The Beholder by Anna Bright

Hello, my darling readers!
Today I want to talk about The Beholder, another stunning book that I received via subscription box. So let’s see what the excitement is all about!

The Beholder on Goodreads

The Plot:

Selah’s life is in tatters. Everything she had longed for gone down the drain. When her marriage proposal is rejected, Selah’s stepmother ships her off to find a suitable husband. After all, she is the daughter of Potomac’s leader, so this is her job. What will she encounter on the quest that sends her all the way to England, Norge, and even darker realms?

The Rating:

So, I’m not a fan of romance books, but this one has won me over. It’s not too sappy (although it gets close sometimes) and there is more going on than just a princess swooning over some cute guy.

I love that Anna Bright drew her inspiration from so many different sources. No spoilers here – you’ll see for yourself should you decide to pick up the book. Let me just tell you that it’s a lot of fun discovering those little things that obviously influenced her. She doesn’t go over the top with this or produce what feels like a cheap copy. Instead Bright creates something that is unique and fun to explore.

According to the reviews on Goodreads, many people dnfed this book. Well, I am not in love with the characters either and, granted, some things are a bit weird. For example the world-building: Bright clearly drew from existing countries but changed stuff up quite a lot. She also took inspiration from other languages like German. Many of her newly created words don’t make that much sense, but that’ll only be a problem if you actually speak the language, so most people shouldn’t be bothered.

The Beholder was a quick read and I’m glad about that. I had a 4-hour train journey to cover and I finished almost the entire book in that sitting. Honestly, had the book been longer, it wouldn’t have held my interest. I feel like what went down so far could have been told in an even shorter version but I get that this is setting the table for the second part.

This is exactly what I’m looking forward to. From what we have so far, I’m expecting the second part to be less about love and more about politics, dark stuff and adventures – which seems pretty intriguing to me.

The Beholder does have its flaws but it’s a quick and enjoyable read that sets the table for the second book which promises to be fascinating!

Did you read this book? Let me know in the comments what you think!

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