The Secret Gift is a 2021 young adult fantasy novel by Bethany Atazadeh. It is the first book in the The Queen's Rise series, which is a spin-off of The Stolen Kingdom, though it can be read as a standalone. It was published by Grace House Press and was released in September 2021.
Jezebel's newfound shapeshifting gift breaks every rule in Jinn. She's forced to keep it secret or risk having her ability severed, stolen from her completely. Despite the danger, part of her is desperate to embrace her power. When Jezebel's friends discover a portal to the human world, she follows them into the strange place, unable to resist the temptation to explore her gift where no one will see. Except someone does. Someone Jezebel thought she could trust. His betrayal comes in whispers at first. But all too quickly, those whispers become demands. And he'll stop at nothing—not even blackmail—to use Jezebel's power for himself. One dark decision leads to another, until Jezebel stands to lose something she can't live without—either her freedom, or her innocence.
The premise of this novel promises a very intriguing story. It promises betrayals and Jezebel having to make impossible choices and a loss of innocence. While the plot does deliver on these things, it's not in the way I expected. The story starts off very strong, with Jezebel's status in life leaving something to be desired and sets up a coming-of-age story very well. The forbidden journey to the human world presents an intriguing opportunity and creates possibilities within the narrative that didn't previously exist. It was compelling. Her having to hide her gift from everyone adds stakes. Somewhere between the 1/3 mark and the halfway point, however, the story starts to drift from the promises of the premise. The "betrayal" mentioned in the blurb happens not far into the story, and it's not as devastating as one might expect. From there, Jezebel doesn't find herself slowly making questionable and then eventually darker decisions, but instead she goes straight to making a very dark decision and repeating that choice again and again. As a result, there's no tension in the second half of the book. Jezebel might worry about getting caught, but there are no external factors causing that worry. The climax of this novel is overall uneventful, because the stakes feel so low. With an uneventful climax, the resolution feels less satisfying. I'm aware this novel is the first in a series, but the novel left very little unresolved to prompt a sequel.
I have very mixed feelings about the characters in this book. Jezebel was a good protagonist to follow. At the beginning of the novel, she's very unsure of herself and scared of her abilities. Over the course of the story, the reader sees her come into her own as a person and become more confident. She also begins to stand up for herself against people in her life that might take advantage of her, or seek to exploit her. She becomes willing to do almost anything to keep her secret, regardless of who it hurts. An issue I had with her character arc, however, was that it felt a bit rushed. Her transition into someone who values her survival above all else happens very quickly to the point that it feels impulsive more than anything else. In terms of her dynamics with other characters, she more or less jumps straight from "I want to help my friends" to "I will destroy you if I have to" which feels extreme. There wasn't enough in-between for Jezebel's descent into becoming morally grey or outright villainous to feel believable. The supporting cast of characters had no real depth. Jezebel's friends are not deep characters, and the reader is told things about them rather than shown. It's difficult to connect with any side character, which becomes an issue as the story progresses. Since the reader doesn't get invested in the side characters, it's hard to care about what happens to them.
I thought the writing in this novel was good. The prose flowed very well, being descriptive, but not flowery. The author had a strong and distinct voice. There were some pacing issues I had, but I chalk those up to issues I had with the plot, rather than the writing itself. The novel works fine as a standalone. I'm sure people who have already read The Stolen Kingdom will get more out of this novel than I did, but it can stand pretty well on its own. There's enough world-building for new readers to find it approachable.
The Secret Gift was a book that I have mixed feelings about. The blurb promised an interesting premise, but the execution didn't quite match my expectations. The narrative as a whole was missing something. The protagonist had a compelling arc, though not perfectly executed, but other characters lacked depth. It was a quick read, and the novel works well as a standalone, but it wasn't a good fit for me.
Rating: 2.5 Stars
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