Enchanting and Atmospheric: The Beholder by Anna Bright

Series: The Beholder

Release Date: June 4, 2019

Format: Hardcover

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

The Beholder was fantastical to me and reminded me of the fairy tales I used to read when I was younger. There was no magic, no princes were sweeping in and saving the day. But the set-up of the novel: a young girl, heir to the throne, stuck with an evil stepmother who is trying to get her step-daughter out of the way so that her child can take the throne is very reminiscent of Cinderella and other fairy tales. It helps that the heroine, Selah, adores fairy tales, as they were something her, now deceased, mother shared with her. The voyage part of the story also has echoes of The Odyssey; there’s even a character named Homer. But, besides these few details, the story completely diverges as Bright commits to telling Selah’s story.

The Beholder begins with Selah being publicly rejected by her childhood friend (and crush), Peter, when her father asks him to marry her at the annual ball. Selah has struggled for years, finding a way to fit in. Not only is she part of the royal family and heir to her land, but having a deceased mother and a tendency to be a bit introverted has resulted in her being a bit of an outsider despite her future role. Since Selah was rejected, her stepmother orchestrates a plot to get Selah out of the land to find a husband. If Selah is unable to bring back a husband, she will not be allowed back. Of course, the expedition not only leaves her very ill father alone with her stepmother (who is pregnant) but also is comprised of suitors who are all–except one–heirs to the throne. If she were to then win the hand of any of these men, she would have to convince them to give up their throne to rule a backwater freed colony. Therefore, even if Selah succeeds and meets her stepmother’s requirements, she still loses because no one would give up their throne, and as a by-product, Selah would have to remain in her betrothed’s nation and rule alongside them there.

What I really appreciated about The Beholder was Selah’s love for her people and her land, no matter how modest it is compared to other nations. She’s the Crown Princess, and while she may have doubts, she still desperately wants her future role because she wants to take care of and protect her nation. Therefore, it makes sense that politics play such an essential role in this novel, despite the importance of the romance(s). Selah has to traverse the many political climates of her potential suitors, despite her lack of knowledge and awareness. Her country’s future rests on her ability to draw inferences from the sly political machinations. From that experience, she has to deduce which suitor would be the best husband for her country.

I was pleasantly surprised by Bright’s ability to create such great–and unique–romances. A condition of the excursion is that Selah has to spend her allocated amount of time with every single suitor (a couple weeks each) even if she has decided in her heart on the first suitor, for example. Therefore, she’s unable to formally accept a proposal until the end of her voyage. In The Beholder, we get two really different but both great suitors (and romances). Despite the differences between each of the men (Bear and Torden), they both push Selah out of her comfort zone. They also create a fascinating dynamic between the desire for love and a true life-partner versus what is best for her land. It is important to note that The Beholder is part of a series, so in this novel, Selah only meets two of her ~5 suitors.

Bright’s ability to create such striking love interests but also have them be so fundamentally different really made the novel. But what pushed it to amazing–in my opinion–was the care that was taken in constructing authentic cultures that represented each real-world nation.

Going into The Beholder I thought the novel was a fantasy, meaning the novel was based in a fictional world. However, the first suitor is the Crown Prince of England; the second suitor is a prince of Norge, 5^th in line to the throne. In Bright’s re-imagining of the 19^th century, Selah’s land is an ex-colony of Great Britain and the book is based in post-Great Britain Empire (i.e. post-Queen Victoria) and there is mention of the Americas. The Big Bad in The Beholder is the dreaded Imperiya Yotne as it continues to conquer smaller nations, despite the international community’s norm of sovereignty: that is, to respect national boundaries and to give colonies their independence. Of course, one of her suitors is the heir to the evil Imperiya Yotne.

While all of this is going, there are subtle hints throughout the novel that the crew of The Beholder is not everything they appear to be. To be honest, at the beginning of the story, I thought the young captain was going to be a love interest. But that’s just not the way the book went (also because it’s so necessary that Selah brings back a royal husband with connections, an ambitious sailor and now captain doesn’t seem like a possible option).

The Beholder predominately focuses on Selah managing her search for her husband through very different nations and cultures, but as a by-product is a story about Selah and her character growth–from cringingly naïve to much more aware politically aware. Through each interaction with a monarchy/government, Selah becomes more knowledgeable about the international political climate, her land’s position on the international stage and what she’s going to do about her own situation back home.

I’m eagerly anticipating the sequel, The Boundless, coming out next year in 2020.

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