Kingdom of Myth and Magic

by Sarah Teasdale

370 pages, Paperback

Published January 30, 2024

About the author

Get ready to escape reality and dive into Sarah's latest romantic fantasy adventure, Kingdom of Darkness and Destiny.

With fierce female leads, steamy romance, and heart-wrenching emotions, Sarah's writing will transport you to a whole new world. Hailing from a small town in Eastern Ohio, Sarah brings her down-to-earth charm to every word she writes. When she's not crafting captivating stories, you can catch her sipping on wine and devouring romance novels like it's her job (she wishes).

You can follow Sarah Teasdale's work on her social media account: @sarahteasdaleauthor

Reviews

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I.AM.UNWELL! I started reading this book last night, fell asleep, and picked it right back up as soon as I woke up this morning! I couldn’t put it down!

With that being said…. I love, love, loved this book!

The story follows Melora, the adopted daughter of Queen Vayna. Although she bears the title of princess, her true lineage is a secret. Melora despises the rules and behaviors that are expected of her, especially since she is not a true heir.

Desperate for an escape from her situation, Melora sneaks out to a hot spring to unwind and spend time alone. However, a mysterious man appears 👀 and insists on sharing the waters with her. An unexpected event occurs while they’re in the springs that propels Melora through a series of events that change her entire life.

In an attempt to keep this mostly spoiler free, just know this story is FULL of twists, turns, surprises, lies, betrayal, found family, swoon-worthy romance, touch-her-and-die vibes, spice, and secret/hidden magic! It is so, so, good! The cliffhanger at the end had me in a chokehold. I can’t wait to read the next installment! ✨

[book.obsessed.jess · Rating 2 out of 5]

2/5 ⭐️
3/5 🌶️

I want to preface this review with saying that I received an e-arc of the second book and thus read the first book in preparation. That being said, the general concept/storyline of this book has potential. The writing however feels very YA except the book contains spice in it. The spice was decent but I started skimming it towards the end. I feel as though the writing could use more development. There were numerous grammatical errors and some of the phrasing was a bit cringy.

Again - I think this book has promise and potential if it had been worked through more - with more world building and development of writing. So much happened in this book that it almost felt like there should have been more time taken with each major plot point. I really struggled to get through this one and wanted to DNF a few times.

What to expect:
✨Found Family
✨Enemies to Lovers
✨Spice
✨Dual POV
✨Cliffhanger

[Gabriella · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is basically just a blend of FBAA and its prequel. Blonde, freckled main character, hidden from the world and abused by an evil Lord. She loves to fight and is secretly trained by her guard who is an older man whose wife and child died in childbirth so he treats Mel as his own. Sent to the neighboring kingdom as a peace treaty but actually is supposed to seduce the prince and kill the royal family. No real world building. DNF.

[Heather Bennett · Rating 4 out of 5]

This ending has me hollering for more.

So excited to be an ARC reader for book two. Here I go immediately to it.

[Michelle | the_unexpected_reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review: Kingdom of Myth and Magic
Stars: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1/2
Spice: 🌶️🌶️

"Kingdom of Myth and Magic" by Sarah Teasdale offers a promising premise with intriguing elements of fantasy and romance. The tale follows Melora, an adopted princess yearning for freedom and adventure amidst courtly confines. As secrets unravel and alliances shift, Melora finds herself torn between duty and desire, especially when a captivating prince enters the fray.

While the story weaves an engaging narrative filled with intrigue and suspense, the romance feels somewhat predictable and idealistic, reminiscent of similar tales in the genre. The formal tone of the internal monologues detracts from the authenticity of the characters' emotions, making it harder to fully immerse oneself in the story.

Despite these shortcomings, the book holds promise, leaving readers eager to delve into the next installment. With its mix of political intrigue, forbidden romance, and looming war, "Kingdom of Myth and Magic" sets the stage for an epic saga that fans of the genre will likely enjoy!

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vibes of Gild plotline with character vibes from ACOTAR. There’s virtually no world building, which is a major deduction for me personally. I was thrown off by the timing of things as well, it seemed for majority of the time nothing was happening, no world building or anything, then all of a sudden everything happened. I felt this way with the relationships as well, the FMC, for never being out in the “real world” and only seeing bad sides of people, was entirely way too trusting, despite her “gut feelings”.

