Category: YA

3.5 star, YA

ARC Review: Rise of the Vicious Princess by C.J. Redwine

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Series: Rise of the Vicious Princess #1

The first in a YA political fantasy duology about a fierce princess determined to bring lasting peace to her kingdom regardless of the cost to her heart.

Princess Charis Willowthorn is the dutiful sword of Calera. Raised to be ruthless and cunning, her only goal is to hold her war-torn kingdom together long enough to find a path toward peace with their ancient foe, Montevallo, even if the cost is her own heart.

When violence erupts in the castle itself and an unseen enemy begins sinking Calera’s ships, Charis realizes a threat much greater than Montevallo is coming for her people. So she forms a plan. By day, she is Calera’s formidable princess intent on forging an alliance with Montevallo. By night, she disguises herself as a smuggler and roams the sea with a trusted group of loyalists, hunting for their new enemies. And through it all, there’s the one boy she can’t have—who guards her life but steals her heart.

But her enemies are much closer than Charis realizes, and her heart isn’t the only thing she has left to lose.

**Rise of the Vicious Princess comes out June 14, 2022**

Thank you Edelweiss and the publisher for this copy in exchange for an honest review

A solid book 1 in the latest from C.J. Redwine, Rise of the Vicious Princess truly lives up to its name.

MC characterization

Princess Charis Willowthorn is someone to reckon with. Groomed by her mother to be as ruthless as she is in leading a war torn country that is divided on their opinions about continued war, Charis has no choice but to rule while never trusting a soul and walking the loneliest road.

I personally took a little while to warm up to Charis. I understand her characterization and it was written well. But she’s not the most empathetic character to like because she does make the hard decisions, although I appreciated seeing the inner struggle she had while remaining impassive and poker-faced on the outside.

I grew to like her in the end for her savvy mind and courage in the face of danger. Someone is out to kill her, and with enemies both known and perhaps unknown, it’s hard to know who and if she could trust anyone.

World building

What made this book REALLY stand out was the world created. The different kingdoms on the map are actually described and we really get to learn a little more about each as Charis tries to make allies with the other kingdoms surrounding hers.

While we don’t get to really explore the other places on the map as we mainly stick to Charis’ country of Calera, the other side of world building is incorporating the culture and people from such places. The representatives in the court from the various lands and the ways of the people shone through in this writing. At first it was a little confusing trying to keep names of people and places straight, but once the familiarity settled, I was intrigued by the politics of it all.

The synopsis is very true to word describing this book as a political fantasy. I wasn’t sure what that meant at first because I don’t think I’ve read many, but it does remind me of Laura Sebastian’s Ash Princess trilogy with the similarity of a protagonist trying to outmaneuver war tactics from the enemy. In fact, by the end of the book, this was my favourite part of it! I think Redwine wrote this amazingly, I was so swept up with the political games and trying to determine the moves and secrets the other kingdoms held.

Romance of course

Obviously a YA fantasy isn’t complete without a cute romance. I love stories where the protagonist falls for their bodyguard. There’s just something so genuine and sweet about it, appreciating the one who literally chooses to die for you. Of course, some do it because it’s their job, but it’s all the more romantic when it’s by choice from love or care.

I really enjoyed seeing the relationship unfold between Tal and Charis. I wasn’t quite feeling it at first, much like how I was feeling about the book, but after the one-third mark, I was really starting to get into the story after familiarizing myself with everything. He’s the sweetest, and won’t let her surliness get in his way of taking care of her needs, whether she wanted his help or not.

I will say I’m looking forward to whatever may unfold between them in book 2, but I’m not 100% sure where everything is going after that explosive ending.

Bottom line

So why isn’t this a 5 star rating? I’ve so far glowed about everything that I typically look for in a book. And it was good! Don’t get me wrong.

The issue definitely was the pacing. Learning all the politics and the details of the court, who to trust and who represented what kingdom, was taxing. It was necessary to get to the heart of the story but it took a while.

Speaking of a while, the whole synopsis bit about Charis being a smuggler at night also didn’t happen until closer to the halfway mark. There was a lot of set up so we could get to know Charis, her kingdom and her predicament before things went further haywire. Did I want it to happen a little faster? Sure. But I can also see the sense of taking a bit more time so things happened organically.

I think this story will amaze anyone who loves fantasy, the bodyguard romance trope, and secrets that aren’t initially predictable. If you don’t know what a political fantasy is, I would recommend checking it out to see if it’s for you. What I learned from reading this? I guess I really do enjoy political fantasies because it’s what made this book stick out.

Overall Recommendation:

Rise of the Vicious Princess defines the YA political fantasy genre, something I’m newer to, as we dive into this world full of conflict and enemies known and unknown. With a protagonist who has to hide her true feelings inside in order to present the ruthless outside she needs to rule a divided kingdom, I’m sure Charis will get your hearts to soften as she did to mine with time. The bodyguard romance trope is also present to sweeten the deal as they try to root out traitors and assassins from among them. The only downfall was the pacing, but once you get past the foundation laying, this story was intriguing to the end. A great introduction to political fantasy for those who are on the fence.

