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A kingdom's heart
Princess Iris lives a life of comfort and duty, but she longs for something real. One evening, she slips away from the castle to watch a play, pretending to be a simple healer. There she meets William, a young knight soon to be honored by the king. His quiet strength and sincerity capture her attention in a way she did not expect.
****
William is devoted to his duty and the life he has trained for. When he meets a gentle healer at the theatre, he finds himself wanting to see her again. She is kind and thoughtful, yet there is something about her he cannot quite understand.
****
As their paths continue to cross, Iris struggles to keep her secret, and William begins to sense the truth. If he learns who she truly is, his loyalty to the crown will be tested, and Iris will have to face what her choices have set in motion.
****
William is devoted to his duty and the life he has trained for. When he meets a gentle healer at the theatre, he finds himself wanting to see her again. She is kind and thoughtful, yet there is something about her he cannot quite understand.
****
As their paths continue to cross, Iris struggles to keep her secret, and William begins to sense the truth. If he learns who she truly is, his loyalty to the crown will be tested, and Iris will have to face what her choices have set in motion.
450 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 4, 2025
219 people are currently reading
4149 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 78 reviews
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October 16, 2025pre-read ⋆˙⟡
i have been influenced by those princess x knight tiktoks
i have been influenced by those princess x knight tiktoks
January 4, 2026
yippie, I was finally able to become a Goodreads author
Edit: i published this book at 17 and I’ve been 18 now for a week
I spent most of my lunch breaks writing the book + my nights even though I had school the other day. Will I be doing so for my next books? Prob😭
Edit: i published this book at 17 and I’ve been 18 now for a week
I spent most of my lunch breaks writing the book + my nights even though I had school the other day. Will I be doing so for my next books? Prob😭
December 31, 2025
'I nodded my voice steady now. "You asked me what my favorite flower is. It's you." Her lips parted, but no words came out. I could see the faint color rise deeper into her cheeks as she looked away, her fingers tracing the fabric of her gown. "I'm not a flower," she whispered. A faint smile curved my lips "You are to me."
"Then we'll make one," I whispered. "No matter what happens I'll keep finding my way back to you. Even if the world keeps us apart."
AAAHHH This book was so good😭 I had a hard time picking what quotes to put, because I marked so many. I found this book on TikTok and I'm so happy that I did. I can't believe the author is in high school, Calisa if you ever read this review please keep writing, you have so much potential and the book world needs more stories like yours.
William and Iris are everything to me, they are so cute🥰 There were just so many things I loved about this one. The setting, the plot, and especially the characters. I loved Iris as a character, and I feel like we need more books with FMCs like her. I loved how Iris was strong when she needed to be, but she had a delicate and soft personality, but that didn't make her weak, her love and kindness is her strength. Listen I can totally get behind a warrior badass or sassy FMC from time to time, but I just feel that it's getting repetitive, and it is so hard to find books at least to me that have softer FMCs. I also just love softer FMCs in general, because they remind me a little more of myself. So it was really refreshing to have a main character like Iris, she's a princess, she's kind, and she's gentle, but that doesn't take away from her strength or her fighting spirit to be with William. William was also a refreshing MMC to read about as well, although William was tough when he needed to be, he was also so gentle with Iris. Their love and romance together in general was just so cute, innocent, and really romantic. I loved every page of it. Now I wasn't aware that this is going to be a series, so I will be definitely looking forward to reading the next one whenever it comes out. Until then I'm just going to act like I never read the epilogue and everything is happy lol (if you read the book you'll know why😭) Overall, I really loved A Kingdom's Heart! I found it when I was scouring TikTok for Princess X Knight stories, because my fyp was full of videos about that trope and I'm so glad I found this one. If you want a romantic and wholesome story between a princess and a knight, but also want some high stakes thrown in, I would highly recommend this one☺️
"Then we'll make one," I whispered. "No matter what happens I'll keep finding my way back to you. Even if the world keeps us apart."
AAAHHH This book was so good😭 I had a hard time picking what quotes to put, because I marked so many. I found this book on TikTok and I'm so happy that I did. I can't believe the author is in high school, Calisa if you ever read this review please keep writing, you have so much potential and the book world needs more stories like yours.
