The Sin Eater’s Daughter by Melinda Salisbury

The Sin Eater's Daughter by Melinda Salisbury
Series: The Sin Eater's Daughter #1
Published by Scholastic on February 24, 2015
Genres: Action & Adventure, Fantasy, High Fantasy, Love & Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 320

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Seventeen-year-old Twylla lives in the castle. But although she’s engaged to the prince, Twylla isn’t exactly a member of the court.

She’s the executioner.

As the Goddess embodied, Twylla instantly kills anyone she touches. Each month she’s taken to the prison and forced to lay her hands on those accused of treason. No one will ever love a girl with murder in her veins. Even the prince, whose royal blood supposedly makes him immune to Twylla’s fatal touch, avoids her company.

But then a new guard arrives, a boy whose easy smile belies his deadly swordsmanship. And unlike the others, he’s able to look past Twylla’s executioner robes and see the girl, not the Goddess. Yet Twylla’s been promised to the prince, and knows what happens to people who cross the queen.

However, a treasonous secret is the least of Twylla’s problems. The queen has a plan to destroy her enemies, a plan that requires a stomach-churning, unthinkable sacrifice. Will Twylla do what it takes to protect her kingdom? Or will she abandon her duty in favor of a doomed love?

It’s a sin not to read this book.

First of all: HOLY SHIT WHAT THE HELL OHMYGOD WHAT THE CRAP I CAN’T EVEN WITH THIS DEAR SWEET BABY JESUS SOMEONE HELP ME WITH THESE FEELS I AM FEELING THEN WRAP ME IN A BLANKET AND LET ME CRY BECAUSE THIS BOOK IS JUST DEAR SWEET LORD. READ IT JUST READ IT I CAN NOT IF YOU DON’T READ IT. WE WILL NOT BE FRIENDS IF YOU DON’T READ THIS.

*Coughs* Now that that’s over, let’s get on with the review.

There are a lot of things that are going to strike you about this book. The cover, the title, the synopsis. It’s too good to be true, right? We’ve all felt lied to by books because of their pretty covers and half the time the book just doesn’t come up to par with whatever you’ve imagined from the synopsis. Well, The Sin Eater’s Daughter may kill you with it’s twists and turns and characters, but it doesn’t lie. This book really is as fantastic as it sounds (and looks).

The worldbuilding is intriguing. The Sin Eater’s Daughter is one that’s rife with traditions, legends, and customs that are so whimsical, they add to what’s already spectacular. Lormere feels almost real, what with stories of the Sleeping Prince, the mystic powers of the mere, the folksongs, and the Eating that is customary with every funeral pyre. It’s almost enchanting, seeing this world being built word by word without ever feeling like it was an info-dump. Learning about the lands was definitely one of the best parts of the novel, though I will say that a few of the legends didn’t really make sense to me–though I do suppose that’s the point of legends in the first place.

As for the characters–I just. Wow. It wasn’t only our main cast that were amazing (Merek and Lief and, of course, Twylla); our villain is probably the most intriguing of all of them. She’s one you love to hate (and as Rachel pointed out, perfect for the King of Adarlan from Throne of Glass. It’s a ship made in hell.), so I’m starting with her first. The Queen (or Helewys) is…insane. There’s no other way to put it. Throughout the entire story, I kept comparing her court with the Red Queen from Alice in Wonderland. The insanity the cruelty, and her ambition for power were absolutely terrifying–there’s not other way to put it. Her plans were…sickening. Well thought out, but sickening. It’s hard to know if she’s actually insane or if her thirst for power just blinds her to everything else, but either way, she’s not someone you’d want to meet.
As for Twylla…I love her. Even while she’s trying to act strong throughout the novel, there’s a sense of innocence she manages to maintain that’s almost heartbreaking. She’s the daughter (literally and metaphorically) of the two most powerful, and probably coldest, women in her country, and she somehow keeps her innocence. Watching her go through everything that she did sort of felt like watching a child grow up–she grows as the story progresses, but not without consequences–and a rather large amount of pain. (Melinda Salisbury is a cruel, cruel person.)

Merek and Lief…I guess you could think of both of them as love interests, but not quite. The romance isn’t really a love triangle, and honestly, I kind of really adored the romance. Lief and Twylla were just so adorable together and despite the fact that I wanted to call insta-love, it’s hard not to fall in love alongside them. It’s cute and hard to resist the puppy-love they seem to be in. It was like they were in the honeymoon phase the entire time View Spoiler » UNTIL THE END WHEN FUCKING LIEF WAS JUST LIKE. HAHA. LIES. ALL LIES. « Hide Spoiler

Now, the plot. Holy. Crap. The majority of the book seems to revolve around the romance and while that may seem a bit irritating, I actually didn’t mind it. Then we got to the last, what? Third of the book and shit kind of hit the fan. I won’t say anything more than that, but essentially–twists. Twists everywhere. Honestly, I didn’t expect anything that was revealed by the end and I was practically dying (and spazzing out on twitter as Rachel can confirm.)

Read this. Seriously. Honestly. Read The Sin Eater’s Daughter and you won’t regret it. It’s a glorious, glorious book that broke my heart and reduced me into a mess of exclamation marks, caps, and the phrase “I CAN’T EVEN.”

And, now for your amusement:

I LITERALLY CAN NOT SPEAK TO YOU BC I AM A PUDDLE OF GOO AND ITS ALL YOUR FAULT

— Nikki Wang (@Nikki_Wang)

 

HOLY SHIT I CANT EVEN RIGHT N OW

— Nikki Wang (@Nikki_Wang)

ITS RUINING ME I CAN NOT EVEN OMFG I CANT I CANT. RACHEL I AM FRANTICALLY DMI NG YOU AGAIN

— Nikki Wang (@Nikki_Wang)

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