Began reading: 30.5.2015
Completed reading: 13.6.2015
Overall rating 4.2 stars
Twylla is special: she has poison flowing through her veins, and a single touch will kill. Chosen by the Gods to marry Prince Merek of Lormere, Twylla must obey her future mother-in-law, the queen, by playing the executioner of anyone who attempts to commit treason. Twylla’s guard, Lief, is the only person who does not see her as a monster. In the court of Lormere, no one is safe, and secrets have the power to kill. Will Twylla’s secret put the lives of everyone she loves in danger?
I recently purchased this book, and have been dying to read it. The cover is absolutely gorgeous! The Sin Eater’s Daughter is a combination of fantasy, supernatural and romance in young adult fiction. I thoroughly enjoyed it, but there are a lot of ‘love it or hate it’ reviews on Goodreads. I have to warn you, there are references to incest in the novel.
As I mentioned earlier, I was drawn to this book by the cover. It was just so pretty! I was not disappointed. I was also intrigued from the very first sentence: “Even when there are no prisoners, I can still hear the screams” (p. 1).
The novel was really well-written. I especially loved the quote:
I’ve learned that being alone and being lonely are not the same thing. Once I was surrounded by people and lonely for it, but now I’m alone and I’ve never been so content (p. 333).
Similarly, I loved the plot. I don’t usually read fantasy novels, but the plot of this novel wasn’t overly unrealistic. It could have done with a few improvements, but the plot kept me turning the page.
The appearances of characters and places were described in depth. I especially liked how the queen’s hounds were described:
Their mouths grin and leer and there’s nothing behind their eyes — looking into them feels the same as looking into the eyes of the men I executed this morning. They are blank, without conscience, without soul (p. 20).
I would have liked to see more of Twylla’s interactions with other characters, especially the queen. It all happened towards the end of the novel, but I really would have loved to see more between these two in the beginning. Similarly, Twylla’s interactions with her mother was pretty much non-existent. I wanted to see how they interacted. Maybe there will be more in the upcoming novels.
There was no mention or description of the context, so I imagined it to be occurring in the medieval period, especially with the presence of guards and castles. It would have been less confusing if the context had been indicated somewhere in the beginning of the novel or in the blurb.
I found the numerous plot twists to be interesting, but somewhat confusing. *WARNING: SPOILER* For example, the central belief that Twylla is poisonous was ruined. SHE WASN’T EVEN POISONOUS TO BEGIN WITH! *sobs*
Despite all of that, Twylla was the most relatable. She was obedient but considerate, devoted and virtuous. I especially loved when she feels jealous:
She’s very pretty. I don’t like her…
She dips her head before looking at Lief and smiling shyly. He returns her smile, gifting me with another sharp jab beneath my ribs before he closes the door (p. 146).
My favourite part of the book was definitely the beginning. It was so mysterious, and I really enjoyed seeing Twylla perceived as a monster. It made everything far more interesting. Would she use her power to poison those she doesn’t like?
Again, I would have loved to see the queen play a bigger role in the novel. She was cold in the beginning, and I loved it. I didn’t really enjoy the love triangle, but it did make things more interesting. Finally, I enjoyed the ending. It was not 100% happy endings, especially for Twylla.
If you like the Matched series by Ally Condie and “Red Queen” by Victoria Aveyard, you will love this book. I also recommend this book to anyone who likes “When My Heart Was Wicked” by Tricia Sterling and the Shatter Me series by Tahereh Mafi.
Happy reading!
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