Review: Kiss of the Royal by Lindsey Duga

Title: Kiss of the Royal

Author: Lindsey Duga

Published by: Entangled Teen

Released: July 3, 2018

Source: Review Copy from Entangled Teen through Netgalley

Summary: Ivy has one of the most magical kisses in the kingdom. Her kiss is one of the only weapons in the war against the Forces of Darkness and the Dark Queen. Princes and Princesses from all over the land are partnered with each other to fight the evil. The Princes once kissed, are strong with the Kisses magic and are able to fight with strength x10. Ivy has had 4 partners in her life, and her last partner has just been felled by a goblin killing curse. Her Kiss is the most powerful, but why do all her Princes end up dead? Now she needs a new one.

Prince Zach is rumored to be one of the best fighters ever seen in the kingdom. It's said that he took out a goblins' lair on his own, with no partner, no Kiss. A Prince that powerful is the perfect partner for Ivy. Once their partnership starts and the fate of the kingdom rests in their hands, Ivy finds out that Zach doesn't believe in magic kisses. The only kiss he will consent to is the Kiss of True Love. How will they stop the Forces of Darkness if Zach refuses to take her magic kiss? And just what is Ivy, a girl who has been raised to not believe in love, just logic, feeling for Zach?

My Thoughts: Thank you to Entangled Teen for providing me with a free copy of this book for honest review. I was drawn in by the cover and premise. Magic Kisses, Dragon Hunting, and Magical Journeys are definitely my thing.

One thing I really enjoyed about this book was the premise. I love how it's set in an actual fairytale world. So many books now are inspired by fairytales, but Kissing the Royal made up its own fairytale world with the Forces of Darkness, a Dark Queen, and Magic Kisses. I thought that was really fun and creative. It was very fun with the battles, with the goblins, dwarves, and griffins. I love fairytales and this one really did feel like one. I could imagine someone reading a version of this tale in a true fairytale book.

I thought the overall story was fun. I kind of guessed at things that were going to happen and was right a couple of times, but it didn't take away from my enjoyment. The ending was very exciting and it just brought the whole story together. I also love that it is a stand alone. Those kind of books are a rare breed in the YA world.

I did think the story kind of dragged in the middle. The journey could have been shortened just a little. I'm also not sure how I really felt about the romance. I liked both Zach and Ivy, I liked them together, but I don't know if I felt their chemistry. I also wasn't sure why Bromley came along. He was kind of a background character and not a lot was done with him.

I would have really enjoyed for this to be a two perspective novel. Have both Ivy and Zach have chapters, so I could hear Zach's side of things as well as Ivy's. I think it would have worked really well.

Overall, I definitely enjoyed this. It was fun. I really enjoyed the premise and getting a kind of original fairytale tale. Thank you to Entangled Teen for providing me with a copy of Kiss of the Royal for honest review. I tend to find that Entangled Teen publishes really fun and addictive reads and this was no exception. Congrats to Lindsey Duga on her new book. I'd recommend it if Fairytales and Magic are your thing, also romance.

BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 3.5/5

Shhh... we're hunting dragons + magic kisses