Review: The Two Princes of Summer by Nissa Leder

Title: The Two Princes of Summer

Author: Nissa Leder

My rating: 2.5 hearts

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance

Synopsis: Running away to Faerie isn’t quite the fairytale Scarlett had hoped it would be.

After her mother's suicide, Scarlett's grief consumes her. So much so, she can't even visit her grave. Escaping the mortal world seems the best option when Cade, a fae prince, lures her into Faerie by promising to take away her pain.

Cade seems the perfect answer to Scarlett's problems. Gorgeous, mysterious, with a gift that keeps her numb. But everything that makes him alluring also makes him dangerous. As things between them heat up, Scarlett must decide how far she's willing to go to avoid her guilt and heartache.

The more Cade feeds from her emotion, the further Scarlett's life in the mortal realm drifts. And it isn't just Cade she has to worry about. She's captured the attention of his older brother, Raith, too. Scarlett is caught in between the two brothers as they prepare to fight for the Right of Heir to the Summer Court crown.

As her boundaries are tested, will Scarlett lose herself in the world of magic, lust, and danger? Or will she find a way to cope with her sorrow and untangle herself from the two princes before they've devoured her completely? (synopsis from Goodreads)

This was a tough review to write, because I can’t really decide what I think about this book. There were things I liked, and then there were things I didn’t like. And, of course, that isn’t unusual, but the differences this time were extreme. I loved the plot and the world, because it was unique and interesting, but I really didn’t like the main character through most of the book, not to mention I hated Cade. But I enjoyed the book overall, which is why it still got three stars.

I found Scarlett annoying.

From the beginning, it felt like she didn’t really have a will of her own, she just did what Cade told her to do, and it really annoyed me. It took a long time for her to stop doing what he said, and even then, it was just so she could do what someone else said, instead. I just didn’t like her. But, she did go through some character development, which was good. It was just a little too late for me to really care about her.

I hate Cade.

I was super annoyed every time I got to read from his perspective, because the way he rationalizes what he does to Scarlett made me want to hit something. Preferably him. Plus, if Scarlett can’t stand up for herself, Cade is ten times worse. Like, he’ll do whatever his mother says, no matter what his opinion about it is, and that also annoyed me, because his mother is horrible.

The only character I really liked was Raith.

For a while, I felt like maybe Raith was supposed to be the villain or something, but from the start, he was the only character I cared about. He’s the only one that treats Scarlett with an ounce of respect, and even so, he does it for selfish reasons. Really, I felt like the characters were really difficult to like because I felt like everyone was just looking out for themselves. But Raith was interesting to read about.

But, the world was really cool!

I have a weakness for fae, and I really liked the idea of them feeding off of human emotion – some of them, anyway, which is why I decided to pick it up in the first place. And the plot is unique and the world is original, which I also liked. I loved the whole idea of the brothers fighting for the crown – it was very different from other books I’ve read about fae, and I loved it.

So basically, it’s not a bad book. If you like reading unique books, if you think the plot is really important, then this book is definitely for you. But if you put a lot of focus into the characters, I wouldn’t recommend it, because many of the characters didn’t feel like they were really thought through, not to mention they were hard to relate to. But overall, it was a good read.