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A review by marshmallowpudding
Kingdom Cold by Brittni Chenelle
4.0
i want to read this so bad & the author actually sent me a review request in january but being the stupid person i am, i opened the email six months late and the link to my review copy has already expired šš
update [7/7/2019]: i'm so, so excited omg - the author's the kindest, and she sent me a new review copy! can't wait to begin reading this ā”
ā my thoughts
i received a review copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. all opinions below are my own.
kingdom cold was a short, fun read, and i liked it.
the book features characters from a wide range of ethnic groups ā thereās so much diversity, and i loved it! on top of that, the story is told from the perspectives of different characters, and i was completely engrossed. i enjoyed reading about how different characters deal with their internal struggles (maybe except for prince emmett ā that guyās a real douchebag, more on that later), and they actually sound different from each other ā iāve read other stories told from multiple points of view, where every single character sounds exactly the same, and i sometimes got confused about which pov iām reading, but that did not happen for me this time.
the story is strikingly similar to the 2019 remake of aladdin ā a princess being courted, a handmaiden whoās also the princessās best friend, war and princes competing for the princessās hand in marriage. the 9-year-old fairytale-obsessed girl in me was screaming in joy. i loved reading about the castles and royalty from faraway lands and dungeons and knights. i also really liked the small reference to camelot, and canāt wait to find out more about it in the next book. (will there be a new character named king arthur? what about the excalibur sword? i need to know.) BIG YES to the fairytale feels.
but ā there were some things i disliked.
princess charlotte is my age, but as much as i wanted to, i could not relate to her at all. sheās so immature and overmature at the same time ā her ways of dealing with the problems she comes across are really childish, yet her somewhat serious attitude is comparable to that of an adult. also, i hated her whining. i consider myself a highly tolerant person, but at one point i found her complaining so unbearable i had the urge to reach through my kindle screen and punch her in the face.
also, in my opinion, the author could have handled prince emmettās racist and sexist comments more properly. i mean, putting those words in the villainās mouth might (really, really subtly) imply they are problematic, but i think it would be much more appropriate to address the problem more clearly. just, look at these sentences, taken from the book:
the authorās definitely going in the right direction by including characters from different backgrounds and (attempting to) address problems such as racism and sexism. but yeah, i wish it could have been done better. (āÆĀ·ā°)
still, i liked the overall outline of the story, and i loved! loved! loved! the diversity! iām looking forward to reading the next two books in the trilogy (i heard one of them will be about prince minseo? i canāt wait!)
this review first appeared on my blog, marshmallow pudding
https://marshmallowpudding.home.blog/2019/07/09/book-review-kingdom-cold-by-brittni-chenelle/#more-703
update [7/7/2019]: i'm so, so excited omg - the author's the kindest, and she sent me a new review copy! can't wait to begin reading this ā”
ā my thoughts
i received a review copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. all opinions below are my own.
kingdom cold was a short, fun read, and i liked it.
the book features characters from a wide range of ethnic groups ā thereās so much diversity, and i loved it! on top of that, the story is told from the perspectives of different characters, and i was completely engrossed. i enjoyed reading about how different characters deal with their internal struggles (maybe except for prince emmett ā that guyās a real douchebag, more on that later), and they actually sound different from each other ā iāve read other stories told from multiple points of view, where every single character sounds exactly the same, and i sometimes got confused about which pov iām reading, but that did not happen for me this time.
the story is strikingly similar to the 2019 remake of aladdin ā a princess being courted, a handmaiden whoās also the princessās best friend, war and princes competing for the princessās hand in marriage. the 9-year-old fairytale-obsessed girl in me was screaming in joy. i loved reading about the castles and royalty from faraway lands and dungeons and knights. i also really liked the small reference to camelot, and canāt wait to find out more about it in the next book. (will there be a new character named king arthur? what about the excalibur sword? i need to know.) BIG YES to the fairytale feels.
but ā there were some things i disliked.
princess charlotte is my age, but as much as i wanted to, i could not relate to her at all. sheās so immature and overmature at the same time ā her ways of dealing with the problems she comes across are really childish, yet her somewhat serious attitude is comparable to that of an adult. also, i hated her whining. i consider myself a highly tolerant person, but at one point i found her complaining so unbearable i had the urge to reach through my kindle screen and punch her in the face.
also, in my opinion, the author could have handled prince emmettās racist and sexist comments more properly. i mean, putting those words in the villainās mouth might (really, really subtly) imply they are problematic, but i think it would be much more appropriate to address the problem more clearly. just, look at these sentences, taken from the book:
she looked older up close, with laugh lines around her eyes and her mouth. what did she have to be happy about?
she was a worthy reward for ruling over besmium.
no, iād destroy them all. if i couldnāt have charlotte, no one could. if i didnāt sit on the besmian throne, no one would.
ājust look at you.ā he grinned. āand more importantly, look at me.ā
i blinked with disbelief.
āfair skin, eyes the color of beryl stone, golden locks.ā
i huffed. āso, i imagine in your world thatās superior somehow?ā
āin every world thatās superior.ā
the authorās definitely going in the right direction by including characters from different backgrounds and (attempting to) address problems such as racism and sexism. but yeah, i wish it could have been done better. (āÆĀ·ā°)
still, i liked the overall outline of the story, and i loved! loved! loved! the diversity! iām looking forward to reading the next two books in the trilogy (i heard one of them will be about prince minseo? i canāt wait!)
this review first appeared on my blog, marshmallow pudding
https://marshmallowpudding.home.blog/2019/07/09/book-review-kingdom-cold-by-brittni-chenelle/#more-703