Week 34 Review: Rise of the Vicious Princess

From Goodreads:

The first in a YA political fantasy duology about a fierce princess determined to bring lasting peace to her kingdom regardless of the cost to her heart.

Princess Charis Willowthorn is the dutiful sword of Calera. Raised to be ruthless and cunning, her only goal is to hold her war-torn kingdom together long enough to find a path toward peace with their ancient foe, Montevallo, even if the cost is her own heart.

When violence erupts in the castle itself and an unseen enemy begins sinking Calera's ships, Charis realizes a threat much greater than Montevallo is coming for her people. So she forms a plan. By day, she is Calera's formidable princess intent on forging an alliance with Montevallo. By night, she disguises herself as a smuggler and roams the sea with a trusted group of loyalists, hunting for their new enemies. And through it all, there's the one boy she can't have—who guards her life but steals her heart.

But her enemies are much closer than Charis realizes, and her heart isn't the only thing she has left to lose.

My Review:
Oh, this was a really fantastic read! I've really enjoyed her other books, but this one sounded pretty dark, what with the vicious in the title. And boy, she was fierce in her title as princess, of defending her country however she could, be it violence or politics! 

Charis has been dealing with the war with Montevallo for a while now. There's a bit of he said, she said, about the origins, on either her grandmother demanded too much to have the goods go through her kingdom, or if Montevallo just didn't want to pay. But the war has left Calera is a pretty rough position.

One thing that I loved is that she had Tal by her side, who didn't let her get away with her royal attitude, which is something that she needed, someone to keep it real with her. Between the stresses of her position and the war, trying to help her kingdom, it was really great that she had him by her side! I loved how their relationship bloomed into more! 

That ending though? Man, that was just over the top and I loved it! Between the threats, and all that occurred-as well as that one awful betrayal, yeah, I need to know what's going to happen next after that cliff-hanger! It was just so readable! 

I had a fantastic time reading this book and I can't wait to read the sequel! 

Author: C.J. Redwine

Series: Rise of the Vicious Princess #1
Read: August 25th, 2023
Source: Edelweiss
Reason Why: Love her writing and it's a Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2023 Book and a WoW Book!
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Published: June 14th 2022

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars