ARC Review: Prophecy - Ellen Oh

Release Date: January 2nd, 2013
Hardcover: 312 pages
Publisher: HarperTeen

The greatest warrior in all of the Seven Kingdoms... is a girl with yellow eyes.

Kira’s the only female in the king’s army, and the prince’s bodyguard. She’s a demon slayer and an outcast, hated by nearly everyone in her home city of Hansong. And, she’s their only hope...

Murdered kings and discovered traitors point to a demon invasion, sending Kira on the run with the young prince. He may be the savior predicted in the Dragon King Prophecy, but the missing treasure of myth may be the true key. With only the guidance of the cryptic prophecy, Kira must battle demon soldiers, evil shaman, and the Demon Lord himself to find what was once lost and raise a prince into a king.

After reading such a summary, I believe that anyone would be completely excited. A strong heroine, a great fantasy and the promise of an amazing adventure, what else?! But unfortunately in the case of Prophecy, the promise fell short. Certainly there are many highlights but not as many as I was hoping for when I first started reading it.

The first and foremost thing that bothered me in this novel is that I didn't feel any connection to the main character. She was strong and courageous alright but the connection with her was missing. And to be frank, I didn't feel any connection to any of the characters. The romance that I thought would bloom in the course of the novel was also lacking. I didn't even get why they became friends in the first place.

The plot was actually pretty great but I think it could be a bit refined. We receive almost no information about the enemy and why they are even attacking. Who are they? What do they want? These questions remain almost unanswered. But the world building had great potential. The mythology as well. I think the author could have furthered the novel in these areas. The characters were almost a lost cause for me.

Overall I really liked the potential of Prophecy and the promise of a better sequel. The story is really interesting and captivating. If the author changed some things in the next novel, this series could be something amazing. I look forward to seeing how things will develop in the sequel, even though there were many aspects I disliked.

Huge thanks to HarperTeen and Edelweiss for providing me with a copy of Prophecy in exchange of an honest review!