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A Tale of Two Crowns #1
The Sun Blessed Prince
On a hotly-contested battlefield, a prince whose touch creates life meets a soldier chosen by death. But can they forge a future together, from opposite sides of a great war?
A lyrical and character-driven queer fantasy for those who loved She Who Became the Sun, The Song of Achilles and Sistersong.
Prince Elician is a Giver – a closely-guarded secret. He can heal any wound and bring the dead back to life. He also can’t be killed, so is cursed to watch his country wage an endless war. Reapers can kill with a single touch. And when one attacks Prince Elician near a hotly contested battlefield, the Reaper expects a terrible punishment. Instead, Elician offers him a new life on enemy territory.
Cat, as Elician calls him, hadn’t realized he could ever find someone who would make life worth living. Yet Elician’s enemies plan to turn his kindness against him. As the pieces of a deadly plot come together, tensions escalate at court and on the battlefield. The fires of conflict burst into new flame – but can those who wield the powers of life and death find peace?
A powerful and richly-imagined tale from a bold new voice in fantasy fiction, Lindsey Byrd's The Sun Blessed Prince is a sweeping, enemies-to-lovers, found-family adventure.
A lyrical and character-driven queer fantasy for those who loved She Who Became the Sun, The Song of Achilles and Sistersong.
Prince Elician is a Giver – a closely-guarded secret. He can heal any wound and bring the dead back to life. He also can’t be killed, so is cursed to watch his country wage an endless war. Reapers can kill with a single touch. And when one attacks Prince Elician near a hotly contested battlefield, the Reaper expects a terrible punishment. Instead, Elician offers him a new life on enemy territory.
Cat, as Elician calls him, hadn’t realized he could ever find someone who would make life worth living. Yet Elician’s enemies plan to turn his kindness against him. As the pieces of a deadly plot come together, tensions escalate at court and on the battlefield. The fires of conflict burst into new flame – but can those who wield the powers of life and death find peace?
A powerful and richly-imagined tale from a bold new voice in fantasy fiction, Lindsey Byrd's The Sun Blessed Prince is a sweeping, enemies-to-lovers, found-family adventure.
432 pages, Paperback
First published May 6, 2025
62 people are currently reading
3533 people want to read
About the author
Lindsey Byrd
3 books37 followersLindsey began writing stories at a young age, enjoying the escapism of fantasy worlds where anything could happen. When she writes, she focuses on creating complex characters who are neither perfectly good or bad.
She grew up in New York, but moved to Europe to complete her doctoral studies in History. She uses a pen-name to keep her academic publications separate from her fiction work, but her pen-name does have personal meaning.
When she was a child, her mother asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up. Lindsey responded: "A Bird," and so this name helps make that dream come true.
Shy by nature, Lindsey does not spend much time on social media. Instead, she can be found taking long walks and looking for new birds to add to Merlin ID.
She grew up in New York, but moved to Europe to complete her doctoral studies in History. She uses a pen-name to keep her academic publications separate from her fiction work, but her pen-name does have personal meaning.
When she was a child, her mother asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up. Lindsey responded: "A Bird," and so this name helps make that dream come true.
Shy by nature, Lindsey does not spend much time on social media. Instead, she can be found taking long walks and looking for new birds to add to Merlin ID.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 135 reviews
February 24, 2025
I went in with high expectations and was sadly disappointed by The Sun Blessed Prince.
There was potential and I liked the idea of some of what the book was trying to do, but it was a struggle to get through it.
Apart from smaller things I didn't care for (eg using "fuck" in fantasy feels off and I didn't need the description of pooping in a bucket) I had 3 major issues:
First of all, it's sold as an adult fantasy romance which I would argue is wrong.
I'd call it YA fantasy with a smidge of romance.
The book reads like YA, and about half the chapters are from the POV of a 14-year-old girl.
The stakes felt too low most of the book since anyone who dies can easily be resurrected. There was also only very little romance.
Further, TSBP is comped to The Song of Achilles and Captive Prince which feels like a mistake and sets the bar too high for what The Sun Blessed Prince delivers.
Second, the names are way too alike and make it hard to follow what's happening as you inevitably mix them up.
We've got:
Alelune
Alerae
Alest
Altas
Anslian
Adalei
Aliamon
Alenée
&
Elena
Eline
Elician
- all are key people and places in the book, and it made my head hurt.
While I would've thought an editor would've caught this already, I did read an ARC so there's still time to change names to make the book more readable.
Third, the pacing was off, and I was promised MM romance and instead half the book was a 14-year-old girl throwing tantrums in her POV chapters. Her chapters didn't add a lot to the book and instead took away from more interesting plot points.
The two male MCs, Elician and Cat, spent a few weeks together and were then separated for years. It's hard to buy that their initial fascination with each other would've lasted. Elician had much more chemistry with his best friend Lio who he spent almost the entire book with, while Cat spent two years with Elician's teen sister.
All in all, I thought The Sun Blessed Prince sounded perfectly aligned with my interests but the reality of it didn't work for me.
Thank you to Pan Macmillan for providing me with an ARC.
There was potential and I liked the idea of some of what the book was trying to do, but it was a struggle to get through it.
Apart from smaller things I didn't care for (eg using "fuck" in fantasy feels off and I didn't need the description of pooping in a bucket) I had 3 major issues:
First of all, it's sold as an adult fantasy romance which I would argue is wrong.
I'd call it YA fantasy with a smidge of romance.
The book reads like YA, and about half the chapters are from the POV of a 14-year-old girl.
The stakes felt too low most of the book since anyone who dies can easily be resurrected. There was also only very little romance.
Further, TSBP is comped to The Song of Achilles and Captive Prince which feels like a mistake and sets the bar too high for what The Sun Blessed Prince delivers.
Second, the names are way too alike and make it hard to follow what's happening as you inevitably mix them up.
We've got:
Alelune
Alerae
Alest
Altas
Anslian
Adalei
Aliamon
Alenée
&
Elena
Eline
Elician
- all are key people and places in the book, and it made my head hurt.
While I would've thought an editor would've caught this already, I did read an ARC so there's still time to change names to make the book more readable.
Third, the pacing was off, and I was promised MM romance and instead half the book was a 14-year-old girl throwing tantrums in her POV chapters. Her chapters didn't add a lot to the book and instead took away from more interesting plot points.
The two male MCs, Elician and Cat, spent a few weeks together and were then separated for years. It's hard to buy that their initial fascination with each other would've lasted. Elician had much more chemistry with his best friend Lio who he spent almost the entire book with, while Cat spent two years with Elician's teen sister.
All in all, I thought The Sun Blessed Prince sounded perfectly aligned with my interests but the reality of it didn't work for me.
Thank you to Pan Macmillan for providing me with an ARC.
April 20, 2025
Really excellent political/ epic fantasy with the slowest, *softest* slow burn queer romantic subplot that has me just !!!! for the sequel!
April 28, 2025
3.5 stars
When I read the synopsis to the Sun Blessed Prince, I was instantly captivated by the premise and to the author’s credit, I had so much love for the main characters and really enjoyed the first 40% of the story before the plot began to veer in a direction that didn’t quite hit the mark for me and left me feeling frustrated yet dying to read the sequel because of how the book ended.
Before I start venting, I absolutely LOVED our main characters: Elician, Cat, Lio and Fen. They were all so different yet equally likeable and I would have given the book 4 stars for them alone. Elician, our MMC, blessed with the powers of life, is just like the sun. He has an endless kindness to him that extends to his friends and his people as crown prince, and has a strong sense of self righteousness that shines throughout the novel. I adored Cat too who was on the more socially awkward and shy side yet equally as kind. Though imbued with the powers of death, Cat, like Elician, only wants peace and for both their kingdoms to be united. I can see why many people found Fen annoying, but personally I thought the way she was written was appropriate for her age. Fen is stubborn and headstrong, but it comes from a place of good intentions. She’s appropriately naive for her age and makes mistakes and I did enjoy her POV chapters and believe she’ll have a more prominent role in the sequel as I see the potential for growth for her character. But I think Lio had to be my favorite character in the novel with his undying loyalty to Elician as his best friend and brother in arms, but also just how funny he was. Poor Lio went through it this novel and I was just stressing for him each time.
Unfortunately, the romance was a double edged sword for me. I loved what we were given, but I craved more out of it. The synopsis was very misleading and the romance was very minimal, feeling more like a subplot in the story and overpowered by politics that were too convoluted. Nonetheless, the scenes between Elician and Cat were everything and I savored it all. The slow burn, pining and yearning was everything, and it absolutely killed me because it was too little! I need more PLEASE. I feel like a starving woman.
I also really loved the relationship Elician had with Lio. I do think Elician has more screen time with Lio than Cat, but I still really enjoyed their bromance and I’ll genuinely cry if anything happens to both of them. I also enjoyed the slow building friendship between Cat and Fen. The found family really is so wholesome and the character-driven plot really was the strongest element to the novel.
Unfortunately, my main grievance with the novel was that it began to drag for me towards the 40% mark and I found myself enjoying it less as it went on because of the direction the narrative was taken. The novel started off on the slower, cozier side and I didn’t mind at first since I enjoyed the interactions between the main characters. The politics were easy to follow, but became too convoluted with too many characters suddenly involved in the second half. I struggled to follow along and the fact that everyone was named so similarly only added to my frustrations with the novel. I wasn’t a fan of how the romance was shoved aside for the politics and I deeply missed the interactions between Elician and Cat.
Praying for more Elician and Cat in the sequel because of that ending!
Thank you NetGalley, Pan Macmillan and Tor for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.
When I read the synopsis to the Sun Blessed Prince, I was instantly captivated by the premise and to the author’s credit, I had so much love for the main characters and really enjoyed the first 40% of the story before the plot began to veer in a direction that didn’t quite hit the mark for me and left me feeling frustrated yet dying to read the sequel because of how the book ended.
Before I start venting, I absolutely LOVED our main characters: Elician, Cat, Lio and Fen. They were all so different yet equally likeable and I would have given the book 4 stars for them alone. Elician, our MMC, blessed with the powers of life, is just like the sun. He has an endless kindness to him that extends to his friends and his people as crown prince, and has a strong sense of self righteousness that shines throughout the novel. I adored Cat too who was on the more socially awkward and shy side yet equally as kind. Though imbued with the powers of death, Cat, like Elician, only wants peace and for both their kingdoms to be united. I can see why many people found Fen annoying, but personally I thought the way she was written was appropriate for her age. Fen is stubborn and headstrong, but it comes from a place of good intentions. She’s appropriately naive for her age and makes mistakes and I did enjoy her POV chapters and believe she’ll have a more prominent role in the sequel as I see the potential for growth for her character. But I think Lio had to be my favorite character in the novel with his undying loyalty to Elician as his best friend and brother in arms, but also just how funny he was. Poor Lio went through it this novel and I was just stressing for him each time.
Unfortunately, the romance was a double edged sword for me. I loved what we were given, but I craved more out of it. The synopsis was very misleading and the romance was very minimal, feeling more like a subplot in the story and overpowered by politics that were too convoluted. Nonetheless, the scenes between Elician and Cat were everything and I savored it all. The slow burn, pining and yearning was everything, and it absolutely killed me because it was too little! I need more PLEASE. I feel like a starving woman.
I also really loved the relationship Elician had with Lio. I do think Elician has more screen time with Lio than Cat, but I still really enjoyed their bromance and I’ll genuinely cry if anything happens to both of them. I also enjoyed the slow building friendship between Cat and Fen. The found family really is so wholesome and the character-driven plot really was the strongest element to the novel.
Unfortunately, my main grievance with the novel was that it began to drag for me towards the 40% mark and I found myself enjoying it less as it went on because of the direction the narrative was taken. The novel started off on the slower, cozier side and I didn’t mind at first since I enjoyed the interactions between the main characters. The politics were easy to follow, but became too convoluted with too many characters suddenly involved in the second half. I struggled to follow along and the fact that everyone was named so similarly only added to my frustrations with the novel. I wasn’t a fan of how the romance was shoved aside for the politics and I deeply missed the interactions between Elician and Cat.
Praying for more Elician and Cat in the sequel because of that ending!
Thank you NetGalley, Pan Macmillan and Tor for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.
April 28, 2025
The author "warned" me on TikTok that this is a slow burn romance, and I think more people needed to know this before diving into the book! This isn't a romantasy! It's a fantasy book that has a romance sub-plot, and the difference is a big one if you've got preferences in this category. Luckily for me, I prefer my romance to be a sub-plot, and I adored this book!
A queer epic fantasy with royalty, god-blessed people with life and death powers, two countries at war with complex politics. What else could you need in a fantasy book?! Throughout this book there are kidnappings, attempts at regicide, magic training lessons, and a little bit of torture.
The world-building was absolutely fantastic, the injustice that is face by those god-blessed in both countries is on very different levels but is still unfair, and the politics is weaving and complex and I enjoy that whilst these children are necessarily caught up in it (one of our main characters is next in line to the throne) the adults are doing a lot without their knowledge which impacts their next steps.
The relationships in this book are fantastic. As I mentioned at the top there is a slowwww burn M/M romance and I loved seeing this develop as they learn more about each other and realise their feelings. But the platonic relationships are fantastic too, with a best friendship that dreams are made from and a little sister that it so relatably annoying but she grows over the course of the novel.
I'm so excited to carry on with this series cause I need more from this world and these characters! Thank you to BookBreak for sending me an ARC of this book.
A queer epic fantasy with royalty, god-blessed people with life and death powers, two countries at war with complex politics. What else could you need in a fantasy book?! Throughout this book there are kidnappings, attempts at regicide, magic training lessons, and a little bit of torture.
The world-building was absolutely fantastic, the injustice that is face by those god-blessed in both countries is on very different levels but is still unfair, and the politics is weaving and complex and I enjoy that whilst these children are necessarily caught up in it (one of our main characters is next in line to the throne) the adults are doing a lot without their knowledge which impacts their next steps.
The relationships in this book are fantastic. As I mentioned at the top there is a slowwww burn M/M romance and I loved seeing this develop as they learn more about each other and realise their feelings. But the platonic relationships are fantastic too, with a best friendship that dreams are made from and a little sister that it so relatably annoying but she grows over the course of the novel.
I'm so excited to carry on with this series cause I need more from this world and these characters! Thank you to BookBreak for sending me an ARC of this book.
March 10, 2025
Thanks to Pan MacMillan and NetGalley for this ARC.
This one had so much potential. I was ready to love this book based solely on the blurb alone. I was ready to fall in love with the romance, watching two characters forge peace between their warring countries. I loved the idea of givers and reapers, the sun and moon imagery, the life and death struggle.
Unfortunately, this book fell short of every expectation I had.
The pacing in this book was off. There was a lot of strange time skips, and it kept jumping all over the place. It was so hard to tell how much time had passed. There are long chapters where nothing happens, and then a sudden time skip.
