Scan barcode
queerbooklover03's review
5.0
This book was AWESOME, AMAZING, AND SUPREMELY COOL !!!! I totally love this series and this book. I UTTERLY wish, hope, and dream that Lindsey Leavitt is going to revisit this series and write a whole lot more books about Desi, Meredith, Kylee, and Reed. I will definitely be reading more of Lindsey Leavitt's books in the future.
nikarice's review
4.0
I loved the first two books and I could not wait to get this book and read it! However actually, I was expecting a little more from Lindsey Leavitt. Nothing really happened in this book it just confirmed my speculations and was just kind of boring. I thought she would end it very well but it was kind of confusing.
lyderature's review
If I had to use one word to describe the Princess for Hire trilogy, it would be: fabulous .
Spoilers. Spoilers. Spoilers. You have been warned.
Honestly, these books aren't as shallow or superficial as you would expect them to be. And you can go ahead and yell at me for automatically assuming that this series would be just frou-frou and frilly, but have seen the covers? Have your read their blurbs? Magical make-up that turns you into a princess...am I justified now?
No?
Fine. I give.
And don't you point your finger and preach at me, "No judging a book by its cover!"
Back to my main point. These books aren't pure fluff. They actually have a surprising amount of depth to them. Well, they're not extremely profound or anything, but one can glean a message from their words. There's a point that gets across to you.
And this point just gets stronger and stronger as the series goes on, which is perfectly parallel to how Leavitt is improving as a writer. Because let's be honest here, Princess for Hire was really... "la-la land". Desi gets to essentially be a princess, she falls in love with a prince, crazy best friends, girly moments, etc. every girl's dream come true. It was a very fluffy read, that made me hesitant on whether or not I should continue the series.
Boy am I glad I did. Because in Royal Treatment, we finally start getting some "grit". The facade is cracking. Literally. Facade the corporation may not be all goodness and gumdrops. Desi starts getting wary, and that piques our interest.
Then in Farewell to Charms, Desi is planning to revolt against Facade.
It's just amazing to see how far this series has gone in character and plot development. And how much "tougher" it's become, if that's the word for it.
So in A Farewell to Charms, Desi's suspicions are not longer just suspicions-they're facts. She knows that Facade is corrupt and she continually finds evidence that justifies her cause in trying to go against this company. It doesn't matter that the company lets her play dress-up and twirl around as a princess, who cares if this is every girl's dream job, the company thrives off of stolen magic and that's bad. Plain and simple.
Desi just has such a strong and unwavering sense of right and wrong, and we continually see that displayed throughout the entire book. And I love it.
Every attempt she made to undermine Facade's corrupt regime and uncover and reveal the dirty truth, I rooted for her. This wasn't one of those books where the heroine is dead set on achieving something but we as readers are just going, "Why? There's not point in that."
So yeah, Desi vs. Magical-corporation-that-hides-some-very-key-things-to-know-from-its-employees was just awesome to read.
And then there was the whole Floressa Chase ordeal. I really enjoyed how that played out in the end. Floressa finally got the reality check she's desperately needed, and maybe she's still a royal brat, but as least Desi has opened her eyes in seeing how selfish she was before.
Oh and another bit that I loved was the thing about how Desi's parents were starting to become worried and suspicious about what their daughter actually is doing. Active parents in their children's lives isn't something we see nearly enough nowadays in YA literature. But I felt like it was very realistic, and something that would definitely happen in real life.
Overall, I just devoured all the conflict in this book. None of it was heavy, but that's okay in these kinds of fun, girly books.
And props to Lindsey Leavitt for maintaining the perfect balance between conflict and the fluff.
Oh yes, there still was a LOT of fluff. Not that I'm complaining. Reed Pearson and Desi Bascomb, they are just too adorable. The ending! The ending! The sleigh ride and the kiss...sigh, too cute. Too cute.
Kylee. I loved that character. She was HILARIOUS, (especially when interrogating Reed), and played the role of a supportive best friend really well.
My one main qualm with this book was its predictability at times. For instance, Kylee having magic. Reed being Barrett's match but also subbing for Karl that one time. Desi's match being Floressa. I can't have been the only one who saw these things coming.
And I guess I wanted to see more resolution. Such as in Desi's mom's pregnancy. That was such an interesting point to introduce--but it was never fully fleshed out. Also, what became of Floressa and Barrett now that they don't have matches? I actually sort of wanted Desi and Reed to continue subbing for them, because it's just too perfect! And it makes my fangirl bookworm heart all happy when I think about how they can still be all cute together even when acting as royalty.
But that's just a personal reader wish.
Overall, good, fun, fluffy series, Perfect for summer reading, and tween or early-teen girls.
Spoilers. Spoilers. Spoilers. You have been warned.
Honestly, these books aren't as shallow or superficial as you would expect them to be. And you can go ahead and yell at me for automatically assuming that this series would be just frou-frou and frilly, but have seen the covers? Have your read their blurbs? Magical make-up that turns you into a princess...am I justified now?
No?
Fine. I give.
And don't you point your finger and preach at me, "No judging a book by its cover!"
Back to my main point. These books aren't pure fluff. They actually have a surprising amount of depth to them. Well, they're not extremely profound or anything, but one can glean a message from their words. There's a point that gets across to you.
And this point just gets stronger and stronger as the series goes on, which is perfectly parallel to how Leavitt is improving as a writer. Because let's be honest here, Princess for Hire was really... "la-la land". Desi gets to essentially be a princess, she falls in love with a prince, crazy best friends, girly moments, etc. every girl's dream come true. It was a very fluffy read, that made me hesitant on whether or not I should continue the series.
Boy am I glad I did. Because in Royal Treatment, we finally start getting some "grit". The facade is cracking. Literally. Facade the corporation may not be all goodness and gumdrops. Desi starts getting wary, and that piques our interest.
Then in Farewell to Charms, Desi is planning to revolt against Facade.
It's just amazing to see how far this series has gone in character and plot development. And how much "tougher" it's become, if that's the word for it.
So in A Farewell to Charms, Desi's suspicions are not longer just suspicions-they're facts. She knows that Facade is corrupt and she continually finds evidence that justifies her cause in trying to go against this company. It doesn't matter that the company lets her play dress-up and twirl around as a princess, who cares if this is every girl's dream job, the company thrives off of stolen magic and that's bad. Plain and simple.
Desi just has such a strong and unwavering sense of right and wrong, and we continually see that displayed throughout the entire book. And I love it.
Every attempt she made to undermine Facade's corrupt regime and uncover and reveal the dirty truth, I rooted for her. This wasn't one of those books where the heroine is dead set on achieving something but we as readers are just going, "Why? There's not point in that."
So yeah, Desi vs. Magical-corporation-that-hides-some-very-key-things-to-know-from-its-employees was just awesome to read.
And then there was the whole Floressa Chase ordeal. I really enjoyed how that played out in the end. Floressa finally got the reality check she's desperately needed, and maybe she's still a royal brat, but as least Desi has opened her eyes in seeing how selfish she was before.
Oh and another bit that I loved was the thing about how Desi's parents were starting to become worried and suspicious about what their daughter actually is doing. Active parents in their children's lives isn't something we see nearly enough nowadays in YA literature. But I felt like it was very realistic, and something that would definitely happen in real life.
Overall, I just devoured all the conflict in this book. None of it was heavy, but that's okay in these kinds of fun, girly books.
And props to Lindsey Leavitt for maintaining the perfect balance between conflict and the fluff.
Oh yes, there still was a LOT of fluff. Not that I'm complaining. Reed Pearson and Desi Bascomb, they are just too adorable. The ending! The ending! The sleigh ride and the kiss...sigh, too cute. Too cute.
Kylee. I loved that character. She was HILARIOUS, (especially when interrogating Reed), and played the role of a supportive best friend really well.
My one main qualm with this book was its predictability at times. For instance, Kylee having magic. Reed being Barrett's match but also subbing for Karl that one time. Desi's match being Floressa. I can't have been the only one who saw these things coming.
And I guess I wanted to see more resolution. Such as in Desi's mom's pregnancy. That was such an interesting point to introduce--but it was never fully fleshed out. Also, what became of Floressa and Barrett now that they don't have matches? I actually sort of wanted Desi and Reed to continue subbing for them, because it's just too perfect! And it makes my fangirl bookworm heart all happy when I think about how they can still be all cute together even when acting as royalty.
But that's just a personal reader wish.
Overall, good, fun, fluffy series, Perfect for summer reading, and tween or early-teen girls.
lpcoolgirl's review
5.0
Yes, this was a really great ending to the series, I enjoyed it a ton, and I can't wait to read more books by Lindsey Leavitt, these were just so entertaining!
lenni_loves_literature's review
3.0
The first book was good, the second book was outstanding, but I just wasn't feeling this one. Honestly, I was a little bored with this one, which is such a let down. I was actually kind of hoping for more Desi+Reed kissing. Not only was there not enough for my satisfaction, but Reed is moving to EGYPT!!!!! Noooo! That's one of the reasons this book lost stars, actually. I was hoping for so much more, so in summary, this book was disappointing.
