Princess of Souls

This book was never on my radar but when I got an advance copy, I was interested to see how it is. A Rapunzel retelling also sounded completely like my kind of story, so I was eager to explore that as well. Turns out, I should have tempered my expectations.

I am not saying it's a bad book. In fact, it is immensely readable, pretty fast paced too which means I breezed through this book very quickly. It's just that these days I am having a tough time appreciating young adult books for what they are without putting too many expectations on them. I was also disappointed that there's hardly any elements of the Rapunzel story which are explored here except Selestra having long hair and being confined to a tower before she is of age.

The world building is good enough, if a bit difficult to get the hang of. The action sequences are pretty cool, especially towards the end. The side characters are also very interesting, Irenya and Micah being very easy to love and quite fascinating. But the main characters Selestra and Nox didn't evoke the same feelings in me. And without that connection with the couple, it's hard to enjoy the yearning that comes with an enemies to lovers story. I definitely wish their characters were more fleshed out and had definitive arcs which made it easier to root for them.

Overall, this was an easy to read and tad bit predictable YA fantasy novel with some cool action and interesting world building. It probably just doesn't cater to my current expectations from fantasy novels.

3.5/5 stars

I read To Kill a Kingdom earlier this year and loved it. So, needless to say I was so excited for the release of this book!
Princess of souls is a Rapunzel inspired YA fantasy set in the same world as To Kill a Kingdom and I loved every minute of reading this! Highly recommend if you are looking for a unique and untraditional retelling of Rapunzel.

 “He's a shadow in this world, ever present, and with my mother by his side there will never be enough light to cast him out.”
Synopsis:
Selestra Somniatis is the heir to the King's Witch. If she touches anyone she will foresee their death. Her destiny is to succeed to her mother's position and aid the King in harvesting souls to maintain his immortality. She lives a sheltered and solitary life in a palace tower.

Nox Laederic is a soldier in the King's Last Army. Following his father's death at the King's hand he has sworn himself to vengeance.

When Selestra is tasked with foretelling Nox's death as part of an annual ritual, she witnesses hers also. Fearing her death and fate is tied to his, she makes it her mission to save his life, repeatedly.

“There's nothing stronger than a dream that wants to live, and I've been dreaming of touch, of conversation, my whole life.”
My Thoughts:

• This is a stand alone novel set in the same world as To Kill a Kingdom and expands upon it's world building.
• The friendship dynamic between Selestra, Irenya, Nox and Micah is great.
• Brilliant banter, both of the flirty type between Selestra and Nox and of the friendship type between other characters.
• The Rapunzel and Greek mythology references/nods were occassionally a bit on the nose, but otherwise this is a rather loose retelling - more an ‘inspired by' than a straight retelling.
• Really sweet (clean) romance.
• A fun, kids-on-a-world-saving-quest YA fantasy. I really enjoyed it.

“She's made of dark magic and I can't ever forget it - if she let's it, it'll burn through the world.”