In a hellish city, the fate of a young boy rests on the very thing he fears most…
Robbed of his childhood by tragedy and betrayal and forced onto the streets, only fury makes young Ninian feel whole – and in a world of gangs and fae, Ninian is more than willing to fight for his life.
But it doesn’t take much to topple a life which is already balanced on the edge of a knife. And by the time a desperate Ninian realizes he’s crossed the wrong person, it is much, much too late.
In his frantic struggle to right his collapsing world, Ninian’s furious, bloody efforts are dredging up history he’d rather forget – the past is tired of being held at bay, and even fighting cannot protect Ninian from himself.
So when he meets a crimson-eyed stranger, a boy so broken he refuses even to speak, Ninian does not believe he has the capacity to care.
He is wrong.
And that will change everything…
The Review
I read a digital copy of this book and thoroughly enjoyed it!
Part One of The Last Prince, a prequel, starts off seven years before the beginning of The Hidden Prince and explains the circumstances of how Áed and Ninian met and their immediate connection. Ninian’s love and caring attitude saves Áed emotionally from his terribly violent beginnings and, equally, Áed saves Ninian from memories of his abusive childhood and makes him stronger in much the same way.
The Last Prince also tells of how Ninian became involved with the gang for which he becomes a highly respected fighter in order to pay for food for himself, Áed and eventually their ward, Ronan.
Part Two jumps forward seven years to the same timeframe in which The Hidden King is set and since the reader already knows the tragic outcome of Ninian’s gang involvement from the first book in the trilogy, this whole second part is tempered with sadness and an ominous feeling begins to take over as the story moves on towards its conclusion…
Similar to The Hidden King, The Last Prince is full of beautiful prose – I really love E G Radcliff’s talented writing style and the character building is masterful:
“The gray streets slid by as they walked through the city, passing familiar old buildings and crumbling tenements, dirty cobblestones and cracked windows. Despite the ordinary dinginess of his surroundings and the faint prickle of nervous anticipation in his gut, Ninian felt sunny. He dropped an arm over Áed’s shoulders, unable to keep his good mood from showing on his face. Áed smiled too and held Ninian’s waist.“
I would highly recommend The Last Prince to people who enjoy low fantasy with romance, well developed characterisation and gorgeous prose! There are a fair few violent fight scenes and hints to Ninian’s abuse as a child to be aware of, if such things disturb you. I cannot wait to read the conclusion to the trilogy The Wild Court, out soon!
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