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deepower7's review against another edition
3.0
This is fun and silly, and if you can get on board with it, it's very enjoyable. That said, the last 100 pages were rushed and did not do justice to what was actually happening in the scenes.
annettebooksofhopeanddreams's review against another edition
4.0
There are a few ingredients that never really fail to make me happy (unless it's really badly done, which is an impressive talent): Princes and Princesses, magic, a little bit of romance and a fierce but very realistic heroine. Add a little mystery, a lot of awesome mythological creatures and some excitement and voila, that's the recipe of the Royal Tour.
The Royal Tour plot wise follows the steps of the Potion Diaries. At the beginning of the story we're confronted with a magical treat and Sam and her friends have to do everything they can to find the ingredients and make the potion. And although that sounds like it might be repetitive. It's absolutely not and it's even further from boring.
Once more the hunt takes us to a lot of amazing places. We get to see more of the magical world, different kingdoms, magical creatures and the complicated powerplay and politics of it. And even I though I normally don't really like road trips that much, I do really enjoy this one, because it constantly has a purpose and it never loses sight of that. Every place they visit, everything they do, everything that happens: it's really going somewhere and going there as straight as possible.
It also helps that the characters are really nice and easy to identify with. Especially Sam is very likeable and has a lot of traits I hope I have to: Determined to reach her goal, despite the costs. Caring of others, even though sometimes it's hard to foresee consequences. And doing everything for the people she loves. But she's sometimes scared and sometimes she doesn't know what to do anymore and at times she can be naive. Which only makes her more real.
Combine all that with a really easy to read writing style that flows nicely and you have the perfect summer read to start in the morning and to finish right after dinner!
The Royal Tour plot wise follows the steps of the Potion Diaries. At the beginning of the story we're confronted with a magical treat and Sam and her friends have to do everything they can to find the ingredients and make the potion. And although that sounds like it might be repetitive. It's absolutely not and it's even further from boring.
Once more the hunt takes us to a lot of amazing places. We get to see more of the magical world, different kingdoms, magical creatures and the complicated powerplay and politics of it. And even I though I normally don't really like road trips that much, I do really enjoy this one, because it constantly has a purpose and it never loses sight of that. Every place they visit, everything they do, everything that happens: it's really going somewhere and going there as straight as possible.
It also helps that the characters are really nice and easy to identify with. Especially Sam is very likeable and has a lot of traits I hope I have to: Determined to reach her goal, despite the costs. Caring of others, even though sometimes it's hard to foresee consequences. And doing everything for the people she loves. But she's sometimes scared and sometimes she doesn't know what to do anymore and at times she can be naive. Which only makes her more real.
Combine all that with a really easy to read writing style that flows nicely and you have the perfect summer read to start in the morning and to finish right after dinner!
geenag90's review against another edition
4.0
Sam Kemi is definitely one of my new fave characters in ya fiction, she rules :).
alannar2422's review against another edition
5.0
Love love loved this book!!! Really happy with how it turned out :)
patchworkbunny's review against another edition
4.0
I love these books, they are so much fun but also full of heart. At the heart of everything Sam does is her friends and family; she is far more eager to help people than for fame or fortune. Unfortunately, there’s just too many people in need of saving, especially when she has powerful enemies. Still, there’s time for a bit of fun; a glamourous ball with her boyfriend and best friend.
Combined with the royal tour, the hunt for her great-grandmother’s potion diary takes Sam all over this richly imagined world. I’ve been enviously following Amy’s travels via her Instagram and many of the far flung places she’s visited lately form the basis for Sam’s adventures. I liked that the story talked about the impact on different cultures by those who feel they can come in, take what they want and leave.
There’s plenty of characters from the first book making a reappearance and it’s great to see this kind of fantasy where characters’ morals aren’t so black or white. I'm so glad the ending implies there will be another book!
Combined with the royal tour, the hunt for her great-grandmother’s potion diary takes Sam all over this richly imagined world. I’ve been enviously following Amy’s travels via her Instagram and many of the far flung places she’s visited lately form the basis for Sam’s adventures. I liked that the story talked about the impact on different cultures by those who feel they can come in, take what they want and leave.
There’s plenty of characters from the first book making a reappearance and it’s great to see this kind of fantasy where characters’ morals aren’t so black or white. I'm so glad the ending implies there will be another book!
booksandlemonsquash's review against another edition
4.0
I found this stronger than the first book - still bright and fun, but slightly less ridiculous.