This book had 37 chapters. 14 of them were dedicated to the POV of a teenage girl who is not mentioned in the blurb of this book. I was promised a queer romance book and instead I got almost half the chapters dedicated to a teenage girl who's chapters don't necessarily have anything to add to the story. In fact, I feel her chapters took time away from some of the more interesting plot points.
The two main characters, Cat and Elician, spent a few weeks together before being separated for at least a year if not more (again, it's hard to tell because of the bad pacing), before being reunited. Elician left Cat in chapter 11. In chapter 37 they reunite but don't speak. In chapter 38, the final chapter, they talk and essentially promise to support each other while trying to create peace. First, you cannot compare this book to some of the biggest queer books in this genre and then have the main characters be separated for most of the book with absolutely no development in their relationship. Second, we spent more time with the teenage girl than we did with the actual couple this book is supposed to be about!
Normally, the lack of romance wouldn't typically bother me, but this book has been compared to other queer fantasy which are heavy on the romance. I really would've preferred this book to focus on developing Cat and Elician's relationship, I think I read the blurb and was excited for a queer romance, and instead I got this. I think this book has been poorly marketed, as this book is not an adult book. It's young adult - again, almost half the chapters are from the POV of a teenage girl.
There were promising elements - the magic system. the moral dilemmas surrounding it. The worldbuilding was decent. I found Elician to be a kind sweet character. But ultimately I don't think this is the book for me.
This one had so much potential. I was ready to love this book based solely on the blurb alone. I was ready to fall in love with the romance, watching two characters forge peace between their warring countries. I loved the idea of givers and reapers, the sun and moon imagery, the life and death struggle.
Unfortunately, this book fell short of every expectation I had.
The pacing in this book was off. There was a lot of strange time skips, and it kept jumping all over the place. It was so hard to tell how much time had passed. There are long chapters where nothing happens, and then a sudden time skip.
This book had 37 chapters. 14 of them were dedicated to the POV of a teenage girl who is not mentioned in the blurb of this book. I was promised a queer romance book and instead I got almost half the chapters dedicated to a teenage girl who's chapters don't necessarily have anything to add to the story. In fact, I feel her chapters took time away from some of the more interesting plot points.
The two main characters, Cat and Elician, spent a few weeks together before being separated for at least a year if not more (again, it's hard to tell because of the bad pacing), before being reunited. Elician left Cat in chapter 11. In chapter 37 they reunite but don't speak. In chapter 38, the final chapter, they talk and essentially promise to support each other while trying to create peace. First, you cannot compare this book to some of the biggest queer books in this genre and then have the main characters be separated for most of the book with absolutely no development in their relationship. Second, we spent more time with the teenage girl than we did with the actual couple this book is supposed to be about!
Normally, the lack of romance wouldn't typically bother me, but this book has been compared to other queer fantasy which are heavy on the romance. I really would've preferred this book to focus on developing Cat and Elician's relationship, I think I read the blurb and was excited for a queer romance, and instead I got this. I think this book has been poorly marketed, as this book is not an adult book. It's young adult - again, almost half the chapters are from the POV of a teenage girl.
There were promising elements - the magic system. the moral dilemmas surrounding it. The worldbuilding was decent. I found Elician to be a kind sweet character. But ultimately I don't think this is the book for me.
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March 26, 2025I just have one thing to say. Sometimes, a premise is so strong that a book immediately lands on my most anticipated list. And when the cover matches the premise, my excitement skyrockets. But sometimes, it also takes a nosedive and crashes to the ground. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what happened when I started reading this book. So, I decided to DNF.
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October 9, 202530% in and I do not like the writing style nor do I find any of the characters compelling. Also, this is an adult fantasy and yet there's chapters from the pov of a 14 year old with even worse juvenile writing than the rest of the book. I can't go on
May 30, 2025
*I received an audio copy of this book via the Libro.fm ALC program. This has not influenced my review.*
You know how sometimes you start a book and immediately think to yourself, “Oh, this author can write”? This was one of those books for me. It wasn’t flowery, I didn’t feel the urge to save a million quotes, but it was fantastic in that way that sucks you in and embodies the characters and flows flawlessly and is really pleasant to read (or listen to).
Speaking of which, this was also a case of, “Oh, this audiobook narrator can talk,” or whatever the equivalent is, because he (Joe Jameson) was fantastic too. (Fun Fact, I knew he sounded familiar, and it turns out he voices some NPCs in BG3.) I really enjoyed his voice and his performance. It sounded natural, and characters had some different accents and different enough voices.
The characters were great too. Both main characters, Elician and Cat, were interesting and easy to like. I didn’t like Fen’s POV at first, but it was a great example of how a biased person can learn and grow and change. (I’m still not entirely sure why we needed so much of her POV though, unless it was to learn more about the giver and reaper powers, but we probably could’ve gotten that from Cat.) I loved Marina and Adelai, they were both so shrewd and competent and fierce but also doing their best to be kind, I think. There was another character who, at one point, the way he was being described, I was like, “No, the author is not going to make me feel sorry for him after what he did,” and then ten minutes later I was tearing up over him. And Lio! I loved Lio so much. And I felt for him more than anyone. Tbf, the reapers in the cells, including Cat, suffered just as much in their lives, if not more. But Lio was just so good and wholesome and a sweetheart. (Sorry if I butchered these names, I tried to look at other reviews to find how they’re spelled.)
This book revolves a lot around life and death, with magic to heal/resurrect and magic to kill, Life and Death as gods, etc. And I appreciated its somewhat unique perspective on life and death. I think about these things a lot, having health problems will put them on your mind, and I liked that this book didn’t portray them as black and white. Reapers and death weren’t portrayed as all bad. Givers and life weren’t portrayed as all good. I don’t agree with every belief of every character in the book, but it was interesting to get these different perspectives.
The main thing keeping this from being rated higher for me is that it got a bit slow at times and was somewhat oddly paced with a period in which not much really happened and there were some time skips. It still kept my attention well enough though.
Another thing, the description made me think this would be more of a romance, but the two characters didn’t spend much page-time together, and the romance is really more hinted at than actually happening in this book. Which is fine because I realize now it is a duology, so maybe we can see them together more in the next book. I can understand why they’re drawn to each other, just need a little more to feel the feelings more.
One last small complaint, too many names that started with A and E and sounded similar.
Overall, I really enjoyed this! The writing was wonderful, the characters felt real, and the magic and world were interesting, and I’m looking forward to the next book.
*Rating: 4 Stars // Read Date: 2025 // Format: Audiobook*
Recommended For:
Anyone who likes high fantasy, political plots, queer characters, healing and killing magic, really sweet close friendship, and writing that pulls you in.
Original Review @ Metaphors and Moonlight
You know how sometimes you start a book and immediately think to yourself, “Oh, this author can write”? This was one of those books for me. It wasn’t flowery, I didn’t feel the urge to save a million quotes, but it was fantastic in that way that sucks you in and embodies the characters and flows flawlessly and is really pleasant to read (or listen to).
Speaking of which, this was also a case of, “Oh, this audiobook narrator can talk,” or whatever the equivalent is, because he (Joe Jameson) was fantastic too. (Fun Fact, I knew he sounded familiar, and it turns out he voices some NPCs in BG3.) I really enjoyed his voice and his performance. It sounded natural, and characters had some different accents and different enough voices.
