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Royal Bastards by Andrew Shvarts

Published on May 30, 2017 by Disney-Hyperion

Source: ARC for review from publisher

Plot Summary for Royal Bastards by Andres Shvarts

Being a bastard blows. At sixteen, Tilla spends her days exploring long-forgotten tunnels beneath the castle with her stablehand half brother, Jax, and her nights drinking with the servants, passing out on Jax’s floor while her castle bedroom collects dust. Tilla secretly longs to sit by her father’s side, resplendent in a sparkling gown, enjoying feasts with the rest of the family. Instead, she sits with the other bastards, like Miles of House Hampstedt, an awkward scholar who’s been in love with Tilla since they were children. Then, at a feast honoring the visiting princess Lyriana, the royal shocks everyone by choosing to sit at the Bastards’ Table. Before she knows it, Tilla is leading the sheltered princess on a late-night escapade. Along with Jax, Miles, and fellow bastard Zell, a Zitochi warrior from the north, they stumble upon a crime they were never meant to witness. Rebellion is brewing in the west, and a brutal coup leaves Lyriana’s uncle, the Royal Archmagus, dead—with Lyriana next on the list. The group flees for their lives, relentlessly pursued by murderous mercenaries; their own parents have put a price on their heads to prevent the king and his powerful Royal Mages from discovering their treachery. The bastards band together, realizing they alone have the power to prevent a civil war that will tear their kingdom apart—if they can warn the king in time. And if they can survive the journey...

Review of Royal Bastards by Andrew Shvarts

Royal Bastards was an engaging, fast-paced light fantasy. 

I did love the concept - a bunch of semi-outcast kids with one noble parent banding together - and some aspects of the story, but there were a few things that kept me from completely loving this book.

The world-building was good if familiar - a bunch of kingdoms existing not-so-peacefully with one another. There was political rivalry and also some paranormal elements.

There was a lot of action - an assassination during a banquet for a visiting princess sets this band of royal misfits on the run, princess in tow. 

After that, they stay on the lam, racing from danger to danger. There's a bunch of fighting scenes if that's your thing. There was swearing (though all the "oh, shit" struck me as weirdly modern) and fade-to-black sex but for some reason the overall tone of this still felt like younger YA to me.

I definitely could have used more character development. 

The whole outcast/bastard thing was a good start on making the characters sympathetic, but I didn't get much of a sense of each one besides their initial characterization (Tilla = spunky, Miles = nerdy, Jax = loyal, Zell = fierce, Lyriana = earnest). 

They grow closer as they flee, and their loyalty to each other grows as well, but I didn't feel I got to know each one much better from the start of the story to the end. The story is told solely from Tilla's POV, so maybe that was part of it.

There was (sort-of) romance, but to me it felt like it came out of nowhere. Every so often a character would say that they LOVED another character and I'd be like -- huhhh? 

Again, maybe it was the single POV but I felt the emotional aspect of the story needed some strengthening. Or the love signals were a few bars short and my emotional wi-fi wasn't picking them up.

Overall, an entertaining book but one that (for me) could have used more depth. If you enjoy light fantasy with a lot of action, be sure to check it out!