ARC Review: The Shadow Prince

The Shadow Prince by Bree Despain
Published by Egmont USA
Format Reviewed: ebook
Publication Date: March 11th, 2014
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 512
Reviewed by: Stephanie
My Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
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Haden Lord, the disgraced prince of the Underrealm, has been sent to the mortal world to entice a girl into returning with him to the land of the dead. Posing as a student at Olympus Hills High—a haven for children of the rich and famous—Haden must single out the one girl rumored to be able to restore immortality to his race.

Daphne Raines has dreams much bigger than her tiny southern Utah town, so when her rock star dad suddenly reappears, offering her full tuition to Olympus Hills High’s prestigious music program, she sees an opportunity to catch the break she needs to make it as a singer. But upon moving into her estranged father’s mansion in California, and attending her glamorous new school, Daphne soon realizes she isn’t the only student in Olympus who doesn’t quite belong.

Haden and Daphne—destined for each other—know nothing of the true stakes their fated courtship entails. As war between the gods brews, the teenagers’ lives collide. But Daphne won’t be wooed easily and when it seems their prophesied link could happen, Haden realizes something he never intended—he’s fallen in love. Now to save themselves, Haden and Daphne must rewrite their destinies. But as their destinies change, so do the fates of both their worlds.

I received this ARC from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. No compensation was given, offered, or taken to alter the opinion forth with.

I've never actually read anything with a play on Greek Mythology besides Rick Riordan's novels, so The Shadow Prince was a different experience for me. This novel is based off of the myths surrounding Hades and Persephone. It’s told from two POVs - one male, one female.

Sent to a small town on the earth's surface to find who he believes will be his future wife, Haden has no idea what he's getting himself into. However, the Underworld council was (to say the least) reluctant to send him. Hades is dead and Persephone has left the Underworld. Only their ambitious children are left to govern it. Haden, disowned son of the king, lacks the information he needs.

I specifically enjoyed Haden's POV. Life on the earth’s surface was so foreign to him. He’d never seen the sun before so his reaction to that was particularly entertaining. I just cringed for him sometimes. He had no idea what he was doing when it came to life or girls. The latter isn’t an unusual thing but Haden had never interacted with any girls before. And the Underworld’s culture didn’t help his case any.

Daphne seems to be kind of your typical female protagonist but her life is a bit strange. She lives in an incredibly small town that never has any visitors. But then her rock star dad comes to take her away and, since her dreams are too big for the town, she jumps at the chance. She moves to California and lives in a small town that looks… Greek. Her high school’s name: Olympus Hills High.

I’ll admit that despite the consequences, for a while there I was totally voting for Haden. I really wanted him to figure out how to bring her back with him because I liked them both so much. Daphne wasn’t easily wooed though. After all of the information came to light, I felt like I shouldn’t still be hoping for Haden but I couldn’t stop myself. But it changed, I wanted him to have Daphne and make the better choice when the truth came out about why he was really sent.

Miss Despain wonderfully juggled the love story with the book’s gripping plot. The Shadow Prince was a pleasure to read.

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