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RMC #1
The Royal Matchmaking Competition: Princess Qloey
One princess searching for her prince charming.
Twelve princes, dukes, elves and a commoner vying for the princess’s heart.
One assassin among the bachelors, plotting to kill the princess and bring the empire to its knees.
Warning: this fantasy romance contains dangerously hot princes, sexy elves and a heart-throbbing peasant. Read at your own risk.
Twelve princes, dukes, elves and a commoner vying for the princess’s heart.
One assassin among the bachelors, plotting to kill the princess and bring the empire to its knees.
Warning: this fantasy romance contains dangerously hot princes, sexy elves and a heart-throbbing peasant. Read at your own risk.
410 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 4, 2023
179 people are currently reading
1551 people want to read
About the author
Zoiy G. Galloay
7 books100 followersZoiy G. Galloay enjoys dancing and hiking in her home state of Colorado. Her favorite stories to read and write are fantasy and fairy tales with unpredictable endings and occasional humor. She is a die-hard Star Trek Voyager fan and has a BA in IAFS and Asian Studies. You can occasionally find her sporting dorky costumes or sipping on tea in her homemade Victorian drawers.
If you’d like to help the author, please write a book review on Goodreads and wherever you purchased the book.
Join her mailing list and enter to win a signed copy of her upcoming novel every few months out of the year, plus other prizes.
www.ZoiyGalloay.com
If you’d like to help the author, please write a book review on Goodreads and wherever you purchased the book.
Join her mailing list and enter to win a signed copy of her upcoming novel every few months out of the year, plus other prizes.
www.ZoiyGalloay.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 148 reviews
February 21, 2023
Genre: Romance, YA, fantasy
Tropes: marriage competition, magical creatures, Elf × humans, dwarfs × humans, different social classes
Series: RMC#1
Cliffhanger: No
Rating: 4 ⭐
Spice: 0/5 🌶
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Thank you BookSirens and Zoiy Galloay for this opportunity.
“The balance between duty and love is something I’m still learning.”
“It’s easy. Duty is public, and shall be accomplished in the day; love is private, and should be reserved for the night.”
This book was a surprise. It was light and easy to read, catchy, with interesting characters and a heroine who learns to trust herself along the way. I wasn’t expecting to like it as much as I did, especially since I wasn't hooked from the beginning. But it stole my heart bit by bit and I'm definitely looking forward to the next books in this series.
》》Characters and Relationships《《
👸🏻Princess Qloey
“But you, my dear…” he traced the lines on my hand. “You’re our shining beam of hope. You have the power to alter things for all of us.”
Princess Qloey wasn’t lovable from the beginning. She was naive, shallow and rather infuriating at first, but I could see her character grow along the way, turning into a proper MC. She had a good development and she actually made me curious to read more from this series.
Now, the thing with the 12 selected boys was that, at first, everything was very confusing. There were too many and the scenes were too brief to actually understand and fall for anyone. But, as the story goes on, you get to understand who stands a chance, who's an obviously wrong choice, who has a connection and real feelings and who doesn't get mentioned enough to be of true importance to the story. Qloey will develop attachments with 4 ( almost 5) guys and, up until the very end, you won't know who the real husband will be. Anyway, I present you: THE GUYS
🧑🏻✈️McKinley
"McKinley, Knight of Centaurus City
Human. Age 19. Voted the most eligible bachelor by citizens in Centaurus City for the RMC. Interests: Spending time outside, jousting, horseback riding, chess, & archery."
Honestly, he's the definition of a noble person, so I don't think it was a coincidence that his title was 'Knight', because he had all the qualities a medieval knight was known for.
👦🏽Zack
"Zaccaria, Baron of Tildon
Human. Age 15. Goes by “Zack.” Completed a free solo-climb up the highest peak of Mount Tildon. Interests: Boxing, jousting, tennis, violin, & calisthenics."
He was very childish and I got tired of him, even though he had an eagerness to please and bring energy.
🎭Kipp
"Kipp, Actor
Human. Age 17. Won the Velazian commoner competition. Actor at the Orb Theater. Interests: Theater, fairy tales, & apple pies."
The underdog, the commoner who never had a chance. He was sweet and had all the nice bits you would be expecting. I really enjoyed the scenes between him and Qloey.
