The Prince’s Son is, of course, the sequel to The Prince’s Man.
I read The Prince’s Man last year and found it to be a solid book:
“This newly created world is firm, there are no gaps or jumps of reasoning. One creature, idea, magic or bit of history flows right into the next. Characters that appear substantial at the beginning of the book do nothing but grow and evolve as their backstory unfolds behind them.
This is solidly written fantasy tale.” -myself on The Prince’s Man last year
This sequel, built as it was on such a solid foundation, continued to impress me.
The first book was very much a web of spies and lies and political maneuvering that really had me hooked. In this book what struck me was the character growth. I loved the way the characters from the previous book grew between books and how the whiny lady at the beginning (that I could barely stand reading about) turned into the character than I’m most excited to read about in the next book. While there is a precedent in fantasy for the original whinging characters to turn into fantastic heroes by the end, it’s a trend that can feel forced enough to be questionable. Not in this book. When you build your characters with a backstory and foundation as solid as Deborah Jay has, their growth and change isn’t something to wonder over but something to enjoy!
Would I recommend it? The Prince’s Son can be read as a stand alone, you don’t have to read The Prince’s Man first, but I think you should. What would happen to order in the universe if everyone just started reading books all willy nilly and out of sequence? Chaos I tell you, chaos! Either way, if you choose to be an agent for chaos or read the books in a sensible order like proper purveyor of peace, if you are a fan of fantasy I recommend this/these books!
I was given a copy of this book from the author in exchange for Beta reading it, which was basically the best nerdy book lover experience ever! After reading the final copy I also agreed to post my own honest review. Thank you Deborah Jay for letting me be a part of the experience!
Behind the Willows 
Hehe, I’m laughing at your comment about people reading stuff out of order = chaos. YES YES I TOTALLY AGREE!! I was told to skip a series and read the spin off and I was like “but but I can’t because that’s out of order?!?!?”😂 THINGS MUST BE IN ORDER! Anyway, I’m glad you liked this one. 😀 I’ve not heard of them before, but I’m glad it was a solid read for you!
Ahh so good to find a fellow IT MUST BE READ IN ORDER AT ALL COSTS person out there! 😉
Jessie, thank you so much for your lovely review – now I’m going to steal it as a reblog onto my site 😀
And so glad you enjoyed the beta reading experience – I’m guessing you’ll be up for more then?
Yes! Yes! Yes! Besides I can’t wait to find out what happens to Nessa next!!! 🙂
😀 I have a small side project I’m tackling first – remember the minor character Betha? She was in The Prince’s Man, and she fights Dench in the prologue – her story is also integral to the finale, so she’s up next. Probably a short story, or maybe a novella.
So many characters, so little time…
Well, of course I want to know what happens with her then too! So long as you promise to get back to Nessa eventually! 😉
Oh I will, I will – Betha next, then Betha and the king, then all of them together for the Grand Finale.
Of course, Chayla has a story too, but I might just manage to include that elsewhere. Then again, perhaps not 😉
Oh the suspense!!! 🙂
Reblogged this on deborahjay and commented:
Lovely review of THE PRINCE’S SON by Jessie, who kindly worked as one of my beta readers, and has now read the finished article, and still enjoyed it!
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