The Royal Companion by Tanya Bird – Book Review

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Title: The Royal Companion: An epic love story (you can Buy on Amazon here)

Author: Tanya Bird

Genre: History, Romance

Pages: 320

Format: E-Book

Rating: *** (3/5 Stars)

About: Aldara is sixteen when she is sold to the obnoxious crown prince as a gift for his brother. Forced to leave the only life she has ever known, Aldara is sent to Archdale Castle, where she is mentored to become Prince Tyron’s perfect Companion. But no amount of lessons can prepare her for the troubled man marked by war. He sees straight through the polished exterior presented to him. He sees her. She must keep the facade together or deal with the repercussions.

Prince Tyron has just returned from war. All he wants is privacy to grieve the men who died at the border. So when his brother gifts him a Companion upon his return, he is forced to embrace a tradition he has so far managed to avoid. Except Aldara is not like the others. She walks with her face to the sun and arms swinging. Her laughter makes him forget the lie. But if they ignore the rules that safeguard them, there will be consequences…

This is book one in The Companion series. If you enjoy medieval romance that is out of this world, then this epic tale of love against all odds is for you.

Review: I really love books like this this.

A medieval setting and a forbidden love story – yes please!

But it just wasn’t quite perfect. Don’t get me wrong, I did enjoy it, it just wasn’t perfect…

Now I think it’s only fair that I mention that there is a bit of a trigger scene in this book. It can cause a bit of upset, but I think it needs to be spoken about. It’s not nice and can cause some discomfort.

I did skim read over this scene if I’m being honest.

But I can understand why it was included, since it makes the character stronger and forces the prince to realise how rare and incredible Aldara actually is.

There are a few things that I did like about this book though.

I liked the themes that were explored in this book. Things like how people are seen as property and how we are all beholden to someone, loves immunity to class subdivision and the value of women.

I don’t think the author completely delved into these themes, but you can tell that the author tentatively dipped her toes into it.

I think I would have been satisfied if they had been sufficiently illustrated or explored further.

I did like how the author built and described the world. There was a lot of detail that was thought about (things like the consequences of certain people’s actions) and I did like some of the character developments.

I’m quite tempted to read the second book in the series though, but only because the way that this books ends is just a little bit disappointing.

It just ends.

And I don’t really like how it ends, so I’m tempted to read the next one, just in case it gives me the ending that I want.

I can see why the author ended it the way she did, I mean this book is part of a series, so I get it.

I just don’t like it.

If I read the next book in this series, I’ll make sure to let you know my thoughts! Hopefully it’s an improvement!