Hype Post – The Beholder by Anna Bright

**Disclaimer, I have not read The Beholder or any spoilers about it.  The following post is pure speculation on what I think I will like and dislike about it.**

Title The Beholder

Author Anna Bright

Description from Amazon

Selah has waited her whole life for a happily ever after. As the only daughter of the leader of Potomac, she knows her duty is to find the perfect match.

But after an excruciatingly public rejection, Selah’s stepmother suggests an unthinkable solution: Selah must set sail across the Atlantic to visit a series of potential suitors—and if she doesn’t come home engaged, she shouldn’t come home at all.

From the gardens of England to the fjords of Norge, Selah’s quest will be the journey of a lifetime. But her stepmother’s schemes aren’t the only secrets hiding belowdecks…and the stakes of her voyage may be higher than any happy ending.

Initial Thoughts

I basically forgot that this book was coming out in June until it showed up at my house yesterday in my May Fairy Loot box.  I ordered it as a one-off because I thought the theme sounded amazing (unboxing post coming later this week).  While this book does sound interesting, it was not as memorable as other upcoming titles have been.

Cover Art

The cover of this book is interesting.  It almost looks like a clay model of a ship and the ocean instead of a lifelike version of them.  The typography is intersting and the color scheme is a bit dull.  It’s not my favorite cover.  But, that being said, Fairy Loot’s edition featured rose colored sprayed edges and what cover fail can’t be repaired by beautiful sprayed edges??

Notes on the Dust Jacket

This sounds like Cinderella meets the Bachelor.  The stepmother in this story sends her away instead of keeping her around.  Either way, it seems pretty clear that Selah’s stepmother doesn’t want her around.

The title also makes me think of the phrase, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”  Was that the intention?  Does beauty or something superficial play a role in this story?

The word fjord was mentioned in the description.  Will there be vikings?  Tell me there will be Vikings and I will drop everything to read this book right now.

Final Thoughts

I have a lot of ideas about the direction this book will take.  It definitely has my interest and I don’t think I’ll be forgetting it again any time soon.