3 star, YA

Review: The Iron Sword by Julie Kagawa

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Series: The Iron Fey: Evenfall #2

As Evenfall nears, the stakes grow ever higher for those in Faery…

Banished from the Winter Court for daring to fall in love, Prince Ash achieved the impossible and journeyed to the End of the World to earn a soul and keep his vow to always stand beside Queen Meghan of the Iron Fey. 

Now he faces even more incomprehensible odds. Their son, King Keirran of the Forgotten, is missing. Something more ancient than the courts of Faery and more evil than anything Ash has faced in a millennium is rising as Evenfall approaches. And if Ash and his allies cannot stop it, the chaos that has begun to divide the world will shatter it for eternity.

Book 2 in the Evenfall series and I’m starting to wonder if perhaps this series has started losing its charm on me. The Iron Sword marks the 9th book – NINTH – in this Iron Fey world Julie has created. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely adored it. Fairies were all the rage in the early 2010s, and may be making a mini comeback with the surge of some popular series recently. Yet there’s just something off that made me enjoy this book less than I had anticipated.

First off, let me just say that I absolutely ADORE Ash. He had his own POV book once before, in the fourth book of the overall series, and I gobbled it up like a pie straight out of the oven (not that I do that often). While Meghan was a fine protagonist, I wanted to see the world as he did, this old fey who had lived many human lives and seen the inner workings of the Winter court. He was their cruel prince (ha ha) until he fell in love and sought to become partially human by gaining a soul.

Fast forward some other doomsday prophecy the entire gang defeated – did I mention I missed the middle series and have yet to read them because I didn’t like Meghan’s brother who had grown up to be a very surly teenager? – and now there’s yet another problem coming to bite the entire land of fey known as the Nevernever. Does anyone get a break? Clearly not as Robin Goodfellow aka Puck so cheerfully pointed out. He was the protagonist of book 1 in this Evenfall series which was fun and wild as I imagined he would be, but I was more surprised and eager to know Ash would be the main POV here.

Now, I find myself here with very uncertain thoughts even after some time towards this book.

The nostalgia factor was definitely high with this one and I can’t fault it for leaning into it. Familiar faces from ALL the books make its way into this storyline and it was great to see. Julie is an excellent storyteller and can weave all these appearances as part of the plot. I didn’t mind that at all. I fell back into this world like it hadn’t been a decade since I first found this magical realm just under the human eye.

Likewise, Julie is great with the plot in the sense that it always feels like an adventure. From trekking through the Between to search for Keirran to finding interesting sources in the human world to aid them on their quest, the gang never stays just in one place or with just one task. Things move along and that’s GOOD. However, sometimes it felt like their tasks were very minor and we didn’t really get to see what it was leading towards until near the very end. Maybe this once didn’t bother me if this was a normal pattern before, but it definitely wasn’t my favourite thing to get to the climax and only then feel the adrenaline surging for “the end of the world”.

Also, how many times can the world be ending? I swear, each of these 3 series faces one doomsday prophecy and it’s starting to get old. Does nothing else exciting besides the ENTIRE fate of all the worlds happen to them all?

The only saving grace for this book and its rating is definitely because of Ash. The first prince I ever loved (who wasn’t human). Can exhibit sweetness but only to those he really cares for, and full of disgruntled charm and deadly grace in fighting. I liked that it explored his struggle with his darker, Unseelie side he thought had been vanquished when he earned his soul. Book 1 explored it with Puck which was a highlight for that book, but I liked the internal monologue we got to see up close for Ash who on the outside wouldn’t voice a thing about what was going on inside.

The ending was also just starting to get exciting. At least now I know what the heck Evenfall is, and so does the entire gang in the story, so I’m hoping the next book (please say it’s the last one in the series) will at least move into the penultimate battle against this new Big Bad. I will make one comment and say that no matter how many offshoots and tangents this series goes, Julie’s writing leaves doors open like this where it can be explored if given the opportunity. I don’t think she intended 9 books for this world, but the fact that little Easter eggs were hidden to explore further from even the very first book shows the breadth of her imagination for this world she’s built. And that, at least, is something to look forward to.

Overall Recommendation:

I’m happy to say The Iron Sword held up well with its portrayal of Ash who now gets the hot seat POV again while bringing in all the old faces from all the previous books together for another doomsday adventure. If it weren’t for him and the dive into his internal struggle against his old nature, I’m not sure what I’d do. Written in Julie Kagawa’s style, the nostalgic OG group sets off on another adventure through the Nevernever and the human realm to seek out the meaning of Evenfall and how to prevent it. Some of the earlier quests felt a little unnecessary and slow but the climax proved interesting enough to continue as they race against yet another end of the world scenario (hopefully their last one). While it’s becoming clearer that I’m outgrowing this series a little, I’m glad to see I haven’t outgrown Ash. If I could bottle up Ash into all the books I read, I wouldn’t have a problem with that at all.

