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A review by fulltimefiction
The Stolen Kingdom by Jillian Boehme
3.0
2.5 stars
I love it when authors write standalone fantasies. I think these are rare gems. Some stories need a saga but more often than not, authors drag their books to become trilogies at the very least. This book easily managed to deliver an enjoyable story with likable characters in less than 350 pages.
The story is set in a world with magic, which was stolen from its rightful holders around 100 years ago. The Thungraves hold now the corrupted magic and rule the kingdom who has suffered ever since they usurped the crown. Mara, vintner’s daughter, discovered that she has magical abilities and was secretly using it not knowing that she’s the heir to a stolen throne. When one of the lords finds out about her, he manipulates her to get back the throne. On the other side of the story, we have Alac, the prince who doesn’t approve of his father’s policies. He was never interested in his position if anything, he’d like to have his own vineyard.
This book would appeal in particular to all wine lovers, who aren’t interested just in drinking wine, but also in the whole process of making it. It’s the first book I read that featured such sideline focus and I liked it.
The characters were likable and cute. This book would appeal to younger readers new to this genre but can also be enjoyed by any YA fan. Mara was level-headed, loyal, and smart. She didn’t back down but is also full of compassion. Alac is a good match for her. I couldn’t connect with the characters and their romance didn’t make me feel much, sadly.
The plot was fast, I finished it rather quickly. It’s been a while since I’ve had one of the “one more chapter” cases and suddenly it was 4 am and my eyes were watering... I finished the book first thing in the morning.
The downside of having this book short is that the world wasn’t developed well enough and the religion part was unnecessary because it wasn’t handled in depth. There was also talk of wars and other nations but it was only mentioned briefly, I would’ve liked it if they were more explored.
This is what you might call generic YA with romance but at least the author had the characters admit several times that they didn’t know each other for long how they can feel that much for the other person (admit to other people I mean). The plot was also simplistic, again it’s less than 350 pages, but maybe more pages to develop the story and the romance, would’ve benefited this book. It was nothing new sadly (except for the wine part for me but still not worth it). The story wasn’t what I’d call memorable but a fun book that can be read in one sitting without worrying about committing to yet another series.
Thanks to NetGalley for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review.
I love it when authors write standalone fantasies. I think these are rare gems. Some stories need a saga but more often than not, authors drag their books to become trilogies at the very least. This book easily managed to deliver an enjoyable story with likable characters in less than 350 pages.
The story is set in a world with magic, which was stolen from its rightful holders around 100 years ago. The Thungraves hold now the corrupted magic and rule the kingdom who has suffered ever since they usurped the crown. Mara, vintner’s daughter, discovered that she has magical abilities and was secretly using it not knowing that she’s the heir to a stolen throne. When one of the lords finds out about her, he manipulates her to get back the throne. On the other side of the story, we have Alac, the prince who doesn’t approve of his father’s policies. He was never interested in his position if anything, he’d like to have his own vineyard.
This book would appeal in particular to all wine lovers, who aren’t interested just in drinking wine, but also in the whole process of making it. It’s the first book I read that featured such sideline focus and I liked it.
The characters were likable and cute. This book would appeal to younger readers new to this genre but can also be enjoyed by any YA fan. Mara was level-headed, loyal, and smart. She didn’t back down but is also full of compassion. Alac is a good match for her. I couldn’t connect with the characters and their romance didn’t make me feel much, sadly.
The plot was fast, I finished it rather quickly. It’s been a while since I’ve had one of the “one more chapter” cases and suddenly it was 4 am and my eyes were watering... I finished the book first thing in the morning.
The downside of having this book short is that the world wasn’t developed well enough and the religion part was unnecessary because it wasn’t handled in depth. There was also talk of wars and other nations but it was only mentioned briefly, I would’ve liked it if they were more explored.
This is what you might call generic YA with romance but at least the author had the characters admit several times that they didn’t know each other for long how they can feel that much for the other person (admit to other people I mean). The plot was also simplistic, again it’s less than 350 pages, but maybe more pages to develop the story and the romance, would’ve benefited this book. It was nothing new sadly (except for the wine part for me but still not worth it). The story wasn’t what I’d call memorable but a fun book that can be read in one sitting without worrying about committing to yet another series.
Thanks to NetGalley for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review.