Uptown Oracle Reads… Damsel

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Damsel
Elana K. Arnold

The rite has existed for as long as anyone can remember: when the prince-who-will-be-king comes of age, he must venture out into the gray lands, slay a fierce dragon, and rescue a damsel to be his bride. This is the way things have always been.

When Ama wakes in the arms of Prince Emory, however, she knows none of this. She has no memory of what came before she was captured by the dragon, or what horrors she has faced in its lair. She knows only this handsome prince, the story he tells of her rescue, and her destiny to sit on the throne beside him. Ama comes with Emory back to the kingdom of Harding, hailed as the new princess, welcomed to the court.

However, as soon as her first night falls, she begins to realize that not all is as it seems, that there is more to the legends of the dragons and the damsels than anyone knows–and that the greatest threats to her life may not be behind her, but here, in front of her.

Damsel was a lot darker than I first expected, with trigger warnings of rape, abuse, suicide and sexual assault. This doesn’t make it a bad book, but if these areas trouble you I wouldn’t recommend. I did however find it strange that it was YA marketed – as it would definitely only be suitable for the older age range. Although I personally remember reading ‘older’ books when I was young so it may be a hit or miss.

Whilst a lot of dark topics were covered I did find that it was firmly rooting in Feminism. With the damsel who isn’t quite sure why she needed to be saved, and now she doesn’t know why she owes the prince anything. Without giving spoilers, it may be hard to explain, but I felt that the end of the book somewhat overshadowed this message.

The writing itself was extremely fairytale like but have a twist to the old style narrative. I felt like it drew me to keep reading and it was a quick read for me. The book is packed full of fairytale tropes from the titular damsel in distress to the big fancy castle,  dragons and some more sprinkled throughout. I thought these were often used well, and sometimes seemed parody-like the initial ‘love at first sight’.

Ama as a character was a strange narrator as she basically comes into this world knowing nothing except Emory has saved her. She does question why she must then stay with him, but her true development comes when she reaches the castle. What I found most frustrating was that whilst we find out about Ama’s past, we don’t quite grasp the why. Which keeps you thinking after reading.

The entirety of the book has this strange sense of eeriness of trying to find out what is wrong with this fairytale. There’s hints throughout, and you start to see the gruesome acts unfold in this land of not so happily ever after for females. The clues throughout for the twist were cleverly done, and you can guess the ending. But it is still a satisfying ending.

Positives

• Fairytale-like
• Feminist message

Negatives

• Maybe too dark for YA?
• Gruesome in places

I received Damsel by Elana K. Arnold from the publisher via Edelweiss. This is an unbiased and honest review