GoodReads Synopsis:
Elgaard, year 320.
It was the eve of his sixteenth birthday and the royal ceremony in which he would receive his crown as heir to the throne. Everything was going according to plan until his wicked older brother returned.
Banished from his kingdom by a power-hungry enemy, a prince embarks on a dangerous journey to return and take his rightful place as king of a land cursed in a never-ending winter.
After an enchantment causes him to forget, Prince Rykus is raised far outside of the kingdom by peasants, remembering nothing of his royalty or his wintry powers. While working as a swordsmith, he befriends a pirate with a secret of his own and a bear who help to remind him of who he really is. Thus, he begins the adventure of returning to the barren kingdom and to fight for the crown, exacting justice for his brother’s betrayal and cruelty and he must do so before Elgaard is overrun by an even bigger enemy.
Murder. Revenge. Dragons. Winter. “The White Prince” is Frozen meets The Lion King meets The Pilgrim's Progress for a new generation of readers with a mind for fantasy and adventure.
Review:
Matthew Horton clearly has a great imagination. As I read The White Prince I couldn’t help but feel like his passion and excitement for the world he had created was seeping through the pages. The story is fast paced, full of adventure and fun characters.
I did find it a little frustrating because I really liked the plot and wanted to hear more! The world and characters could have been developed more. With how fast it moved it did remind me a little of a 'choose your own adventure book', like the kind I use to read when I was younger. You know, where suddenly you come across a troll and you have to choose to fight or run away. If you choose to run away, you find yourself on the edge of a cliff and then you need to decide if you are going to go back and fight the troll or take your chances jumping off the cliff. If I'm being completely honest, it reminded me a little bit of my own writing style and how I have tried to develop narratives more. So, not only did I enjoy the book but I also learned a lot!