Emilia is still a little 2-D as a villain, but I liked her arc in this book. And I love Sam’s dedication to her friends and family.
I really like the world building, and the way the alchemists and normals and talenteds interact. And the way the traditional alchemists interact with the synths. I think that’s a really interesting culture and I want to see more of it.
I also enjoyed getting to see non human culture with the centaurs, and how that ends up working out! :)
I particularly liked the fantasy/contemporary feel of it too. Definitely in a fantasy world, but with contemporary level modern tech, and that lighter feel to the story. It’s a nice and welcome change to a lot of the darker things I’ve been reading recently! I’ve already ordered the third book as this one ends in a way that tells you what could happen next and I need to know!
Emilia is still a little 2-D as a villain, but I liked her arc in this book. And I love Sam’s dedication to her friends and family.
I really like the world building, and the way the alchemists and normals and talenteds interact. And the way the traditional alchemists interact with the synths. I think that’s a really interesting culture and I want to see more of it.
I also enjoyed getting to see non human culture with the centaurs, and how that ends up working out! :)
I particularly liked the fantasy/contemporary feel of it too. Definitely in a fantasy world, but with contemporary level modern tech, and that lighter feel to the story. It’s a nice and welcome change to a lot of the darker things I’ve been reading recently! I’ve already ordered the third book as this one ends in a way that tells you what could happen next and I need to know!
lawbooks600's review against another edition
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Representation: Implied Asian characters
Score: Seven points out of ten.
Before I begin, let me tell you something, it's been an entire year since I read the first book, so I don't remember much from there. Now with that out of the way, I didn't think this novel was an improvement over the first since it felt as tedious to read, which is a shame. Maybe the third book could be better, but I have low expectations from this author. It starts (more like continues) with the main character, Samantha Kemi, or Sam for short, and she details the events that happened in the last story before this one (which I barely even remember.) Nothing much happens for a few pages right up until Sam's grandfather is hospitalised due to a memory loss, and I thought it could be dementia or Alzheimer's, but it's more complicated than it seems. The worldbuilding is still so frustrating to read because the narrative doesn't know what it is. Is it a high fantasy story? An urban fantasy? It's not clear how dragons, medicines, blog posts and computers can coexist. It's so strange. A few more pages in, the antagonist from the preceding book, Emilia Thoth, escapes, but she's mostly in the background, so I didn't care much about her. The only way to cure memory loss in the novel is to get a potion, but here's the catch: the person who makes it must forget potion-making; it's the last potion they will ever make. To further complicate the situation, the recipe is gone. It's nowhere to be found. So what's the point of Sam searching for the recipe to cure memory loss when at the end she discovers it doesn't exist anymore? At this point, I couldn't care less, but the conclusion was alright, when the protagonist saves the day (Typical!)
Score: Seven points out of ten.
Before I begin, let me tell you something, it's been an entire year since I read the first book, so I don't remember much from there. Now with that out of the way, I didn't think this novel was an improvement over the first since it felt as tedious to read, which is a shame. Maybe the third book could be better, but I have low expectations from this author. It starts (more like continues) with the main character, Samantha Kemi, or Sam for short, and she details the events that happened in the last story before this one (which I barely even remember.) Nothing much happens for a few pages right up until Sam's grandfather is hospitalised due to a memory loss, and I thought it could be dementia or Alzheimer's, but it's more complicated than it seems. The worldbuilding is still so frustrating to read because the narrative doesn't know what it is. Is it a high fantasy story? An urban fantasy? It's not clear how dragons, medicines, blog posts and computers can coexist. It's so strange. A few more pages in, the antagonist from the preceding book, Emilia Thoth, escapes, but she's mostly in the background, so I didn't care much about her. The only way to cure memory loss in the novel is to get a potion, but here's the catch: the person who makes it must forget potion-making; it's the last potion they will ever make. To further complicate the situation, the recipe is gone. It's nowhere to be found. So what's the point of Sam searching for the recipe to cure memory loss when at the end she discovers it doesn't exist anymore? At this point, I couldn't care less, but the conclusion was alright, when the protagonist saves the day (Typical!)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, and Death
Full trigger warnings: Death of people, explosions, fire, car crash, physical injury, kidnapping, amnesia, hospitalisation