Welcome to my stop on the Girl with Three Eyes blog tour! Read on for a synopsis, review, author bio and your chance to enter an INTERNATIONAL GIVEAWAY where you could win a $25 B&N or Amazon gift card, and a signed copy of the book! (International winner will receive an ebook copy).
Girl With Three Eyes
Priya Ardis
Publication date: September 22nd 2020
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
She would hate her third eye less if it actually gave her special powers. When her secret is threatened, she may be the only one who can save the kingdom.
Sixteen-year-old Kira puts on a show about having empathic abilities, but she miraculously wakes a highborn boy from a coma after a near-fatal accident on mountainous slopes. When his father threatens to expose her “magic” to the queen unless she attends the kingdom’s most elite academy as a bodyguard.
Soon, she’s immersed in a strange new life—one of being a simple student trying out for the school’s skyboarding team. Her fake life becomes the life she’s always wanted, but Kira cannot escape who she truly is. And as a sinister foe lurks closer than she suspects…
Will she risk her freedom to develop the vision to unmask a killer before the crown falls?
Girl with Three Eyes is a young adult fantasy series. If you like strong female protagonists, futuristic fairy tales, and epic tournaments, then you’ll love Priya Ardis’s heart-racing adventure.
My rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
I received a copy of this book from Xpresso Book Tours as part of a blog tour, in exchange for an honest review.
Sixteen year old Kira is not like the other girls. She has a third eye and not just figuratively speaking, it’s a real eye, on her forehead that appears in times of stress, or fear. Her and her drunken father run scams on people wanting their mind illnesses healed. When a high ranking official turns up at their house begging for help for his comatose son, Kira obliges, not realising that this will change her life forever. The high ranking man is amazed at Kira’s ability to wake his son, as is she, and when given an ultimatum, she choses to go with the man and attend the Raj Royal school as a secret bodyguard for his son. When she is suddenly thrown into the life she could only dream about, she feels normal, accepted, and spends most of her time trying out for the school’s skyboarding team. Though she can’t forget what she’s there for, as things at the royal court aren’t as they appear. Will she risk her freedom to save the court?
This story had a super interesting premise to it and I’m a bit of a sucker for a young adult fantasy story, especially one that sounds so different from all the one’s I’ve read previously. And different it is.
The story is set in what I assume to be a fantastical futuristic version of India. It held a lot of promise, and for the most part, lived up to it. Though I must admit, there was a lot of emphasis and time in the story spend on the sport of skyboarding, which seems to be snowboarding but with engines. I wasn’t prepared for this to take up most of the story, and I felt a little let down by it. The world was so full and rich and I feel like so much time could have been spent explaining the world and it’s workings better than spending so much time focused on a sport within the kingdom. Though the sport did have a lot to do with the plot movement, I was just hoping for a bit more of a fantasy story, less of a sports story.
The characters are well written and I found myself caring about what happened to Kira and her friends. I loved the character development and the way that the character relationships grew. One thing confused me though. After a certain event happened, Kira is trying to use her third eye to heal someone, and the Prince who up to this point was pointing to a love interest, comes in an immediately is suspicious and calling the guards in. This seemed completely backwards to what the story was showing us in this relationship, and it’s just something that has stuck in my mind. It didn’t make sense and there was no explanation as to his sudden distrust. I enjoyed the character of the high ranking man’s son, he was complex and I really loved his character development.
The story itself was incredibly well thought out, though I had one of the bad guys picked from the start, the other one was surprising though as soon as a group this person is standing with it pointed out, I instantly knew who the culprit was, even though the characters were still trying to puzzle it out as there were a few people standing together. I’m intrigued as to where the story will go from here as it’s left open ended for continuation, I would assume.
The world was described so beautifully and I was instantly transported to a colourful and vivid futuristic India and I absolute LOVED it. I just wish more time was spent on the world and building it and the characters up a bit more. Also, at times, sentences seemed a little bit fragmented or as though English is not the authors first language, I feel like another round of editing would have helped smooth out the sometimes stilted narration.
Otherwise, this was a wonderful, fresh addition and good first instalment in to what I’m hoping is a promising series. I’m looking forward to a richer world, more character growth and deeper character relationships.
Author Bio:
Priya Ardis writes Blood&Treasure fantasy romances which include coming of age, bad boys, globe-trotting, and a spoonful of sassy banter.
She loves books of all kinds–but especially the ones that ensnare you and let your chai go cold. Her novels come from a childhood of playing too much She-Ra and watching too much Spock. She started her first book at sixteen, writing in notebooks on long train rides during a hot summer vacation. Her favorite Arthurian is the Lady of Shalott by Lord Tennyson.
What does she like to read? Books with fantasy and magic with a cool heroine that’s really just the girl/boy next door. Books with all the feels. And, hello, Mr. Darcy anyone?
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Thanks for being on the tour! Great review! 🙂
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