The Last Princess by Galaxy Craze

Princess Eliza has inherited a desolate world. Ever since a series of natural disasters that wracked the land in the Seventeen Days, food and other resources have been scarce, dangerous groups of cannibalistic criminals roam the forests, and days of sunshine are rare. But as bad as life gets, it’s only about to get worse with the rise of a supposed revolutionary intent on securing the crown for himself. When the royal family is attacked at Buckingham Palace, Eliza is the only one to escape. Desperate for revenge, she disguises herself to join enemy troops, intent on getting as close as she can to the man who destroyed her family so she can destroy him. But not all is as it seems and it soon becomes clear that there is so much more at stake than petty revenge. Eliza’s trust, her strength, and even her faith in herself will all be tested as she struggles to find a way to save the crown and her country.

The Last Princess has all the makings of a great story, with its deadly intrigues and epic power struggle between the royal crown and revolutionaries. Unfortunately, though, the execution of this story falls a little short. The biggest problem for me was the plot. Though it is certainly entertaining and full of action and excitement, the entirety of the plot felt extremely controlled; that is to say, the sequencing of events didn’t always feel natural, and it seemed like there was always an external, previously unmentioned or irrelevant reason for why important things happened. This made the story rather unsatisfying for me, because every solution to each new problem felt more like the result of chance rather than a product of Eliza’s ingenuity, which is what I would have preferred. Despite this, I did still find the dystopian backdrop to this story fascinating and the overall story still somewhat enjoyable to read.

The Last Princess will appeal to readers who also enjoyed Princess Ben by Catherine Gilbert Murdock, Shadow by Jenny Moss, and The Pledge by Kimberly Derting.

Rating: 3.5

Review copy from publisher Little, Brown