🤓Prince Hedgewood
"Hedgewood, Prince of Adonis Peak Kingdom
Dwarf. Age 19. Fluent in three languages, politically active in all affairs within Adonis Peak. Interests: Reading, poetry, opera, berries, & sword fighting."
Being a Dwarf, he was viewed as inferior and unfit to sit in human company, being just as persecuted and ridiculed as Kip was. That's why I was really happy to see an honest friendship being formed between him and Qloey and I greatly appreciated their time togheter and their plans for the Empire.
🧝🏿♂️Prince Zazan
"Zazan, Prince of Eldoren Queendom
Water Elf. Age 19. Second child of Queen Biva and King Tolyn. Interests: Water activities such as swimming, cliff diving, & partaking in elven water ceremonies."
I liked him at first, but I felt as if he lost points along the way. He came in really strong, he was definitely charming and well, he had that ethereal beauty, so there was no way to ignore him. But he was never one of my favorites.
🤢Prince Edgar
"Edgar, Prince of Baylor
Human. Age 18. Second son of King Edward. Family owns several ruby mines, two castles, a palace & three estates bordering the Centaurus Forest. Interests: Playing piano & listening to opera."
Just no. Ok? Just no. I won't waste energy on this character because YUK.
🧝🏻♂️Prince Qinrel
"Qinrel, Prince of Nololay
Earth Elf. Age 17. Went spelunking for a month in the emerald mines. Interests: Spending time in nature, spirituality, & relaxing evenings."
He started as an obvious negative choice but turned out to be a great surprise. Good plot twists around this one and one of my favorites.
🧑🏽💼Duke Lancelot
"Lancelot, Duke of Moonstone City
Human. Age 16. The sword fighting champion of Moonstone City. Interests: Poetry, archery, horseback riding, & reading."
Very shy, but noble, as he got the chance to prove towards the end. I'm sorry we didn't have more scenes with him and Qloey.
🤴🏻Prince Octavio
"Octavio, Prince of Pixieland Kingdom
Human. Age 16. Survived a winter while living in an igloo amongst polar bears and penguins. Interests: Playwriting, dancing, snowball fights, & listening to nature wisdom."
We didn’t have enough time to get to know him, but he was very cheerful and understanding in the scene Qloey shared with him and I think he might make a good friend and ally in future books.
🧑🏽Clayton
"Clayton, Duke of Pinecrest, Velazia
Human. Age 17. Heir of the Pinecrest Estates inside the eastern Centaurus Forest. Interests: Hunting, new technology, calivers, politics, & investment."
Unremarkable at the very best. Qloey's distant cousin, with very different political views and a bit of a plot twist attached to his name.
🧑🏼Prince Alejandro
"Alejandro, Prince of Ogarz
Human. Age 17. Loves chocolate, romantic evenings, & dreams about watching the sunset with Princess Qloey. Interests: Dancing the Paso Doble Pegaso & marrying the princess."
The very Latino version of a prince charming. For me, he was always a gigolo, but he was really funny with all of his theatrical displays of love and cheesy lines.
👳🏼Prince Abdulla
"Abdulla, Prince of Payonna Queendom
Human. Age 17. Fluent in Payonna and Velazian languages. Interests: Plays five instruments, sings, & has mastered over ten dances."
His date with Qloey was nice and he was one of the options approved by the Empress, but the character felt flat to me. Absolutely nothing wrong with him, he simply left me indifferent.
》》Favorite Scenes《《
👖Alejandro's pants incident
🤝🏻Qloey and Hedgewood becoming allies
🧑🏻✈️McKinley being a real ray of hope and solidarity and well,his scenes in general if I'm being honest
“You’re making it impossible for me to let you go if you don’t choose me, Your Majesty. I’d never recover.”
“Do call me Qloey… in private.” I gave him a seductive smile.
🧝🏻♂️Qinrel's change
⭐Alejandro constantly being theatrical
🧑🏻👸🏻Kipp and Qloey spending time togheter
🍃The Maze
🦢The dance around the swan lake
🎖McKinley comforting Qloey
🎭Kipp's date
“Before we begin”—Pippa turned to Kipp and announced to the audience—“Kipp, I wish to offer you a position as my personal assistant after the competition.”
Kipp’s mouth fell open. Winning the spot on the RMC surely had its advantages. “That’s so gracious of you Pippa, but I was planning on becoming the next emperor.” Everyone burst into laughter, with the silent knowing that it would never actually happen.
