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3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager for the ARC!
The Princess Knight is a medieval fantasy romance inspired by Legally Blonde. Cait Jacobs does a great job incorporating nods to the movie without overshadowing their original plot. It has a queernormative world, chronic pain representation, political intrigue, banter, mythical beasts, quests, and world building influenced by folklore and mythology. I enjoyed the friendship and romantic development between Clía and Ronan, it was an endearing slow burn. I loved how they respected and supported each other despite difficult circumstances. The dual POV chapters allow you to really understand both Clía and Ronan, which I appreciated.
Domhnall’s character was interesting, I like that he was a friend who ended an engagement instead of an ex boyfriend. He became dislikable enough to make sense for the plot, but he was not irredeemable. The stakes for Clía are also higher than just trying to win him back. I loved Niamh, Kían, and Sárait - I need more of them! Also, Murphy was an adorable (and apparently terrifying) animal companion.
The ending/epilogue was a bit short, I would have loved more details on how things developed after the main plot wrapped up. Perhaps there will be a spin-off, and if so I would love to read it!
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for the eARC. I had been looking forward to The Princess Knight and while it was a fun read and an easy read, it did fall flat in some areas.
I enjoyed seeing Clía's eventual growth, and the plot was interesting enough to keep me engaged. However I struggled with the character voices and characterization. For me, they didn't have a distinct voices and were a little one dimensional. Likewise I wanted Clía to be a kickass female that was just constantly underestimated, and unfortunately she came across as incompetent and average. And perhaps it was just a matter of pacing...it seemed that in a relatively short span of time she went from someone who has never exerted herself beyond dancing at a ball to someone who could best some of the best warriors in the land..and it just seemed unrealistic and pulled me out of the story.
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The Princess Knight is a delightful medieval romp. Clía is a princess who decides to follow her ex-to-be-betrothed prince to knight college to win him back. But we end up with all the fun romcom tropes: knight training, Clía finding herself, and a delicious slow burn romance between Clía and the prince's best friend, Ronan. But the real focus of the story is Clía's journey from demure, naive princess to a self-confident, badass knight who can hold her own on the battlefield and in war council meetings.
My only qualms are that the beginning is really slow. I found it hard to keep going until about the 35% mark. Additionally, the world building is good but it's A LOT of names and places right off the bat. Eventually, I just kinda glossed over place names and some character names and figured out what was happening from the context the names were being mentioned.
Overall, this was really fun and people who like it, will LOVE it.
Thank you NetGalley and Avon/Harper Voyage for the eARC!
My only qualms are that the beginning is really slow. I found it hard to keep going until about the 35% mark. Additionally, the world building is good but it's A LOT of names and places right off the bat. Eventually, I just kinda glossed over place names and some character names and figured out what was happening from the context the names were being mentioned.
Overall, this was really fun and people who like it, will LOVE it.
Thank you NetGalley and Avon/Harper Voyage for the eARC!
It took me a while to get into this book and honestly I was just craving more. I wanted was really excited for this story and it just felt like it fell flat in some areas. The romance and fantasy setting felt rushed (and a little forced), the characters were hard to connect with, and I just craved for found family to be a little stronger. It had the energy of legally blonde meets medieval fantasy, but I just felt like it was missing things.
adventurous
tense
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:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
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
May this love find me and HIT ME IN THE FACE WITH A CHAIR.
First in my reading-all-the-Lady-Knights-books-published-this-year run. Great start, I must say.
I was expecting a silly little romantasy book and found myself surrounded by characters trying to find themselves amidst the expectation of others, warring with their emotions while still training for battle. A book full of intrigue, betrayals, action, but also full of hope and kindness.
I have no words to describe how much I love Clía and Ronan, they are amazing, they are my babies. And I’ve got a lot to learn from both of them. Clía takes criticism like the princess she is and tries to best herself ever. single. day. Humble, fierce, kind and stylish as hell. She’s an icon, she’s a legend, and she is the moment. And Ronan battles with chronic pain since he was a kid and still gets to be the best warrior??? He’s not blessed by the gods he fought to be there and deserve it more than anyone else.
The Princess Knight warmed up my heart, made me feel seen and made me feel safe. I wanted something light but usually don’t like pure romance, comedy or cosy books. But hey, add betrayals and a lady knight wielding a sword and I guess I’m in.
I’m so glad I gave this book a chance. Love, love, love Cait Jacobs for bringing it to life.
Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
adventurous
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
The princess knight is a fun fantasy full of diversity. I loved the legally blonde type inspiration of a “dumb blonde” princess coming into her power and showing others the strength she had all along. There’s a ton of diversity and character growth in this book. There’s disability representation, adventure/ quests, mystery, slow burn/ forbidden love and more!
One note is that I did feel like dialogue was a bit stiff at times and the story didn’t always flow the way I wanted it to but it was still a good read and a great debut novel.
adventurous
lighthearted
slow-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:
No
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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