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boosmummy's review
3.0
I received this book free through Voracious Readers for an honest review. I did enjoy the book but for me it didn't live up to the promise with a few things. It started well but went astray. Princess Alecia Zialni fighting against injustice in disguise and being rescued by a stranger who she later meets as Captain Vard Anton. Vard is given the job of protector to Alecia by her father, he isn't an ordinary man and Alecia is drawn to him. What annoyed me is that Alecia was in disguise when they first met but he was drawn to her unusual eyes and a distinctive smell, when he meets her as the princess and throughout the book until he realises who she is he doesn't recognise her. He's portrayed as intelligent with a keen sense of smell but even when he looks right at her as the princess he doesn't notice the eyes, seriously??? Also I thought the ending was a let down, Alecia can't see that her father isn't the good guy she wants him to be, I know we all like to think the best of our parents but when he's constantly treating her badly she's still got the blinkers on. All in all, it was a nice book if you read it for what it was and didn't need it to make a lot of sense.
angelaann88's review against another edition
3.0
I liked it enough to keep reading until the end of the story, but there were a few things that bothered me:
- The POV hopping: Inside a chapter, it would switch from the princess's POV to Vard's with no warning. It was a little disorienting.
- The wolf imagery: There were so many allusions to Vard shapeshifting into a wolf...and then, all of a sudden, he was a bear.
- The strong to weak shifts of Alecia: I thought she was going to be a badass princess when I was first introduced to her, a princess killing mercenaries. But she bounced back and forth between being a strong heroine and a typical princess.
- Alecia's sudden premonition: It happened once with no warning at all, and then, it was never mentioned again.
- The POV hopping: Inside a chapter, it would switch from the princess's POV to Vard's with no warning. It was a little disorienting.
- The wolf imagery: There were so many allusions to Vard shapeshifting into a wolf...and then, all of a sudden, he was a bear.
- The strong to weak shifts of Alecia: I thought she was going to be a badass princess when I was first introduced to her, a princess killing mercenaries. But she bounced back and forth between being a strong heroine and a typical princess.
- Alecia's sudden premonition: It happened once with no warning at all, and then, it was never mentioned again.
emm_enchanted's review against another edition
4.0
My bookstagram: emm_enchanted
A good start to the series.
Princess Alecia disguises herself as a man to avenge the death of someone she loved. Meanwhile Vard, a shapeshifter, struggles to complete his mission of killing the Prince and controlling his inner beast. When he is assigned as Alecia's protector, he battles with his feelings for her, while Alecia fears exposure of her secret. Complications arise in many forms which become a threat to their existence.
The beginning was interesting and I was eager to see how things would turn out. The characters were well written and I had high expectations from Alecia after reading the description and the first chapter, but after a point I was a bit disappointed in her. She spent most of her time lusting after Vard and throwing herself at him while he kept rejecting her. I wish she had more self control. I wanted to see more of her fighting and trying to make things right, but that was a small part of the story.
Not to mention that she had resigned herself to her fate and wanted to die. In my opinion, she could have fought harder. I also got annoyed when she wanted to help the dying Finus, when just minutes ago he had practically raped her. I was hoping she'd castrate him.
She is also blind towards her father's cruelty, but I won't completely blame her for it because I probably would have been the same if I was in her place.
She did improve towards the end though and I hope to see more development in the coming books.
In Vard's case, the jury is still out. He spent most of the time trying decipher his feelings or protecting Alecia in this book, but I haven't found him swoon worthy yet.
My favourite is Hetty, she's sassy.
One of the most important things that I liked about the book is the issues it highlighted, which were prevalent in the olden days and happen even today.
The lecherous old man treating a woman old enough to be his granddaughter as property and forcing himself on her; another man deludes himself that the woman is in love with him, even when she clearly tells him she is not and acts in ways that jeopardizes her safety. Then there is the father who treats the daughter as a means to an end. This is something we see even today and I loved how the MC decided to take charge of her own life in the end. The author did a marvellous job with it.
The romance and steamy scenes were good but I wanted more. I liked the way it ended and I hope Vard and Alecia can together make a difference in the kingdom. I did like the story and it has great potential so I want to see how things progress. I'd also like to see the villains burn to cinder.
I'd recommend it to all who enjoy romantic fantasy genre.
I'm also thankful to the author for gifting me this ebook.
A good start to the series.
Princess Alecia disguises herself as a man to avenge the death of someone she loved. Meanwhile Vard, a shapeshifter, struggles to complete his mission of killing the Prince and controlling his inner beast. When he is assigned as Alecia's protector, he battles with his feelings for her, while Alecia fears exposure of her secret. Complications arise in many forms which become a threat to their existence.
The beginning was interesting and I was eager to see how things would turn out. The characters were well written and I had high expectations from Alecia after reading the description and the first chapter, but after a point I was a bit disappointed in her. She spent most of her time lusting after Vard and throwing herself at him while he kept rejecting her. I wish she had more self control. I wanted to see more of her fighting and trying to make things right, but that was a small part of the story.
Not to mention that she had resigned herself to her fate and wanted to die. In my opinion, she could have fought harder. I also got annoyed when she wanted to help the dying Finus, when just minutes ago he had practically raped her. I was hoping she'd castrate him.
She is also blind towards her father's cruelty, but I won't completely blame her for it because I probably would have been the same if I was in her place.
She did improve towards the end though and I hope to see more development in the coming books.
In Vard's case, the jury is still out. He spent most of the time trying decipher his feelings or protecting Alecia in this book, but I haven't found him swoon worthy yet.
My favourite is Hetty, she's sassy.
One of the most important things that I liked about the book is the issues it highlighted, which were prevalent in the olden days and happen even today.
The lecherous old man treating a woman old enough to be his granddaughter as property and forcing himself on her; another man deludes himself that the woman is in love with him, even when she clearly tells him she is not and acts in ways that jeopardizes her safety. Then there is the father who treats the daughter as a means to an end. This is something we see even today and I loved how the MC decided to take charge of her own life in the end. The author did a marvellous job with it.
The romance and steamy scenes were good but I wanted more. I liked the way it ended and I hope Vard and Alecia can together make a difference in the kingdom. I did like the story and it has great potential so I want to see how things progress. I'd also like to see the villains burn to cinder.
I'd recommend it to all who enjoy romantic fantasy genre.
I'm also thankful to the author for gifting me this ebook.
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