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Reviewed by Romuald Dzemo for Readers' Favorite
Eleanor and the Serpent King by Aneta Cruz follows seventeen-year-old Eleanor, who inherits the Northern Kingdom after her father’s death, only to find the coffers empty and her people dying of starvation. As if that were not enough, she also has to take care of her twin sisters. The ruin of the kingdom is caused by a two-hundred-year curse cast by the immortal Serpent King, Balthazar. Long ago, Eleanor’s ancestor kidnapped Balthazar’s mermaid bride and drew his anger upon the kingdom. Now, Eleanor will do anything to break the cycle of the curse, which is why she dispatches Captain VanGaar to negotiate for peace. When her twin sisters’ prank traps them, Eleanor makes the “choiceless choice”: she agrees to marry Balthazar to spare her sisters’ lives and lift the curse on her kingdom. Will Eleanor learn to love the man she has every reason to hate?
The twists are plentiful in this fantasy. Aneta Cruz takes the adventure from frostbitten cliffs of the peninsula to the bioluminescent Coral Castle that sits beneath the waves, exploring how sacrifice can unexpectedly transform into a tender love tested by human greed and homesickness. Eleanor is a well-sculpted heroine in her quest to free her people and kingdom. While she appears to be a proactive, determined leader, she has a soft, tender heart. Balthazar is portrayed as powerful and feared on the outside, but he is a man capable of love, and his serpent form only hides a lonely, scholarly man who builds a dry-air chamber beneath the coral for his bride. The storytelling in Eleanor and the Serpent King is lyrical, and while the pacing slows in domestic scenes, it accelerates with the discovery of corruption in the kingdom. This is an inspiring fantasy that examines what a true queen will do to protect her people. Perfect for fans of the bargains in A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas and the atmospheric tension of Naomi Novik’s Uprooted.
