Review: The Shattered Court by M.J. Scott

The Shattered Court

Author: M.J. Scott

Release Date: April 28, 2015

Publisher: Roc

The Four Arts Book #1

ISBN:  0451465393

ISBN13: 9780451465399

Genre: Fantasy

Review Copy Source: NetGalley

First in a new fantasy series from the author of the Novels of the Half-Light City.

Entangled in a court ruled by tradition and intrigue, a young witch must come to terms with newfound power and desire—and a choice between loyalty and survival.…

The royal witches of Anglion have bowed to tradition for centuries. If a woman of royal blood manifests powers, she is immediately bound by rites of marriage. She will serve her lord by practicing the tamer magics of the earth—ensuring good harvests and predicting the weather. Any magic more dangerous is forbidden.

Lady Sophia Kendall, thirty-second in line to the throne, is only days away from finding out if she will be blessed—or perhaps cursed—with magic. When a vicious attack by Anglion’s ancient enemies leaves the kingdom in chaos, Sophia is forced to flee the court. Her protector by happenstance is Lieutenant Cameron Mackenzie, a member of the royal guard, raised all his life to be fiercely loyal to the Crown.

Then Sophia’s powers manifest stronger than she ever imagined they would, and Cameron and she are inextricably linked in the process. As a witch unbound by marriage rites, Sophia is not only a threat to the established order of her country, but is also a weapon for those who seek to destroy it. Faced with old secrets and new truths, she must decide if she will fight for her country or succumb to the delicious temptation of power.…

I was pleasantly surprised by THE SHATTERED COURT. I am pretty picky with my high fantasy reads and after reading the blurb I wasn't blown away, but when I started reading, I quickly realized that this was a book I was going to enjoy reading.

Sophia is a royal witch who's waiting for her birthday to find out if she will manifest magic. She is pretty sheltered and protected in the castle and wants nothing more than to be like the other kids her age. I actually liked Sophia quite a bit. She comes off as meek, but you learn that she has bite. She is also really curious and questions things, especially when they don't make sense. This happens to get her in trouble and the fact that she ends up being really powerful makes her a target.

I will admit I was kinda put off by Cameron at first. He had a relationship (sexual) with the princess and I hate to admit it, but I judged him badly for that. He quickly grew on me as he stepped up to protect Sophia and also stepped up when they got back to the palace. He genuinely liked her and wanted to be with her. Their relationship was sweet and their feelings grew pretty strong in a world that people are usually thrown together for political gain. They got lucky, but it sure wasn't easy.

There is a lot of politics involved in THE SHATTERED COURT. The world building was well done and it was easy to follow along with everything that was going on. The struggles that Sophia and Cameron faced were real and I had no problem rooting for them. The ending wasn't a surprise to me, but I was really intrigued watching it unfold and it left me excited to see what will happen next.

I gave it 4/5 stars

This book was provided free of charge from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.