(Although I'm very happy for Meredith and "Frank"/Roberto/her prince)
(Although I'm very happy for Meredith and "Frank"/Roberto/her prince)
smlunden's review
3.0
dang, it has been such a long time since i read this... i remember something bugged me but otherwise it was a quick, fun read.
booklife4life's review
2.0
Basic Info
Format: Hardback
Pages/Length: 288pgs
Genre: Young Adult; Fantasy
At A Glance
Love Triangle/Insta Love/Obsession?: No
Cliff Hanger: eh
Triggers: n/a
Rating: 2 Stars
Score Sheet
All out of ten
Cover: 8
Plot: 6
Characters: 6
World Building: 7
Flow: 6
Series Congruity: 9
Writing: 8
Ending: 7
Total: 6
In Dept
Best Part: A nice ending.
Worst Part: Love!
Thoughts Had: gag; stop that; aw!
Conclusion
Continuing the Series: n/a
Recommending: eh
Short Review: Why must my books be ruined with love?! This book could have been so awesome but nope, instead we focused on the love story wayyyyy more than the plot. The plot was great too! I felt like it was too clean thou, especially when she got all those packages and her mom didn't really question them... I hope for a spin off or another book with that kinda cliff hanger but an open ending.
Misc.
Book Boyfriend: No.
Best Friend Material: Eh, he MC is alright.
Review in GIF Form:
literatiqueen's review
3.0
I didn't like this book as much as the first. Also, since I read this one, the third, a looong time after the first, I had forgotten some details and was confused at first.
shutupnread's review
3.0
This was a cute series – glad I finished it. Even though it seemed like one of those fluff books you read during the summer just to pass some time, there were some key life lessons to be learned in this series. The most important one was to do what was right despite circumstances and ignore all the pressure to do otherwise.
I liked Desi – I thought she was cute and a decent main character. I guess due to the large age gap between her and me, there were a few instances where I didn’t really understand where she was coming from or comprehend how she was so stupid to do something or not to realize something. Honestly, half the time, I wanted to smack my own head at her slowness to understand something. However, I do give her props for standing up for what was right and figuring out what was wrong. She might not have gone about it in the exact right way but she was only 14 so it’s understandable.
I actually Reed a lot. I thought he was adorable and it was so obvious how much he liked Desi yet she didn’t really see him that way and instead, kept pushing her best friend towards him even though they literally never spoke with each other before. I was actually surprised what his real identity was and thinking back, it actually made a lot of sense. I just didn’t realize that there were so many different branches and divisions.
The overall plot of the series was interesting. The fact that you can use makeup and magic to completely become a different person and live the life of a royal princess is essentially a girl’s dream come true. At least that’s what you’d think because clearly Desi had some ups and downs during her subbing. It definitely made things a little more realistic – that the life of a princess isn’t exactly perfect.
The one thing that nerved me a little was the fact that there simply aren’t that many royalty in the world today. I can only think of two or three royal families still existent. The rest are just the rich and famous but they’re certainly no royalty so this series, if you want to be technical and if you want to take out the magic factor, is a no go. It simply won’t work.
Overall, I liked it. It definitely wasn’t a series I had to think too much on but I did like learning some of the lessons that were taught. One can never be too old to learn some good old life lessons.
To read more: http://holedupinabook.blogspot.com/2016/04/princess-for-hire-series-2-3-by-lindsey.html
I liked Desi – I thought she was cute and a decent main character. I guess due to the large age gap between her and me, there were a few instances where I didn’t really understand where she was coming from or comprehend how she was so stupid to do something or not to realize something. Honestly, half the time, I wanted to smack my own head at her slowness to understand something. However, I do give her props for standing up for what was right and figuring out what was wrong. She might not have gone about it in the exact right way but she was only 14 so it’s understandable.
I actually Reed a lot. I thought he was adorable and it was so obvious how much he liked Desi yet she didn’t really see him that way and instead, kept pushing her best friend towards him even though they literally never spoke with each other before. I was actually surprised what his real identity was and thinking back, it actually made a lot of sense. I just didn’t realize that there were so many different branches and divisions.
The overall plot of the series was interesting. The fact that you can use makeup and magic to completely become a different person and live the life of a royal princess is essentially a girl’s dream come true. At least that’s what you’d think because clearly Desi had some ups and downs during her subbing. It definitely made things a little more realistic – that the life of a princess isn’t exactly perfect.
The one thing that nerved me a little was the fact that there simply aren’t that many royalty in the world today. I can only think of two or three royal families still existent. The rest are just the rich and famous but they’re certainly no royalty so this series, if you want to be technical and if you want to take out the magic factor, is a no go. It simply won’t work.
Overall, I liked it. It definitely wasn’t a series I had to think too much on but I did like learning some of the lessons that were taught. One can never be too old to learn some good old life lessons.
To read more: http://holedupinabook.blogspot.com/2016/04/princess-for-hire-series-2-3-by-lindsey.html
More...