REVIEW: The Sin Eater's Daughter by Melinda Salisbury

I am the perfect weapon.
I kill with a single touch.

Twylla is blessed. The Gods have chosen her to marry a prince, and rule the kingdom. But the favour of the Gods has it's price. A deadly poison infuses her skin. Those who anger the queen must die under Twylla's fatal touch.

Only Lief, an outspoken new guard, can see past Twylla's chilling role to the girls she truly is.

Yet in a court as dangerous and the queen's, some truths should not be told...                    --Goodreads on The Sin Eater's Daughter

The Good: Uh, that she's a freaking executioner that kills with a single touch. That's taking a "strong female lead" to a whole nother level (yes, that's a word now).

As the book goes on she becomes less and less of a strong lead, something the opposite of what you'd expect a main character to become. But, it's understandable, especially once the bombshell (or three) is dropped on her. She's brave, though. Really brave to go through what she has and what she will.

She's the daughter of a Sin Eater, another crazy idea by Salisbury that, outside of the novel and the world she created, would seem too far out there to believe. That's one of the "goods" part of this review. Twylla's world is crazy realistic, you live where she lives and Salisbury makes sure that you're comfortable there.

Ever since Twilight I became wary of love triangles because Bella's was so ridiculous and it was Such. A. Bad. Book. but then I read Throne of Glass and fell in love with the race to win her heart, the fictional good-looking men, and choosing a team and rooting for them, then the surprise when we find out who she picks. Whelp, folks, there's a love triangle here and it's pretty darn cool. You're thrown surprise after surprise and it just keeps getting better and better.

And oh-my-bob the ending; the epilogue, rather. It was the bomb. I would have never expected it and that's the right kind of ending.

I want to address the title of the book briefly--I thought this was a smart move on the author's part. While being the Sin Eater's daughter does have some validity to the story, it is not a major part. However, the title (and beautiful cover) drew me to the book; it was something that sounded so sketchy that I couldn't help but pick it up at Barnes and Noble and wish it was mine so I could find out who this weapon was.

The Bad: I had to think hard about this one. Actually, I'm still thinking about it as I write and I've really only come up with one complaint. I wasn't thrilled with the way the chapters ended. It was terrible! It would stop. Just... stop and you'd be like, when dafuq did this end? I was totally caught off-guard and several times I'd flip a few pages back to make sure I didn't miss a page, but I didn't.

That ends "The Bad" section of this review. Actually, it ends the whole review....

Who would like this book? Fans of Throne of Glass--because it's fantasy, takes place in a castle, and both the main characters, you know, are young women that kill people for a living.

My Rating: