Kiss of the Royal Review

Date to be Published: July 3, 2018

Author: Lindsey Duga

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Number of Pages: 400

Publisher: Entangled Teen 

I Voluntarily read and reviewed "Kiss of the Royal". All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

First Thoughts: 

I was interested in reading this book because of the premise. A kick-ass heroine? Count me in. I went into this book thinking it was possibly book one of a series but I later discovered it wasn't. That this book is a stand-alone. And while I was half-way through I learned this and thought it couldn't possibly conclude by the end of this book. There was a lot going on and I really thought it was going to be another "Throne of Glass" series. But I was wrong, most of the problems were concluded and I was quite suprised.

Goodreads Summary:

In the war against the Forces of Darkness, the Royals are losing. Princess Ivy is determined to end this centuries-long conflict once and for all, so her new battle partner must succeed where others failed. Prince Zach's unparalleled skill with a sword, enhanced by Ivy's magic Kiss, should make them an unstoppable pair-but try convincing Zach of that.

Prince Zach has spent his life preparing for battle, but he would rather be branded a heretic than use his lips as nothing more than a way to transfer magic. A kiss is a symbol of love, and love is the most powerful weapon they have--but try convincing Ivy of that.

With fate of their world on the line, the battlefield has become a testing ground, and only one of them can be right. Falling for each other wasn't part of hte plan--but but try convinci9ng their hearts of that. 

Plot:

This book is filled with lots of action and suspense. The interesting part about this book is the kiss of the royal. It's supposed to enhance their bodies; make them almost impossible to destroy but it doesn't always work. Some Royals kisses are stronger than others. Like Ivy's because she's a direct descendant of the ancestor who had the first Kiss. Though throughout the story so many things were questioned and things kept getting flipped, what you believed at first wasn't necessarily the truth to begin with. I liked that about this book, it really added another depth to the story that made it worth continuing to read. And Royals is anyone who has blood of a king or queen and has the power of the kiss. Princes and princesses is what they're called and they can be pure royal, half royal or even quarter royal. The purer the blood the stronger the kiss. Anyways it was nice seeing characters introduced throughout the book and to see how they were introduced to the story-line.

Romance:

So this is the part of the story that is tricky at first because the Royals grew up to believe love wasn't real so the feelings they ever should feel towards another person is lust. But some characters were born thinking the opposite so we have a clash of characters. There is romance for sure and this whole book really is based off the fact of love so there has to be some romance. But the main product of romance isn't introduced until later on in the book. But I did like the end result. 

Characters:

Ivy is a pretty cool character to get to know. She has a fragile side but throughout the book she keeps it hidden. But she's so strong both physically and emotionally. She tries her best to keep her act together throughout the book. It isn't until the last half of the book, is where she can't keep it in any longer. She has to let her true self out. Zach is a pretty kick-ass character too. He has a softer side too but he chooses to show it whenever. He has nothing to hide. Brom, Ivy's page is a pretty cool character, he's so sweet and likable. I immediately took a liking to him. The other characters that were introduced were cool too and added to the story.

Transformation of the Character: 

Ivy for sure did a lot of transforming in this story. She starts off one way and ends of being someone totally different. But she is still strong, just in another way. Zach like I mentioned above, didn't necessarily change much but he was still a good character in the book. The other characters did some transforming but I'll leave that up to you as a reader to figure out which ones!

Description:

The description in the book was well thought out and well explained. I liked the description of the scenery, it was like I was there and could imagine it perfectly. One scene in particular that I remember vividly is where they came in contact with the Sable dragon egg. It was described in a way that had me shivering, lol. Also the way the emotions were described was good too because it really allowed us to feel what the characters were feeling. It was like feeling a particular emotion for the first time because in this one case Ivy felt something she had never felt before. It was awesome and inspiring. 

Style:

This is written in first person and only in one POV. Using first person in this story allowed us to get inside Ivy's head; it was quite spectacular. I liked that I was able to get inside Ivy's head so easily. It really gave me the perspective of someone whose never felt love. To never identified familiar love. Also to be written in only Ivy's point of view allowed the reader to only experience this world in her point of view. I think if we could have been in one or two more point of views it would've allowed the reader to really see the world. It was such a complex world I think it would've done more good than harm. I liked the author's writing style too. I've never read anything by this author, so her writing was new to me. It was well written and easy to read. I definitely liked the way the author wrote this world and was able to conclude a complex plot in one book; bravo to you Ms.Duga!!

Quote of the Book:

"The raging storm inside me died down to a gentle breeze. Slowly, I nodded. Zach smiled and moved his hands to my hair tied in a tight bun. "Now," he murmured. With a quick tug, he removed the ribbon, and my hair tumbled down around my shoulders. "Let's have some fun.""

Last Thoughts:

I really enjoyed the fantasy of this book. It was complex and amazing to see unfold. Though there were times I guessed what was going to happen, it was still fun to read. Definitely recommend this to fantasy readers and anyone who likes a good kick-ass heroine. So go out there and pre-order it if you think this is the story for you!

My Rating:

4 Blooms!