I love discovering new authors to read, especially fellow fantasy authors like me. This was a book I saw floating around Instagram, and aside from the stunning cover which caught my attention immediately, the description sounded intriguing! And I’m so glad I picked up a copy.
Granted is the debut novel in the series by the same name. It follows the adventures of Sabeara, the second princess in the kingdom of Aveladon. The story flings her into action right from the beginning, which catapults her into the arms of her love interest: Mid. It seems like your typical love-at-first sight pairing, until things get complicated when he reappears betrothed to her sister, Jasper.
I appreciated the latter half of the story with the emotional turmoil of Sabeara trying to come to grips with her new situation. And of course, in the midst of this is a curse threatening the kingdom that she is responsible for unraveling. As we move through the book, this curse becomes the more prominent storyline, increasing in urgency as things start to deteriorate in the surrounding kingdoms as well.
In terms of the love story, it’s everything you could want from a classic, angsty, teenage romance. Mid is incredibly romantic and Sabeara is totally in love with him. But her inner thoughts and struggles as she wrestles with her feelings and the loyalty she has for her sister and her kingdom are very relatable and realistic.
In terms of the world building, I’m intrigued to learn more. The history of the kingdoms is a little unclear, although that would appear to be the case because Sabeara’s knowledge is unclear (as the book is told in first person). The magic system, however, is much more understandable, as the first portion of the book is focusing on Jasper’s Granting: when she receives her powers. This is when she becomes one of the Stone-Hearted, which is fully explained within the first few chapters.
Honestly, the only slight distraction I found was the repetitive use of descriptions for the colors of things with precise, yet slightly obscure, colors (emerald instead of green, cobalt instead of blue, etc.). While helpful for creating imagery, it was a little distracting in some of the scenes, especially the repeated description of Mid’s eyes.
I would give Granted a solid 4/5 star rating; not only would I recommend it to anyone looking for a good YA Fantasy read, but I’m also looking forward to the sequel! There’s several intense twists that happen right at the end that I can’t wait to see resolved.
Kathleen Bird 