Review: Court by Cat Patrick

Blurb from Goodreads

For more than 400 years, a secret monarchy has survived and thrived within the borders of the US, hiding in plain sight as the state known as Wyoming. But when the king is shot and his seventeen-year-old son, Haakon McHale, is told he will take the throne, becoming the eleventh ruler of the Kingdom of Eurus, the community that’s survived for centuries is pushed to the limit. Told through four perspectives, Court transplants us to a world that looks like ours, but isn’t. Gwendolyn Rose, daughter of the Duke of Coal, is grudgingly betrothed to Haakon — and just wants a way out. Alexander Oxendine, son of the Duke of Wind and Haakon’s lifelong best friend, already grapples with external struggles when he’s assigned to guard Haakon after the king dies. And commoner Mary Doyle finds whispers in the woods that may solve — or destroy — everything, depending on your bloodline.

Money. Love. Power. Community. What’s your motivation?

Kindle Edition, 277 pages

Published October 23rd 2014

edition language: English

genre: Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult

My Thoughts

I think this book has an awesome idea for its story, a story about a hidden country. A country, called Realm, that is disguised as a state in the US. Along the way it was quite hard for me stomach all of the things that make Realm runs. Many questions wandered in my head, the how, what and why demanded answer from the characters, which to be honest at first I was kinda doubt they will provide me the reasonable answers. And the most important question is could Realm even truly exist when there is no one knows about them? The answer is it can be and the characters give me make sense description to answer my doubt and my questions. So then I began to understand and quite believe of what the author told me through her story. And what I love most of it is the story isn’t as simple as I thought before. There are so much going on and more complex than the blurb says. And I really liked it.

The story its self is told from third person POV from 4 perspectives; Haakon, the prince; his bestfriend, Alexander; his fiancee, Gwendolyn; and a commoner, Mary. Some of their POV are more interesting than the others. The problem is when I was so glue with one POV I have to wait for a couple chapters to go back to it since the next chapter is told from other perspective. And sometimes it isn’t as interesting as the previous one. So here I read one chapter about the king’s dead and then the next chapter is about a mundane thing like riding a horse. It was (kinda) frustrating since I want to know more about the king’s dead, and its impact. And since I didn’t read this book in one sitting (have to put it on hold to do my works, to have dinner and even to sleep) when I continue reading it I was kinda forget the stories from the previous chapters. So I have no choice to go back to it. However the more I read, it’s clearer that each chapter in fact intertwine each other, even when it seems so simple and all.

As for the characters, my favorite is Mary. She feels more real and I can connect easier to her than to other characters. The four main characters have their own virtue and vice, in a way I just couldn’t tell who the good one is and whom I should believe. But one thing for sure is they all seem so naive and trust others easily which kinda bothers me, to be honest. Take Haakon for example, he’s the prince, the heir of the Realm, I think it’s understandable that I assumed he has a prince qualities. Surely his parents and also the council train him for his whole life of how to become a king and his responsibilities, right? But it isn’t what I got. He seems so lost when his father died. At first I thought it was because he’s in shock knowing that he will become a king sooner than later, but then he keeps his unsureness, and doesn’t know what he has to do all the time. This makes him to have to listen to the council which leads him trust them while I think he’s too easy trusting them. As a prince I kind wish he has curiosity and questioning everything that happened around him. But then again, he doesn’t seem have prince qualities in the first place, so he being naive might understandable, I guess.

I also think that the way the characters solve the problem is too easy. I felt like suddenly everything falls in pieces and in a rush. Yet I really liked the story and the feel that I got when I read this book. I thought it’s purely fantasy story but when I got to know more about Realm, I felt like it’s also a dystopia world, though the setting is in present time.

All in all, I think this is a good story that beautifully written. Before I read it, I thought it’s a standalone but reading the way it ends, it’s clear that there will be another books since Gwendolyn and Haakon’s story haven’t finished yet. And I’ll read their next journey for sure.

Result: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Blog Tour & Giveaway: Court by Cat Patrick

Hi! Welcome to another blog tour and giveaway. It’s time for a young adult fantasy story, Court by Cat Patrick. I’m so excited because this is my first invitation (from publisher) on NetGalley and it has great giveaway, 2 set signed books (4 previous books) from the author!. Isn’t it awesome?  So yeah, I can’t not to accept it. Let’s take a look about this book, shall we?

Title: Court

Author: Cat Patrick

Date of Publication: October 23rd 2014

For more than 300 years, a secret monarchy has survived and thrived within the borders of the US, hiding in plain sight as the state known as Wyoming. But when the king is shot and his seventeen-year-old son, Haakon McHale, is told he will take the throne, becoming the eleventh ruler of the Kingdom of Eurus, the community that’s survived for centuries is pushed to the limit. Told through four perspectives, Court transplants us to a world that looks like ours, but isn’t. Gwendolyn Rose, daughter of the Duke of Coal, is grudgingly betrothed to Haakon — and just wants a way out. Alexander Oxendine, son of the Duke of Wind and Haakon’s lifelong best friend, already grapples with internal struggles when he’s assigned to guard Haakon after the king dies. And commoner Mary Doyle finds whispers in the woods that may solve — or destroy — everything, depending on your bloodline.

 Money. Love. Power. Community. What’s your motivation?

Amazon | Goodreads

Excerpt

HAAKON

Before he was the enemy, James Haakon McHale III was just a seventeen-year-old in what most people knew as the state of Wyoming, wishing he was somewhere other than the predawn forest with a rifle in his grip.

“It’s colder than moonlight on a tombstone,” Haakon muttered, blowing on his fist. His thick-soled boots swish-thumped on the hard earth as he skillfully avoided twigs, rocks, and low branches.

