Book Review
Thrown to the Blue, by K. J. Chapman
Fantasy
3 Stars
A solid story & great characters, with some flaws
Thrown to the Blue
Foretellings have no place for goodness, only greatness. Princess Ezrahli is far from good, but she is a great woman in a conventional Kingdom, followed by whispers and scorn. However, across the waters is un-convention, magic, and fable. Her existence has been foretold in the battle against dark magic, and destiny shall weave itself into her life because darkness cannot be fought with goodness, only greatness.
Smuggling and sorcery leads to adventure, and adventure leads to destiny. Reed is a prince of the streets, but what he lacks in title, he makes up for in skill; a skill that sets him on a path already written in fate. Can he be more than what is expected? Can he enable greatness in another and survive the process?
Vengeance is a motivator, but it can never be your friend. In the end, it will ask for sacrifice, and only the great will pay the fare.
The opening sentence of Thrown to the Blue, by K. J. Chapman, is a fantastic introduction for the main heroine, Princess Ezrahli, and an instant submersion into a fantastic story. You’ll find yourself flipping pages, enthralled to find out what will happen next.
A complicated personality, right away we see Ezrahli’s capacity for great hate, as well as great love. We see her strong will in the face of cultural ignorance, as well as a unique open-mindedness that allows for a compassion her ruthless nature might suggest otherwise, all by page two. Princess Ezrahli is a strong female lead you’ll love to follow, even when sometimes you might think you’re not supposed to like her. 
Told through a dual perspective, we’re given a fantastic opportunity to better understand the juxtaposing nature of Princess Ezrahli, a feat I doubt would have been as understood if not explained this way. Allowing us to see events through Reed’s eyes gave a fantastic view of the Princess that really helps sell her character. Not to mention, Reed’s intuitive compassion for the Princess is enough to make any heart swell and wish we were all so lucky to find someone who so understood us.
The reason this novel didn’t receive 4 stars, despite my glowing comments about how much I loved the characters and story, is because the cadence of dialogue really tripped me up the whole way through. It was just too stiff. I even told myself it was done on purpose to give us more characterization for the world, but I just couldn’t get used to it. Just as I got into the flow of the narrative (superbly written btw), a section of dialogue would pull me out so I was reading again, rather than being swept up in the story.
Another minor problem I found was, though Thrown to the Blue was set from sentence one to be a terrific journey, something happens about 60% through that I can’t really put my finger on. I even read through a second time to see if I could pinpoint it. Maybe I thought events started getting rushed? A couple of plot points I would have liked to see develop more organically, seemed more a simple giving of information. Maybe there was a worry about length? I like long books, so maybe I’m just used to things being dragged out a bit? I don’t want to say more and give away spoilers…
…but the ending! I was a huge fan and will be reading the next book in this series when it releases.
Random note: I’ve never commented on aesthetics of covers, but this cover truly is gorgeous. I feel I want a print to hang on my wall. Or better yet, stickers!
🙂
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Stealing Shade 
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