i actually didn't expect to like it This Much, to be honest. I found this in a spotify audiobook playlist and was like 'sure, why not' and went in blind. 

Basically, it's about four orphans- i mean three, now -who are selected by someguy Conner to be the exact replica of the dead prince Jaron. Why? Because the royal family of Carthya is DEAD, and the missing prince might be the sole successor of the throne if he's confirmed to be alive. But apparently he was attacked by pirates and his body was never found. There's another contender for the throne, but i think he'd be an awful ruler. (That's what i kinda remember about him.) And also, there might be a civil war if jaron continues to be dead, because the royal family's supposed to quell the war. So a patriotic nobleman Conner goes orphanhunting and returns to his home with three potential Prince Jarons.

Anyway, here's my unfiltered *SPOILERY* review:

The characters:
-Sage
a small part of me wants to strangle him. The rest want to admire him. he's bold, brash, has probably dug through trash at some point. He's sarcastic, witty, and unbearably frustrating to hear (the Voice Actor did such a good job depicting a stubborn and admirable 15-year-old like Sage) Yet I love him. There, I said it. I do find him attractive, even if his actions literally got him into trouble MANY TIMES. Sage can either talk himself out of something or into a grave. Why isn't he dead by now??? 10/10 for sage, i hope he suffers the consequences of his hubris

-Roden
he seems like the most chill of the three orphans in my opinion. he's willing to learn how to read (and he's very enthusiastic about that), and he's also a pretty skilled swordsman. I kinda liked him, until the end where he completely loses it and somehow has the personality of a middle-aged man who just lost his 6th job in a row and had one too many drinks. anyways i'd rate him a 7/10 in the First Half, but I hated him at the end

-Tobias
i thought he was fruity. he felt like a twink in this book without even being gay in the first place (but who knows?) haughty, well-read, overprotective (about his notes/books). that's so gay behaviour /j. I dislike him though, acted very stuck-up just because he can read. Pfft. 

Giving him a 5/10 because he's loyal (or maybe he's just really scared to die), also

he was pretty pathetic when his plans to get rid of Conner were revealed, and he begged mercy from sage to not kill him if he becomes prince

-Conner
his voice is Amazing, only because he reminded me of elias bouchard. I also thought he was gay, maybe it's just the fancy, probably sits in his office like a manwhore, holier-than-thou vibe I got from him. overall, I dont like his plan of passing an orphan off to be Prince Jaron, but hey, we wouldn't have this book without his plan right? 

0/10

he fucking killed the fourth orphan!

that's inexcusable behaviour, idc if he may be gay, he's lost his gay privileges for that! But then again, he's a great villain. He's so unhinged

-Mott 
whenever i hear his name i'd picture 'mottled flesh'. I'm sorry, that's really unfair for him. Mott's the nicer of Conner's two henchmen, especially towards Sage (because he honestly feels bad for sage). He's just someone i'd genuinely wanna be friends with, even if he's probably tall and frightening. 10/10 because Mott's the best!! (0/10 for the other henchman Cregan, that bloodthirsty bozo)

- Imogen
i guess she's fine. I'd love for more of her though, i think she's real cute and there might be a potential romance in the next book? But there weren't any flirting or budding romance between sage and imogen that i can be sure of, which brings me to my next point of maybe sage is aroace (which is why this book is in a queer playlist on spotify) OR neither of them wants a relationship now because this book doesn't focus on that. anyways she's very softspoken (although she pretended to be mute) and has a compassionate heart. 7/10 because the book didn't really focus on her that much lol

The Story:
I liked it. 10/10 




[MAJOR SPOILERS after this point]


To elaborate, three orphans (rip Latamer) were to compete head to head to be the presumably dead Prince Jaron. Of course, Conner came up with his plan so that he can use Carthya's Next Top Prince as a puppet for whatever he wants to do to the country. The orphans are to be an excellent reader, swordsman, and have a bold personality. So far Sage checks that last box, and he's a mediocre reader & swordsman. The three orphans are also chosen because of their physical similarities to the 'late' Prince Jaron in terms of height, build, and facial features.

Now, sage seems like he doesn't wanna be the prince at all. he's just literally looking for trouble. He challenges Cregan during horseback riding lessons, which got him into a scuffle with an unstable horse and sage ran off into the woods with it, suffering multiple injuries.

at one point, he gets whipped for stealing imitator's gold from conner? (conner says he did that just to assert dominance over sage, which is so fucked up).

I would've thought Tobias would be a nice nerd, but he's incredibly stuck-up and competitive that

he cut sage's back with a knife once (on top of his whipping wounds!).

Anyways princess amarinda (Jaron's brother's bethrothed) of another country came to visit Conner for dinner, and the three orphans disguised themselves as servants to 'learn proper table etiquette' i think. sage is caught looking directly at Amarinda, and blurted out that she had something on her face. She is incredibly humbled, and offered to talk privately with sage during dinner. I think she might be into him? idk

The day comes and Conner has to decide on the perfect false prince. The boys get a makeover to look more like Jaron, and everyone is literally jaw dropped and awestruck that sage looks so much like the prince. Ultimately, Conner chooses Roden because he's a skilled swordsman and has drastically improved his reading skills. Then Conner sees Sage doing a coin trick with his hands, and literally begs him to be prince jaron. Sage hesitates, and (reluctantly?) agrees to be prince.

AND THEN SAGE NARRATES THE LIFE OF PRINCE JARON, AND SOME DETAILS OF HIS LIFE SEEM TOTALLY COINCIDENTAL WITH SAGE'S. AND. THEN. SAGE SAYS, "from then on, I became Sage of Avenia" WHICH MEANS HE WAS PRINCE JARON THE WHOLE TIME AND WAS DISGUISED AS AN ORPHANAGE-HOPPING AVINIAN ORPHAN NAMED SAGE!!!! OH MY GODD IT'S ALL SO CLEAR NOW with sage's reluctance to be king, his coin trick, his left-handedness etc.

Word has spread throughout Avenia that prince jaron might not be dead at all, so by the time Conner and Sage (and everyone else) have arrived at the castle, there are many carriages with 'prince Jaron'. Sage sneaks into the castle instead, yadda yadda--

ANOTHER EPIC MOMENT!!! SAGE/JARON LITERALLY PROVED HIMSELF TO THE ENTIRE COURT THAT HE'S THE REAL PRINCE JARON AND HE FUCKING IMPRISONED CONNER FOR SENDING THE PRATES AFTER HIM!!! YEAHHHHHHHHHH

I definitely missed a lot of things here so go read the book. stop looking at the extreme spoilers i just wrote.

10/10 for foreshadowing and unreliable narrator

10/10 for plot execution
unfortunately a 10/10 for sage and his incredible personality/voice
100/10 for the amazing dialogues and snarky Sage moments

definitely gonna reread it and write a *proper* review on how it's so brilliant