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The Lost Princess

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He was sent to kill her, not fall in love with her.

Penrose is prepared to sacrifice her heart to save her kingdom from a cruel curse. But after her betrothed tricks and humiliates her at the altar, she’s cursed to sleep but for the touch of true love.

One hundred years later, hired mercenary and convicted criminal Malik wakes his target before he can slit her throat. He's never shown mercy before. Yet this frail girl who talks too much of justice and books has cracked his frozen heart.

It’s too bad her head belongs to the king. What’s more, his family’s lives and freedom depend on Malik’s ability to deliver it to him.

Dethroned and stripped of her power in an unfamiliar world, Penrose can’t afford to trust a criminal whose specialties are exploitation and murder. That is, until Penrose discovers a disturbing truth.

Her abuser lives. And he holds the key to ending the sleeping curse. Can Penrose trust Malik’s help against him? Or will Malik choose his freedom over his heart?

Perfect for readers who love fairy tale retellings, shy heroines, and the ruthless heroes who will do anything to protect them.

369 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 22, 2024

77 people are currently reading
389 people want to read

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Joy Lewis

20 books3 followers

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5 stars
12 (18%)
4 stars
16 (24%)
3 stars
20 (30%)
2 stars
17 (25%)
1 star
1 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
Profile Image for Stephanies.books_.
598 reviews5 followers
July 21, 2024
The book wasn't horrible. I did enjoy reading it. It was an interesting take on sleeping beauty.

There wasn't much of a connection between Penrose and Malik. It felt more lusty than actual love. Guess that it had one fade to black scene. Which was probably not the best location for it and felt out of place.

Penrose wanted to be a strong character. She just fell flat when it mattered. She definitely seemed to dive into things without fully being aware of what's going on.

Malik was a very subdued Morelly Grey character. I feel like he could have been more aggressive. He had the strong will down. Especially at the beginning of the story. I think with him constantly being sick and injured hindered his character.


Was a little unhappy that Hendrix was killed off. Given that, he kinda outshined some of the other characters when it came to taking action. I was hoping he would get a HEA with all he's been through.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Laura.
50 reviews1 follower
July 4, 2025
Un libro che inizia alla velocità della luce con queste scene che sono una più bella dell'altra e dove succede di tutto con una dinamicità che ti invoglia a saperne sempre di più, alla parte centrale che rallenta troppo bruscamente e che fa rallentare anche la lettura e il coinvolgimento iniziale, cosi come il world-buildinge il rapporto tra i protagonisti non viene ben approfondito, per poi ritornare ( dopo la scena in biblioteca ) ad un coinvolgimento interessante con dei bei colpi di scena che fanno scoprire tutti i segreti e devo dire che li ho trovati molto originali.

I capitoli corti sono la cosa che più preferisco in un libro, qui ci sono e infatti sono andata abbastanza spedita durante la lettura, è una lettura che consiglio? si se vi piacciono i retelling della Bella addormentata nel bosco ma attenzione perché questa storia tende a lasciarsi un po' di cose dietro.
Profile Image for WyoGal.
487 reviews
July 25, 2024
DNF; stopped at 38% due to herky-jerky style

Some parts of the story intrigued me, mostly the scenes with Malik. However, the scenes with Penrose annoyed me due to the stilted narration: too many mundane details, overstated emotions, jumps from one POV to another with poor transitions or no transitions, heavy-handed dramatics, and awkward plot developments. It’s like reading in a car on a bumpy road—one wonders if something was missed or skipped. It’s just not a pleasant reading experience due to having my critical editor brain triggered most of the time. The book needs serious developmental editing.
Profile Image for Quinn03.
102 reviews
July 4, 2024
This was not my favorite thing ever. First of all the one thing that bothered me the most was the female lead's name. I just couldn't take it. I had too many problems with this book to list but it just isn't something that I would ever read again. I went into this with high expectations and it just fell horribly flat for me, which sucked because I wanted to like this so bad but I really didn't.
Profile Image for Kate Carr.
156 reviews13 followers
August 6, 2024
An interesting retelling of one of our beloved Disney characters. I found myself enjoying this book until it got towards the end. The ending was abrupt and rushed. We never find out how nightmare was banished/killed. Milak tells her he loves her and then boom, everything is just okay. I think if the ending battle was a little more complete, this book would rate 5 stars.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
14 reviews1 follower
November 5, 2024
Two and a half stars.

This was... fine. I didn't hate it and the premise of the story had potential but the ending fell very flat, it felt rushed and incomplete. It ended up leaving a very, "wait but what happened, is that all??", taste in my mouth which I didn't like.

Overall it was fine but I wouldn't recommend it.
Profile Image for Gabrielle St Pierre.
30 reviews1 follower
September 30, 2024
My first DNF at 56%. So I cannot rate it one star but, I have never not finished a book. It just was a bit boring, some chapters helped me want to keep going but after 2 months I need to find my love for reading again and this wasn’t it for me.
Profile Image for Melissa Fengári.
587 reviews2 followers
August 3, 2024
Dnf. 60% and no romance had happened yet, story was slogging. May still finish but idk
Profile Image for Elizabeth Vanessa.
23 reviews
March 15, 2025
I don’t know why I insist on finishing mediocre books. Story was all over the place in my opinion and a lot of it didn’t make sense
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews

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