointingly, he definitely wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed. He's the ruler now and yet he left his kingdom in peril as he went off on a quest. I mean, yeah, it was important, but that was a job for someone other than the leader. It was all very Richard the Lionheart-ish, and I've never been a big Richard fan.
But, Asta's adventures at home were awesome and filled with court intrigue and looming war. THIS is why I love these books! The introduction of the villains' perspectives was also enjoyable and upped the feelings of peril. Overall, I'm still very glad I read Conspiracy of Princes and I would definitely read this series to its conclusion.
Heads up, the ending is a major cliffhanger and I've heard rumors that the author isn't contracted for a third book. (I'm still dying about that happening to the Killer Unicorn series. Publishers, WHY DO YOU DO THIS TO ME?!)
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I wonder if you could email the author and ask him how he had planned to end the two series. Here's hoping that the rumors aren't true.
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