Review : The Shattered Court by M.J Scott

Summary (from Goodreads) 

Title : The Shattered Court (A Novel of the Four Arts #1)
Author : M.J Scott
Publication Date : April 28th 2015
Publisher : Roc
Goodreads - Amazon - Barnes & Noble

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.…

Personal Thoughts

Okay, first things first. I wanted to read The Shattered Court, because the gorgeous cover just lured me in. Plus, I'm already a big fan of YA fantasy, so I thought it was time I devoted some time to more adult fantasy too. The Shattered Court turned out to be an exceptional read that I had quite the hard time putting down.

M.J Scott's world building in The Shattered Court was on point. She blended together magic and royalty drama and crafted a strong fantasy story, that was engaging in many ways. I have a weird fascinating with the dynamics of power and the author explored this tactfully in The Shattered Court. It was interesting how I never knew who to trust and to watch some of the meek characters turn out to be utterly twisted. While The Shattered Court wasn't the most action-packed book, the book still managed to be fast-paced. It introduced twists and turns that had me reading through the night. Even when I had to drop the book to go do my other chores, I kept thinking about the book because there was just something magical about the story and the world building. I haven't felt this strong of a connection with a book in a long time. I'll admit that some readers might be bothered by how uneventful The Shattered Court is, but I have no doubts that the sequel will be strong in that department. It was hinted at with the way the book ended.

In the midst of all the glorious world building was our protagonist, Sophia, a lady in waiting for the Princess and on the verge of finding out if she has any magical abilities. Sophia was a delightful character. She was more of the silent, but strong kind. She showed her strengths, in ways that I would not call traditional for a fantasy books, and I think that's what made her so endearing to me. We watch as she grew and matured throughout the story and I couldn't help but cheer for her to become the kick-ass woman that she clearly was. By her side was the dashing Cameron. Cameron was a character that had me scratching my head because I wasn't sure what his intentions were, but he proved to be a loyal man. He slowly managed to win me over and by the end I was swooning over him. The romance between Cameron and Sophia was also quite unconventional and I was extremely nervous about how they would work out, especially since Cameron was sexually involved with the Princess at the start, but the author managed to make it work. Theirs was a romance that was a medley of slow, sweet and sexy. I loved that they were always together no matter what the situation was and how Cameron never tried to protect Sophia but allowed her to protect herself, all of which made this one of my favorite kind of romance!

The Shattered Court was my first foray into adult fantasy and it was a wildly successful one. This was a book that I found was captivating thanks to the stellar world building and fantastic cast of characters. I can't wait for the next installment!

Rating 

Cover : 4/5
Plot : 4/5
Characters : 4/5
Writing : 4/5




Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for the e-ARC of The Shattered Court.
 

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