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a_reader_obsessed's review against another edition
4.0
4 Stars
I admit that Prince Justin isn’t my favorite character in the Verania universe, but I also understood where his disdain for Sam came from and that jealousy did spur him to do some very not so nice things. However, by the end of [b:A Wish Upon the Stars|33640227|A Wish Upon the Stars (Tales From Verania, #4)|T.J. Klune|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1518903472l/33640227._SY75_.jpg|54491251], we do get to see another side of Justin and how he’s accepted Sam and adjusted to his very uniquely special shenanigans.
Here in this follow up and told in Justin’s point of view, he admits his mistakes, he explains why he did the things he did, and one sees that he’s come to rely upon and love Sam very much as they prepare for a future to rule Verania together. I enjoyed this more than I thought I would and discovered that Justin is like my kindred spirit. His snark, his every irritated reaction to Gary/Tiggy/Kevin’s outrageous antics and Sam/Ryan’s sappy silliness was so in alignment with my own misanthropic grumpy heart that I couldn’t help but fall for Justin and his poor exasperated self.
This is a very compact story focused on Justin and company when they discover the king made a long forgotten pact with a foreign land to marry their offspring together. A magically binding courtship must be invoked, and one can only imagine the hugely entertaining chaos that ensues.
Just know that King Dylan is the absolute complete opposite to Justin but somehow his slightly dim, but such a good and pure heart persona, wins Justin over and makes him a better person. I have no doubt the reader will have fun reading about Justin fighting the slow dismantling of his icy defenses bit by painful bit.
Overall, of course this was a fun and wild ride interspersed with plenty of sniffle inducing feels as all Verania tales are. Klune leaves the ending open for more, and as always, I’ll be here for it should he deliver!
I admit that Prince Justin isn’t my favorite character in the Verania universe, but I also understood where his disdain for Sam came from and that jealousy did spur him to do some very not so nice things. However, by the end of [b:A Wish Upon the Stars|33640227|A Wish Upon the Stars (Tales From Verania, #4)|T.J. Klune|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1518903472l/33640227._SY75_.jpg|54491251], we do get to see another side of Justin and how he’s accepted Sam and adjusted to his very uniquely special shenanigans.
Here in this follow up and told in Justin’s point of view, he admits his mistakes, he explains why he did the things he did, and one sees that he’s come to rely upon and love Sam very much as they prepare for a future to rule Verania together. I enjoyed this more than I thought I would and discovered that Justin is like my kindred spirit. His snark, his every irritated reaction to Gary/Tiggy/Kevin’s outrageous antics and Sam/Ryan’s sappy silliness was so in alignment with my own misanthropic grumpy heart that I couldn’t help but fall for Justin and his poor exasperated self.
This is a very compact story focused on Justin and company when they discover the king made a long forgotten pact with a foreign land to marry their offspring together. A magically binding courtship must be invoked, and one can only imagine the hugely entertaining chaos that ensues.
Just know that King Dylan is the absolute complete opposite to Justin but somehow his slightly dim, but such a good and pure heart persona, wins Justin over and makes him a better person. I have no doubt the reader will have fun reading about Justin fighting the slow dismantling of his icy defenses bit by painful bit.
Overall, of course this was a fun and wild ride interspersed with plenty of sniffle inducing feels as all Verania tales are. Klune leaves the ending open for more, and as always, I’ll be here for it should he deliver!
notruse's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
medium-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
4.75
sillyhumantricks's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
kattandra's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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
5.0
drakoulis's review against another edition
3.0
I was very excited for the return to Verania, so I am disappointed to say that this book did not reach the level of the previous four, it's in fact the weakest TJ Klune book I've read so far.
For the first time, the POV character isn't Sam, but Justin, so a change in tone was expected. And this was well done, Justin is an interesting and quite likeable character. The old gang was still a prominent part of the book, as were the many borderline surreal plotlines that accompany the Verania books. Justin is reluctantly persuaded to get to meet Dylan, the young king of a neighboring kindgom, to whom he was promised before he was even born.
There were some aspects I really enjoyed (spoilers below):
- The unexpected ship of King Anthony with Morgan, I had never imagined it but it works and it feels very in place for the world and the characters.
- The temporary transformation of Sam and Ryan to kids gave us some very adorable moments.
- A character I despised for all the books finally got what they deserved.
- The ending! I consider the ending extremely important for my overall experience of a book, to the point that sometimes I deduct a star if the ending is unsatisfying or leaves a sour/bittersweet taste. No complaints here, I liked the twist!
