RWCH Readathon 2024:
Undercover Princess - Prologue
This is genuinely to this day, my favourite introduction to a series, to characters, to anything I've read. It captures the entire essence of the series in just 6 pages.
The opening paragraph alone captures how intensely this whimsy and wonder can impact a person or a space
Reading it at 14 years old, I decided right then that I was going to be one of those people who can make anyone believe in themselves and have the power to change and achieve anythign and everything
The cut to then Eleanor being the complete opposite, "in desperate need of both" is such a beautiful and simple way to bring the reader back to reality and introduce Ellie to us.
Shes passionate and determined and stubborn, but we also see how scared and desperate she is to have control in her own life without the pressure of her duty, something that is echoed everywhere in the series.
The lines surrounding Aston Court, reading with knowledge of what is to come has an air of heartbreak and despair that she would have to give up everything about who she is.
I adore the detail that she is only refered to as Eleanor thriughout this prologue, despite her mum calling Alexander 'Alex', Eleanor isn't given the same comfprt in a nickname, it's like she's always playing a role here.
The build up of how Alexander expects her to act, and how Eleanor would go kicking and screaming juxtaposed with 'Please Dad' not only affects her parents, but the reader too.
We become to familiar with her reputation as a wild child in the first few pages that already we have the same assumptions as we see later that the media has, only we get let into her vulnerability here.
I adore how much of this chapter is subtle foreshadowing, or a little wink nudge nudge to those of us who have already read the series, even this early on. But I won't lay it all out here right now.
The chapter ending in "we can always send in Jamie" always makes me laugh because yeah I guess but why didn't he just go anyway? I get not giving her freedom but surely thats easier to explain?
In summary, this prologue is genuinely one of my favourite parts to the book and I can't wait to read everyone else's thoughts throughout the readathon.
Have you cried yet?
Yes, immediately, many times 😭
Almost, there was dust... 🥹
No, not yet 😊
