The Curse of the Amaranth – Book Review

Book Rating: ★★★★☆ (4 / 5 stars)

It sounds like a joke: a princess, a prince, and a wizard embark on a quest to save on a prince…only to unleash vampires upon the entire world. But this story is not a joke; this is the story of Zelina, Kerr, Daniel, Walker, and a malicious sorcerer named Bo. Can the crew stop the sorcerer? Or will this bring about the end of the world?

Probably.

In a fast-paced story that takes us to Polaris, we are whisked away in an adventure that seems simple: find the Amaranth, free Daniel, defeat Bo, and live happily ever after. But as the layers of the story unfold, leading to one misfortune after the next, we discover that defeating this sorcerer will be much more difficult than we can imagine.

Some parts of the voyage are adorably tongue-in-cheek, with characters exclaiming lines such as “we’ll see!” or “maybe!” to straight forward questions. Bo is malicious, but amusing; Zelina is kind, but fierce; and the rest of the cast each has their flaws while showing a comparable positive trait. This is the charm of the story.

The only downside to the novel is the length. While Violet Schofield does a good job at keeping the pacing on point throughout the novel (better than some other authors I have read), I do wish we had a chance to experience more of the voyage. We are passed from one point to another, meeting characters along the way (each unique in their own right too), but never get a chance to just sit and experience the world.

That being said, Schofield still paints a wonderful picture of Polaris and the characters, despite the length. That in itself deserves a kudos, since not every author is able to do that.

With a cliffhanger finale that leaves us with the statement “we’ll see!”, I can’t wait to pick up the next book in the series! Will Bo succeed in his quest for domination? What about the curse placed on Zelina? Who is going to be successful?

I guess we’ll see!

What’s it about?

A perfect Princess, a fun-loving Prince and an anxious wizard must go on a quest to save a knight in shining armour. Will they succeed? Probably Not!