Reviews

Princess of Earth by R.J. Rogan

kkollatz12's review

adventurous slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

amelialouiseoxx's review

5.0

*chefs kiss* that is all

Can I have the second book now pls and thank u

katrinac2595's review

4.0

An easy fantasy read which I devoured in less than a day - likeable characters, simple yet well-written plot with a fast pace. A few inconsistencies in terms of timelines but didn’t really diminish from the experience. I would read the second one right now if it was a thing! A great debut novel :)

amandareads666's review

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Overall, I don’t think it was bad. It was a 2.5 star read. 

To start with the positives of the book, it was a very quick read with an entertaining story. I didn't have to pay too much attention to follow the plot and the author did a good job of making me curious as to where the story is going to go - I feel like it could go a couple different ways. I will likely continue the series as I think the series has potential.

The book did have some issues though. 

Firstly, I couldn’t help but feel like the author was trying to emulate SJM ("obscene gesture," anyone?). The dragon portion also seemed as if it were a last-minute addition; it felt quite rushed and was reminiscent of Fourth Wing. Everything being Fire/Earth/Water/Air (I think air was mentioned?) kept making me think of Avatar: The Last Airbender.

One thing that really bothered me was that the book felt almost unfinished; like it was a rough draft waiting to be completed. A big part of that was ineffective editing, my main issues with it being:

• The abundance of grammatical and punctuation errors. There are at least twenty in the first few pages alone! While I understand hiring a fancy-pants editor may not be fiscally feasible for everyone who self-publishes, there are grammar checkers or even Al that could've fixed most of these. I often found myself rereading whole paragraphs just to make sense of them.
• The first chapter being written in first person POV of the main character as a 4 year old just didn’t work. The narrative voice was that of an adult which made it unrealistic. It would have been much more effective if the author had started the book a third person prologue instead.
• The repetitions!! If you took a shot every time someone rolled their eyes or smirked, you'd be dead. Smirk/ smirked/smirking was mentioned 24 times. People rolling their eyes were mentioned a whopping 44 times!

There were also some inaccuracies that might not bother other people but that took me right out of the story when I picked up on them. 

First off, horses don't pant. They're not dogs. They can't breathe through their mouths, only their nostrils.  Then the book kept mentioning Kira grabbing the dragon's mane? A mane is fur/hair which I’ve never heard of dragons having. I did reread the initial dragon description thinking I might’ve missed something; I did not.

There were also parts of the story I wasn’t the biggest fan of. First off, the book was full of tropes (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing) but the lost-Princess-isn't-really-dead-she-just-doesn't-remember-who-she-is is so overdone that I think it has to be done a certain way for it to work. The Lunar Chronicles is a great example of this working great. For me it just felt weird that the discovery of who she truly was happened so quickly and nonchalantly. There was barely any explanation and no questions asked- she just accepted it ??

Then the whole “her parents refused all the marriage proposals from the fire kingdom which is why the war started (page 48 on kindle) but oh wait turns out the king did promise Kira to the fire prince before she was born (chapter 13, 14, and page 209 kindle)” really confused me - if she was engaged to the prince since before her birth as part of her dad’s grand plan why did

1. The fire kingdom still send marriage proposals later on; and
2. Start a war ????

I don't know if this is a plot hole, purposeful unreliable character narration that will get resolved in the rest of the series, or something else, but the timing and how it got explained is... "interesting," to say the least.

Overall, the story overall left me with more questions than answers, which might have been meant by the author as a way to hook the audience, but felt confusing to me.

Also I’m not sure what the intent of this was, but they made such a big deal out of her turning 18 and becoming queen with the coronation and everything, and yet people are still calling her princess?! It drove me mad.

Then the ending was predictable which I don’t mind much as it’s pretty much always the case with YA, but Mateo's reaction to it felt out of character. I get being upset but "she left with him whilst we were being slaughtered" isn't even true! She left at night, AFTER the battle was done for the day. AFTER she was IN the battle helping!! But go off, I guess. I also feel like it's a little odd that after everything he's not questioning her motive at all? Nowhere in his little, love-sick brain does he wonder WHY she did it? Not once does he stop to go, "Hmm, why all of a sudden would she just go over there and go along with the contract despite fighting it so hard when it was first discovered?"

And while I’m talking about Mateo, I actually felt super uncomfortable with the romance. The power dynamic honestly feels almost predatory. Not only is the Mataeo 24/25 when Kira has JUST turned 18 - she’s literally a teenager!!! - but his job is to protect her. Add to that that the Kira is emotionally vulnerable as she’s just had her WHOLE world turned upside down and is figuring herself out again … it just doesn’t sit right with me. I think a slow burn (without the age gap!) would have been much better, and it would have given Kira time to process and come into herself instead of instantly getting all wrapped up in kissing a hot guy in armour.

I just think the book was too short for what it was trying to do and as a result some bits weren’t fleshed out enough. I found a lot of characters felt more like NPCs than anything else. Like was Alexander just a plot device to Kira that book? And why did Dane go from major side character to pretty much non-existent as soon as Mateo enters the chat???

Again, I don't think it's a bad story, but it needed more revisions. I am still planning on reading the rest of the series when it comes out as I feel it has good potential. I'm hoping that the sequel provides more of context and continues to develop the lore but improves on the foundation.

britsbookishdays's review against another edition

4.0

⭐️: 4/5

georgias_books's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

mariasmusings's review

adventurous hopeful mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I was excited to be part of the blog tour for the new book Princess of Earth by R.J. Rogan, the first book in a new fantasy series aimed at the young adult market. And though I'm a bit (ok, a lot older than this age group, I thoroughly enjoyed the storyline and am looking forward to the sequel).

Our story commences with the invasion of the land of Earth by their neighbours from the land of Fire and young princess Kira is secreted out of the castle for safety. Fourteen years later, as Kira is approaching her 18 birthday, she will start to recover her memories of her former life and be restored to the throne. Kira will soon discover the truth about the events of 14 years ago and will be faced with leading the people of Earth into a battle to secure their future. 

There are plenty of moments of humour and romance throughout the storyline and as with any young characters, Kira and her counterparts seem to fall in love quickly and deeply.  But against a background of war and fear their capacity for love becomes a survival mechanism as the dangers increase and the level of treachery becomes real. There are twists and turns everywhere but the author is careful to avoid the plot becoming too convoluted and has created a rollercoaster of a read that leaves the reader wanting more.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Vomit, Death of parent, and War

Moderate: Bullying

alexdouglas's review

adventurous 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? No

5.0

I was lucky enough to be a BETA reader for this novel, thank you so much Ree! 

An amazing debut novel from R.J Rogan. The characters are well developed and you truly grow to love them as the novel progresses. The world building is great, Earth feels like my home kingdom. I was quickly wrapped up in the plot and the cliffhanger absolutely killed me. I need book two ASAP!