Shielded by KayLynn Flanders
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
With the kingdom of Halendi at war, and rumors of a deadlier threat looming at the border, the King promises his daughter’s hand to the Prince of the neighboring kingdom of Turia.
In exchange for her hand, Halendi will get the troops they desperately need to stage a better defense. Princess Jennesara is disheartened to learn of her father’s deal.
Jenna has a warrior’s heart and she knows she could be an advantage if her father would just give her the chance to fight for the kingdom she loves.
Unfortunately, the King, and her older brother, Ren, will not be deterred in their goals. Therefore, Jenna will head to Turia just after her 17th-birthday to meet her betrothed, Prince Enzo.
As the journey gets underway, all are aware that a dangerous road lies ahead.
They have to pass through the Wild in order to reach their destination. Let’s just say the area is aptly named.
After the traveling party is ambushed, Jenna is forced to leave all she knows behind her and set out on her own.
Hiding her identity, she ultimately ends up in Turia, a guest in the royal castle. What she learns there could be the key to saving not just her kingdom, but their entire world.
Settling in with Shielded, I was expecting a fairly typical YA Fantasy story. However, I’m happy to report, this exceeded my expectations.
I really enjoyed the world-development and magic system in this. While Jenna seemed like a fairly typical, ‘not like other Princesses’-Princess, I was able to overlook that because the underlining plot was so darn interesting.
The villains in this story, a trio of powerful ancient mages, were incredibly creepy and well done. Their abilities alone upped the stakes, as opposed to just one kingdom battling another.
I also liked how much of a role the royal library at Turia played in the story. Once her enemy is known, Jenna does a lot of research on the history of the mages to try to figure out how to defeat them. I loved that element! Give me all them books!!
Overall, I think this is a strong start to a new series. I am super happy with where this left off and the possibilities for the sequel!
Thank you so much to the publisher, Delacorte Press, for providing me with a copy of this to read and review. This is such a great debut and I look forward to reading more from KayLynn Flanders in the future!
This is so interesting, thanks for sharing.