WHY HAVEN’T I HEARD OF THIS SERIES TIL NOW?!

Y’all I was loving everything this book was putting out. It did begin slow and dragged through some sections, but the tale it set up for the next three books…I am SO EXCITED.

Raisa is a strong female character who is the sassy princess heir I need. She is a lover of flirting with the boys, but who can blame her? Got some endgame choices to decide upon. I love that she refuses to set aside her ideals to be a better Queen and refusing to marry “just because”. Raisa holds her own and is a smart fun character to watch.

I have a soft spot of reformed characters. Han gives the story some edge, but his heart is in the right place. His sections do drag more than Raisa’s, but his story line built over time. The plot twists involving Hanson did surprise me. I had surmised most information, but now I’m wondering where this all ends.

Raisa and Han are endgame though…right? If not, I have already chosen wrong which may affect my view points later on, we’ll see. They’re quite a few suitors (on both sides) that haven’t formed defined love triangles, so I’m still on board. Though, I do love Amon. He’s a precious cinnamon roll who I want love forever. DON’T BETRAY ME AMON. BUT ALSO, FIND HAPPINESS PLEASE. K, thanks.

This story progressively gets faster and more convoluted. The side characters are throwing so much into the mix that I’m sitting here debating who’s good, bad, or just in the book for fun.

It was somewhat silly that these kids are 16-ish and so grown-up. Han was a previous streetlord, Raisa is taking on tasks befitting someone older, and is already trying to be married off. And the same goes for side characters. Though, the world is built in the concept of children as adults, so it’s not glaring if you’re okay with that concept.


Overall audience notes:

Young adult fantasy
No language
Handful of kisses, nothing more
Violence (burnings, knives, pummelings, magic)