delightfulllama's Reviews (116)

This felt like a Wattpad novel for me. It had an interesting premise but the writing and pacing just didn't do it for me in the end.

This book started off strong, decent pacing and enough intrigue to keep your attention, but after a while it felt like the writing was rushed along to get to a climax that didn't feel like it paid off at all. The tension of denial started to quickly deteriorate at a pace that felt a bit forced rather than a natural conclusion, it would have been nice to have a bit more working towards the inevitable acceptance. What promised to be a spicy, explicit romance in the end turned into a "Fade to Black" scene that didn't feel in place given the other parts of the book. 

I did however find myself enjoying some aspects of the book, so for me this one is a 2 star read.

This book had a solid premise. "A young healer with water powers is conscripted to serve in the Capital during the "Calling of the Favored," a competition during which the King will choose his bride." However the execution feel a bit flat for me. The writing style of this felt much more middle grade than adult romance and some of the scenes left me a bit puzzled. 

Our male protagonist had moments that made me feel like I was reading about two different people. His reluctance to want to marry any of the contestants mixed with his desire for the main character was compelling. However, once events such as our main female being used as target practice by the female contestants that feel spurred by her presence for live entertainment started happening the novel began to feel much reminiscent of many Wattpad novels that I used to read. 

I did enjoy the novel over all, but I do feel like it could have benefitted from a little more editing and work before hitting readers shelves.