The characters were great too. Both main characters, Elician and Cat, were interesting and easy to like. I didn’t like Fen’s POV at first, but it was a great example of how a biased person can learn and grow and change. (I’m still not entirely sure why we needed so much of her POV though, unless it was to learn more about the giver and reaper powers, but we probably could’ve gotten that from Cat.) I loved Marina and Adelai, they were both so shrewd and competent and fierce but also doing their best to be kind, I think. There was another character who, at one point, the way he was being described, I was like, “No, the author is not going to make me feel sorry for him after what he did,” and then ten minutes later I was tearing up over him. And Lio! I loved Lio so much. And I felt for him more than anyone. Tbf, the reapers in the cells, including Cat, suffered just as much in their lives, if not more. But Lio was just so good and wholesome and a sweetheart. (Sorry if I butchered these names, I tried to look at other reviews to find how they’re spelled.)
This book revolves a lot around life and death, with magic to heal/resurrect and magic to kill, Life and Death as gods, etc. And I appreciated its somewhat unique perspective on life and death. I think about these things a lot, having health problems will put them on your mind, and I liked that this book didn’t portray them as black and white. Reapers and death weren’t portrayed as all bad. Givers and life weren’t portrayed as all good. I don’t agree with every belief of every character in the book, but it was interesting to get these different perspectives.
The main thing keeping this from being rated higher for me is that it got a bit slow at times and was somewhat oddly paced with a period in which not much really happened and there were some time skips. It still kept my attention well enough though.
Another thing, the description made me think this would be more of a romance, but the two characters didn’t spend much page-time together, and the romance is really more hinted at than actually happening in this book. Which is fine because I realize now it is a duology, so maybe we can see them together more in the next book. I can understand why they’re drawn to each other, just need a little more to feel the feelings more.
One last small complaint, too many names that started with A and E and sounded similar.
Overall, I really enjoyed this! The writing was wonderful, the characters felt real, and the magic and world were interesting, and I’m looking forward to the next book.
*Rating: 4 Stars // Read Date: 2025 // Format: Audiobook*
Recommended For:
Anyone who likes high fantasy, political plots, queer characters, healing and killing magic, really sweet close friendship, and writing that pulls you in.
Original Review @ Metaphors and Moonlight
July 24, 2025
Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher Pan Macmillan/Tor for the digital ARC, it hasn’t affected my honest review.
TW: death, war, violence, abuse, torture, trauma, references to self harm
On a bloody battlefield, two nations fight for the ownership of a sacred river. Prince Elician, the heir to the throne, is a Giver- capable of healing any wound and reviving the dead but he also can’t be killed. This must remain a closely hidden secret, because Givers are never supposed to be on a battlefield or to reign. In the midst of this war, a Reaper- an assassin from the opposite side who can kill with a single touch- reaches Elician, but fails in his mission. The Reaper knows if he returns home he’ll be slaughtered by his people and is shocked when Elician offers him a new life in enemy territory. Taking the name that Elician calls him, Cat never realised that he could ever experience kindness from anyone, let alone the prince of his enemy. However, Elician’s kindness is about to be taken advantage of and as a deadly plot comes together in battle and at court, new conflicts break out. Caught up in the middle, capable of giving life and death, Elician and Cat have to try to find some semblance of peace as everything tries to drive them apart. At the same time, we follow Elician’s teenage adopted sister Fen as she attempts to understand why magic works the way it does, why she thinks a certain way and how to challenge these biases.
I loved this book from the first page and the way it pulls you into a war torn, bloody battlefield that gradually leads into some of the best political fantasy I’ve read. The queer very slow burn between Cat and Elician is definitely a highlight but it isn’t the main focus; I expect there’ll be more of this in the sequel. It’s beautifully written, brutal and raw but with some of the best character work I’ve seen as Cat, Elician and Fen navigate a complicated and deadly world. I clicked with Cat straight away, especially as he’s forced to reconcile his life back home with the one being offered by Elician. I loved how Fen is forced to confront all her biases and learn to be better, especially because she’s been raised to view Reapers as monsters. The things Elician goes through in ‘The Sun Blessed Prince’ are rough to read, he’s emphasised as being so consistently kind and good hearted, but I came out of it just loving him more. This is a complex, slow burn and violent book, following a society burdened by an excess of rules around life and death, with a perfectly building plot. Around the halfway point I nearly screamed as I realised the significance of one of the characters. Having patience with the characters and the plot is definitely worth it. I’m a huge fan of books where there’s a wide arching conspiracy set in the centre of royal courts and ‘The Sun Blessed Prince’ did this brilliantly. I can’t wait for the sequel.
TW: death, war, violence, abuse, torture, trauma, references to self harm
On a bloody battlefield, two nations fight for the ownership of a sacred river. Prince Elician, the heir to the throne, is a Giver- capable of healing any wound and reviving the dead but he also can’t be killed. This must remain a closely hidden secret, because Givers are never supposed to be on a battlefield or to reign. In the midst of this war, a Reaper- an assassin from the opposite side who can kill with a single touch- reaches Elician, but fails in his mission. The Reaper knows if he returns home he’ll be slaughtered by his people and is shocked when Elician offers him a new life in enemy territory. Taking the name that Elician calls him, Cat never realised that he could ever experience kindness from anyone, let alone the prince of his enemy. However, Elician’s kindness is about to be taken advantage of and as a deadly plot comes together in battle and at court, new conflicts break out. Caught up in the middle, capable of giving life and death, Elician and Cat have to try to find some semblance of peace as everything tries to drive them apart. At the same time, we follow Elician’s teenage adopted sister Fen as she attempts to understand why magic works the way it does, why she thinks a certain way and how to challenge these biases.
I loved this book from the first page and the way it pulls you into a war torn, bloody battlefield that gradually leads into some of the best political fantasy I’ve read. The queer very slow burn between Cat and Elician is definitely a highlight but it isn’t the main focus; I expect there’ll be more of this in the sequel. It’s beautifully written, brutal and raw but with some of the best character work I’ve seen as Cat, Elician and Fen navigate a complicated and deadly world. I clicked with Cat straight away, especially as he’s forced to reconcile his life back home with the one being offered by Elician. I loved how Fen is forced to confront all her biases and learn to be better, especially because she’s been raised to view Reapers as monsters. The things Elician goes through in ‘The Sun Blessed Prince’ are rough to read, he’s emphasised as being so consistently kind and good hearted, but I came out of it just loving him more. This is a complex, slow burn and violent book, following a society burdened by an excess of rules around life and death, with a perfectly building plot. Around the halfway point I nearly screamed as I realised the significance of one of the characters. Having patience with the characters and the plot is definitely worth it. I’m a huge fan of books where there’s a wide arching conspiracy set in the centre of royal courts and ‘The Sun Blessed Prince’ did this brilliantly. I can’t wait for the sequel.
October 25, 2025
Took a while to get into it (slow plot), but enjoyed everything about this book! 🔥🔥🔥
August 7, 2025
An absolutely GORGEOUS book with complex characters and swelling emotions!!! My heart nearly leaped out of its chest multiple times ajdgsjsh I cannot WAIT for the next book!!!
July 2, 2025
A delicious slow burn meal, thank you for the food 😌
It had everything i like in a fantasy, too - detailed world building, politics surrounding magic, and a deep seated conflict. very curious to see how these characters handle their futures and the hands they’ve been dealt
It had everything i like in a fantasy, too - detailed world building, politics surrounding magic, and a deep seated conflict. very curious to see how these characters handle their futures and the hands they’ve been dealt
April 9, 2025
Ahhhhh I really liked this one!! A queer historical epic fantasy with god-blessed people who can either heal or can cause death with a single touch, two countries at war for all of recorded history, a queer-normative world and a complex political plot - such a vibe!
