Book Review: The Sin Eater's Daughter

Title: The Sin Eater's Daughter (The Sin Eater's Daughter #1)
Author: Melinda Salisbury
Publisher: Scholastic Books
Publication Date: February 24, 2015
Genre: Young Adult // Romance // Fantasy 
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher (Edelweiss) 


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 (goodreads)?


The Sin Eater's Daughter has unique mythology and has the villain that you love to hate, I only wish that some of the characters and their relationships were better fleshed out. 

Plot: At a young age, Twylla was plucked from her mother's home and training and deemed the Goddess reborn. As the daughter of the gods of life and death, Twylla has the unfortunate task of poisoning those who have betrayed the crown. The problem is that not everything is as it seems. My biggest problem with The Sin Eater's Daughter is the title. I assumed the her role as being the Sin Eater's daughter was tied to her poisonous touch, but they are not. I think I came into this book with exceptions, and I was a bit disappointed because it didn't align with that I had envisioned for the  book. Nonetheless, the history of Sin Eating held my attention more than Tylla's Goddess-like powers. It's such an interesting and unique idea, I kind of wish that this book was all about sin eating instead of Twylla being used as a royal executioner.

One thing to note is that Melinda Salisbury releis heavily on flashbacks, which surprisingly was not that confusing. A little tiresome (because there were so many), but I was able to follow along.

Characters: As most young adult novels, The Sin Eater's Daughter has a very unique girl who has to choose between two possible suitors. I don't think that the love triangle took precedence over the action, but it felt completely unnecessary (like most love triangles do...). I did like how the author dealt with it at the end though.

My biggest regret in The Sin Eater's Daughter was that I was not able to get into her head. A few of her actions didn't make much sense to me, and at times I felt her reaction to things was completely unreal and forced. Twylla has promise to be a great female lead, and I have no doubt that she'll continue to grow in future installments. I can't say the same for her two  male suitors though.

World Building: In terms of the mythology and supporting the history, Melinda did a fantastic job. I liked how the Goddess came to be and the entire idea behind Sin Eating is genius. Melinda Salisbury is definitely talented and creative in that aspect, I felt that the landscape was a bit bare though.

Short N Sweet: The Sin Eater's Daughter wasn't quite what I was expecting, but the mythology was rich and has promise of an interesting sequel! 

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