William and Iris are everything to me, they are so cute🥰 There were just so many things I loved about this one. The setting, the plot, and especially the characters. I loved Iris as a character, and I feel like we need more books with FMCs like her. I loved how Iris was strong when she needed to be, but she had a delicate and soft personality, but that didn't make her weak, her love and kindness is her strength. Listen I can totally get behind a warrior badass or sassy FMC from time to time, but I just feel that it's getting repetitive, and it is so hard to find books at least to me that have softer FMCs. I also just love softer FMCs in general, because they remind me a little more of myself. So it was really refreshing to have a main character like Iris, she's a princess, she's kind, and she's gentle, but that doesn't take away from her strength or her fighting spirit to be with William. William was also a refreshing MMC to read about as well, although William was tough when he needed to be, he was also so gentle with Iris. Their love and romance together in general was just so cute, innocent, and really romantic. I loved every page of it. Now I wasn't aware that this is going to be a series, so I will be definitely looking forward to reading the next one whenever it comes out. Until then I'm just going to act like I never read the epilogue and everything is happy lol (if you read the book you'll know why😭) Overall, I really loved A Kingdom's Heart! I found it when I was scouring TikTok for Princess X Knight stories, because my fyp was full of videos about that trope and I'm so glad I found this one. If you want a romantic and wholesome story between a princess and a knight, but also want some high stakes thrown in, I would highly recommend this one☺️
November 26, 2025
All I can say is W O W. The world building, the heartbreaking plot, the utter yearning that these characters have for each other, the DETAILS in the writing, I truly felt like I was there. Calisa Azmelle, you have managed to go head to head with authors twice your age! I am SO excited to see what happens next in this series!
December 31, 2025
This book was so good. I was immediately hooked right from the start, and couldn’t put it down. The ending was INCREDIBLE, I was bawling near the end. Definitely worth buying!
December 14, 2025
I genuinely liked this. It was an interesting plot and I liked how the relationship between main characters progressed. It was really cute. Of course there are things to work on but it was amazing for the first time. Better written than some established and popular authors I’ve read❤️❤️❤️
December 3, 2025
With the recent knight x princess trope trending on social media, I was desperately searching for a book that matched the vibe… And this was it!!!! This is a fantastic book that I read extremely fast and left me wanting more! I am so excited for the series to continue and to watch Iris and William’s story grow.
December 1, 2025
This was really really good I couldn't stop reading it!! It perfectly fits the princess x knight trope.
August 23, 2025
Real rating is 4.5/5 stars. Only because I feel like the writing is a little sloppy and there’s grammar and spelling issues, which is a big pet peeve for me. But I’m giving the author the benefit of the doubt because it is a new book. All over super easy read. I enjoyed it a lot. I wish there was more fmc character building though. She slowly becomes more and more strong and badass, so hopefully in book 2?
October 27, 2025
Very much worth reading!! I’m in love with the characters and their storylines. If you look for forbidden love type of book this is the one I’m recommending!😊
December 25, 2025
legit read this in one sitting need next book now 😭
January 7, 2026
HOLY FUCK!!
I fucking adored this book so so much! It was my first read of 2026 and Calisa literally fucking slaughtered with this one.
The way that i fucking HATED Lorenzo for hurting my baby Iris with raven was insane but lowk WILLIAMMMMMMM oh my goodness actually take my life at ur hands william.
The characters were a 10/10 for me 100% and the way that each detail in the book made me imagine the scenes perfectly as i read each word made me struggle to stop thinking abt this book even after i finished it. The world building was so so detailed and allowed you to truly understand and feel the characters emotions in every page.
King henrik.. i do not like you.
William… MARRY ME?
Iris.. i love you.
I texted the author as soon as i finished the book and i made sure she knew how disgusted i was with her when she ended the book in the way that she did because what do you mean I WAS SOBBING AT COLLEGE?
What. a. book.
I can’t wait to read more books from you Calisa Ily🫶🏼
I fucking adored this book so so much! It was my first read of 2026 and Calisa literally fucking slaughtered with this one.
The way that i fucking HATED Lorenzo for hurting my baby Iris with raven was insane but lowk WILLIAMMMMMMM oh my goodness actually take my life at ur hands william.
The characters were a 10/10 for me 100% and the way that each detail in the book made me imagine the scenes perfectly as i read each word made me struggle to stop thinking abt this book even after i finished it. The world building was so so detailed and allowed you to truly understand and feel the characters emotions in every page.
King henrik.. i do not like you.
William… MARRY ME?
Iris.. i love you.
I texted the author as soon as i finished the book and i made sure she knew how disgusted i was with her when she ended the book in the way that she did because what do you mean I WAS SOBBING AT COLLEGE?
What. a. book.
I can’t wait to read more books from you Calisa Ily🫶🏼
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 8, 2026
literally everything I wanted in a Princess X Knight book.