This book had echoes of ‘The Scottish Boy’, but with ‘magic’. Elician is the crown prince of Soleb, and is a Giver - he has powers that mean he can heal himself and others and will never age or die. But it’s a secret - the royal family cannot have these powers, so he had to hide who he is. After a battle, Elician finds a terrified, emaciated man at the edge of the bloody battle field… a Reaper, someone who can kill with a single touch. Fearing that the man will be tortured, Elician takes him to a sanctuary for Givers and Reapers, bonding with the taciturn and traumatised man, who he names Cat, on the road.
Over the plot of the book there are kidnappings, plans of regicide and a whole lot of science lessons - told from the POVs of Cat, Elician and Elician’s little sister, Fen, also a Giver, as they all learn to control their powers and find their way in the political turmoil of war raging around them.
The vibes in this book were immaculate; I loved the world-building, the injustice that both Givers and Reapers have to face, the characters and the political scheming. I will say that although there is a queer romance in this book, it’s definitely not the main plot line, so don’t go in expecting it to be front and centre (thanks to my friend Ditte for warning me about this - it definitely managed my expectations and helped me enjoy it more!). The politics and the world definitely are more prominent here.
The reason this loses a star for me is twofold; half a star is lost because of the strange flicks from third person (which 99.9% of the book is in) to the random first person phrases peppered throughout. Were these missed in editing? Are they on purpose for a reason I don’t understand? Very odd. Secondly half a star lost because I quite simply wanted to see more of Cat and Elician together at the end!! They spend most of the book apart and although I was prepared for that and it didn’t lessen my enjoyment overall, I wanted to see more of them being happy at the end!
Overall a great read and one I really enjoyed and would recommend!
Read The Sun Blessed Prince for:
✨ Queer Historical Epic Fantasy
✨ People with powers to heal or kill
✨ Queer normative world
✨ Political machinations
✨ Two countries at perpetual war
✨ Learning to master your abilities
✨ MM Romance as a subplot
✨ Lio and Elician are BFF goals
Thanks so much to the good folks at Tor for allowing me to read an eARC of this book via NetGalley! It’s available on the 1st May 💕
This book had echoes of ‘The Scottish Boy’, but with ‘magic’. Elician is the crown prince of Soleb, and is a Giver - he has powers that mean he can heal himself and others and will never age or die. But it’s a secret - the royal family cannot have these powers, so he had to hide who he is. After a battle, Elician finds a terrified, emaciated man at the edge of the bloody battle field… a Reaper, someone who can kill with a single touch. Fearing that the man will be tortured, Elician takes him to a sanctuary for Givers and Reapers, bonding with the taciturn and traumatised man, who he names Cat, on the road.
Over the plot of the book there are kidnappings, plans of regicide and a whole lot of science lessons - told from the POVs of Cat, Elician and Elician’s little sister, Fen, also a Giver, as they all learn to control their powers and find their way in the political turmoil of war raging around them.
The vibes in this book were immaculate; I loved the world-building, the injustice that both Givers and Reapers have to face, the characters and the political scheming. I will say that although there is a queer romance in this book, it’s definitely not the main plot line, so don’t go in expecting it to be front and centre (thanks to my friend Ditte for warning me about this - it definitely managed my expectations and helped me enjoy it more!). The politics and the world definitely are more prominent here.
The reason this loses a star for me is twofold; half a star is lost because of the strange flicks from third person (which 99.9% of the book is in) to the random first person phrases peppered throughout. Were these missed in editing? Are they on purpose for a reason I don’t understand? Very odd. Secondly half a star lost because I quite simply wanted to see more of Cat and Elician together at the end!! They spend most of the book apart and although I was prepared for that and it didn’t lessen my enjoyment overall, I wanted to see more of them being happy at the end!
Overall a great read and one I really enjoyed and would recommend!
Read The Sun Blessed Prince for:
✨ Queer Historical Epic Fantasy
✨ People with powers to heal or kill
✨ Queer normative world
✨ Political machinations
✨ Two countries at perpetual war
✨ Learning to master your abilities
✨ MM Romance as a subplot
✨ Lio and Elician are BFF goals
Thanks so much to the good folks at Tor for allowing me to read an eARC of this book via NetGalley! It’s available on the 1st May 💕
April 5, 2025
I never really feel any desire to annotate or tab the books I read. It’s just not the type of reader I am. However, this book has a secret with little hints sprinkled throughout culminating in a big reveal around the halfway point. Within the first third I had developed a theory and I was so invested in it I grabbed a set of tabs and went back to find the little pieces that were pinging in my brain. For this alone I felt like I had to give it five stars.
With that said I can fully see how this will not be a book for everyone. I’ve seen a few other reviews dissatisfied with Fen and her POV chapters. I want to them to know in the beginning I was right there with them. I didn’t care about Fen I wanted to get back to Elician and Cat. However, as she’s forced to confront her biases and work with Cat I really grew to love her as a character. I think she serves a role as someone who has an important role but is made to be an outsider by the powerful rulers machinations where as Elician and Cat are so entrenched as players in the various schemes happening within this book. I’m also so curious about her arc in the next book. There’s some important facts we as readers learn that I think could have major repercussions for Fen and her relationship with other characters.
I don’t even know how to talk about Elician and Cat. They are the perfect set up of two people who on the surface are perfect opposites of each other. The Giver who can heal and resurrect and the Reaper who can kill and destroy. One a beloved prince the other an abandoned child turned assassin. On a deeper level they’re both two soft boys searching for a real connection in the world. Despite all they’ve seen they remain so earnestly naive and hopeful for the future.
The side characters were also so good! I loved Lio and Adalei, couple goals. Marina and Zinnitzia really crept up on me I was not prepared to become as invested in them as I was at the end If you’re looking for a (very) slow burn political intrigue filled fantasy I highly recommend picking this one up.
With that said I can fully see how this will not be a book for everyone. I’ve seen a few other reviews dissatisfied with Fen and her POV chapters. I want to them to know in the beginning I was right there with them. I didn’t care about Fen I wanted to get back to Elician and Cat. However, as she’s forced to confront her biases and work with Cat I really grew to love her as a character. I think she serves a role as someone who has an important role but is made to be an outsider by the powerful rulers machinations where as Elician and Cat are so entrenched as players in the various schemes happening within this book. I’m also so curious about her arc in the next book. There’s some important facts we as readers learn that I think could have major repercussions for Fen and her relationship with other characters.
I don’t even know how to talk about Elician and Cat. They are the perfect set up of two people who on the surface are perfect opposites of each other. The Giver who can heal and resurrect and the Reaper who can kill and destroy. One a beloved prince the other an abandoned child turned assassin. On a deeper level they’re both two soft boys searching for a real connection in the world. Despite all they’ve seen they remain so earnestly naive and hopeful for the future.
The side characters were also so good! I loved Lio and Adalei, couple goals. Marina and Zinnitzia really crept up on me I was not prepared to become as invested in them as I was at the end If you’re looking for a (very) slow burn political intrigue filled fantasy I highly recommend picking this one up.
February 2, 2025
2.5*. The concept of this book sounded incredible and I was so excited to read this. There were some promising elements including the magic system, Kreuzfurt, and the moral dilemmas surrounding these. Sadly, most of the book felt to me, for lack of a better term, rather dull. Definitely more YA than adult in my opinion.
