Book Review: State of Sorrow (Sorrow #1) by Melinda Salisbury

Book: State of Sorrow
Series: Sorrow book 1 
Author: Melinda Salisbury
Genre: YA fantasy

Sorrow all but rules the Court of Tears, in a land gripped by perpetual grief, forever mourning her brother who died just days before Sorrow was born. By day she governs in place of her father, by night she seeks secret solace in the arms of the boy she's loved since childhood. But when her brother is seemingly found alive, and intent on taking control, Sorrow has to choose whether to step aside for a stranger who might not be who he claims to be, or embark on a power struggle for a position she never really wanted.

My Rating: 4 STARS

My Review:

I really liked State of Sorrow and thought it was a captivating fantasy.

I was quickly drawn into the story by the prologue.  It provides an intriguing backdrop to the history of the world in this book and really sets the tone for the overall plot.

I liked the descriptions of the lands in State of Sorrow especially the two main ones, Rhannon and Rhylla.  I liked the contrast of them, Rhylla is described as being full of life while Rhannon being described as a place of dreariness and sadness.

The thing that I loved most about State of Sorrow was how much the book focused on the political side of things, I didn't expect it to be that centred on the politics of ruling a kingdom but I loved that it did.  I felt the political points of the story provided so much to the overall story because it set a lot of things into motion like the motivations of the characters and also the surprising twists and turns of the story.

I liked Sorrow and thought her story was very interesting as she had to navigate the complexities of trying to lead Rhannon while having to learn all the courtly schemes and politics.  I thought all the characters were written really well and I loved reading about Sorrow's friendship with Irris and I also liked Luvian's character a lot.

Overall I thought State of Sorrow was a great fantasy book and I liked the focus on the politics.  The characters were complex and I thought the plot was very intriguing and full of interesting twists.