Alexander Oxendine—youngest son of the Duke of Wind, wide receiver, video game button masher, and Haakon’s best friend—laughed into his collar. It could’ve been mistaken for a cough.

“It’s colder than a whore’s heart,” Alexander said, his tone cautiously low. They were the youngest members of the hunting party, and were only allowed to take part because of their rank. Haakon could think of a thousand superior privileges.

He glanced around to make sure none of the other men were paying attention—especially his father. Smirking, he said, “Colder than a polar bear’s balls.”
The pair stifled laughter.

“Than a witch’s—”

“Too easy.”

“Colder than a dead woman’s touch,” Alexander said.

Haakon checked again, dialed down his voice even more, and said, “It’s colder than Gwendolyn Rose’s kiss.”

“Quiet!”

It was Haakon’s father: dictator, fun-spoiler, and—regrettably for his son—the tenth ruler of the Kingdom of Eurus, also known as the Realm, the monarchy hiding in plain sight in the depths of the Democracy known as the United States of America.

Every schoolchild knew the story. In 1670, after Joseph Dyer’s wife died in the Great Plague in London, he brought his five daughters to what would become the United States one hundred years later, seeking a better life. But it soon became apparent that his family would never thrive under strict Puritan rule in New England–which banned higher education for girls and taught submissiveness above all else, and which centered around extreme religious beliefs that were counter to Dyer’s own.

A friend, John Seymour, who was—controversially—married to a Native woman, suggested that they set out together in search of a new home deep within America’s treacherous unknown. Seymour’s wife had been attacked; her family persecuted. Seymour believed that rather than fighting the Natives, they should live in harmony with them.

Dyer, Seymour, and several other men and their families snuck away. After a long and dangerous journey, together they created their version of paradise: a kingdom that blended the best of England with Native cultures. Dyer was thought of as the Father of the Realm, and Seymour’s Native wife, who ensured their survival through tribal relations, the Mother.

Rather than cause a revolution, the founders decided to keep the kingdom secret. Inside the borders of what they’d eventually stake claim as Wyoming, they’d follow their own rules. Outsiders wouldn’t know they were different because they wouldn’t understand.

Outsiders weren’t to be trusted.

Dyer’s youngest daughter, captivated by the ancient Greek she wouldn’t have been allowed to learn in Puritan society, named the new kingdom Eurus, meaning east wind. She pronounced it “air-us.”

“But the winds here blow from the west,” Haakon had asked his father once—before Dad was King James. That was when it was okay to ask questions. When curiosity wasn’t an imposition.

“That’s right, Haakon,” his father had replied, straw between his teeth. They’d gone on a walk together. The sun was setting on an easy day. His dad had pointed toward the eastern horizon. “The wind here does primarily blow from the west, but our founders blew in from the east. That day, the wind changed directions.”

Haakon frowned away the memory of days never to return, and refocused on the trees. He walked as soundlessly as he could in his camo fleece jacket and vintage Levi’s, his rifle nestled in the crook of his left arm, a round in the chamber. He was on the left edge of the group, three rows behind his father. Evenly spaced gaps between them, the men were like migrating geese, locked in formation.

Geese hunting deer.

“Were you drinking last night?” Haakon’s father had demanded on the way to the meeting point that morning. “Is that why you’re so tired?”

“I’m tired because it’s so early that the birds aren’t even awake yet.”

“Good. Because you know what the consequences will be if you start drinking again.” They’d shared the backseat of the armored SUV; Haakon had done his best to preoccupy himself with his cell phone.

“Yes, sir, I know.”

“You need to turn that thing off before we arrive. And when’s your next haircut? You look slovenly.”

Will you just get off my back? Haakon had thought at the top of his lungs. What he’d said, though, was simply, “Yes, sir.”

There, in the forest, Haakon toyed with the idea of raising his gun and shooting King James square in the back of the head. Right there under his hat, just above the rise of his custom down hunting vest. He could do it. Even with the others present, he knew there’d be no trial, no trip to Corby. But offing his father wouldn’t solve anything. In fact, it would make life a lot worse. Because with his father gone, Haakon would be in charge.

Haakon would become the King of Eurus.

The thought made him want to puke.

About Cat Patrick:

 Raised in a house that was struck by lightning–twice–Cat Patrick is the author of young adult books Forgotten, Revived, and The Originals, and the co-author of Just Like Fate.

As a child, Cat could be found making up stories like her first book, Dolly the Purple Spotted Dolphin; growing corn in the backyard; or performing with a traveling sign-language troupe. She earned a journalism degree from the University of Wyoming and a master’s degree from Boston University, and worked in public relations for fifteen years. She lives outside of Seattle with her husband and twin daughters.

Cat once…

• Interrupted Warren Beatty’s lunch to snap a picture with him.
• Appeared on a game show, but not as a competitor.
• Climbed a 50 foot tower and rappelled back down. (At least she thinks it was 50 feet.)
• Met Muhammad Ali.
• Was on the high school golf team.
• Got a tattoo.
• Was pooped on by a dolphin.
• Performed a high kick routine to Personal Jesus.
• Interviewed Carmen Electra.
• Worked as a “concessionist” at a movie theater.
• Met the guy who created Sonic the Hedgehog.

Cat likes… Crunchy snacks, decaf nonfat lattes, mint chip ice cream, Alan Rickman, zombies from afar, traveling, reading, easy hikes, challenging plotlines, stargazing, silly hats, and boots.

Cat dislikes… Talking on the phone, socks with holes, zombies close up, the flu, mean people, touching ice, copyedits, flying, spiders, squeaky windshield wipers, black licorice, and salmon.

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