Books With Bean ~ The False Prince

Title: The False Prince: The Ascendance Trilogy book One

Author: Jennifer A. Nelson

Published: April 1, 2012

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Summary: Sage is an orphan living in a falling apart and over crowded orphanage. One day while stealing meat for himself and the other children to eat he gets caught and because of this gets taken by a nobleman named Conner. At first Sage thinks that he will just be a servant but then he gets taken to Conner’s house with three other boys who look like him. Roden is tough and street smart. Tobias is learned for his age and situation and can even read quite well. The third boy is Latamer, a sick boy who doesn’t survive the journey to Conner’s house. Sage soon finds out Conner has a different idea of what he wants the boys to do. The royal family of Carthya has been murdered and Conner wants one of the boys to impersonate the long lost Prince Jaron and take the throne of Carthya to prevent the country from falling into the chaos it would otherwise if the many regents in the kingdom try to fight for control. The boy’s days become filled with learning all the things a prince would be expceted to know from his years of life before he “died”. However while Roden and Tobias are doing their best to be the one that Conner chooses (because they all know what will happen to the two left unpicked) Sage doesn’t care to be Conner’s Prince. However fait will have the final say in who is chosen.

What I liked about it: I liked Sage and I even liked the two other boys. The plot was a tad cliché but it was executed well and I found the story interesting. It kept my interest for the entire book and made me want to read the next one as soon as I could.

Language: There is a tad but it is light and not often at all. 

Romance: Sage does start to become infatuated with one of the servant girls at Conner’s house it doesn’t turn to romance until the second book. Even then however it is barely even a kiss.

Violence: There is sword fighting, and Latamer is killed near the beginning of the book as a show to the boys from Conner about how serious he is about his plan and what should happen to them if they should try and escape or do anything to interfere with his plans. However while it is a shock to the boys as it is intended to be. It is not described in a graphic way. 

Magic: None. While this is a made up world it is made realistic in the fact that there is no magic. 

Recommended Age: Sage is in his early teens and I think that 12 or 13 is a good age to read it for the first time. However don’t worry about its not good if you are older then that. This is a book that I would recommend to anyone I thought might like it from 12 on up.