Annabelle

by Annie Westphal

Annabelle is the princess of Dunea, and that is all she has come to expect from her future. After the tragic death of her mother, Annabelle was raised in hiding—safe from the rebels who threaten from the North and the growing unrest in the kingdom as a decades-long conflict drags on.
After rebels from the North murdered the beloved queen Ilenna, a young Annabelle was sent away from court to live under the protection of the Wallace family of Rosewood province. Safely tucked away at the remote coastal manor, under the warm and watchful guardianship of Lord Roger Wallace, Annabelle has spent the years of her youth in the sun—the expectations of the future no more than a storm cloud over a faraway horizon.
But when Lord Roger dies unexpectedly, Annabelle is shoved into the glittering world of the royal court and into an arranged marriage that the king believes will save the future of Dunea. Hoping to make the best of her situation, Annabelle attempts to befriend the handsome but taciturn Prince Mica. After all, if they are to be trapped together, why not carve out something like a good and happy life?
But sinister truths are lurking in the shadows of a Dunea that Annabelle has never known. In one night, the aftershocks of a buried past will crack the pretty surface of Annabelle’s world, stripping it of everything Annabelle thought she knew and forcing her to choose between her future and her freedom. As Annabelle runs from her enemies, she will have to rely on friends, both new and old—and an unknown power rising from within her own self—to survive.

Genres: Fantasy

486 pages, Paperback

Published November 1, 2023

About the author

Annie Westphal is an author, award-winning translator, and fairy tale scholar. Annabelle is her debut novel (and COVID baby). Book two in the series, The Lost Princess, is slated for release Summer 2024.

Reviews

[Emiliya · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have very mixed feelings about this book - I did not hate it, otherwise I would've DNF it but I didn't love it either. It is a very, very slowly developing story! The word 'magic' is not even mentioned until about 47-48% into the book, I started questioning what exactly am I reading?? Characters and world were ok, altho more often than not, Annabelle was re/acting like a spoilt little girl, it could get a bit annoying. Throughout the story sometimes things just happen - not much explanation as to how exactly, they just did, I guess to serve the plot in the direction the author intended. And not much actually happens in the book other than travelling a lot :D I didn't have much more clarity of what's happening in Dunea when I finished the book compared to when I started it. All in all, it's alright. If I don't forget I've read this book by the time the second one in the series is out, I might give it a go. And I hope the average performance of this first book is purely because it had to lay the foundation for an amazing sequel!

[Destinie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Promising novel, with an average execution. I assume it is meant to lead to a sequel otherwise I would give it 2 stars. I’m a huge fan of authors who self publish books, but this felt like a book where the author really would have benefited from the feedback of a professional publisher. I would also suggest that the author find a better editor as there were a lot of errors that should have been found during a proofreading. The number and type of errors took away from the story and cause a lot of frustration while reading. Final note is that approximately 2/3 of the way through I suddenly felt like the writer was using AI to fill in some of the story which was upsetting. If it wasn’t AI, then again, a better editor or second editor would be recommended to improve the clunky writing style that popped up midway through the story. I didn’t hate the story, but it’s probably not one I will remember or recommend.

[Heather Ashley · Rating 1 out of 5]

The cover art is beautiful ... DNF at chapter 6....I like self published authors..but..... the author could do with some feedback before publishing. I think if its rewritten it could have some promise...but honestly the book is slow. And the author kind of just info dumps in the first few chapters. It was really hard to follow along. Its like the author was trying to start the book in the middle of a conversation, and then continually give backstory, and talk round about. Its too much info. It didnt let the story flow naturally. So I was bored and DNF. Props to anyone that can finish this book.

[Ana Abreu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Queen Witch, I can dig that! I'm hoping she comes for everything that is hers in the second book.

[Bex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story that was a mix of emotions! The good kind of highs and lows, with great character development. Very excited to see what happens in a sequel!