❤️Hedgewood and Qloey date
⭐Octavio's understanding
⭐Her 5 guys
⭐Lancelot being sweet and understanding
🧑🏻Kipp punching a noble
💍The very peculiar marriage proposal
》》Conclusion《《
I can't lie, I'm a bit disappointed with the ending, because from the last 5 guys 4 out of them would have been such a good choice and two in particular made me feel like reading love triangles again. So choosing one would have felt bad either way, but I'm happy the chosen one ended up being one of those two I felt were more of a fit.
“My heart went out to you for some time. Between running around the maze together, to hearing your answers on the political quiz, I knew you were the one,” I admitted.
“So politics turns you on?” He joked.
I chuckled. “No, silly. Your intelligence.”
“Ah, it was the spectacles. I always knew wearing glasses would cause women to fall head over heels with me someday.”
The interesting part here is that it's not a shallow fairytale-like love story, were the beautiful princess gets her prince charming. The rules of the society, the cruel reality and the pressure of expectations and norms of propriety had to remain, you couldn't just blow some fairy dust over them and do what you please. It was a sort of happy ending, but it was sorrowful too as, in the end, her first choice wasn't possible. It's bitter sweet if you ask me.
“But like how the moon and earth are in an eternal dance with each other, there must be another force holding them together, something not visible to our eyes. Likewise, two individuals must be mentally and emotionally attracted and in an equal understanding of each other in order for their gravity to hold them together.”
Maybe I've read too many RH books, because my mind kept screaming 'wait, why can't she just keep those four?!?!'. Apart from that, I felt like the ending was a bit abrupt. I would have liked a better defined closure and maybe some bits and pieces about the fate of the other 11 guys as well.
Anyway, I do recommend giving this book a chance. Be patient and it may surprise you.
Tropes: marriage competition, magical creatures, Elf × humans, dwarfs × humans, different social classes
Series: RMC#1
Cliffhanger: No
Rating: 4 ⭐
Spice: 0/5 🌶
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Thank you BookSirens and Zoiy Galloay for this opportunity.
“The balance between duty and love is something I’m still learning.”
“It’s easy. Duty is public, and shall be accomplished in the day; love is private, and should be reserved for the night.”
This book was a surprise. It was light and easy to read, catchy, with interesting characters and a heroine who learns to trust herself along the way. I wasn’t expecting to like it as much as I did, especially since I wasn't hooked from the beginning. But it stole my heart bit by bit and I'm definitely looking forward to the next books in this series.
》》Characters and Relationships《《
👸🏻Princess Qloey
“But you, my dear…” he traced the lines on my hand. “You’re our shining beam of hope. You have the power to alter things for all of us.”
Princess Qloey wasn’t lovable from the beginning. She was naive, shallow and rather infuriating at first, but I could see her character grow along the way, turning into a proper MC. She had a good development and she actually made me curious to read more from this series.
Now, the thing with the 12 selected boys was that, at first, everything was very confusing. There were too many and the scenes were too brief to actually understand and fall for anyone. But, as the story goes on, you get to understand who stands a chance, who's an obviously wrong choice, who has a connection and real feelings and who doesn't get mentioned enough to be of true importance to the story. Qloey will develop attachments with 4 ( almost 5) guys and, up until the very end, you won't know who the real husband will be. Anyway, I present you: THE GUYS
🧑🏻✈️McKinley
"McKinley, Knight of Centaurus City
Human. Age 19. Voted the most eligible bachelor by citizens in Centaurus City for the RMC. Interests: Spending time outside, jousting, horseback riding, chess, & archery."
Honestly, he's the definition of a noble person, so I don't think it was a coincidence that his title was 'Knight', because he had all the qualities a medieval knight was known for.
👦🏽Zack
"Zaccaria, Baron of Tildon
Human. Age 15. Goes by “Zack.” Completed a free solo-climb up the highest peak of Mount Tildon. Interests: Boxing, jousting, tennis, violin, & calisthenics."
He was very childish and I got tired of him, even though he had an eagerness to please and bring energy.
🎭Kipp
"Kipp, Actor
Human. Age 17. Won the Velazian commoner competition. Actor at the Orb Theater. Interests: Theater, fairy tales, & apple pies."
