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racheln23's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.25
Cute story where I just enjoyed most of the whole adventure. It opens up with Mara and I was quite invested with her at the conclusion of ch 1, then it swapped POVs. I got so annoyed that I just skipped Alac… until like ch 12. I decided to go back and read his chapters and honestly, I could have skipped them and not missed much, BUT, at about ch 12ish they start becoming more essential.
Mara is being forced to take a crown. The alternative is that her family will be killed. In order to take the crown, she must be a usurper and support murder. Mara meets the family she is to murder by proxy, and you can imagine the delightful turmoil. I wish the author had included even more pre wedding festivities.
After listening to a Branden Sanderson class, I’m classifying the arch as a rags to riches trope, with some subplots of trying to solve the mystery of this magic, escaping from sticky situations, and a hint of romance.
There was one confusing thing to me. At one point, a character and Mara both were explaining her bloodline (2 completely separate occasions but within the same chapter)(it was Zeth at the end of the book, lol) , and either I totally forgot who some characters were or it was an editing overlook and not explained well with Mara’s mom and a sister and orphans and monastery’s and… it was confusing.
My complaint:
The handing over of the crown just seemed a little unlikely, I feel like something else should have happened.
Anyway, it’s really like a 3.25 star but I liked it enough where it deserves to be both 3.25 and 4.25 lol
Mara is being forced to take a crown. The alternative is that her family will be killed. In order to take the crown, she must be a usurper and support murder. Mara meets the family she is to murder by proxy, and you can imagine the delightful turmoil. I wish the author had included even more pre wedding festivities.
After listening to a Branden Sanderson class, I’m classifying the arch as a rags to riches trope, with some subplots of trying to solve the mystery of this magic, escaping from sticky situations, and a hint of romance.
There was one confusing thing to me. At one point, a character and Mara both were explaining her bloodline (2 completely separate occasions but within the same chapter)
My complaint:
Anyway, it’s really like a 3.25 star but I liked it enough where it deserves to be both 3.25 and 4.25 lol
crimsoncor's review against another edition
3.0
Not objectionable, but pretty bland. World building is super low effort. The entire "the army is hidden because that is what armies do" made me laugh, but not in a good way. Wished there had been way more actually talk about wine and wine-making. That would have been fun.
heyitsmeg777's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed reading this book with not your average queen getting to the throne tale.
We usually expect to find out that an ordinary girl will end up on a throne, but Maralyth "Mara" isn't your ordinary girl. She's the daughter of a wine seller who has the power to make the vineyards thrive. As she gets roped onto a plan to get rid of the Thungraves to assure her position as queen, she collides into Alac Thungrave.
Now, let me just say that Alac is a GREAT character. His desire to not sink into his family's power but still being curious is a perfect balance between good and evil. The fact that he fell in love with Mara since the first time made me instantly like him more and despite everything she does, he still chooses to forgive her and being a prince interested in wines was an interesting trait to add to a prince.
It was a pleasant read, even if the beginning was a bit slow but the characters were great and the magic of creation and destruction was portrayed in such a lovely way.
We usually expect to find out that an ordinary girl will end up on a throne, but Maralyth "Mara" isn't your ordinary girl. She's the daughter of a wine seller who has the power to make the vineyards thrive. As she gets roped onto a plan to get rid of the Thungraves to assure her position as queen, she collides into Alac Thungrave.
Now, let me just say that Alac is a GREAT character. His desire to not sink into his family's power but still being curious is a perfect balance between good and evil. The fact that he fell in love with Mara since the first time made me instantly like him more and despite everything she does, he still chooses to forgive her and being a prince interested in wines was an interesting trait to add to a prince.
It was a pleasant read, even if the beginning was a bit slow but the characters were great and the magic of creation and destruction was portrayed in such a lovely way.
amy_j18's review against another edition
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
4.0
anotherstoryreader's review against another edition
5.0
Comfort food for the YA romance loving soul.
Sometimes you just need a fun light read. This book was that for me. If you are in the market for something new with groundbreaking new plots and tropes this probably isn't what you're searching for. If you just want a book you know you're going to enjoy. This book was well written, had an enjoyable plot, stolen magic, and a sweet romance. I liked that it's a stand-alone book. I was wondering about halfway how Mrs. Boehme was going to get Maralyth and Prince Alac to reconcile such enormous obstacles in the way to them becoming close but it was very well done. I almost wish there was a sequel because I'd like to see more of Maralyth and Alac and the kingdom of Perin Faye.
