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The Beholder

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“Sparkles with beauty, intrigue, and romance.”—Kiera Cass, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Selection series

Selah has waited her whole life for a happily ever after. As the only daughter of the leader of Potomac, she knows her duty is to find the perfect match.

But after an excruciatingly public rejection, Selah’s stepmother suggests an unthinkable solution: Selah must set sail across the Atlantic to visit a series of potential suitors—and if she doesn’t come home engaged, she shouldn’t come home at all.

From the gardens of England to the fjords of Norge, Selah’s quest will be the journey of a lifetime. But her stepmother’s schemes aren’t the only secrets hiding belowdecks…and the stakes of her voyage may be higher than any happy ending.

Lush landscapes, dazzling romance, and captivating intrigue await in this stunning alternate historical YA debut—perfect for fans of The Selection or Caraval.

 Fantasy Fiction Literature & Fiction Magic Romance Science Fiction & Fantasy
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This is an imaginative story set in an alternate history timeline. It’s well written but quite slow and the underlying political story which seems to be the series arc given the cliffhanger ending, stays very much in the background as our heroine falls rapidly in love over and over. Characterisation all around could use a little more depth and intrigue. The narration is good, even if it does slip into fishy territory with the Nordic accents. I enjoyed it, but don’t feel particularly compelled to read the sequel, the heroine falls in love do frequently, the romance doesn’t bear much weight and the political storyline is so buried it’s hard to care enough to find out more.

Slow paced, interesting but not great

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“The thigs we like are different. The things we love, are the same”.

This was beautifully written, and everything I was hoping for! I think the fact it was marketed as an “Odyssey” retelling might have thrown people off, as it’s not really anything like that - I would say it’s more similar in genre/plot to the Glittering Court series / the selection series. So if you liked either of those I would think you would love this too. We follow Selah as she journeys through various countries, meeting eligible suitors, but there are a few twists and turns which I did not see coming. There is a lot of romance, which is beautifully done. The descriptions are vivid and the language so beautiful that it is poetic at times. And the ending was a big twist! I am really looking forward to the second book but am also hoping a few of the characters from this book make an appearance, as I fell completely in love with them!
One thing that is difficult to follow is where all the various countries are, so a pdf map would be great for the next book. Overall, highly recommend!

Loved it

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