The underdog, the commoner who never had a chance. He was sweet and had all the nice bits you would be expecting. I really enjoyed the scenes between him and Qloey.
🤓Prince Hedgewood
"Hedgewood, Prince of Adonis Peak Kingdom
Dwarf. Age 19. Fluent in three languages, politically active in all affairs within Adonis Peak. Interests: Reading, poetry, opera, berries, & sword fighting."
Being a Dwarf, he was viewed as inferior and unfit to sit in human company, being just as persecuted and ridiculed as Kip was. That's why I was really happy to see an honest friendship being formed between him and Qloey and I greatly appreciated their time togheter and their plans for the Empire.
🧝🏿♂️Prince Zazan
"Zazan, Prince of Eldoren Queendom
Water Elf. Age 19. Second child of Queen Biva and King Tolyn. Interests: Water activities such as swimming, cliff diving, & partaking in elven water ceremonies."
I liked him at first, but I felt as if he lost points along the way. He came in really strong, he was definitely charming and well, he had that ethereal beauty, so there was no way to ignore him. But he was never one of my favorites.
🤢Prince Edgar
"Edgar, Prince of Baylor
Human. Age 18. Second son of King Edward. Family owns several ruby mines, two castles, a palace & three estates bordering the Centaurus Forest. Interests: Playing piano & listening to opera."
Just no. Ok? Just no. I won't waste energy on this character because YUK.
🧝🏻♂️Prince Qinrel
"Qinrel, Prince of Nololay
Earth Elf. Age 17. Went spelunking for a month in the emerald mines. Interests: Spending time in nature, spirituality, & relaxing evenings."
He started as an obvious negative choice but turned out to be a great surprise. Good plot twists around this one and one of my favorites.
🧑🏽💼Duke Lancelot
"Lancelot, Duke of Moonstone City
Human. Age 16. The sword fighting champion of Moonstone City. Interests: Poetry, archery, horseback riding, & reading."
Very shy, but noble, as he got the chance to prove towards the end. I'm sorry we didn't have more scenes with him and Qloey.
🤴🏻Prince Octavio
"Octavio, Prince of Pixieland Kingdom
Human. Age 16. Survived a winter while living in an igloo amongst polar bears and penguins. Interests: Playwriting, dancing, snowball fights, & listening to nature wisdom."
We didn’t have enough time to get to know him, but he was very cheerful and understanding in the scene Qloey shared with him and I think he might make a good friend and ally in future books.
🧑🏽Clayton
"Clayton, Duke of Pinecrest, Velazia
Human. Age 17. Heir of the Pinecrest Estates inside the eastern Centaurus Forest. Interests: Hunting, new technology, calivers, politics, & investment."
Unremarkable at the very best. Qloey's distant cousin, with very different political views and a bit of a plot twist attached to his name.
🧑🏼Prince Alejandro
"Alejandro, Prince of Ogarz
Human. Age 17. Loves chocolate, romantic evenings, & dreams about watching the sunset with Princess Qloey. Interests: Dancing the Paso Doble Pegaso & marrying the princess."
The very Latino version of a prince charming. For me, he was always a gigolo, but he was really funny with all of his theatrical displays of love and cheesy lines.
👳🏼Prince Abdulla
"Abdulla, Prince of Payonna Queendom
Human. Age 17. Fluent in Payonna and Velazian languages. Interests: Plays five instruments, sings, & has mastered over ten dances."
His date with Qloey was nice and he was one of the options approved by the Empress, but the character felt flat to me. Absolutely nothing wrong with him, he simply left me indifferent.
》》Favorite Scenes《《
👖Alejandro's pants incident
🤝🏻Qloey and Hedgewood becoming allies
🧑🏻✈️McKinley being a real ray of hope and solidarity and well,his scenes in general if I'm being honest
“You’re making it impossible for me to let you go if you don’t choose me, Your Majesty. I’d never recover.”
“Do call me Qloey… in private.” I gave him a seductive smile.
🧝🏻♂️Qinrel's change
⭐Alejandro constantly being theatrical
🧑🏻👸🏻Kipp and Qloey spending time togheter
🍃The Maze
🦢The dance around the swan lake
🎖McKinley comforting Qloey
🎭Kipp's date
“Before we begin”—Pippa turned to Kipp and announced to the audience—“Kipp, I wish to offer you a position as my personal assistant after the competition.”