My petty self should mark this down for the ending cliffhanger! *pulls hair out*
My petty self should mark this down for the ending cliffhanger! *pulls hair out*
January 7, 2026
i literally couldnt stop reading, i binge-read this in a day and i loved it SO much
i‘ve been looking for a forbidden love story and this is perfect!!!!
and none of the main characters were annoying (which is surprising), it‘s just the perfect princess x knight story🥹
i‘ve been looking for a forbidden love story and this is perfect!!!!
and none of the main characters were annoying (which is surprising), it‘s just the perfect princess x knight story🥹
December 17, 2025
I love this book. The vibe and the aesthetic made me feel like I was in the Middle Ages. The story really had an impact on me and I can’t wait for the second book.
November 22, 2025
I lovedd this book. I just started reading it yesterday and I finished it just now at 2am. Once I picked it up I couldn’t stop. Each page made me more and more invested in this incredible story, I had to stay up in order to finish it. Although it had a few grammar mistakes, the writing was phenomenal. The way she told and executed their story was so incredibly amazing. I can’t wait to read more about them. I needed the continuation of their story like yesterday. It’s so gooddd!!
December 30, 2025
I’ve seen loads of knight and princess videos on TikTok so I decided to read a book with this vibe and this didn’t disappoint. The forbidden love made my heart break, William was such an angel and honestly I’m just going to pretend that the last two pages didn’t happen. Beautiful story.
November 30, 2025
It was good but I really really hate cliffhangers.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 1, 2025
3.75 ⭐️ i did enjoy this for what it was. it was story book vibes, classic forbidden love. you cant help but to root for them, not much depth but i liked it.
August 11, 2025
So I wanna start this by saying that I liked the writing, this isn't the best I've came across in my life but it was good. And it had sooo much potential...
Sadly, there were so many things that were not good, at all.
First thing first, the layout of the book is just bad, the cover is cut, the font of the title is not the same in all the words but there is no reason behind it, seems like a mistake to me. When I opened the book, I was surprised to see that the words stoped at the half of the page, so why use such big pages if you don't use it properly ?
To me, it seems like everything was done on a rush, and there was not much thoughts behind all of it.
Now, I'm gonna talk about the story on itself :
I'm supposed to be reading a romance, or a romantasy, but the romance is bad, and the worldbulding doesn't even exist.
The Princess, named Iris, falls in love with the kinght, William, in less than 3 interactions, and I'm not kidding. They are madly in love (with declarations and all) at the page 85. It all goes sooooo quickly that I thought I've missed a all book before this one. But no.
The princess, is supposed to be 17, but she acts like a child, a little thing, that could break at anything. She keeps disobeying her father (that's not the problem) and when he confronts her she almost cries and keeps saying that she "won't do it again", and guess what ? next chapter, she does it all over again.
She's always apologizing for no reason, "it's all my fault" okay now stop crying and acting like a damn child ?
When a girl is acting a little bit flirty with the knight, she came and said "he's mine", like please I'd rather die than read this part again.
When people are there to KIDNAP her, her friends come in action to defend her but she tells them to "let them go" ? I mean, girl you are under a threat, try to act the way you should.
She is supposed to have a friend, Astrid, who she, once again, is supposed to see often, but then we don't see her for almost the entire book.
Now that we are on the subject of the girls and friends and all, I want to say I was very much disappointed with it. ALL THE GIRLS, and I truly mean it, are there to serve the story, and they are ALWAYS in love with a man, or fighting for a man. No women in this book are alive without needing a man. Of course, the said friend Astrid, is a bitch, who is "soooo prettier than me" and all that bullshit, and of course she is a redhead girl so she is a witch ! And of course another girl will be physicaly violent with the princess over a man !
Moving on to the Knight. Ofc he starts as being non interested in the girl, and in the next chapter he'll just fall madly for her. He is OVERPROTECTIVE and OVERPOSSESSIVE over her, he's 20 and acts like she's a little doll, ew.
She's the only one who can stop him when he's being violent (and she's okay with him being violent, just if she can't see it), she's the only one who can wake him up when he's in a coma, because he sensed her BESTFRIEND comforting her... the list could go on and on.
I think if he doesn't say once a chapter how he'd rather die than be without her, he actualy dies, because I swear I read at least 30 times the same thing "I want us to be together, I'd prefer to die than live far from you" and etc.
Last part, the threart she is supposed to be under :
We hear from it at the beginning of the book, but then it goes away, even tho we know the problem isn't resolved yet, but we are more focused on her saying how she won't go out of the castle again, than hearing about the huge threat she is facing.
Her father, is he good or mean ? I don't really know, and I don't think anyone knows.
