He froze, his warrior senses on high alert. The forest began a mile from the west side of the castle, and from its edge he saw a small glimmer, ever slight, a reflection of moonlight on metal. He held his horse perfectly still, eyes narrow, focusing. For the next hour, he watched. The glimmer did not repeat itself, but his warrior training never doubted what it saw.
Stay in the Castle
Someone was out there.
The Chosen One is the third book in the Stay in the Castle series, following the story of Vala, who we meet at the end of The Warrior Prince. As with the series’ other books, I’ll be reviewing this in a different format because of how short it is.
The Story
Still haunted by the shadows of the past, Twain, Risa, and the twins—the children rescued at the end of The Warrior Prince—struggle to fit in with their new castle life. Risa has frequent nightmares, and Twain is still bitter about what has happened in his life.
In the middle of the night, Vala shares with them her own story—that of brokenness, abuse, and yet, redemption. It is a story that, while fictional, rings with truth. It tells of how even the most broken and mistreated people can be brought up to new life when they follow the King.
This is the life story of many people, and if you are like Vala (or even if you aren’t), you’ll find this story’s message reassuring.
The Characters
The author does a good job in this book of painting a character who is helpless and defeated. This technique, of making a mistreated character, helps build empathy and sympathy for the characters.
In this book, we get names for a few of the previously unnamed characters. The warrior prince’s name is Rinc and the children’s names are Twain and Risa. Names for the twins are not given.
Rinc, though not the focus of this book, gets his own side story about vigilance.
Overall
The author writes the book in a way I haven’t seen before. It cuts between a third person view of Vala in the present and a first person view of Vala in the past.
I do have one major critique of this book. While the present Vala, the one telling her story, lives in a medieval-style world, her life story seems set in the 1800s. One scene mentions gunfire—disorienting after two books of castles, kings, and sword fights. Also frequently mentioned are carriages instead of wagons. Overall, the timing of everything is confusing.
The Chosen One concludes with a cliffhanger that makes you think this story has more to tell.
If you’re interested in reading the book, it’s on Kindle here. The author’s website is here.
Overall, another well-done installment in the Stay in the Castle series. I’m interested to see where the next book goes.
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