Kipp’s mouth fell open. Winning the spot on the RMC surely had its advantages. “That’s so gracious of you Pippa, but I was planning on becoming the next emperor.” Everyone burst into laughter, with the silent knowing that it would never actually happen.
❤️Hedgewood and Qloey date
⭐Octavio's understanding
⭐Her 5 guys
⭐Lancelot being sweet and understanding
🧑🏻Kipp punching a noble
💍The very peculiar marriage proposal
》》Conclusion《《
I can't lie, I'm a bit disappointed with the ending, because from the last 5 guys 4 out of them would have been such a good choice and two in particular made me feel like reading love triangles again. So choosing one would have felt bad either way, but I'm happy the chosen one ended up being one of those two I felt were more of a fit.
“My heart went out to you for some time. Between running around the maze together, to hearing your answers on the political quiz, I knew you were the one,” I admitted.
“So politics turns you on?” He joked.
I chuckled. “No, silly. Your intelligence.”
“Ah, it was the spectacles. I always knew wearing glasses would cause women to fall head over heels with me someday.”
The interesting part here is that it's not a shallow fairytale-like love story, were the beautiful princess gets her prince charming. The rules of the society, the cruel reality and the pressure of expectations and norms of propriety had to remain, you couldn't just blow some fairy dust over them and do what you please. It was a sort of happy ending, but it was sorrowful too as, in the end, her first choice wasn't possible. It's bitter sweet if you ask me.
“But like how the moon and earth are in an eternal dance with each other, there must be another force holding them together, something not visible to our eyes. Likewise, two individuals must be mentally and emotionally attracted and in an equal understanding of each other in order for their gravity to hold them together.”
Maybe I've read too many RH books, because my mind kept screaming 'wait, why can't she just keep those four?!?!'. Apart from that, I felt like the ending was a bit abrupt. I would have liked a better defined closure and maybe some bits and pieces about the fate of the other 11 guys as well.
Anyway, I do recommend giving this book a chance. Be patient and it may surprise you.
July 12, 2022
I'm severely biased, but I'll say I had a great time laughing and plotting while writing this book. It's my greatest hope that others can enjoy a fun adventure from reading this.
November 10, 2022
3
I really wanted to like this book...
But.. Unfortunately, I just didn't
UGH.
I received an ARC from BookSirens for free, and this is my honest review.
First off I wanted to thank BookSirens & Zoiy G. Galloay for this opportunity, I greatly appreciate the opportunity :)
The Royal Matchmaking Competition: Princess Qloey is the debut novel in Zoiy G. Galloay's RMC series and boy is it a doozy. Within this book we follow Qloey, the Crown Princess to the city of Velazia. She has been given the opportunity to choose between twelve eligible suitors for one of them to become her King, but alas there is a twist, one of the twelve suitors is out for the Crown Princess's head.
All in all the book seemed a little bit rushed for me on every aspect, the characters, the world/empire, and truthfully the FMC. By the end of the book, I couldn't really tell if I liked her or didn't and I haven't really ever had that happen for me.. I think where the problem lays within this book is the lack of development for the characters, which I understand is very hard when introducing so many. But I would have much rather had two books where we slowly meet each character and develop them versus get thrown everything right away.
Other then the character development and world building I think that this series can actually do very well, overall if Zoiy can take out the characters that aren't as essential to the story and firm up some of the inner monologue I would bet on this one being great.
I would also like to emphasis that there really is not ANY violence, gore, or cussing so if that is something you are in to, this wouldn't be the book for you. This is a very clean cute romance
Tropes:
-Clean Romance
-Urban Fantasy
-Enemies to lovers
-Fantasy Romance
-YA
Spice Rating
0%
Tension Rating:
(YA or less than 25% spice rating)
45%
I really wanted to like this book...
But.. Unfortunately, I just didn't
UGH.
I received an ARC from BookSirens for free, and this is my honest review.
First off I wanted to thank BookSirens & Zoiy G. Galloay for this opportunity, I greatly appreciate the opportunity :)
The Royal Matchmaking Competition: Princess Qloey is the debut novel in Zoiy G. Galloay's RMC series and boy is it a doozy. Within this book we follow Qloey, the Crown Princess to the city of Velazia. She has been given the opportunity to choose between twelve eligible suitors for one of them to become her King, but alas there is a twist, one of the twelve suitors is out for the Crown Princess's head.
