The Seer and the Sword

The Seer and the Sword
VICTORIA HANLEY

Princess Torina knows nothing about the wars which her kingdom constantly participate in. Her beloved father returned home from one of these- and to Torina that is all that matters. But with him he brings strange gifts: a beautiful sphere in which she glimpses strange images and a boy- a former Prince of the concurred land- offered to her as a slave.
Torina saves the Prince's- Landen- life, and they form a forbidden friendship. As Torina grows, so does her kingdom and the threat to both children, both from outside and inside the palace.
Torina soon discovers that she can see glimpses of the future in the little ball. A few years pass, and Torina is betrothed to Vesputo, a cold and ruthless soldier who pretends to be kind and loving around her. But Landen knows that Vesputo only want to marry Torina for her crown, that he really cares nothing for her.

A tale of romance and betrayal of the royal kind.

When I first picked this book up at my local bookshop, I was unsure if I would love it or loath it. I am glad to say that I loved it! This book reveals that I have a massive affliction with fairy tales retold, or tales which resemble a fairytale! This whole book reminds me of a fairytale, and now that I think about it, Robin Hood!
This story begins with Torina, she is only 10. It is quite refreshing that the main character starts of as a child instead of a teenager or adult, because you get to see her innocence and you watch her grow up. I really liked how Tornia grew from 10 to 19 in the book, it was beautifully done and it was perfect for the books style.
This book is slightly predictable in some aspects, but in others left me guessing until the end. I stayed up extremely late to finish this book and it made me feel very emotional. I think that the author is excellent at writing morose scenes and character angst. I thought that perhaps some characters could have been developed more, for instance Torins Mother and Father and perhaps Landen could have remembered more of his country and family (I didn't feel much sadness at the countries demise, more details and memories would have helped).

Fans of Tamora Pierce might, I repeat might, like this. Although Torina is not like Tamora's 'no-nonsense' main characters. This was another thing that slightly annoyed me, at the start of the book, the author made such a big deal of teaching Torina archery. She used it once in the entire book. I think that the author should have used this skill and make Torina less of a wuss.
The cover which is displayed is the edition which I purchased, but the new cover is very uninspiring and I have to say, ugly. So please don't judge this book by its cover. Why do people insist on having bad book covers on such good books?
Defiantly not a 'must-read' but it is still quite a good book for light reading. I really enjoyed it.

I couldn't review this book earlier because I was too busy writing fan fiction for a certain Blue haired Girl

More Information:
Amazon
Victoria Hanley's Official Website
Wikipedia- Characters with a few spoilers.

Captain Libeka.