I'm gonna end this review by saying that there were very good ideas for this book, but I think everything was done too quickly, without a true good thought. Every scene "important" was placed there only for tiktok, like "OMG HE SAID THAT" "OMG HE DID THAT" yes he did but the whole book doesn't have much sense so who cares about how hot the knight is.
One word : disappointed
Sadly, there were so many things that were not good, at all.
First thing first, the layout of the book is just bad, the cover is cut, the font of the title is not the same in all the words but there is no reason behind it, seems like a mistake to me. When I opened the book, I was surprised to see that the words stoped at the half of the page, so why use such big pages if you don't use it properly ?
To me, it seems like everything was done on a rush, and there was not much thoughts behind all of it.
Now, I'm gonna talk about the story on itself :
I'm supposed to be reading a romance, or a romantasy, but the romance is bad, and the worldbulding doesn't even exist.
The Princess, named Iris, falls in love with the kinght, William, in less than 3 interactions, and I'm not kidding. They are madly in love (with declarations and all) at the page 85. It all goes sooooo quickly that I thought I've missed a all book before this one. But no.
The princess, is supposed to be 17, but she acts like a child, a little thing, that could break at anything. She keeps disobeying her father (that's not the problem) and when he confronts her she almost cries and keeps saying that she "won't do it again", and guess what ? next chapter, she does it all over again.
She's always apologizing for no reason, "it's all my fault" okay now stop crying and acting like a damn child ?
When a girl is acting a little bit flirty with the knight, she came and said "he's mine", like please I'd rather die than read this part again.
When people are there to KIDNAP her, her friends come in action to defend her but she tells them to "let them go" ? I mean, girl you are under a threat, try to act the way you should.
She is supposed to have a friend, Astrid, who she, once again, is supposed to see often, but then we don't see her for almost the entire book.
Now that we are on the subject of the girls and friends and all, I want to say I was very much disappointed with it. ALL THE GIRLS, and I truly mean it, are there to serve the story, and they are ALWAYS in love with a man, or fighting for a man. No women in this book are alive without needing a man. Of course, the said friend Astrid, is a bitch, who is "soooo prettier than me" and all that bullshit, and of course she is a redhead girl so she is a witch ! And of course another girl will be physicaly violent with the princess over a man !
Moving on to the Knight. Ofc he starts as being non interested in the girl, and in the next chapter he'll just fall madly for her. He is OVERPROTECTIVE and OVERPOSSESSIVE over her, he's 20 and acts like she's a little doll, ew.
She's the only one who can stop him when he's being violent (and she's okay with him being violent, just if she can't see it), she's the only one who can wake him up when he's in a coma, because he sensed her BESTFRIEND comforting her... the list could go on and on.
I think if he doesn't say once a chapter how he'd rather die than be without her, he actualy dies, because I swear I read at least 30 times the same thing "I want us to be together, I'd prefer to die than live far from you" and etc.
Last part, the threart she is supposed to be under :
We hear from it at the beginning of the book, but then it goes away, even tho we know the problem isn't resolved yet, but we are more focused on her saying how she won't go out of the castle again, than hearing about the huge threat she is facing.
Her father, is he good or mean ? I don't really know, and I don't think anyone knows.
I'm gonna end this review by saying that there were very good ideas for this book, but I think everything was done too quickly, without a true good thought. Every scene "important" was placed there only for tiktok, like "OMG HE SAID THAT" "OMG HE DID THAT" yes he did but the whole book doesn't have much sense so who cares about how hot the knight is.
One word : disappointed
January 13, 2026
Too sweet for my liking…
Me re mal predispuso que empiece con un author’s note advirtiendo que el libro fue escrito por una high schooler 😭
I had high expectations
Update on the review de 0 because I don't want to entertain people... ni me voy a gastar en darle entidad a gente que entra a comentar una review que ni está en su idioma por ende no entienden de lo que hablo... así que traduzcan todo lo que quieran amoooooor
Para la autora si lo lee and I say this with literally 0 irony: Im so impressed by you for having written this book so young it was really nice and sweet! Just not for me.
NOW BYE!!! ❤️
Me re mal predispuso que empiece con un author’s note advirtiendo que el libro fue escrito por una high schooler 😭
I had high expectations
Update on the review de 0 because I don't want to entertain people... ni me voy a gastar en darle entidad a gente que entra a comentar una review que ni está en su idioma por ende no entienden de lo que hablo... así que traduzcan todo lo que quieran amoooooor
Para la autora si lo lee and I say this with literally 0 irony: Im so impressed by you for having written this book so young it was really nice and sweet! Just not for me.
