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Type of bind: Paperback
EAN num: 9780142405796
ISBN number: 0142405795
Label: Puffin
Manufacturer: Puffin
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 256
Printing Date: April 17, 2008
Publishing house: Puffin
Age index: Young Adult
Sale Popularity Level: 24804
Studio: Puffin
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
An impressive debut, equal parts commercial appeal and literary prowess.
Princess Aurelia is subsequent in line to rule the kingdom of Tyralt, but she would rather be one of the common folk, free to learn and roam and . . . not marry the subsequent tyrannical prince that comes courting. Naturally, the king wants Aurelia to marry for political power. Aurelia wants to marry for love. And someone in the kingdom wants her . . . dead. Assigned to investigate and protect Aurelia is Robert, the son of the king’s former royal spy and one of Aurelia’s oldest friends. As Aurelia and Robert slowly uncover clues as to who is threatening her, their friendship turns to romance. With everything possible on the line—her life, her kingdom, her heart—Aurelia is forced to take matters into her own hands, no matter the cost.
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers -
This book was one of the best innocent romances that I have ever read. The love story is sweet and written well. The characters have a lot of depth and wonderful personalities. If you are looking for a more heady story, I wouldn't pick this however. It would be considered, by most people, as a young teen romance, simply for the lack of a lot of the physical part of relationships. Though, if you want more emotion and less sexual content, this is the book for you.
Rated by buyers 
-
I have a tendency to judge books by their covers, and I was expecting much more from the beautiful picture the book presents. I'm a complete fan of headstrong princesses and illicit romances, but I guess after reading an abundance of well-written stories in that genre Aurelia had a very likely chance of falling short. Each character's story had definite potential to be something much greater, but I found myself uninterested in their pasts, and honestly uninterested all together. Osterlund sadly wasn't able to get me to like her characters, there just wasn't enough depth to them. I found myself rolling my eyes at the cliched stubborn princess stuff, it just wasn't done as well as authors like Sharon Shinn and Tamora Pierce manage to do it. I guess I have just been spoiled.
While the details of the plot, and even the end, were pretty original for a story like this, I felt like the Princess had given up instead of making a dramatic point. Osterlund had something going with that ending, but she didn't make me believe anything about her story. I wanted to like, I really did.
Rated by buyers -
Princess Aurelia of Tyralt wants to be free, to help the people, and to do whatever she wants without guards or ther king butting in. But Aurelia doesn't know that she is being hunted by an unseen killer. There have been many plots to kill her that have thankfully failed. However, the king doesn't want to take any chances with the crown princess/heir and so asks for the former royal spy to come back to court and assist in finding the killer. Brian Vantauge doesn't want to budge, and so his son Robert goes in his place. Robert used to be Aurelia's former classmate, and cannot bear to see the light go out of her eyes if one of the plots succeeds. Throughout the book, adventures are held to help save Aurelia from destruction, and that is what the book centers on.
This book isn't a fluff read; certainly it isn't as bad and literary-worthless as some books are. But Aurelia isn't really the perfect work of fiction either. The plot was very well organized and watertight, but it seemed a little cliche in today's growing fantasy empire. You could easily forget about this book in the dark reaches of your bookshelf and never think of it again.
One of the main problems I had with this book was the lack of romance. I don't read straight-up romance or the bodice-ripper stuff, but I apperciate a little romance that makes your stomach tingle. Like a few kisses and hugging, nothing really more I expect out of young teen fiction. But this book only had one kiss, and although you could obviously see the relationship between Aurelia and Robert, there wasn't very much sign of affection otherwise. Even though this was for the younger teens, another kiss or two would not ruin us certainly. I really liked Aurelia and Robert together and so that's why I am a little harsh.
Another problem I had was the back cover. The synopsis was totally off base. It really didn't make sense. But I can't really blame the author for that though.
All in all Aurelia was a good novel, perfect for when you are between trips to the library or on the beach or something. It isn't significant, but is isn't nothing either, which makes it perfect for today's younger girls.
Rated by buyers 
-
An unknown assailant has threatened Princess Aurelia's life, and a former school friend/love interest is assigned to root out the potential killers. Dashing escapades and heady intrigues follow.
Aurelia is your typical YA heroine princess: she's headstrong, intelligent, and unable to stand the many prospective suitors her father's picked out for her. Pretty much the same material in every other junior princess novel. Her romance with Robert, the spy assigned to her case, is also quite unoriginal and predictable. And as for the killer, I pretty much figured out who it was by page 50.
Still, Osterlund's debut novel makes up for its predictability with its cast of strong supporting characters (especially the old king), effective use of language, and satisfying conclusion. Although I picked out the assassin early on, the resolution to the novel was completely unexpected. There's also ample room for a sequel. If Aurelia's character started off somewhat one-dimensional, she certainly improved by the end. Overall, this book is no masterpiece, but it certainly isn't fluff read. Considering this is the author's very first novel, it's a pretty good accomplishment.
An enjoying read, five stars
Rated by buyers -
*Warning this review contains some spoilers*
I really enjoyed this book. I was completely unsure of who the person that wanted to kill Aurelia was. And i was completely shocked when i found out who was all involved. The author did a great job of keeping you on your toes.
I was a little diappointed with the amount of romance in the book. I thought there would be more since the tag line was "Mystery. Romance. Danger." The romance didn't come in until half way through the book. Also i was left unsatisfied when Aurelia and Robert didn't kiss at the end. You could tell that they were probably going to be together because they stroked eachother's faces but i still really wanted them to kiss a second time.
Overall this was a good read.
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