There wasn’t any character development, although it is just the first book.

The side characters and their slight banter is what kept this entertaining for me, along with having to know if my assumptions were right. I was pleasantly surprised that not every action was easily guessed.

[Bex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! What a novel. I love when a fantasy world wraps around your heart and makes you wish it were a real place. Undoubtedly though, my favorite thing about this book was the incredible character development of Melora! The entire book, you can’t help but to cheer her on for coming into her true self! Her internal struggle and realization makes it all the better to witness. Then there is Silas, ugh! What a well written man. His character growth matched Melora’s step for step. Watching them unexpectedly fall, just makes this book that much better.

I won’t say much else because I refuse to be someone’s spoiler but, if you read this, have book two on standby! You’re gonna need it!

Storyline: 10/10
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️/5
Song: Beautiful Things- Benson Boone

[MG · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book in the Myth and Magic series. We meet Melora and Silas and see where their journey begins. This is a fasted paced, instalove type of romance with spice. The writing was good and easy to follow. World building was good not too heavy because we are learning the world as Melora is so I’m sure as the series progresses we will get more into world building as the series continues. There is also a pronunciation guide which is super awesome!

Tropes:
enemies to lovers, touch her and die, emotional growth, found family, open door spice, arranged marriage, forced proximity, pining, dual pov.

[booksandcoffeewithjordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am utterly obsessed with this book! I found Sarah on Instagram and love supporting small authors so I purchased her book.

Little did I know I would become completely infatuated with it! It was absolute perfection and left me wanting more! Thankfully I was lucky enough to receive the ARC for book 2, Kingdom of Fury and Fate!!

Review:

“A princess. A betrothal. A connection.”

Melora is a badass FMC who can hold her own and isn’t afraid to let everyone know it. She’s the princess to Morania. She meets a sexy and mysterious man in a hot spring. Later finds out she is to marry the prince of Asteria to unite their kingdoms, or at least that’s what they want the prince and his kingdom to believe. Her ulterior motive says otherwise, but does it hold up when she realizes who the prince is??

Overall, the book was absolutely amazing. I struggled to even put it down. Was completely enthralled and absolutely loved the world and the characters. Even found myself a new book boyfriend😈

[Rah Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

This magical world of twists and turns had the pages turning! I was enchanted with the story of Mel & Silas. The strong FMC being in an arranged marriage that turned to a marriage of convenience to lovers. The storyline was reverting and left me wanting more. There was just enough spice to balance out the adventure. The villains were easy to dislike and the love interests were easy to fall in love along with the side characters. Looking forward to reading book two to see where this unexpected ending takes Mel!

[Lex · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kingdom of Myth and Magic by Sarah Teasdale

3.5 /5 ⭐️ 1.5/5 🌶️

Dedication: “To the few friends who knew about my secret obsession for writing; thank you for pushing me to share my work And to you, the reader”

This was a good debut novel. It did have some moments that had me feeling kinda eh but overall was an easy read and I enjoyed it and it had a good ending. I liked it enough that I read the second book as well.

[Sarabelle Owens · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book!! The secrets, the lies, the betrayal, and the love! The world building was done very well. The love between the FMC and MMC was unconditional and fierce. Melora (FMC) is an absolute badass; even before she truly knew who she was. Moving on to book two and looking forward to continue with their story!!!

[Kierstyn Springer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seriously could not stop thinking about this book from the moment I started reading it. So many twists and turns and highs and lows in this novel. Also has some great heat if you know what I mean. I cannot wait for the next book to be released!!!

[Carlene Trujillo · Rating 5 out of 5]

So many good twist and turns I was not expecting that had me like 😱 and the ending!! I need book two asap! Also the spiciness is 🌶️🌶️🌶️. Definitely recommend reading!

[Danielle Morrone · Rating 5 out of 5]

SPICYYY fantasy read!!!🌶️🌶️🌶️

[sammi h (chaptersinthecity) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3⭐️ rounded up — a great debut novel! I enjoyed the story overall, but found some of the book to be a little cringey. Not my fave, but still a good/easy read.