4 star, YA

Review: 10 Truths and a Dare by Ashley Elston

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Series: Messina Family #2

It’s Senior Week, that magical in-between time after classes have ended but before graduation, chock-full of gimmicky theme parties, last-minute bonding, and family traditions. Olivia couldn’t be more ready. Class salutatorian and confident in her future at LSU, she’s poised to sail through to the next phase of her life.

But when the tiny hiccup of an unsigned off-campus P.E. form puts Olivia in danger of not graduating at all, she has one week to set things straight without tipping off her very big and very nosy extended family. Volunteering to help at a local golf tournament should do it, but since Olivia’s mom equipped her phone with a tracking app, there’ll be no hiding the fact that she’s at the golf course instead of all the graduation parties happening at the same time. Unless, that is, she can convince the Fab Four–her ride-or-die cousins and best friends Sophie, Charlie, and Wes–to trade phones with her as they go through the motions of playing Olivia for the week.

Sure, certain members of the golf team are none too pleased with Olivia’s sudden “passion” for the game. And sure, a very cute, very off-limits boy keeps popping up in Olivia’s orbit. But she is focused! She has a schedule and a plan! Nothing can possibly go wrong . . . right?

After the surprising success with book one, 10 Blind Dates, I knew the Messina family could both be messy but also fun. I wish my family was more like them sometimes, with relatives living close by one another and being close enough to just drop in at the matriarch’s house whenever they wanted for some breakfast or family gossip. Clearly my Asian family didn’t meet the traditional large family sizes that I know others have, but if it did, I sure would love that it would feel the same way in love and mess as the Messinas.

Going into 10 Truths and a Dare, I wasn’t sure if this book could live up to the hype that was its predecessor. While I liked Olivia enough as a secondary character and cousin in the first book, was she enough to pull off her own story? That thought carried itself around when I first picked this book up. Fortunately, I read this as an audiobook and oh boy, this made all the difference I think. Let’s break my thoughts down, shall we?

Storyline

Did this plot really make the most sense? I mean, what kinda cruel principal and PE teacher would hold back a senior graduate, someone who we all know puts in the effort everywhere else, from graduating based on a half credit of physical education? I’m literally the same as Olivia. I cared about my academic standing wayyyy over whatever I did for anything physical. So sue me. But to not sign a form that is LITERALLY standing in the way of her graduating? That’s just heartless. And the only way to make up for it is to volunteer for a whole week without missing a single hour? Feels a little over the top to me.

Also, what kind of self-respecting teen would allow their mother – one whom clearly has some boundary issues – to track their every movement on their phone? I mean, sure, it’s nice to know where your kid is but do you not trust them at all times and need to constantly be checking what they’re doing? It’s bound to send some message to them that you need to go hide things from them by leaving your phone elsewhere if you just want some privacy.

Okay, clearly this tells you what kind of teenager I was. Or would’ve been if my parents and school did this to me.

So while the major plot points were a little wonky to me, that didn’t mean it wasn’t fun. I rolled with it and so did Olivia’s best friends/cousins. Hilarity is definitely going to ensue when you leave your phone in the hands of your male besties. Wes, but particularly Charlie, clearly had no idea what was coming to them when a mother asks what kind of bra you should wear underneath a specific dress for that party you’re going to. Talk about some laughing moments!

Romance

Did I fall head over heels for Leo, the bad boy who is friends with the enemy, the Evil Jo’s? No, not really, and not because he was friends with the cousins no one wants to deal with in any family.

I like my off-limits/forbidden romance as much as the next person but I’m not sure there was anything driving the romance for me. He was nicer than they anticipated for the fact that he socialized with the cousins who shall not me named. Keeping it a secret from Charlie, Wes and Sophie for a while was loads of fun and made the chemistry seem to spark more, but I definitely didn’t feel anything particular about it.

Where the chemistry really lies

And that brings me back to why I still really enjoyed this book. I can understand why some may not have loved it as much because it definitely lacked the romantic chemistry that propelled the first book. But listening to this banter cemented even more in my mind how much books about family, the ones with a little less dysfunction in it, is a refreshing perspective. That’s not to say I ignore the reality and need for books to dive into serious family issues because those are definitely present and real for many people. But there’s just something nice to be able to be a part of this big old family who love one another even with – or perhaps because of – their individual quirks.

Olivia spent this whole time trying to hide what was happening this week from her family, which was meant to be full of fun and partying to reminisce 4 years of high school. She was afraid to let them down. Yet it’s in those moments when she realizes maybe she never had to hide it from them in the first place that really got my heart melting. And that’s the kind of feel-good story I need sometimes. I hope 10 Truths and a Dare may also give you that if you ever need it.

Overall Recommendation:

10 Truths and a Dare highlights family at the centre of it all. While there was plenty of fun and weirdness going on as Olivia hid her mandatory volunteering to graduate from her massive family, this story focused on love in other ways than just romantic. From her cousins who handled her mom and the parties Olivia was invited to (in the most hilarious ways) to the serious manner her grandmother and uncles always asked about her well-being, there’s something special about a large family who holds one another in support. If that’s what you’re looking for, with a side of romance and craziness, this is the book for you. There’s no other family that makes my heart grow 1.5x its size than the Messinas it seems.