Saturday, July 18, 2015

Mini Reviews for Mini Books: I, Corinthius & The Hidden Prince

I, Corinthius: The Vasterium SagaTitle: I, Corinthius
Author: Shae Christi
Publisher: Oak Crown Publisher
Release Date: May 27, 2015

I, Corinthius is in the style of a dark, mythical folklore tale.

A 15th century monk whilst out recording data for his botany studies stumbles on to a parallel forest seen through the eye of a hollow of a mythical giant oak tree. Over time he unearths a large number of stones with words on them telling of an ancient culture that inhabited the forest, Vasterium, where gods and goddesses once co-existed together within its elemental kingdom in ancient Britain.

Corinthius is a lonely stag who is caught up in the seething inferno engulfing the Vasterium forests and tries desperately to find a home of his own.

In his quest to find roots and understand who he is, he is forced to deal with the unforgiving and cruel characters in deer and man alike, a dark supernatural elemental being who wields an incredible power over him revealing a history between them, and the transforming love of a wild-crafting maiden. But, Corinthius is destined make a decision that will incur a terrible consequence.

I, Corinthius is a 19,500 word Novella from first time published author, Shae Christi. It deals with the themes of identity, love, emotional pain, and compassion, under the mythical world of the Vasterium forests, a parallel world that once co-existed alongide our own back in ancient Britain.

When I first started reading this, I thought it was really strange.  The main character was a stag.  But he was obviously more than a stag.  He could think cohesively, he understood humans, he was curious.  So the question was, what happened to Corinthius to make him the way he was?

Poor Corinthius just wanted to find his way in the forest.   A lost stag without a home.  But he ended up be scorned by most everyone for the way he was: different.  And of course there was a reason he was different.  I really don't want to say much, because mostly all I could say would be full of spoilers.

This was an interesting world, where gods and goddesses existed in truth.  There were some things that I found to be slightly predictable.  But others came as a complete shock.  I enjoyed reading this enough enough.  If you like historical fantasy, you might enjoy it too.



 The Hidden Prince :Title
Jodi Meadows :Author
Epic Reads Impulse :Publisher
June 2, 2015 :Release Date

The city of Skyvale is in trouble. Magic use is rampant. Crime is spreading. Told from the perspective of Tobiah, the crown prince with a dangerous secret, and set two years before the heart-racing action of The Orphan Queen, this 100-page digital novella brings to life one of Jodi Meadows's most beloved characters.

Tobiah Pierce knows he is a spoiled, sheltered prince, and he's tired of it. His only chance for freedom is if his cousin, James Rayner, passes the trials to be one of his bodyguards. But when Tobiah takes a rare opportunity to escape a courtly celebration and he witnesses a horrible—and magical—crime, he must make a momentous decision: return to the ignorance and comfort of the palace, or risk everything to discover the truth?

The Hidden Prince is the first of four prequel novellas that offer existing fans a deeper insight into a favorite character and the complex city of Skyvale, while new readers will find a stunning introduction to this rich world and the heart-pounding fantasy of the Orphan Queen series.

Epic Reads Impulse is a digital imprint focused on young adult short stories and novellas, with new releases the first Tuesday of each month.

So I actually posted this review on goodreads and amazon a while back. I hadn't planned on posting it here. But I changed my mind.


I don't generally buy e-novellas, but I had to get Hidden Prince for basically all the reasons Jodi Meadows posted on twitter earlier. And it was so worth it!

The Hidden Prince is the story of Tobiah just before he SPOILER first becomes black knife. END SPOILER Getting in his head, wow. He always seemed so grumpy in The Orphan Queen, but SPOILER as black knife he was so different and much more himself. END SPOILER The Hidden Prince (and I expect the rest of the novellas) explore his trials with King Terrell, a father he never seems to get along with very well.

Not to mention, the first two extremely evil chapters of The Mirror King are included at the end of the novella! The novella did satisfy the craving somewhat, but it created so much more! I need the next novella and the next book!  If you liked The Orphan Queen, this might help make your wait easier.

1 comment:

  1. I, Corinthius sounds really good! May have to pick this one up some time. I love finding out about books that I didn't know existed, even if they just add to my TBR pile. No such thing as too many books!

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