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A review by robotnik
Princess of Souls by Alexandra Christo
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.5
When I read To Kill a Kingdom, it was probably one of my favourite fairy tale retellings of all time. Sure, it fumbled the climax a little, which was a disappointment, but the overall book was excellent. I was expecting more of the same for something that took place in the same world. That expectation was unfortunately never met.
First off, advertising this as part of the same world felt like a cheap ploy to get people who liked that book to give this one a try. Nothing I noticed about this related to it at all. It didn't even feel like the same world. If there was anything mentioned that related to it, it was so minute, that it never clicked.
Lira and Elian and everything about their enemies-to-lovers relationship was a pure chef's kiss. Neither Selestra nor Nox were remotely as interesting and both fell into very basic young adult protagonist archetypes. There was no spark in their relationship and they can barely even count as enemies-to-lovers as they're almost immediately on the same side with only the occasional "oh we're not allies" thoughts even thrown in between them.
The idea of the plot is pretty amazing, but the execution was a bore. About halfway through, it feels like barely any progress was made and, by the time of the trial, my brain was completely not interested anymore. It didn't help that the villain was a typical "hehe I'm Evil(tm)!!" villain with nothing to him, thus cheapening the writing.
The climax was a fumble in this like in To Kill a Kingdom. It's maybe the only thing these two books have in common.
The ending wasn't as good as the other book though. It was bland and unsatisfying.
It felt like this book started off on a bit of a strong note, but the writing could not do it justice whatsoever and it faltered immensely about midway through into being what it was.
Oh well.
First off, advertising this as part of the same world felt like a cheap ploy to get people who liked that book to give this one a try. Nothing I noticed about this related to it at all. It didn't even feel like the same world. If there was anything mentioned that related to it, it was so minute, that it never clicked.
Lira and Elian and everything about their enemies-to-lovers relationship was a pure chef's kiss. Neither Selestra nor Nox were remotely as interesting and both fell into very basic young adult protagonist archetypes. There was no spark in their relationship and they can barely even count as enemies-to-lovers as they're almost immediately on the same side with only the occasional "oh we're not allies" thoughts even thrown in between them.
The idea of the plot is pretty amazing, but the execution was a bore. About halfway through, it feels like barely any progress was made and, by the time of the trial, my brain was completely not interested anymore. It didn't help that the villain was a typical "hehe I'm Evil(tm)!!" villain with nothing to him, thus cheapening the writing.
The climax was a fumble in this like in To Kill a Kingdom. It's maybe the only thing these two books have in common.
The ending wasn't as good as the other book though. It was bland and unsatisfying.
It felt like this book started off on a bit of a strong note, but the writing could not do it justice whatsoever and it faltered immensely about midway through into being what it was.
Oh well.