kassidyreads's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Violence
Moderate: Alcohol and Sexual harassment
Minor: Infertility, Child death, Death of parent, Homophobia, and War
zoec24's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I really enjoyed this. The premise is just the best. I read this after stardust in their veins, but it was still amazing. The Empress is just a villian I love to hate while I love every one of the triplets. I'm a bit annoyed that the Empress's plan just had her daughters acting as sacrifices as opposed to spies/integral parts of her plan as well. That bit is pretty horrifying. I'm not saying I outright hate it because it makes her evil-I dislike that they aren't integral parts of her plan who are also eventual sacrifices . Also, I find it a bit weird that every country other than Bessemia has a fundamental problem that could lead to instability with the right planning. I know this is because of the Empress's plan and because Bessemia is older, but it's still a bit weird that there isn't at least some underlying tension that could (eventually) be exploited. Since I've already read stardust in their veins I am desperate for the third book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Sexual harassment, and Alcohol
shahdhazem's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Honestly it's a good fantasy read, well built world, good plot, numerous characters and a simple writingstyle. The author also managed each of the POV and plot line of each princess pretty well and kept me interested. The problem for me was that I predicted the plot lines of the princesses from the start but somehow the author still kept me wanting to continue and actually managed a beautiful twist at the end of the book. That's why I raised my initial rating of 3 stars to 3.5 but honestly it can't be higher. And that's for multiple other reasons than the fact that I predicted the plot which are the utmost stretching of events and the fact that the author didn't manage to get me attached by any way to the characters and their sisterly relation. Despite her numerous tries of insisting upon how special their relation was because of how their mother treated them but I still couldn't feel them. Also one of the main things that intrigued me about the book was the title. It's definitely a new one so I was really looking forward to understand It's significance in the book but we didn't get that at all and i'm actually really bummed about it cause it honestly makes no sense compared to the story. In the end, the important question is whether I recommend this or not? I'd say I do but don't expect something big out of it. It's a quick enjoyable read with lots of events so probably could get you out of a slump but I'd say it lacks lots of events to be great you know. Oh and one last thing, will I be reading the second book? Honestly I don't want to cause as I said I don't care about the characters at all but still the last chapter got me intrigued so I think I'd probably give it a try but I don't have any hopes for it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Confinement, Grief, and Sexual harassment
bookswithjk's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Far better than I anticipated. While the book does have the classic enemies to lovers and “infiltrate an enemy kingdom in order to bring it down” tropes, the politics were very accessible. The twists and turns were enough to leave me guessing and wanting to know more. I can’t wait to read the sequel!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual harassment
Minor: War, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Death
ezwolf's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Triplet princesses who are trained from birth to marry into other royal families and take over so their mother, the Empress, can rule all of them.
That sounds incredibly interesting and it was for the most part, but I wasn't really wowed by the book. It was a fine read and if you like court fantasies then this is probably a book you would like. I'm interested enough to continue the series but I don't know, I was kind of underwhelmed.
That sounds incredibly interesting and it was for the most part, but I wasn't really wowed by the book. It was a fine read and if you like court fantasies then this is probably a book you would like. I'm interested enough to continue the series but I don't know, I was kind of underwhelmed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, Gun violence, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Classism
Moderate: Alcohol, Murder, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Sexual assault, Misogyny, Sexism, Infertility, Homophobia, Body shaming, and Child death
eatingbrains's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
3.25
The premise of this book centers around political intrigue told in multiple POV.
While I'm not a big fan of multiple POV, especially when it's more than two, I did enjoy this book.
While I'm not a big fan of multiple POV, especially when it's more than two, I did enjoy this book.
Content Warnings
Minor: Blood, Gun violence, Infertility, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Pedophilia, Sexism, Trafficking, Vomit, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Classism, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Deportation, Sexual harassment, Violence, War, Homophobia, Mental illness, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Misogyny, and Murder
faefires's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
if nothing else, this book is gutsy. three separate but interwoven storylines with three princesses and three princes and a shit ton of kings and side characters and political entanglement AND magic…it’s quite the undertaking.
there are things to enjoy about this book. the political intrigue is well, intriguing, the stakes are high, there’s a lot going on. despite that, there’s also nothing going on. chapters are spent describing tea parties and cakes and dresses that do not matter, and despite the importance of the four main countries, only one is fully fleshed out. for most of the book, daphne, who is meant to be the most clever, does literally nothing. the magic system is similarly underdeveloped, and is pretty much used as a get out of jail free card for the characters when they need to get around a plot issue.
twists abound, but after the third major reveal it gets tiring and no longer is unexpected. in a book like this, you expect everyone to betray everyone—so when the characters get betrayed for the sixth consecutive time, you’re hardly surprised, and end up slightly annoyed. the author clearly can write an engaging PLOT, but the characters have less going for them. they are hardly ever physically described with anything other than vague terms “pretty, handsome, soft, harsh, or beautiful”, which makes it difficult to picture them, and makes them all blend together in the mind. you can tell the author wrote lines to be “ya marketable,” the type of lines used in trailers and edits and promotional materials, rather than trying to make them not be cringey or overdramatic.
this book was almost good. but it was a bit too long, a bit underdeveloped, and a bit too mass market appeal YA fiction. the book succeeds in setting up an interesting premise for a series and it’s future sequels, but shoots itself in the foot by killing its most likable and well developed character, leaving me with little motivation to await the releases.
there are things to enjoy about this book. the political intrigue is well, intriguing, the stakes are high, there’s a lot going on. despite that, there’s also nothing going on. chapters are spent describing tea parties and cakes and dresses that do not matter, and despite the importance of the four main countries, only one is fully fleshed out. for most of the book, daphne, who is meant to be the most clever, does literally nothing. the magic system is similarly underdeveloped, and is pretty much used as a get out of jail free card for the characters when they need to get around a plot issue.
