Damsel

by Evelyn Skye, pub date 4/18/23

4*s, Best enjoyed when you need a moment with a kick ass heroine experiencing extreme survival.

Publisher’s Synopsis

“A price must be paid.

Elodie never dreamed of a lavish palace or a handsome prince. Growing up in the famine-stricken realm of Inophe, her deepest wish was to help her people survive each winter. So when a representative from a rich, reclusive kingdom offers her family enough wealth to save Inophe in exchange for Elodie’s hand in marriage, she accepts without hesitation. Swept away to the glistening kingdom of Aurea, Elodie is quickly taken in by the beauty of the realm—and of her betrothed, Prince Henry.

But as Elodie undertakes the rituals to become an Aurean princess, doubts prick at her mind as cracks in the kingdom’s perfect veneer begin to show: A young woman who appears and vanishes from the castle tower. A parade of torches weaving through the mountains. Markings left behind in a mysterious “V.” Too late, she discovers that Aurea’s prosperity has been purchased at a heavy cost—each harvest season, the kingdom sacrifices its princesses to a hungry dragon. And Elodie is the next sacrifice.

This ancient arrangement has persisted for centuries, leading hundreds of women to their deaths. But the women who came before Elodie did not go quietly. Their blood pulses with power and memory, and their experiences hold the key to Elodie’s survival. Forced to fight for her life, this damsel must use her wits to defeat a dragon, uncover Aurea’s past, and save not only herself, but the future of her new kingdom as well.”

Review

Damsel is a novelization of the upcoming movie by Netflix of the same name starring Millie Bobby Brown. I was excited to get an e-copy of this ARC given the premise, which takes the “Save Yourself” heroine trope and pumps it up super high octane. And it delivered! 

I didn’t expect Elodie to be as well prepared as she was, nor for this to be what is a fantasy survival thriller—two of my favorite genres smashed together into one awesome story. This may seem cliché, but this is NOT your typical fairy tale love story. It’s gritty, bold, and ultimately powering. Tradition is the true villain of this story. 

Elodie is the eldest daughter in a remote Dukedom, Inophe, where famine and drought reign supreme. She has grown up in harsh conditions caring for their people. When the chance comes for her to be married to the prince of Aurea in exchange for the goods and services needed to support the population she has helped protect her entire life, she is eager to be able to provide something more than just solace. However, what she doesn’t know until it’s too late is that she’s not meant to be a true princess of her newly adopted land, but a sacrifice to the dragon who provides the true power that provides the abundance to the people of the land. 

Elodie finds that she has not been the first—there have been 2400 princesses that have been sacrificed in the proceeding eight centuries, and not all of them have gone quietly. She finds maps, resources, and magic that have helped those before her that she is able to take advantage of. But will she be able to escape the lair of the dragon, or will she become just another pile of moldering bones deep in the heart of Aurea? 

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Random House for the advanced copy in exchange for this review.