Review - Damsel by Elana K. Arnold

Damsel by Elana K. Arnold

Published 2nd October 2018 by Balzer + Bray

Star Rating - ****

Goodreads Challenge - 13/50

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

The rite has existed for as long as anyone can remember: when the prince-who-will-be-king comes of age, he must venture out into the gray lands, slay a fierce dragon, and rescue a damsel to be his bride. This is the way things have always been.

When Ama wakes in the arms of Prince Emory, however, she knows none of this. She has no memory of what came before she was captured by the dragon, or what horrors she has faced in its lair. She knows only this handsome prince, the story he tells of her rescue, and her destiny to sit on the throne beside him. Ama comes with Emory back to the kingdom of Harding, hailed as the new princess, welcomed to the court.

However, as soon as her first night falls, she begins to realize that not all is as it seems, that there is more to the legends of the dragons and the damsels than anyone knows–and that the greatest threats to her life may not be behind her, but here, in front of her.

My Thoughts

I was really drawn in by the cover of this one, I'd seen a lot of reviews floating around at the end of last year, a lot of them not great, but I was still intrigued enough to give it a try. Now, after reading this I can understand why this is not for everyone. It's very dark and graphic with a lot of trigger warnings, which I'll list at the end, but I enjoyed the story overall. 

It was definitely an uncomfortable read at times, with a lot of problematic elements but its supposed to be. Damsel is described as a feminist fairy tale and I agree with this. It was a very twisted take on a lot of the usual fairy tale tropes with the prince rescuing his damsel from a dragon and bringing her back to his castle to live a 'happily ever after'. There are a lot of rebellious undertones running throughout this book as we follow our 'damsel' and dive into her inner thoughts as she comes to stand up to her Prince. 

I thought the development of the damsel was great. She started off as quite a weak character but as we follow her throughout the story she begins to grow stronger and more independent. She's determined to discover who she is and where she comes from. She doesn't just accept her fate as the previous damsel did. We see a lot of this development through her thoughts rather than her actions and it's great to follow her as she learns how to stand up for herself. The Prince was just down right evil. He started off seemingly likeable but as we followed the story his true personality begins to shine through as he truly becomes a horrible person. He was a very well written character as, although he is really unlikable, he's supposed to be and to me that means the author has done her job. 

This book as a whole reads exactly like a fairy tale. It feels like the author quite literally tells you the story. I think this fitted well with the style of story and the plot. As I've said before the writing is quite graphic and it definitely doesn't shy away from details so please bear this in mind if your easily triggered. Throughout the story their was a lot of foreshadowing of things to come and I worked out the twist and the end before we got there but that didn't really hinder my enjoyment of the story however, the surprise would of been nice. 

Overall I enjoyed this story, although I'm not sure enjoy is the right word. It was dark, harsh and made me uncomfortable in places but that was the whole point of this story. The author did a great job at developing the story in a way that made a seemingly powerless female become strong and independent. Please just be aware of the trigger warnings and maybe avoid this one if they will cause you any issues however, if your okay reading about these things then I would recommend giving this one a go. 

TWs: abuse, sexual assault/rape, animal abuse, self harm and suicide. 

Overall Rating