This book though has some serious problems with me, which were not present in the previous Verania books:
- I start with the most important. See, Verania books use a lot of humor and banter and the characters being swoony and honestly, horny and thirsty, about their love interest. I loved it about Sam and Ryan. But this doesn't work when you find the love interest the exact opposite of handsome/sexy . I cannot imagine how TJ Klune thought that the way he described Dylan was sexy. I winced every time I read about "the beads of his beard", the tattoos everywhere, the genitals piercing, the "bush of pubic hair", the "scratching with his sideburn"...I can go on and on. I would never read a romance book where one of the two main characters has this style. Is it superficial? Yes, but the series uses physical appearance a lot in its banter, its jokes and the inner thoughts of the narrator. Thus a large part of the appeal that reading Sam's thoughts had, is gone and reversed in this book. Sorry TJ Klune, a Dothraki-looking dude-bro is...ugh.
- I had issues with the personality of Dylan as well. To put it shortly, he's like a cheap version of Ryan, without most of the things I liked about Ryan.
- The guest appearance of The Great White felt too comical, even for Verania levels. Generally, the book was somewhat of a bridge: an extended epilogue of the Myrin plotline and an introduction to a future one, but it didn't feel very solidly done.
- Last but not least, for the second book in a row, TJ Klune tries to (not subtly at all) apologize about his humor in the previous books that was deemed "unacceptable" by some people. I said this in Flash Fire , I say it now too, I do not like when the authors are forced to backtrack in order to appease the masses. Verania wouldn't be Verania without its over the top no-taboo humor.
For the first time, the POV character isn't Sam, but Justin, so a change in tone was expected. And this was well done, Justin is an interesting and quite likeable character. The old gang was still a prominent part of the book, as were the many borderline surreal plotlines that accompany the Verania books. Justin is reluctantly persuaded to get to meet Dylan, the young king of a neighboring kindgom, to whom he was promised before he was even born.
There were some aspects I really enjoyed (spoilers below):
- The unexpected ship of King Anthony with Morgan, I had never imagined it but it works and it feels very in place for the world and the characters.
- The temporary transformation of Sam and Ryan to kids gave us some very adorable moments.
- A character I despised for all the books finally got what they deserved.
- The ending! I consider the ending extremely important for my overall experience of a book, to the point that sometimes I deduct a star if the ending is unsatisfying or leaves a sour/bittersweet taste. No complaints here, I liked the twist!
This book though has some serious problems with me, which were not present in the previous Verania books:
- I start with the most important. See, Verania books use a lot of humor and banter and the characters being swoony and honestly, horny and thirsty, about their love interest. I loved it about Sam and Ryan. But this doesn't work when you find the love interest the exact opposite of handsome/sexy . I cannot imagine how TJ Klune thought that the way he described Dylan was sexy. I winced every time I read about "the beads of his beard", the tattoos everywhere, the genitals piercing, the "bush of pubic hair", the "scratching with his sideburn"...I can go on and on. I would never read a romance book where one of the two main characters has this style. Is it superficial? Yes, but the series uses physical appearance a lot in its banter, its jokes and the inner thoughts of the narrator. Thus a large part of the appeal that reading Sam's thoughts had, is gone and reversed in this book. Sorry TJ Klune, a Dothraki-looking dude-bro is...ugh.
- I had issues with the personality of Dylan as well. To put it shortly, he's like a cheap version of Ryan, without most of the things I liked about Ryan.
- The guest appearance of The Great White felt too comical, even for Verania levels. Generally, the book was somewhat of a bridge: an extended epilogue of the Myrin plotline and an introduction to a future one, but it didn't feel very solidly done.
- Last but not least, for the second book in a row, TJ Klune tries to (not subtly at all) apologize about his humor in the previous books that was deemed "unacceptable" by some people. I said this in Flash Fire , I say it now too, I do not like when the authors are forced to backtrack in order to appease the masses. Verania wouldn't be Verania without its over the top no-taboo humor.
tabbycattwrites's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
4.75
An outstanding Book 6 in a series that is outstanding. I didn't know how much I wanted Justin's POV until I had it. The Ice Prince finds out quite out-of-the-blue that he was promised as an infant to the king of neighboring Yennbridge, King Dylan. In tow is Dylan's court magician Ramos. Are they what they seem? Or is this another attempt by Verania's enemies to capture the kingdom?
39imar's review against another edition
adventurous
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? It's complicated
5.0
hotlizard's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
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? It's complicated
5.0
What do I even say. This series is so perfect. We get an in depth look into Justin and his demons, and the development or rather the final crack in his cold armor. I'd wager, Justin had probably the biggest development arc of the whole series. He finds his softness with Sam which is 😭
The ending is set up with a glimpse into future adventures which I hope we get from TJ Klune soon.
If it weren't for the meeegga explicit parts I'd absolutely recommend this to every kiddo I know.
The ending is set up with a glimpse into future adventures which I hope we get from TJ Klune soon.
If it weren't for the meeegga explicit parts I'd absolutely recommend this to every kiddo I know.
larinda_booksandanxiety's review against another edition
5.0
In the first four books we went from hating Prince Justin to liking him. In this book, we fall in love with him. I loved listening to this book from his perspective and seeing him grow and him seeing that he can be a good king and knowing he is loved. #friendship