Review: Prince Freya by Keiko Ishihara

PRINCE FREYA

Prince Freya, #1

by Keiko Ishihara

VIZ Media LLC

Manga/YA Fantasy/Graphic

192 pages

COMING...

APRIL 7th, 2020!!!

To save her kingdom, a simple village girl must live a royal lie.

The powerful kingdom of Sigurd has slowly been conquering all the lands that share its borders, and now it has turned its voracious attention to the small, resource-rich Tyr. Tyr cannot hope to match Sigurd in strength, so in order to survive, it must rely on the intelligence, skill and cunning of its prince and his loyal knights. But should their prince fall, so too shall Tyr…

Freya thinks of herself as a simple village girl, but her idyllic life is shattered when she is caught up in the aftermath of a treacherous Sigurdian plot. She bears a striking resemblance to her country’s beloved Prince Edvard, who lays dying from poison. Without its ruler, all of Tyr will quickly be engulfed by Sigurdian violence. Now Freya must take Prince Edvard’s place and lead his valiant knights in defending the realm! 

       

MY TIDBITS

This is the first work I've read from Keiko Ishihara, and it won't be the last.

Freya grows up in a small village and has two adoptive brothers, who she hasn't seen in awhile since they are both great warriors for the kingdom. When they finally come home for a visit, everything's wonderful until a treacherous plot to take over the kingdom destroys her happiness. As the prince of the kingdom is murder...an event which can only bring more chaos and harm...her uncanny similarities to him lead to the request that she take his place (unknown to but a few). But it's not simply learning to be a royal and a prince, which makes things difficult. She needs to save the kingdom.

The plot has some familiar attributes but mixes it a couple original ideas, which is why I grabbed this one up. Along with the lovely cover, it seemed to be an interesting read, and it is. Freya is laid out nicely, her relationship to her brothers presented clear and in an intriguing way. The brothers themselves are lacking a little personality, but I'm assuming this will be caught up on in the rest of the series. Right now, this comes across as a ground laying installment, and that's what it does.

The emotions and moments come across nicely in the graphics, and Freya gives off a sympathetic atmosphere. The world is presented with just the right amount of needed visual details to draw in, and the text flows in great balance.

I found the tale engaging and was excited to learn more as the moments unfolded. There is quite a bit of tension and intrigue as well as a dab of romance. There were moments which things sped along a bit too quickly, leaving a few holes. Which was too bad. But it was definitely a fun read, and I can't wait to see what adventures await Freya and how she'll handle them.