On a personal note in the acknowledgments, Mrs. Boehme says she never dreamed she could write a book. She said her first attempt was terrible. This really touched me and I just want to say. Girl you didn't just do it, you did it GOODDDDD!!! I can't wait to see what you write next because you defiantly have a God-given talent!
Sometimes you just need a fun light read. This book was that for me. If you are in the market for something new with groundbreaking new plots and tropes this probably isn't what you're searching for. If you just want a book you know you're going to enjoy. This book was well written, had an enjoyable plot, stolen magic, and a sweet romance. I liked that it's a stand-alone book. I was wondering about halfway how Mrs. Boehme was going to get Maralyth and Prince Alac to reconcile such enormous obstacles in the way to them becoming close but it was very well done. I almost wish there was a sequel because I'd like to see more of Maralyth and Alac and the kingdom of Perin Faye.
On a personal note in the acknowledgments, Mrs. Boehme says she never dreamed she could write a book. She said her first attempt was terrible. This really touched me and I just want to say. Girl you didn't just do it, you did it GOODDDDD!!! I can't wait to see what you write next because you defiantly have a God-given talent!
stormwhisper's review
3.0
I received an ARC copy of this book via Netgalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge in exchange for a honest review.
Maralyth has always known that she possessed a dangerous secret: she can perform magic, an act forbidden to all but the king of the land. What Maralyth doesn't know is that her ancestry, the source of her magic, will thrust her headfirst into the very centre of a deadly plot to claim the throne from an a cruel ruler. Maralyth soon finds herself plucked from her ordinary life on her father's vineyard and forced to make life-and-death decisions which will affect not only herself and her family, but reverberate throughout the entirety of the kingdom. Despite the palace intrigue, Maralyth's path seems clear-cut enough until she meets her sworn enemy, Prince Alac, and realizes that restoring fair rule to the kingdom might not be as black-and-white as it appears.
Right from the start, I appreciated that Maralyth was headstrong and determined character. Lord Nelgareth's plan hinged on using Maralyth as a pawn, and while she didn't initially have the full luxury of full autonomy while also keeping her family safe, she refused to be complacent and accept every cruel act as necessary. Maralyth's unwillingness to allow needless brutality and death gave her the tools to seize her power back, and carve out a new destiny for herself and her kingdom.
Alac felt less well-developed, although the character was still an interesting one. I would have appreciated a further exploration of his motives and inner turmoil - even though he was a point-of-view character, I didn't feel like I fully grasped his thought process, and sometimes meaningful changes in his actions and emotions felt rushed and unearned. Alac was a character faced with a plethora of difficult decisions and I think the book would have been improved by giving more of a voice to his difficulties.
The supporting cast didn't have much of a chance to shine, and seemed a bit one-note to me - for example, Tucker existed only to serve his prince and Nestar existed only to help his sister, with no further explanation provided. I would have appreciated it if the author had spent more time fleshing out the secondary characters and allowing them to shine.
I was also disappointed to find that some plot elements were mentioned almost in passing but failed to receive much scrutiny and had little effect on the overall plot. I think the world-building of The Stolen Kingdom would have benefitted if further attention had been given to the consequences of the Thungrave rule, the unpopularity of a potential war, or the other reasons that led to unrest in the populace and set the story in motion.
Ultimately The Stolen Kingdom was an enjoyable book, but I guess I just wanted more out of it - more exploration of Maralyth and Alac's characters, more three-dimensional secondary characters, more world-building. If the book had been longer and spent more time broadening its plot, I think it could have been a truly fantastic book.
Maralyth has always known that she possessed a dangerous secret: she can perform magic, an act forbidden to all but the king of the land. What Maralyth doesn't know is that her ancestry, the source of her magic, will thrust her headfirst into the very centre of a deadly plot to claim the throne from an a cruel ruler. Maralyth soon finds herself plucked from her ordinary life on her father's vineyard and forced to make life-and-death decisions which will affect not only herself and her family, but reverberate throughout the entirety of the kingdom. Despite the palace intrigue, Maralyth's path seems clear-cut enough until she meets her sworn enemy, Prince Alac, and realizes that restoring fair rule to the kingdom might not be as black-and-white as it appears.
