I think this book accomplishes what it sets out to do perfectly, which almost earns it a full five stars. It just didn't quite have the impact on me for that. But if you're looking for a very classic fairy tale written in the last few decades, this is your book. Like all good fairy tales,

Tristran was the lost prince all along

, which I thought was extremely obvious but apparently took until the end of the book for some of my compatriots to get. I thought the dramatic irony worked well

to tie the storylines together

. Just in general, loved how neatly everything tied together—not a single wasted word, which is a strength of fairy tales, in my opinion.