This was a book I was really excited for. It sounded amazing and what could be better than twins and magic?! I did not know this was a retelling of The Princess and the Pauper, which I do not know the story all that well. There was so much potential, and this book started out so strong, but unfortunately, it fell flat for me.

The dual POV (Rani and Ria) chapters were done so well. I was reading so fast because there was so much going on with both sides of the story. I flew through the first 350 pages and because I couldn’t put it down. I really liked the love interests in this book, but I didn’t love the actual romances. They felt too forced and we didn’t have enough time to explore each relationship. This book was meaty but there was a lot going on. Sometimes there was too much going on and things didn’t get fleshed out, as much as I would like. The plot was really fun though and there’s a lot of action and really cool supporting characters, who I do want to get to know more in the next book.

Rani and Ria have a lot of growth in this book, which was so great to see. The thing is, I really wanted more of the sister relationship in this book. We don’t get much of that in this book and I was really wanting more. I loved the culture representation in this book. It was great and really enjoyable to read about.

Where this book came apart for me was the ending. The last 100 pages of this book were a bit hard to get through and it just ended up way too pretty and convenient. I didn’t get that punch of YES!! I was left disappointed, and a bit confused on how such a strong 2/3’s of the book ended up that way. I kind of started skimming and just rolling my eyes and sighing a lot. It almost felt unreal and it’s where it lost me. It might be that it is geared to a younger audience, but it didn’t sit well with me.

Overall, I did like this book, and it was a really fast paced read. There’s a lot of awesome culture and the magic is definitely unique. I will take a moment to say that if you don’t like snakes, you might want to stay away from this one. I decided to read this one as my “nighttime” book and that was a mistake! haha! Anyways, I would have rated this a bit higher if it wasn’t for the last hundred pages or so of the book. I am not sure if I will pick up the next book. I might be curious enough to do so.