Right from the start, I appreciated that Maralyth was headstrong and determined character. Lord Nelgareth's plan hinged on using Maralyth as a pawn, and while she didn't initially have the full luxury of full autonomy while also keeping her family safe, she refused to be complacent and accept every cruel act as necessary. Maralyth's unwillingness to allow needless brutality and death gave her the tools to seize her power back, and carve out a new destiny for herself and her kingdom.
Alac felt less well-developed, although the character was still an interesting one. I would have appreciated a further exploration of his motives and inner turmoil - even though he was a point-of-view character, I didn't feel like I fully grasped his thought process, and sometimes meaningful changes in his actions and emotions felt rushed and unearned. Alac was a character faced with a plethora of difficult decisions and I think the book would have been improved by giving more of a voice to his difficulties.
The supporting cast didn't have much of a chance to shine, and seemed a bit one-note to me - for example, Tucker existed only to serve his prince and Nestar existed only to help his sister, with no further explanation provided. I would have appreciated it if the author had spent more time fleshing out the secondary characters and allowing them to shine.
I was also disappointed to find that some plot elements were mentioned almost in passing but failed to receive much scrutiny and had little effect on the overall plot. I think the world-building of The Stolen Kingdom would have benefitted if further attention had been given to the consequences of the Thungrave rule, the unpopularity of a potential war, or the other reasons that led to unrest in the populace and set the story in motion.
Ultimately The Stolen Kingdom was an enjoyable book, but I guess I just wanted more out of it - more exploration of Maralyth and Alac's characters, more three-dimensional secondary characters, more world-building. If the book had been longer and spent more time broadening its plot, I think it could have been a truly fantastic book.
dame_samara's review against another edition
4.0
This book has been my guilty pleasure over the last few days, Enemies to Lovers, is something that I typically don't seek out due to the fact that it is often written as a Slow Burn romance, which I can never hold out for. OR WORSE Insta-Love, which defeats the entire purpose of Enemies to Lovers.
While on the scale of Insta-Love to Slowburn, I wouldn't call it a good middle ground, it definitely sits closer to Insta-Love. If you're a slow burn lover, I wouldn't recommend it.
My boyfriend description was:"Enemies? to Friends to Enemies to Lovers?"
I enjoyed the banter between Alec and Mara, along with the growth of their friendship. Along with getting to experience the destruction of that friendship from both of their points of view.
What was disappointing was the fact that I wanted to know more about the Magic that was a giant plot point of this book. It felt very black or white, no inbetween. But also there isn't really a given reason Mythical or Literal as to why only this one family is supposed to have magic. The solution was interesting, but the background was lacking.
While on the scale of Insta-Love to Slowburn, I wouldn't call it a good middle ground, it definitely sits closer to Insta-Love. If you're a slow burn lover, I wouldn't recommend it.
My boyfriend description was:"Enemies? to Friends to Enemies to Lovers?"
I enjoyed the banter between Alec and Mara, along with the growth of their friendship. Along with getting to experience the destruction of that friendship from both of their points of view.
What was disappointing was the fact that I wanted to know more about the Magic that was a giant plot point of this book. It felt very black or white, no inbetween. But also there isn't really a given reason Mythical or Literal as to why only this one family is supposed to have magic. The solution was interesting, but the background was lacking.
teatime_and_reading's review against another edition
5.0
Actual rating: 4.50 ⭐
The stolen kingdom is an improved and upgradeded version of the Shadows between us by Tricia Levenseller.
While Alessandra wanted to a queen for the sake of being a queen, Maralyth wanted to be a queen for the sake of the kingdom and the people. She truly wanted to make everybody's life better.
whilst TSBU was more focused on Alessandra's clothes and how her sense of fashion changed the courts'. The Stolen Kingdom was more plot centered, packed with action and had a lot of expected and unexpected twists and turns. And the latter wasn't foucesd on the romance as much as the former.
The romance here is more of a slow burn with a sense of enemies to lovers once you hit the 50% mark of the book, which was more than fine by me. But I had to knock a half star because there was no great love confessions despite them making my heart beat like I WAS IN LOVE.
Anyway, READ THIS BOOK AND GIVE IT SOME LOVE.
The stolen kingdom is an improved and upgradeded version of the Shadows between us by Tricia Levenseller.
