The Sin Eater's Daughter by Melinda Salisbury

Title: The Sin Eater's Daughter
Author: Melinda Salisbury

Publisher: Scholastic Press
Publication date:  February 24, 2015
Pages: 320
Source/format: ARC from Cara Bertrand

Rating: ☆☆☆

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

Seventeen-year-old Twylla lives in the castle. But although she’s engaged to the prince, Twylla isn’t exactly a member of the court.
She’s the executioner.

As the Goddess embodied, Twylla instantly kills anyone she touches. Each month she’s taken to the prison and forced to lay her hands on those accused of treason. No one will ever love a girl with murder in her veins. Even the prince, whose royal blood supposedly makes him immune to Twylla’s fatal touch, avoids her company.

But then a new guard arrives, a boy whose easy smile belies his deadly swordsmanship. And unlike the others, he’s able to look past Twylla’s executioner robes and see the girl, not the Goddess. Yet Twylla’s been promised to the prince, and knows what happens to people who cross the queen.

However, a treasonous secret is the least of Twylla’s problems. The queen has a plan to destroy her enemies, a plan that requires a stomach-churning, unthinkable sacrifice. Will Twylla do what it takes to protect her kingdom? Or will she abandon her duty in favor of a doomed love?

My Thoughts:

Twylla is a commoner and is taken in by Royalty because she is goddess embodied by the daughter of Lord of the Sun and the Empress of Darkness. Poison runs in her blood and her touch kills. Her job is of an executioner of those who commit treason against the Kingdom of Lormere. Because of being Daunen Embodied, the Queen believes Twylla serves the royal court only. Twylla is a prisoner in the castle. She has no free will but things change when Lief becomes one of her guardsmen.

When I read the description of Twylla it reminded me of a more reserved Merida with the red hair and the green eyes living in a medieval setting. However, Twylla lacks the daring and fierceness of Merida. Tywlla is the Queen's puppet. The Queen uses Twylla like a weapon. If Twylla doesn't agree to the Queen's demands, Twylla's family will be cut from rations.

One of my favorite characters of the book is the Queen. The Queen actually is reminiscent of the queen in The Young Elites. Both have their own agenda and they use people as pawns to do their bidding. Both are manipulative and wear the pants in the relationship. The Queen doesn't take no for an answer and almost always gets her way. Her character makes the story. The Queen added the action and suspense that I need in a book.

Melinda Salisbury does an excellent job with the world building. However, I wish I knew more about the history of the neighboring kingdoms. The beginning of the novel starts quite strong but the instalove killed it. I am one who is not fond of instalove and I was hoping the relationship in this book will blossom over time. Just based on description alone, Twylla falls for Lief practically right after she meets him. I feel bad for Merek, the Prince, because he has grown fond of Twylla. He treats her fairly well.

The beginning and the ending make the novel. Without both, the novel is lackluster. There is a lot of description and back story in the beginning but I love the ending. The middle, however, needs work and I feel like it could have been trimmed down. I expected Twylla to be a strong female character but instead I find her complaining and whining a lot in the novel.

I plan to read the next novel in the series to see what happens next but I hope the next installment has more vitality.