Yes, I have no doubt the stakes were meant to be high, but it didn't come across in the writing at all. Deaths were meaningless because (minor spoiler) characters could be brought back, which had no emotional impact on me as a reader. The pacing felt off to me as there would be long chapters where basically nothing happened, then a time skip to several months later. Additionally, I felt that the culmination of the political motives at the end of the book made no sense, because in what was depicted as such a cutthroat political environment, there was absolutely no way anyone would support Elician being king.
Romance played a much smaller part in the book than I expected, which, under any other circumstance I would've enjoyed, but I wish more time had been spent on developing the romance instead of Fenlia's POV chapters, which were arbitrary with no payoff.
I will say, one of the plot points had me gagged, which might have been because I wasn't paying enough attention, but nevertheless was an enjoyable aspect of the story.
Thank you to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for providing a copy of this book for review. All opinions are my own.
Yes, I have no doubt the stakes were meant to be high, but it didn't come across in the writing at all. Deaths were meaningless because (minor spoiler) characters could be brought back, which had no emotional impact on me as a reader. The pacing felt off to me as there would be long chapters where basically nothing happened, then a time skip to several months later. Additionally, I felt that the culmination of the political motives at the end of the book made no sense, because in what was depicted as such a cutthroat political environment, there was absolutely no way anyone would support Elician being king.
Romance played a much smaller part in the book than I expected, which, under any other circumstance I would've enjoyed, but I wish more time had been spent on developing the romance instead of Fenlia's POV chapters, which were arbitrary with no payoff.
I will say, one of the plot points had me gagged, which might have been because I wasn't paying enough attention, but nevertheless was an enjoyable aspect of the story.
Thank you to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for providing a copy of this book for review. All opinions are my own.
August 13, 2025
Mixed feelings! My understanding is that this is the first in a duology, with the second book being released next year, but I really feel it should have just been one book. So much of this first one is exposition and worldbuilding and characters explaining things at each other; it could have been massively condensed for the sake of having a much stronger plot and far more interesting character development and relationships. It was a massive drag to get through at times, there are tons of plot holes around the characters' abilities, as well as things that just don't make any sense, and not very much of it was particularly convincing as fantasy (or in terms of character motivations, honestly), but I am interested enough in the two main characters to probably check out the sequel as a quick one-day holiday read next year. It's a shame, because the premise is fascinating. Hopefully the sequel will be edited a lot more tightly, which will allow the concept to shine through.
May 31, 2025
not really a romance like at all?? lol also the only thing fen contributed to in this book was pissing me off
May 16, 2025
3.5
Ultimately I enjoyed this but it's a bit of an unusual ride.
Structurally, it's an odd one in that the characters we expect to be drawn towards each other spend the majority of the book apart. Somehow, that still works, or just potentially tricks the reader into thinking each next chapter will bring the reunion we've been taught to expect, so you keep reading. There's definitely a fair bit of pacing issues as well as an imbalance of focus on describing details that don't carry the story or the world further while leaving some things too much to the imagination without explanation. However, the writing style is appealing and the world largely intriguing.
This ended up being the book I was spending time with in a period of bereavement and it turned out to be decent company. Most of the story deals directly or thematically with Life and Death, but in ways that felt accessible, not overwhelming or triggering. It was good to have a fantasy space in which to meditate on life and death while dealing with it directly in my own life, but in a way that felt gently harmonious, not so close to the wound that it hurt.
I'd be interested in a follow up book, if anything because it was such a long journey to get where we got only for the book to end with a whoosh of shock because it felt like we'd finally reached the launch point, not the ending. If I can remember a major complaint, it's the way the novel depicts a young character as unquestionably monstrous, with characters and the novel just accepting that this young person was born bad and will remain bad, but no exploration for why/how that could be. I find that a problematically Victorian binary that doesn't resonate with human reality, especially when ascribed to a non-adult. Oversimplification/scapegoating.
[Joe Jameson's beautiful audiobook narration may be the real reason I kept with the book. He elevates much that may not have had much inertia of its own.]
Ultimately I enjoyed this but it's a bit of an unusual ride.
Structurally, it's an odd one in that the characters we expect to be drawn towards each other spend the majority of the book apart. Somehow, that still works, or just potentially tricks the reader into thinking each next chapter will bring the reunion we've been taught to expect, so you keep reading. There's definitely a fair bit of pacing issues as well as an imbalance of focus on describing details that don't carry the story or the world further while leaving some things too much to the imagination without explanation. However, the writing style is appealing and the world largely intriguing.
This ended up being the book I was spending time with in a period of bereavement and it turned out to be decent company. Most of the story deals directly or thematically with Life and Death, but in ways that felt accessible, not overwhelming or triggering. It was good to have a fantasy space in which to meditate on life and death while dealing with it directly in my own life, but in a way that felt gently harmonious, not so close to the wound that it hurt.
I'd be interested in a follow up book, if anything because it was such a long journey to get where we got only for the book to end with a whoosh of shock because it felt like we'd finally reached the launch point, not the ending. If I can remember a major complaint, it's the way the novel depicts a young character as unquestionably monstrous, with characters and the novel just accepting that this young person was born bad and will remain bad, but no exploration for why/how that could be. I find that a problematically Victorian binary that doesn't resonate with human reality, especially when ascribed to a non-adult. Oversimplification/scapegoating.
[Joe Jameson's beautiful audiobook narration may be the real reason I kept with the book. He elevates much that may not have had much inertia of its own.]
December 2, 2025
Queer slow burn with political intrigue and violence. Loved it, actually.
June 25, 2025
3.5 rounded up
some of the worldbuilding was lazy and trying to track the passage of time was insane but likeable big casts of characters will get me every time
some of the worldbuilding was lazy and trying to track the passage of time was insane but likeable big casts of characters will get me every time
December 6, 2025
Anyone who knows me, knows that I do not DNF books very often. I like to Francine Prose’s rule of give a book 50 pages but once you’ve read 100 you’ve gotta finish it. But I never really practice it. So many times I almost put this book down. I found myself soooooo bored by this book. It literally took me three days to finish five pages because I kept falling asleep. There are “good bones” here: the set up of intrigue and warring nations, there are interesting characters that just need better development (a lot more showing than telling would be nice), and a plot line that is interesting but takes time jumps that just take you out of any momentum you had to start with.
This is definitely not the worst book I have ever read, not even close. It just never really pulled me in. Part of me wonders if it’s on me, that I read this book at a particularly busy time of my life and expected more escapism from it. Me being exhausted could be more the cause of my snoozing through this book. I’m willing to give the follow up to this book a chance. But goodness knows I’m in no hurry.
This is definitely not the worst book I have ever read, not even close. It just never really pulled me in. Part of me wonders if it’s on me, that I read this book at a particularly busy time of my life and expected more escapism from it. Me being exhausted could be more the cause of my snoozing through this book. I’m willing to give the follow up to this book a chance. But goodness knows I’m in no hurry.
May 12, 2025
Review: 3.75 stars
I was at RH’s fantasy event when they spoke about the book. I was instantly intrigued by its premise, especially when I heard that it’s an MM romance full of yearning!
We are introduced to Elician, the crowned prince of Soleb, who is also secretly a Giver - a person with powers to heal himself and others, including reviving the dead. It is also a hidden secret, as no giver can take the throne. During a recent battle, he came across a traumatic man, Cat, a reaper who can kill in a single touch, sent to kill him from the kingdom they are warring with. They end up taking him to a sanctuary for Givers and Reapers…En route back, Elician was unexpectedly kidnapped by the opposing kingdom…Will he be able to escape, and will he be able to get the peace he dreams of?
