Our story begins with Olive desperately wanting to be treated like everyone else but she's cosseted, protected and frankly stifled. Darin might have a more relaxed and normal life than Olive but he is full of self doubt and occasionally even self loathing. Yet Darin has amazing abilities that to be blunt took this reader a while to fully understand but when I did wow now thats someone who should proud. When Olive is kidnapped the story truly becomes something that is mind blowing with jealousy, greed and vile machinations in play. Forced to face her innermost fears Olive rises to become more than a pampered Princess but the deceit and lies that lie behind her are nothing compared to what she will now face ! The war is long over, and the world has begun moving on, but the weight of their parents’ legacy are weighing on the kids. Olive, who’s mother is the famed “Duchess of Hollow” Leesha Paper and father is the Krasnian leader, feels trapped in her life as a princess. With little to no freedom, having her movements watched at every step, seeks some level of normalcy. There is plenty of action and combat with sprinkles of character growth and mystery. The climax of the story will only leave you wanting more from all the characters presented. Peter V. Brett shows us once again why he is a best selling author and I look forward to reading the sequel, whenever that may be. Ok I have to start by saying that I have not read the preceding trilogy the Demon Cycle but now I really want to ! This book is set fifteen years after the parents of Olive and her friend Darin succeeded in taking down the Demons that had plagued the world. Yes a few stragglers escaped but the legends of what these people achieved elevates them in everyone's eyes and indeed hearts. So you can imagine how difficult it is for their children to live within their shadows. In this reimagining of the classic fairy tale, Aladdin, a girl from the streets must work with a prince if she wants to rescue herself and save both their lands as well.

That being said, I honestly loved everything about this book. I was a little worried about how an intersex MC might play in these books, considering some of the relatively atrocious crap that had happened to whole armies in the original Cycle, but not only was it handled deftly, with care and empathy. This needs a little explaining: Olive is rightfully worried, is brought up both as a Princess, and then, later, as a Prince. There is no handwavium here. All the expected problems exist, including the ones that anyone might expect for Main Characters who are only fifteen years old. There is no coddling, either. There is no sympathy for being different or praise. There is only survival and respect for what he/she accomplishes. It was a tightrope in the story and I think Peter V. Brett pulled it off wonderfully. A message he delivers with his works is that people and stories are never as simple as they may seem.

Serbia

Gizmodo - Get an Exclusive Peek at Peter V. Brett's Return to the Demon Cycle World With The Desert Prince by Cheryl Eddy March 8, 2021 1:30PM Cassie is such a great female character. She is strong, but her strength comes from her perseverance and her cleverness rather than any skill with arms or physical strength. I loved that she is short and small! As someone who is short and small myself, I COMPLETELY understand the whole getting mistaken for years younger than you are ALL THE TIME! There are a few things about The Desert Prince that potential readers of this series should know ahead of time because this book isn't really like Brett's previous series at all, despite being set in the same place and featuring some of the same characters.

Overall, I love Peter V. Brett’s writing style and approach to these stories. He manages to deliver exciting characters and bring thrilling action that feels ripped straight out of a movie. Combine that with an interesting world and unique magic system and there’s no wonder why his books have captivated so many. Here we see the next generation of our favourite heroes from The Demon Cycle series. The sons and daughters of Arlen Bales, Ahmann Jardir and even Rojer Halfgrip. All these young characters are struggling being in the shadow of their famous and heroic parents. There are high expectations for them and they have big shoes to fill, whether they want to fill them or not. Leesha, Renna, Ahmann, Gared... Key cast of the first series - Brett did a pretty good job of phasing them out as the book went on, relying on them less and less, but there really wasn't enough new BIG characters introduced to replace them. Again, this may be because the cast is going to be deliberately smaller with fewer POV's in this series, but it felt like something was missing - maybe that's the point, we shall see. The idea of a “piece of an action” stems from his Demon Cycle envisioning six novels, and standalone novellas: The Warded Man (or The Painted Man) and The Desert Spear, as well as The Daylight War. The Core builds on the laid foundations of the previous books and constitutes the climax of the main series with ending the storylines of Arlen, Rojer, Leesha, etc., while outside the main series a standalone novel comes to the fore, sharing the main characters. The pending question “Who is the Deliverer?” falls into the readers’ assessment.Let others determine your worth, and you’ve already lost, because no one wants people worth more than themselves.” Fifteen years have passed since the end of the war with demons, creatures of darkness who have hunted the night and plagued humanity since time out of mind. The heroes of mankind’s hour of need have become legend, and those who remain struggle to escape their shadows. Peter V. Brett said he has "been laying the groundwork for this series for years and am so excited to finally bring it to life. It keeps all the things I love about the Demon Cycle, while taking things in a fresh direction that provides an exciting entry point for new and younger readers. Olive Paper will be a hero unlike any other." [5] Brett likes saying his epics are not to be squeezed into movies as the latter avoid protracted story and character builds.