All in all the book seemed a little bit rushed for me on every aspect, the characters, the world/empire, and truthfully the FMC. By the end of the book, I couldn't really tell if I liked her or didn't and I haven't really ever had that happen for me.. I think where the problem lays within this book is the lack of development for the characters, which I understand is very hard when introducing so many. But I would have much rather had two books where we slowly meet each character and develop them versus get thrown everything right away.
Other then the character development and world building I think that this series can actually do very well, overall if Zoiy can take out the characters that aren't as essential to the story and firm up some of the inner monologue I would bet on this one being great.
I would also like to emphasis that there really is not ANY violence, gore, or cussing so if that is something you are in to, this wouldn't be the book for you. This is a very clean cute romance
Tropes:
-Clean Romance
-Urban Fantasy
-Enemies to lovers
-Fantasy Romance
-YA
Spice Rating
0%
Tension Rating:
(YA or less than 25% spice rating)
45%
October 3, 2023
This was such a cute read. It is a YA fantasy version of a dating competition similar to 'The Batchelor' .
One future Empress has to choose a husband from a selection of 12 very different young men with very different backgrounds.
She has a difficult task ahead of her with too many good candidates to choose from.
This had me laughing out loud!
Politics
Romance
Competitive rivalry
Class Prejudice
Family issues
Humor
Drama
One future Empress has to choose a husband from a selection of 12 very different young men with very different backgrounds.
She has a difficult task ahead of her with too many good candidates to choose from.
This had me laughing out loud!
Politics
Romance
Competitive rivalry
Class Prejudice
Family issues
Humor
Drama
September 10, 2022
I enjoyed Qloey's story so muuuch! It had drama, angst, mystery AND humor! I totally LOVED it. It had solid character development and world building. Not only the build-up of the plot was great but Zoiy actually delivered on reader's expectations. Can't wait for the next book! :)
January 2, 2023
The Royal Matchmaking Competition as the name suggests is exactly that, it's a competition for princess Qloey to choose her future husband and future emperor. The RMC is held to basically make allies with neighboring regions and to choose a partner who is most influential and will help solidify the empire. The empire is stratified and dwarves as well as peasants are looked down upon whereas elves and other royals are held in high prestige. It is all sense of duty for her until she starts falling in love and starts seeing problems that are not only limited to the RMC but also extended to the rest of the empire.
The book is not very brilliant or unique in concept but was fun to read. If you have read The Selection series, you might enjoy this one too. This book is not just about romance but also about social justice, privileges and further realistic perspective. There is immense character development, but the book's ending might not feel satisfactory to everyone yet was realistic in it's approach.
I received this book from Net Galley in exchange for honest and true opinion.
The book is not very brilliant or unique in concept but was fun to read. If you have read The Selection series, you might enjoy this one too. This book is not just about romance but also about social justice, privileges and further realistic perspective. There is immense character development, but the book's ending might not feel satisfactory to everyone yet was realistic in it's approach.
I received this book from Net Galley in exchange for honest and true opinion.
November 7, 2023
Hm, I'm not sure how to articulate my review in the best possible way. Not to spoil anything, I will just say I was kind of sad and disappointed with the final bachelor choice. Maybe I expected more, I don't know.
The FMC was tough to read at times, she felt really immature, which stems from a sheltered life. She did try to grow and progress, which is commendable, I was just left wanting more.
I will continue with the series and hopefully, immerse myself more into the world.
I'm not saying "my" bachelor pick was the right one, it just felt right to me.
The FMC was tough to read at times, she felt really immature, which stems from a sheltered life. She did try to grow and progress, which is commendable, I was just left wanting more.
I will continue with the series and hopefully, immerse myself more into the world.
I'm not saying "my" bachelor pick was the right one, it just felt right to me.
Read
October 31, 2022*Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review *
Honestly, the Royal Matchmaking Competition felt sort of like a reverse gendered The Selection, mashed together with a bunch of other YA tropes, and not in a good way.
Qloey came across as a very unlikeable MC and the assassination plot didn’t really seem connected to the story at all. None of the male characters were really developed enough, and there were oo many kingdoms and characters mentioned without enough context that it just felt kind of dissociative.
Honestly, the Royal Matchmaking Competition felt sort of like a reverse gendered The Selection, mashed together with a bunch of other YA tropes, and not in a good way.