[Samantha Miskowic · Rating 4 out of 5]

enjoyed it!

A high fantasy that follows the story of Melora and Silas. Melora is the adopted daughter of Queen Vayna and Silas in is the prince of a neighboring kingdom that was defeated by Morania year’s ago. Lots of world building in this one and insteresing magic system. So magic has been all but wiped out in Melora‘s kingdom and it’s not until Silas takes her away to be his bride and saves her from the abuse and torture she has endured in her own kingdom at the hands of her adopted brother and the Lord of Ravehall who was supposed to be caring for her that she realizes that magic even exists. There’s found family, good vs evil, orphaned hero, magic creatures, betrayal, some reluctant hero/chosen one vibes, fated mates and a little spice!
I’d really give this a 3.8 there seemed to be some editing/spelling/context errors that made it kinda hard for me to read but I rounded up
Because honestly the story and premise are a great choice and I did enjoy it. That cliff hanger! Can’t wait to read the next one!

[Kamaile (kamaile.reads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Spice: 🌶️🌶️/5

I received an ARC for book 2, Kingdom of Fury and Fate, so of course I had to read Kingdom of Myth and Magic. Yes, there are grammatical and spelling errors but those things didn't bother me as much and I enjoyed the plot, pacing, and characters. The pacing was nice. Of course shit hits the fan towards the end of the book which makes me immediately want to continue on to the next one.

Melora is such a badass fmc who will do anything for those she loves. Silas our protective loyal mmc makes me swoon and is so caring and understanding when it comes to Melora. Melora exhibits some good character development and I'm excited to see how things progress in book 2!

[Carmen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kingdom of Myth and Magic was a very fun read! Melora, secretly adopted daughter of the Queen of Morania, is promised to the enemy kingdom as a bride. When she arrives, she finds that it might not be what she was told before.

I loved the premise of this book, and I thought that the storytelling was very well done. The plot twists were unpredictable but made a lot of sense, and you can’t help but root for the main characters. Additionally, the way Melora reacts to the situations she is put in feels really genuine and helped me connect with her more.

My main complaint with this book is that it wasn’t edited very well. This for me is usually a deal breaker, but I really enjoyed this book despite this!

[Maddy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this, being that I was selected as an ARC reader for Book 2. A lot of things to unpack, but I’ll narrow it down to the grammar being poor, the premise being a little cringey (which is a shame because it would have been such a great plot line had the wording and dialogue not felt unnatural and awkward). The spicy scenes were decent but, because of the dialogue that went with it, felt like a really bad Netflix teen romance pilot episode.
Still going to read Book 2 since I was selected for the ARC but I’ll be honest, I don’t expect much out of it.

[Devon · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF @10%

This feels like a rip-off of FBAA - I kept being pulled out of the story because it is TOO similar. The FMC is sequestered away from the people by the Queen, left to be abusive ministrations of a Lord with whom she lives with. Her only “friends” is her lady-in-waiting, and the older guard who trains her in secret. At this point, I’m just waiting for a new, sexy guard to be introduced who has a secret identify and pretty, golden eyes.

I’m super bummed because the premise of book 2 sounded absolutely amazing and I was really looking forward to reading it.

[Jenna Crumpton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! Such a great book for this to be a debut novel! Sarah definitely had me hooked with the storyline and with the characters! There are definitely some grammatical errors but I didn’t let that go against my rating at all! If you’re interested in a new author and you enjoy fantasy, definitely check this one out! Now I sure am glad I have the ARC of the second book because WHAT WAS THAT ENDING EXCUSE ME??

[Krista-Rose · Rating 1 out of 5]

All reviewers that gave this more than 3 stars are either liars or they haven’t read a well written book before. The dialogue between characters is awful. The MFC inner thoughts aren’t deep enough for the plot of the story. The world building is non existent. Overall it could have been way better had more time been spent on really developing the characters and not just shoving in a million plot points.
Also I had to DNF cause it really was that bad.

[Kellie Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
This book was very similar to another popular book. It had the potential to be perfect, if those similar themes were omitted. Otherwise, it kept me engaged.

[Joy White · Rating 1 out of 5]

This author just copied Jennifer Armentrout's series From Blood and Ash and I just couldn't keep reading it anymore.