The world-building is wonderfully done with the magic system of givers and reapers, a book's unique premise. This also has historical fantasy elements with political intrigue, kidnappings, assassinations, political war, and royal families thrown in. This story is told in 3 different POVS, Cat, Elician and Elician’s adopted little sister, Fen, a giver herself.
Like every fantasy book, this tends to be a slower read for me since the world-building and character setup take time. There were a lot of introspective moments as we spent time with the characters of Elician and Cat to understand them. Both have agendas, and the character growth they experience during the novel is excellent. I also love Lio, Elician’s best friend, who is loyal to Elician in every way. Fen and Cat’s bonding also adds to the story.
I also enjoyed the biology and medicinal elements, which helped me further understand how the magical system works. The storyline itself was very easy to follow, and the twists in the last 20 percent of the book were phenomenal.
Unfortunately, the romance portion of the book didn't work for me. Elician and Cat spent several weeks together up until 40% of the book, and were separated for 2 years, only to be reunited at the end of the book. Given that this is heavily marketed as an MM romance, this can be misleading, as the romance seems to be a minor book subplot. I wish for more scenes together with them, and instead we got Fen’s POV for most of the book during her time spent with Cat, and as she wonders about Elician.
While I enjoyed the read and will most likely pick up the next book in this duology, I feel like this should be noted as an epic fantasy historical with a hint of romance, given that the political intrigue took the forefront in this book, and it might change in the next book.
Thank you, PRH Canada, for the amazing PR package featuring the physical ARC, a lovely note, stickers, and bookmarks of Elician and Cat—the artwork is stunning and true to the novel!
I was at RH’s fantasy event when they spoke about the book. I was instantly intrigued by its premise, especially when I heard that it’s an MM romance full of yearning!
We are introduced to Elician, the crowned prince of Soleb, who is also secretly a Giver - a person with powers to heal himself and others, including reviving the dead. It is also a hidden secret, as no giver can take the throne. During a recent battle, he came across a traumatic man, Cat, a reaper who can kill in a single touch, sent to kill him from the kingdom they are warring with. They end up taking him to a sanctuary for Givers and Reapers…En route back, Elician was unexpectedly kidnapped by the opposing kingdom…Will he be able to escape, and will he be able to get the peace he dreams of?
The world-building is wonderfully done with the magic system of givers and reapers, a book's unique premise. This also has historical fantasy elements with political intrigue, kidnappings, assassinations, political war, and royal families thrown in. This story is told in 3 different POVS, Cat, Elician and Elician’s adopted little sister, Fen, a giver herself.
Like every fantasy book, this tends to be a slower read for me since the world-building and character setup take time. There were a lot of introspective moments as we spent time with the characters of Elician and Cat to understand them. Both have agendas, and the character growth they experience during the novel is excellent. I also love Lio, Elician’s best friend, who is loyal to Elician in every way. Fen and Cat’s bonding also adds to the story.
I also enjoyed the biology and medicinal elements, which helped me further understand how the magical system works. The storyline itself was very easy to follow, and the twists in the last 20 percent of the book were phenomenal.
Unfortunately, the romance portion of the book didn't work for me. Elician and Cat spent several weeks together up until 40% of the book, and were separated for 2 years, only to be reunited at the end of the book. Given that this is heavily marketed as an MM romance, this can be misleading, as the romance seems to be a minor book subplot. I wish for more scenes together with them, and instead we got Fen’s POV for most of the book during her time spent with Cat, and as she wonders about Elician.
While I enjoyed the read and will most likely pick up the next book in this duology, I feel like this should be noted as an epic fantasy historical with a hint of romance, given that the political intrigue took the forefront in this book, and it might change in the next book.
Thank you, PRH Canada, for the amazing PR package featuring the physical ARC, a lovely note, stickers, and bookmarks of Elician and Cat—the artwork is stunning and true to the novel!
May 19, 2025
gimme the second book now please!!
I always love court politics and intrigue with a side of romance, which felt very slowburn but also not at all
the plot twisted a couple ways I did not expect and I cried at least twice
anyway I can't wait to see more of Elician and Cat, I love Cat especially no one may hurt him ever
I always love court politics and intrigue with a side of romance, which felt very slowburn but also not at all
the plot twisted a couple ways I did not expect and I cried at least twice
anyway I can't wait to see more of Elician and Cat, I love Cat especially no one may hurt him ever
July 3, 2025
I really enjoyed this. I don't read a lot of fantasy but this one had a good plot and characters, and didn't overstretch credulity, given that certain characters could do extraordinary things! I am looking forward to (hopefully) the next in the series.
December 24, 2025
4.5/5 stars
The Sun Blessed Prince is the first book in the queer fantasy duology A Tale of Two Crowns. Prince Elician is a Giver, holding the power to heal and bring people back to life, making him practically immortal. On the battlefield, he captures a Reaper whose touch brings death from their rival kingdom sent to assassinate him. Cat expects to be put to death but is instead given a chance for a better life by the kindhearted prince. Just as the possibility of friendship builds, plots from both their kingdoms drive them apart.
I really enjoyed this book, but I think that was because I already adjusted my expectations based on earlier reviews. This book is being mismarketed—the queer romance, main plot, and comps aren’t accurate and misrepresents what the book truly is.
It is not the queer fantasy romance that is being promised. Both Elician and Cat are indeed gay, but the romance isn’t really there and just more of a potential as they are only physically together in the first quarter and the final two chapters of the book. There’s an entirely separate plotline that takes up half the book about the life/death magic system where Elician’s adopted sister Fen is learning the science of it. In fact, Elician despite being the titular sun blessed prince plays third fiddle to both Cat and Fen and doesn’t get much to do. As for the book comps provided, it is neither as lyrical nor as romantic as The Song of Achilles, it does not play with power and gender like She Who Became the Sun did, nor does it handle identity and family as delicately as Sistersong did.
All that being said, what the book does do, it does well. Half of the book is a political fantasy like Captive Prince or The Scottish Boy but without the eroticism and just a passing suggestion of a queer romance. It is well set up and full of intrigue and conspiracies and a convoluted mystery. The other half has a strong YA feel because of Fen’s storyline with her being a teenage girl learning about her powers. I enjoyed this aspect too in its exploration of the honestly intriguing world that has been built.
The book’s greatest strength lies with the relationships. Elician has a best friend/companion Lio throughout the book, and their brotherhood just absolutely shines. They really ground the story and bring so much of the emotionality and stakes. I was fully invested in them and did tear up at some point because of them. While Elician and Cat’s relationship can barely be called a friendship, the book teases their potential romance really well in just their thoughts and reflections, putting it at a great place for the sequel.
With the correct expectations, The Sun Blessed Prince does indeed deliver a queer political fantasy.
*Thank you Pan Macmillan for the eARC via NetGalley
The Sun Blessed Prince is the first book in the queer fantasy duology A Tale of Two Crowns. Prince Elician is a Giver, holding the power to heal and bring people back to life, making him practically immortal. On the battlefield, he captures a Reaper whose touch brings death from their rival kingdom sent to assassinate him. Cat expects to be put to death but is instead given a chance for a better life by the kindhearted prince. Just as the possibility of friendship builds, plots from both their kingdoms drive them apart.
I really enjoyed this book, but I think that was because I already adjusted my expectations based on earlier reviews. This book is being mismarketed—the queer romance, main plot, and comps aren’t accurate and misrepresents what the book truly is.
