The main characters were interesting and nice people. Cassie wanted to be a spy and trained herself to blend in and how to remember things. She lost her confidence in her decisions as a series of bad choices lead to her situation getting worse. Unfortunately, Cassie's desire to prove her skill as a spy didn't seem good enough to explain some of her impulsive decisions. I felt like the author forced these decisions against all common sense so that, for example, Cassie ended up in the desert kingdom. The story is told from the tight first person points of view of two very different characters. Both are teenagers, but I would not characterize this book as young adult, even though in many aspects these characters and their friends are all coming of age. Both characters are intriguing and their development bodes well for the next book. That being said, I honestly loved everything about this book. I was a little worried about how an intersex MC might play in these books, considering some of the relatively atrocious crap that had happened to whole armies in the original Cycle, but not only was it handled deftly, with care and empathy. This needs a little explaining: Olive is rightfully worried, is brought up both as a Princess, and then, later, as a Prince. There is no handwavium here. All the expected problems exist, including the ones that anyone might expect for Main Characters who are only fifteen years old. There is no coddling, either. There is no sympathy for being different or praise. There is only survival and respect for what he/she accomplishes. It was a tightrope in the story and I think Peter V. Brett pulled it off wonderfully. Beyond telling a new adventure, and setting up the return of a world-altering danger, the novel is very much a coming-of-age story for these kids. Having been burdened with their family’s heritage, they must come to terms with who THEY are as individuals and their place in this world. They most definitely aren’t their parents, but they have their own set of abilities in a world intent on making them fit into a specific mold. I like to end the review on positives. I did like Cassandra as the main character. Her ability to remember things and construct a map in her head was pretty impressive. I wanted to see those skills in the Cave of Wonders, but it seems all that stuff is going to be in the second half. I would've also liked to see her do more spy work. All that she seemed to do was follow people around and listen in on conversations. That is part of it, but it's also about lying and getting into disguises to find information. Cassandra just spends too much time doing nothing.

I am not 100% sure why Brett decided to make this change, maybe it's because there are fewer POV's? Or because the characters are younger and first person lends itself more toward the YA demographic? Again, I don't know, but I felt it lead to a significant change in feeling and tone of the story. This wouldn't have been so bad if the story itself didn't borrow quite so much from the previous series - this brings me onto my next point.

Portugal

Leesha, Renna, Ahmann, Gared... Key cast of the first series - Brett did a pretty good job of phasing them out as the book went on, relying on them less and less, but there really wasn't enough new BIG characters introduced to replace them. Again, this may be because the cast is going to be deliberately smaller with fewer POV's in this series, but it felt like something was missing - maybe that's the point, we shall see. everyone says my da saved the world … Sometimes I catch them staring, like they’re expecting me to do something amazing. And when I don’t, I can smell their disappointment. Brett likes saying his epics are not to be squeezed into movies as the latter avoid protracted story and character builds. In a world populated by people, there would always be a role for heart and understanding what was going on around me." The pace can be quite uneven, especially in the early portions of the book. But once it gets rolling, there's no denying that The Desert Prince maintains a good rhythm from here on out. The finale and the ending, in particular, are thrilling. Revelations come late, alas, but they do leave the door open for what should be an interesting set of sequels. Hopefully, as was the case with the Demon Cycle, character growth and maturity will make our protagonists easier to root for.

The world: The world building is beautifully done, everything makes sense, and I loved the creativity behind the two different cities. It really felt like a world where Aladdin could take place, without being an exact copy of every other Aladdin story. The Desert Prince is a welcome return to a world I thought I had left many a year ago. While this is not technically part of The Demon Cycle series, I would absolutely recommend reading that series first. Not only is this book set in the same world but events and characters from The Demon Cycle series are integral parts of the plot. Even though I had read the previous series it was many years ago and I found myself getting confused as I couldn't quite remember what happened and who each character was. Peter V. Brett said he has "been laying the groundwork for this series for years and am so excited to finally bring it to life. It keeps all the things I love about the Demon Cycle, while taking things in a fresh direction that provides an exciting entry point for new and younger readers. Olive Paper will be a hero unlike any other." [5]Despite my luke-warm reaction, I will definitely be reading the next book when it releases, I'm invested in this world and series enough to be intrigued about it's future. Again, The Desert Prince will release on the 3rd of August, and another thank you to Harper Collins and Voyager for the early proof copy.