NOW BYE!!! ❤️
September 17, 2025
I have nothing negative to say. This book was a damn masterpiece and I enjoyed reading it so much. I loved the writing and the world building.
If this is how she wrote at 17 then I can only imagine how far beyond amazing she’ll be at 18. im so impressed and wish this author nothing but success
If this is how she wrote at 17 then I can only imagine how far beyond amazing she’ll be at 18. im so impressed and wish this author nothing but success
September 20, 2025
Pretty sure i went through the 5 stages of grief. Honestly an amazing book. Need another book x
December 23, 2025
4.5 ⭐️
Writing 2.5/5 (repetitive vocabulary, but easy to read & descriptive)
Characters 5/5 (soft fmc, protective mmc)
Plot 5/5 (secrets and political intrigue)
Setting 5/5
Dual pov, 1st person
Themes: princess x knight, mmc falls first and hard, fake identity, secrets, forbidden love, royalty, cruel king, betrayal, strong love, kingdoms and political intrigue, heartwarming moments, yearning, lots of heartbreak and angsttt!
⚠️ self harm, abuse, violence, injuries, light descriptions of blood, wounds and torture.
Congratulations to the author for self publishing her book as a high school student. I loved every bit of this book from the first page, very engaging and a quick read.
The content from BookTok and the princess x knight vibe with forbidden love and angsty quotes got me!
I’ve always looked for a book with that vibe, and was never able to find one, this book comes the closest and the writer has so much potential. The storyline was so good!
Anyone who loves that viral golden brown song with the princess and a prince getting married with the knight in tears at their side, should read this!!!
I do think the author needs an editor like every other writer. There were some grammar and spelling mistakes, which aren’t a major impact but often enough to be noticeable. I know an editor will for sure help with enhancing this book, and would make a great difference.
Writing 2.5/5 (repetitive vocabulary, but easy to read & descriptive)
Characters 5/5 (soft fmc, protective mmc)
Plot 5/5 (secrets and political intrigue)
Setting 5/5
Dual pov, 1st person
Themes: princess x knight, mmc falls first and hard, fake identity, secrets, forbidden love, royalty, cruel king, betrayal, strong love, kingdoms and political intrigue, heartwarming moments, yearning, lots of heartbreak and angsttt!
⚠️ self harm, abuse, violence, injuries, light descriptions of blood, wounds and torture.
Congratulations to the author for self publishing her book as a high school student. I loved every bit of this book from the first page, very engaging and a quick read.
The content from BookTok and the princess x knight vibe with forbidden love and angsty quotes got me!
I’ve always looked for a book with that vibe, and was never able to find one, this book comes the closest and the writer has so much potential. The storyline was so good!
Anyone who loves that viral golden brown song with the princess and a prince getting married with the knight in tears at their side, should read this!!!
I do think the author needs an editor like every other writer. There were some grammar and spelling mistakes, which aren’t a major impact but often enough to be noticeable. I know an editor will for sure help with enhancing this book, and would make a great difference.
December 29, 2025
Very YA but storyline was surprisingly better than expected.
This is a princess X knight forbidden romance.
Be prepared! There are a ton of grammatical errors throughout the book.
This is a princess X knight forbidden romance.
Be prepared! There are a ton of grammatical errors throughout the book.
January 3, 2026
it was a fast read, the book is good overall but i didn’t really like the ending
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 29, 2025
This book was really good, but I just wish there was more to it. The romance felt a little shallow, and some parts were predictable, but honestly, for a 16-year-old author, you really did your thing! The writing style was simple but hooking I finished it in one day! I was really impressed by how young you are and how well you wrote this. 🙂↕️😌
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 18, 2025
Soo beautiful!!
December 14, 2025
Extra star for the writer being a teenager. I think one day if she continues studying she could become a phenomenal storyteller. There’s a natural gift for capturing emotions that’s hard to teach.
The story itself… there’s issues with grammar, character development, pacing, dialogue… but those things can be practiced and taught.
The book itself is fluffy and perfect for a sick day in bed when you can’t handle anything deep or intricate. Thank you TikTok recommendations.
The story itself… there’s issues with grammar, character development, pacing, dialogue… but those things can be practiced and taught.
The book itself is fluffy and perfect for a sick day in bed when you can’t handle anything deep or intricate. Thank you TikTok recommendations.
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December 15, 2025This book was just… meh. The writing felt very basic. It was very predictable. I don’t feel like there was much plot because of how predictable it was and character growth never happened either. Apparently there’s a book 2, but it didn’t leave me wanting to continue the story because I feel like I can probably guess where it goes.
Cute story, but not the best.
Cute story, but not the best.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 78 reviews