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3.55 AVERAGE
3.55 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Rep: Black cast, lesbian mc, pan mc, southeastern Asian side character
This had so much potential, unfortunately the execution didn’t do it justice. The first 30% was promising, I was invested in the story and I really liked the main characters then the more it progressed, the slower it got: there were a lot of inner monologues and the chapters got longer and longer. Moreover while I could tell the protagonists were attracted to each other, I don’t think their chemistry was portrayed in the best way and if you add in the fact that it always felt like they were never all in in their relationship, well then it made it even harder to root for their love story, plus what’s with the lone sex scene? Meh, I was hoping for more from this.
This had so much potential, unfortunately the execution didn’t do it justice. The first 30% was promising, I was invested in the story and I really liked the main characters then the more it progressed, the slower it got: there were a lot of inner monologues and the chapters got longer and longer. Moreover while I could tell the protagonists were attracted to each other, I don’t think their chemistry was portrayed in the best way and if you add in the fact that it always felt like they were never all in in their relationship, well then it made it even harder to root for their love story, plus what’s with the lone sex scene? Meh, I was hoping for more from this.
I'm starting to think that - even though I am such a huge fan of Alyssa Cole's Reluctant Royals series - that this new series isn't for me.
The basic premise of this book is that a woman who is the white knight for all of her loved ones gets a white knight of her own. There have been rumors since Makeda's childhood that she might be a lost descendent of the royal line of an island nation. The mere idea that they might have royal blood sent her mom on a spiral during Makeda's younger years, and now, as an adult, Makeda wants nothing to do with the whole princess thing.
That is until Beznaria, agent of the World Federation of Monarchies, is sent to the United States to track down possible living heirs to the throne of Ibarania and convinces Makeda to come to the island to answer the question once and for all - is Makeda a princess?
I think I had two major issues with this book. First of all, Makeda is supposed to be the type of person who has real trouble saying no to people. She does and does and does for people and doesn't consider herself or whether the people in her life really want that kind of doting before she does so. It's made clear in the opening section that it's a serious problem in her life: it's put her into debt, lost her relationships, and most recently, it cost her a job. So if this is such a deeply-seated issue, why does it cease to be a problem as soon as Beznaria shows up?
I know we're meant to believe that Makeda feels so strongly about this royalty issue that she has no trouble saying no to anything relating to it, but I find it completely unbelievable that taking a hard stance on one issue would have the kind of trickle-down effect that happens in the book. I was actually looking forward to seeing Makeda work through that issue - of only feeling worthy of love when she's doing things for other people - but that character development happens in a flash and it's not really mentioned again.
But the biggest thing that didn't work about this novel is that a good half of it (if not inching toward two thirds) takes place aboard a cargo ship. I remember seeing I was eighty percent done with the book and we were still on the damn boat. You can imagine what kind of rushed conclusion it was if we barely step foot in the oft-spoken-of Ibarania.
I think I would have happily taken the cargo ship section if we would have been done with it half way through the book and then moved onto the happenings of Ibarania for the back half. But to spend so much time in a confined space...let's just say I've had enough of feeling claustrophobic over this past year and I don't need to feel like I'm in lockdown in the fiction I read for the feel-good factor.
Makeda and Beznaria were cute together, don't get me wrong. I liked their chemistry. But I wish I could have spent more time with them on dry land, if only to know whether or not they stood a fighting chance as a couple.
The basic premise of this book is that a woman who is the white knight for all of her loved ones gets a white knight of her own. There have been rumors since Makeda's childhood that she might be a lost descendent of the royal line of an island nation. The mere idea that they might have royal blood sent her mom on a spiral during Makeda's younger years, and now, as an adult, Makeda wants nothing to do with the whole princess thing.
That is until Beznaria, agent of the World Federation of Monarchies, is sent to the United States to track down possible living heirs to the throne of Ibarania and convinces Makeda to come to the island to answer the question once and for all - is Makeda a princess?
I think I had two major issues with this book. First of all, Makeda is supposed to be the type of person who has real trouble saying no to people. She does and does and does for people and doesn't consider herself or whether the people in her life really want that kind of doting before she does so. It's made clear in the opening section that it's a serious problem in her life: it's put her into debt, lost her relationships, and most recently, it cost her a job. So if this is such a deeply-seated issue, why does it cease to be a problem as soon as Beznaria shows up?
I know we're meant to believe that Makeda feels so strongly about this royalty issue that she has no trouble saying no to anything relating to it, but I find it completely unbelievable that taking a hard stance on one issue would have the kind of trickle-down effect that happens in the book. I was actually looking forward to seeing Makeda work through that issue - of only feeling worthy of love when she's doing things for other people - but that character development happens in a flash and it's not really mentioned again.
But the biggest thing that didn't work about this novel is that a good half of it (if not inching toward two thirds) takes place aboard a cargo ship. I remember seeing I was eighty percent done with the book and we were still on the damn boat. You can imagine what kind of rushed conclusion it was if we barely step foot in the oft-spoken-of Ibarania.
I think I would have happily taken the cargo ship section if we would have been done with it half way through the book and then moved onto the happenings of Ibarania for the back half. But to spend so much time in a confined space...let's just say I've had enough of feeling claustrophobic over this past year and I don't need to feel like I'm in lockdown in the fiction I read for the feel-good factor.
Makeda and Beznaria were cute together, don't get me wrong. I liked their chemistry. But I wish I could have spent more time with them on dry land, if only to know whether or not they stood a fighting chance as a couple.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I loved the dynamic of the ship crew and between Makeda and Bez. I truly didn't expect the ship part to last SO long so I think it just made the book drag a bit for me? Like they really wrapped up all the shit in Ibarania so so fast huh. I also still don't know if I fully understood the ending. Still had fun but yeah it did just kinda drag as we got to the end of each of the sort of "sections" when they traveled to a new location, I just feel like maybe the book could've been tightened just a little overall?
adventurous
funny
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Bez is so dreamy. Big glasses, big arms, big gap in her teeth, big nerd, big ADHD. This hit all the right spots for me in a contemporary romance. Makeda sounds exactly like several of my friends, right down to the articulating of their assumptions even as they know it's silly. A bit long, but I'm a patient reader and was duly rewarded, not by a twist ending, but in the deliberate fleshing out of the relationship.
I absolutely adored this because I adored the characters. I would totally spend time with Beznaria because she was the most fun and funny characters I've had the pleasure to meet (in text) and Makeda, well, I identified with some her romantic problems a bit too much. (let's just say that I understand her debt issue more than anyone ought and it makes you feel real dumb... even as you continue to feel like you ought to be helping out)
I could have read an entire series about these two. Each working through their own issues and both seeing things through their own lens, it hit so close to home. Bez and Makeda are amazing and I really hope Cole brings them back in more books!