twists abound, but after the third major reveal it gets tiring and no longer is unexpected. in a book like this, you expect everyone to betray everyone—so when the characters get betrayed for the sixth consecutive time, you’re hardly surprised, and end up slightly annoyed. the author clearly can write an engaging PLOT, but the characters have less going for them. they are hardly ever physically described with anything other than vague terms “pretty, handsome, soft, harsh, or beautiful”, which makes it difficult to picture them, and makes them all blend together in the mind. you can tell the author wrote lines to be “ya marketable,” the type of lines used in trailers and edits and promotional materials, rather than trying to make them not be cringey or overdramatic.
this book was almost good. but it was a bit too long, a bit underdeveloped, and a bit too mass market appeal YA fiction. the book succeeds in setting up an interesting premise for a series and it’s future sequels, but shoots itself in the foot by
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder and Death
kodafaith's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I was very conflicted about this book. I loved the political intrigue and following the separate yet connected plots. However I felt the whole thing fell flat and a lot of it was just forgettable.
The ending does leave on such a cliffhanger that will definitely have me coming back for more.
Also another issue I had was with the ebook where the names to distinguish whose POV we were in got mixed up at about half way and kept being wrong throughout. I was alternating with the audiobook and it was just making it confusing with no chapter numbers and then getting mixed up. There were also a few moments where a name was wrong in the text. Stuff like that doesn’t normally bug me but it kept occurring so it got annoying.
Overall it was a fun series and was entertaining enough, I’m looking forward to the other books to see where the books go. But this one didn’t fully connect for me.
The ending does leave on such a cliffhanger that will definitely have me coming back for more.
Also another issue I had was with the ebook where the names to distinguish whose POV we were in got mixed up at about half way and kept being wrong throughout. I was alternating with the audiobook and it was just making it confusing with no chapter numbers and then getting mixed up. There were also a few moments where a name was wrong in the text. Stuff like that doesn’t normally bug me but it kept occurring so it got annoying.
Overall it was a fun series and was entertaining enough, I’m looking forward to the other books to see where the books go. But this one didn’t fully connect for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Death, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Religious bigotry, Sexism, War, and Alcohol
Minor: Infertility, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Blood, and Homophobia
hanna's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
me, talking about margaraux:
"'i could fix her' yeah? well i could accept her as she is. you don't like the murder? grow up. the atrocities are part of her and ive decided they're funny"
"'i could fix her' yeah? well i could accept her as she is. you don't like the murder? grow up. the atrocities are part of her and ive decided they're funny"
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, War, Grief, Infidelity, Violence, Sexual harassment, Alcohol, Blood, Addiction, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Infidelity and Pedophilia
Minor: Death of parent, Islamophobia, Dementia, and Infertility
this_momma_is_booked's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This book is a perfect example of how you can love something and still be critical of it. I thought the writing was beautiful, the characters were fleshed out so well, and the interweaving POVs and plotlines kept it interesting. I appreciated how it tried to dismantle patriarchal norms in putting all the focus on the women and girls in this book, basically painting the men as helpless. It was a nice change of pace!
However, I would be remiss to not mention the glaring lack of diversity in this book. Every single character was either obviously white or described in vague terms, such as "dark-haired" or "tan." We should expect more from our fantasy books. I find it incredibly lazy when authors who are creating a whole new world where they make up the rules choose to create one in which there is zero diversity. So you're telling me that you were able to create different customs, languages, countries, but didn't think anyone in that world could be anything other than white or straight? We get one LGBTQIA+ character in the book (Pasquale), but then he's not allowed to flesh out that part of his identity, explore, live in that happiness.
Another gripe I had with the book is the author's use of virginity. The three MCs are literally born to deceive and take over other kingdoms; that is their purpose. And yet we, as readers, are supposed to believe that not one of them consummated their marriage? I understand that this book is YA and I am not recommending that we include sex scenes or that they even need to be mentioned - but actively mentioning virginity and how none of the marriages were consummated MULTIPLE TIMES makes it clear that teenage sex was very much on the author's mind and she chose to villainize it rather than use this as a learning opportunity.
All in all, I really enjoyed the fantasy world built, the strength of the characters, the twists and turns (that ending!), but I do wish more was done to make this a well-rounded book.
However, I would be remiss to not mention the glaring lack of diversity in this book. Every single character was either obviously white or described in vague terms, such as "dark-haired" or "tan." We should expect more from our fantasy books. I find it incredibly lazy when authors who are creating a whole new world where they make up the rules choose to create one in which there is zero diversity. So you're telling me that you were able to create different customs, languages, countries, but didn't think anyone in that world could be anything other than white or straight? We get one LGBTQIA+ character in the book (Pasquale), but then he's not allowed to flesh out that part of his identity, explore, live in that happiness.
Another gripe I had with the book is the author's use of virginity. The three MCs are literally born to deceive and take over other kingdoms; that is their purpose. And yet we, as readers, are supposed to believe that not one of them consummated their marriage? I understand that this book is YA and I am not recommending that we include sex scenes or that they even need to be mentioned - but actively mentioning virginity and how none of the marriages were consummated MULTIPLE TIMES makes it clear that teenage sex was very much on the author's mind and she chose to villainize it rather than use this as a learning opportunity.
All in all, I really enjoyed the fantasy world built, the strength of the characters, the twists and turns (that ending!), but I do wish more was done to make this a well-rounded book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: War and Sexual harassment
Minor: Death of parent and Death