It is not the queer fantasy romance that is being promised. Both Elician and Cat are indeed gay, but the romance isn’t really there and just more of a potential as they are only physically together in the first quarter and the final two chapters of the book. There’s an entirely separate plotline that takes up half the book about the life/death magic system where Elician’s adopted sister Fen is learning the science of it. In fact, Elician despite being the titular sun blessed prince plays third fiddle to both Cat and Fen and doesn’t get much to do. As for the book comps provided, it is neither as lyrical nor as romantic as The Song of Achilles, it does not play with power and gender like She Who Became the Sun did, nor does it handle identity and family as delicately as Sistersong did.
All that being said, what the book does do, it does well. Half of the book is a political fantasy like Captive Prince or The Scottish Boy but without the eroticism and just a passing suggestion of a queer romance. It is well set up and full of intrigue and conspiracies and a convoluted mystery. The other half has a strong YA feel because of Fen’s storyline with her being a teenage girl learning about her powers. I enjoyed this aspect too in its exploration of the honestly intriguing world that has been built.
The book’s greatest strength lies with the relationships. Elician has a best friend/companion Lio throughout the book, and their brotherhood just absolutely shines. They really ground the story and bring so much of the emotionality and stakes. I was fully invested in them and did tear up at some point because of them. While Elician and Cat’s relationship can barely be called a friendship, the book teases their potential romance really well in just their thoughts and reflections, putting it at a great place for the sequel.
With the correct expectations, The Sun Blessed Prince does indeed deliver a queer political fantasy.
*Thank you Pan Macmillan for the eARC via NetGalley
September 4, 2025
I fear this one just wasn't for me. There is a lot of potential in The Sun Blessed Prince based on the blurb - Death and Life Powers, political intrigue, enemies to lovers, lyrical writing. Sadly it didn't really live up to any of that potential.
The Death and Life Powers are pretty awesome, yes. But the political intrigue is very undercooked and simplistic bordering on nonsensical at times, and so are parts of the world building. There is no actual enemies to lovers dynamic at all because both guys, Elician and Cat, are just really nice and immediately like each other. There's not even much of a romance to begin with to be honest, Elician and Cat spend most of the book separated from each other - which I actually didn't mind so much because I didn't feel their relationship to begin with. There's a third perspective of a young adopted princess, sister to Elician, that definitely has some interesting aspects but took a surprising amount of space for a perspective that isn't even part of the book premise. Generally, I didn't really care for any of the characters very much (though I did feel for Cat, mostly) so I just wasn't very invested in anything going on with them.
There are constant time skips that ruined the pacing and made the whole narrative feel disjointed and confusing, and the twists and turns of the story are either very predictable or really don't make much sense if you think about them a little too hard. There are interesting ideas in here, for sure, but they're just not executed well enough in my opinion.
Still, you might enjoy this if you like very sweet, genuinely good characters with lots of trauma and don't expect a full on romantasy, because this is not one (which, again, is something I enjoyed about it), nor incredibly deep storytelling. The world building around Life and Death magic, Givers and Reapers, is genuinely really cool and is the one thing I would have loved to learn even more about in a sequel. Sadly, it's not enough for me to pick that sequel up.
Many thanks to Pan Macmillan and Netgalley for the arc!
The Death and Life Powers are pretty awesome, yes. But the political intrigue is very undercooked and simplistic bordering on nonsensical at times, and so are parts of the world building. There is no actual enemies to lovers dynamic at all because both guys, Elician and Cat, are just really nice and immediately like each other. There's not even much of a romance to begin with to be honest, Elician and Cat spend most of the book separated from each other - which I actually didn't mind so much because I didn't feel their relationship to begin with. There's a third perspective of a young adopted princess, sister to Elician, that definitely has some interesting aspects but took a surprising amount of space for a perspective that isn't even part of the book premise. Generally, I didn't really care for any of the characters very much (though I did feel for Cat, mostly) so I just wasn't very invested in anything going on with them.
There are constant time skips that ruined the pacing and made the whole narrative feel disjointed and confusing, and the twists and turns of the story are either very predictable or really don't make much sense if you think about them a little too hard. There are interesting ideas in here, for sure, but they're just not executed well enough in my opinion.
Still, you might enjoy this if you like very sweet, genuinely good characters with lots of trauma and don't expect a full on romantasy, because this is not one (which, again, is something I enjoyed about it), nor incredibly deep storytelling. The world building around Life and Death magic, Givers and Reapers, is genuinely really cool and is the one thing I would have loved to learn even more about in a sequel. Sadly, it's not enough for me to pick that sequel up.
Many thanks to Pan Macmillan and Netgalley for the arc!
May 5, 2025
Do not trust the summary for this one. Do not. The Sun Blessed Prince is more character-driven political fantasy than enemies-to-lovers romance; our romantic interests, Cat and Elician, end up separated for more than half the book.
Romance aside, the characters themselves were the best part of the book. We have three POV characters, Elician, Cat and Fen. Fen’s POV fills nearly half the book, and is a pretty important character, despite her absence from the summary. It’s through her POV we learn more about the magic system of this world, and her friendship with Cat is definitely better developed than the would-be romance between Cat and Elician.
The philosophical dilemmas of Givers and Reapers I found intriguing and I hope we see more of that in book 2. The political plot, however, felt oversimplified, and it read more like a YA fantasy than an adult one. The story also severely suffered from pacing issues, and it could have been easily 70 pages shorter, as it dragged in a lot of places.
Overall, a mixed read for me. 3/5
Romance aside, the characters themselves were the best part of the book. We have three POV characters, Elician, Cat and Fen. Fen’s POV fills nearly half the book, and is a pretty important character, despite her absence from the summary. It’s through her POV we learn more about the magic system of this world, and her friendship with Cat is definitely better developed than the would-be romance between Cat and Elician.
The philosophical dilemmas of Givers and Reapers I found intriguing and I hope we see more of that in book 2. The political plot, however, felt oversimplified, and it read more like a YA fantasy than an adult one. The story also severely suffered from pacing issues, and it could have been easily 70 pages shorter, as it dragged in a lot of places.
Overall, a mixed read for me. 3/5
February 27, 2025
Thank you to the author and NetGalley for kindly giving me an ARC.
I really liked this book! The world-building and magical healing system was really interesting and well-thought out. I loved the dynamic between givers and reapers and the cultural differences between the two kingdoms as a result. Elician and Cat were both really well fleshed out characters and both extremely likeable. I sort of guessed what the twist would be, which didn't diminish from the book at all, and it's a positive that I was able to pick up on the clues the author was hinting at throughout (and a miracle, because I can hardly ever pick up on subtext!). All of the characters I could empathise with, despite not agreeing with their actions, and none of them were truly unlikeable (unless intended to be). Overall a really solid read and I'm exceptionally glad to see there's a duology planned, because I had hoped their stories would continue!
I really liked this book! The world-building and magical healing system was really interesting and well-thought out. I loved the dynamic between givers and reapers and the cultural differences between the two kingdoms as a result. Elician and Cat were both really well fleshed out characters and both extremely likeable. I sort of guessed what the twist would be, which didn't diminish from the book at all, and it's a positive that I was able to pick up on the clues the author was hinting at throughout (and a miracle, because I can hardly ever pick up on subtext!). All of the characters I could empathise with, despite not agreeing with their actions, and none of them were truly unlikeable (unless intended to be). Overall a really solid read and I'm exceptionally glad to see there's a duology planned, because I had hoped their stories would continue!
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