Maiden by Georgia Leighton – Fantasy Book Review

A gorgeous, fairytale-esque story that was gripping and gorgeous.

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Alinore comes to visit the royal household with her father, only to find she is staying there as a member of the court. Cressyda is the princess, although she is regarded as the Queen’s “pet” since everyone she’s not royal by blood. And Maylie is a mountain woman who lives a simple life but has a story to tell from her past. Once a year, a maiden in her 18th winter is given as a sacrifice to the great dragon to protect the United Kingdoms. But strange magic is afoot and things are changing, and the three women have something to do with it.

The magic is this story is somewhat hidden and not particularly celebrated; and dragons are feared. It was an interesting world, one which we’ve been introduced to in the author’s previous book, Spellbound, although this stands totally alone.

We see the world through the eyes of each of the women at different times in their lives which built up a gorgeous depth to the story. Each has her own distinct voice.

The focus of the story being on women saving themselves without needing a man was, of course, excellent. All the main characters are women, including one who is training herself to be a lady knight, and men feature either as background players to support the story or as villainous figures.

This book was so close to 5 stars for me, it just missed the mark because it took a little while to really get into a solid storyline. I get that there needed to be some character building and background setting, but the time it took felt like it would have fitted better with a novel that was the first in a series rather than a standalone. I wish we had a little more of the high tension and action that came towards the end of the book.

Read more similar fantasy book reviews:

• Heir of Illusion by Madeline Taylor – Romantasy Book Review
• Realm of Shadows by Rektok Ross – Romantasy Book Review
• Deathbringer by Sonia Tagliareni – Dark Academia Romantasy Book Review

The ending was brilliant, I especially loved the epilogue which gave me chills. It was told like the ending of a folkloric fairytale, it was nicely rounded up but wasn’t a 100% happily ever after for everyone.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publishers for an ARC of this book.