While Alessandra wanted to a queen for the sake of being a queen, Maralyth wanted to be a queen for the sake of the kingdom and the people. She truly wanted to make everybody's life better.
whilst TSBU was more focused on Alessandra's clothes and how her sense of fashion changed the courts'. The Stolen Kingdom was more plot centered, packed with action and had a lot of expected and unexpected twists and turns. And the latter wasn't foucesd on the romance as much as the former.
The romance here is more of a slow burn with a sense of enemies to lovers once you hit the 50% mark of the book, which was more than fine by me. But I had to knock a half star because there was no great love confessions despite them making my heart beat like I WAS IN LOVE.
Anyway, READ THIS BOOK AND GIVE IT SOME LOVE.
michely66's review against another edition
5.0
For a hundred years, the once-prosperous kingdom of Perin Faye has suffered under the rule of greedy and power-hungry Thungrave kings. Maralyth Graylaern, a vinter’s daughter, has no idea her hidden magical power is proof of a secret bloodline and claim to the throne.
Thank you Netgallery for giving me the chance to read this story in exchange for an honest review! I loved this magical story—the perfect fantasy adventure I needed to read. I absolutely adored the romance between the main characters. I could not read this book fast enough!
Thank you Netgallery for giving me the chance to read this story in exchange for an honest review! I loved this magical story—the perfect fantasy adventure I needed to read. I absolutely adored the romance between the main characters. I could not read this book fast enough!
ameserole's review against another edition
5.0
I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The Stolen Kingdom was such a fun and magical book to dive into. In it, you will meet Mara and Alac. The adventure that these two go on might make you dizzy. Mostly because this entire book is filled with so much. Magic, betrayal, and so much freaking tension that it might kill you. Just know that I ate it all up and I still wanted more.
From the very first moment, there was something special about Mara and Alac. She was in love with the winery that her family owned. So in other words, she basically had my dream job because I love wine. All things wine. If my family owned a winery? Well, goodbye world - I'm in wine heaven now.
While she's living my best life, he is a prince and wants to do anything else but become King. Luckily for him, he's second in line so he doesn't have to worry about that. The only thing he does worry about, though, is the magic. He hates it. Or maybe he just hates his dad's stolen magic. Either way, magic is a no go for him.
After they first met, sparks were there and started to fly (a bit). It was definitely cute and I couldn't help shipping them after this. They had a special connection and I was worried that the other shoe was going to drop and kill my ship. The shoe dropped hard but my ship was still thriving in my mind.
So much betrayal and magic kept me completely and utterly engaged with this book. I couldn't put it down (unless I had to eat or sleep). Now that it's over, I'm kind of sad. I don't know what to do with my thumbs right now.. unless twiddling seems proper? The moment that this book is published, I am going to buy it and dive back into these beautiful pages. Definitely enjoyed this book and I can't wait for Jillian to write another magical adventure!
The Stolen Kingdom was such a fun and magical book to dive into. In it, you will meet Mara and Alac. The adventure that these two go on might make you dizzy. Mostly because this entire book is filled with so much. Magic, betrayal, and so much freaking tension that it might kill you. Just know that I ate it all up and I still wanted more.
From the very first moment, there was something special about Mara and Alac. She was in love with the winery that her family owned. So in other words, she basically had my dream job because I love wine. All things wine. If my family owned a winery? Well, goodbye world - I'm in wine heaven now.
While she's living my best life, he is a prince and wants to do anything else but become King. Luckily for him, he's second in line so he doesn't have to worry about that. The only thing he does worry about, though, is the magic. He hates it. Or maybe he just hates his dad's stolen magic. Either way, magic is a no go for him.
After they first met, sparks were there and started to fly (a bit). It was definitely cute and I couldn't help shipping them after this. They had a special connection and I was worried that the other shoe was going to drop and kill my ship. The shoe dropped hard but my ship was still thriving in my mind.
So much betrayal and magic kept me completely and utterly engaged with this book. I couldn't put it down (unless I had to eat or sleep). Now that it's over, I'm kind of sad. I don't know what to do with my thumbs right now.. unless twiddling seems proper? The moment that this book is published, I am going to buy it and dive back into these beautiful pages. Definitely enjoyed this book and I can't wait for Jillian to write another magical adventure!