I received a copy of the YA fantasy romance book The Enemy’s Daughter by Melissa Poett from NetGalley. This book follows the story of Isadora and Tristan, who belong to different clans, set in a dystopian world. The book is a retelling of the Tristan and Isolde story, which is something that intrigued me from the beginning.
The story is set in a world that has seen constant wars. After 37 years since the fall of the Republic, only two factions remain. Isadora is a healer from the Clans with a thirst for medicinal knowledge, and she is the princess. Tristan is from Kingsland, the enemies of the Clans. When Isadora decides to aid injured soldiers at the front, she runs into Tristan. She gets injured with a poisoned arrow, and Tristan saves her, but at a cost. This magical ritual to save her binds them together, and now, they can share their pain, memories, and emotions. This story focuses on the enemies to lovers romance trope for Tristan and Isadora.
The conflict for Isadora begins with acceptance of the way Tristan’s world works. She has been taught from a young age that Kingsland is the enemy. As she starts to heal from her injury, she needs to reevaluate what she was taught and what the truth is. Her loyalty to her clan and family starts to get tested. Meanwhile, Tristan is patient with Isadora, yet slightly suspicious since she is the enemy’s daughter. Their ritual has created this bond between them that is hard to ignore. The story has a fated mates type of trope.
The things I enjoyed in this YA enemies to lovers romance was the emotional bond that this magic creates between Tristan and Isadora. The sharing of memories and emotions helps heighten the tension between the characters. I thought it also helped them understand each other on a different level. The growth of the characters and their conflicts are done well, especially for Isadora. She feels torn between her clan loyalty and the truth of their world, with the pressure of familial expectations. The arc of her growth in the story was engaging for me. The pace of the story slightly varies, but there is political intrigue and romance to keep you hooked.
The world is the story is definitely intriguing, but I felt some aspects were not clearly described. More detail into worldbuilding would have helped me imagine this world in a better way. I was extremely intrigued to know how they were able to reconstruct the society, what happened in the war, and the history of the magic. The romance between Tristan and Isadora is interesting with their magical bond, but it does not seem very satisfying. The bond, other than magic, lacked a bit, which affected the overall impact of their love story.
The Enemy’s Daughter by Melissa Poett is a fantasy romance book. It has the enemies to lovers trope, fated mates, and magic, which I enjoyed. I thought it was an interesting take on the Tristan and Isolde tale. I liked reading this book, but I did not love it. It fell a little short of my expectations. If you like books with political intrigue, romance, and YA fantasy, you will enjoy this book.
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