Book Review: The Prince and the Troll (Faraway #1)

The Prince and the Troll by Rainbow Rowell
My rating: 3 of 5 stars ★★★☆☆

Disclaimer: I work for Starbucks. My review was in no way influenced by any emotional trauma I may or may not have faced in the line of duty.

rating: 3 stars
format: ebook (Kindle Unlimited)
genre: fantasy, retellings, short stories, YA

Summary:

A man, who is not a prince, works doing... something on "The Road", which is supposedly the bees knees despite having a negative impact on the environment (it has somehow completely halted rainfall) and a cruel "if you fall on the road we will push you off and you will die" policy. After dropping his phone off of a bridge, he meets a quirky troll who lives in the mud develops an affinity for Starbucks in what seems to be an extended ad for the company, intermingled with a short love story.

I started reading this short story with high hopes. As I read, those hopes fell little by little. I felt like I was not understanding part of a bigger picture, and the common YA theme of capitalizing words to make them seem Very Important left me feeling like I was missing something that everyone else was in on ("Collapses" and "Tragedies").

Pros:

✔ I really enjoyed the character of the troll! She was cute and witty and a sweetheart, albeit a bit mischievous.
✔ The ongoing bit of Adam noticing the troll's features.
✔ A subtle, overarching message about climate change and development (but not, of course, about consumerism).
✔ Great writing and editing.
✔ I really was rooting for the pair. I enjoyed their chemistry and the troll's attempts to get Adam's head out of his ass.
✔ Easy, bite-sized length.
✔ I found myself laughing quite a bit. Adam yelling "Starbucks is always open!" despite a deadly tragedy had me giggling.

Cons:

✘ At times I felt like I was reading a Starbucks menu. Can I not escape the Siren even in the confines of my own home?
✘ In what could have been a unique and elaborate world, I found myself asking many questions, most of which were never answered. What does Adam actually do? What is the road, really? How do people fall on the road, and why are they pushed off if they fall? What happens after they are pushed off? What are the crows that watch everyone? Why the heck does the troll have a (mermaid) tail, and does she also have legs? How does the troll already like Starbucks- has she manipulated men into caffeinating her before? Why did Adam say the Strawberry Acai Refresher was seasonal???
✘ Various fantastical creatures were alluded to but never mentioned again, and it would have been nice to have the fantasy aspect of this world expanded upon, but this is more just my personal taste.

Overall, not bad for a free read. I would like to read more of Rainbow Rowell's works, as well as more works in the Faraway series.

Review cross-posted: Skyler St. Clair on Goodreads & Skyler's Bookshelf Reading Blog