Qloey came across as a very unlikeable MC and the assassination plot didn’t really seem connected to the story at all. None of the male characters were really developed enough, and there were oo many kingdoms and characters mentioned without enough context that it just felt kind of dissociative.
December 11, 2022
Really liked the premise of this book (and that is one gorgeous cover!) but it was a slow start. There were so many characters introduced immediately one after another with so much exposition revealed through inner monologue. It very quickly became character soup.
The heroine Qloey also has an immature and superficial way of thinking and observing the world around her which unfortunately made her quite unlikeable. The harsh way she judged the physical attributes of her suitors (and her mother!) was uncomfortable to read at first.
Her character did develop over the course of the book though, which made things a little better, and the plot got more exciting towards the end.
*I received an advance review copy for free and am leaving this review voluntarily.*
The heroine Qloey also has an immature and superficial way of thinking and observing the world around her which unfortunately made her quite unlikeable. The harsh way she judged the physical attributes of her suitors (and her mother!) was uncomfortable to read at first.
Her character did develop over the course of the book though, which made things a little better, and the plot got more exciting towards the end.
*I received an advance review copy for free and am leaving this review voluntarily.*
December 18, 2022
1 princess. 12 potential suitors. Many attempts to kill the princess. And the suspect is one of the 12.
A fast read royal story. If you are into royalty stories and a fan of the selection series, this book is for you. And the best thing? It's also a series...
But I would suggest it to an audience of age below 16...
A fast read royal story. If you are into royalty stories and a fan of the selection series, this book is for you. And the best thing? It's also a series...
But I would suggest it to an audience of age below 16...
November 3, 2022
Overall rating: 3.5/5
Story: 3/5
Character development: 4.5/5
Romance: 4/5
Worldbuilding: 3.5/5
Genre: YA fantasy romance
Qloey is a young princess embarking on a matchmaking competition to choose her future husband (think bachelorette meets fantasy royalty). She has lived a sheltered and naive life up until now and struggles under the oppressive leadership of her parents, mainly her mother. She doesn't believe in love going into this competition and initially judges the competitors in a more analytical sense as to who would make the best future leader and partner. This competition is a longstanding tradition and must include a commoner and a dwarf, both of whom have always been eliminated in the first round of this competition. Qloey soon realizes that she doesn't want to follow in her mother's footsteps. The story sees Qloey grow as a character from the shared experiences with the bachelors and from learning more about their culture and the world outside of the palace walls. She grows to form long-lasting bonds with some of these young men and learns what type of ruler she hopes to become one day.
I enjoyed this story and loved getting to know some of the bachelors more and seeing Qloey's character arc. There was a lot going on in the story early on and I was struggling to feel invested in any of the characters. There is a large cast of characters in the story and it does feel overwhelming at first, at least for me, but as the story unfolds you start to learn more about the competitors and begin rooting for a few. I enjoyed reading Qloey's responses to various situations and seeing how she handled herself. She went from a naive young girl to a strong female lead and future ruler.
Overall, this story is a 3.5/5 for me. While I did love the character growth and concept, I feel the story dragged a little at times and was difficult to connect with. It's a well written debut novel and I would recommend checking it out if the premise is something you're interested in. This story did remind me of 'The Selection' initially, but it soon became its own story that was well developed and original. I'm glad I decided to pick this one up and I'll be looking out for the sequel in the future. I have high hopes for the series as a whole!
I received a free advanced copy/galley in exchange for an honest review
Story: 3/5
Character development: 4.5/5
Romance: 4/5
Worldbuilding: 3.5/5
Genre: YA fantasy romance
Qloey is a young princess embarking on a matchmaking competition to choose her future husband (think bachelorette meets fantasy royalty). She has lived a sheltered and naive life up until now and struggles under the oppressive leadership of her parents, mainly her mother. She doesn't believe in love going into this competition and initially judges the competitors in a more analytical sense as to who would make the best future leader and partner. This competition is a longstanding tradition and must include a commoner and a dwarf, both of whom have always been eliminated in the first round of this competition. Qloey soon realizes that she doesn't want to follow in her mother's footsteps. The story sees Qloey grow as a character from the shared experiences with the bachelors and from learning more about their culture and the world outside of the palace walls. She grows to form long-lasting bonds with some of these young men and learns what type of ruler she hopes to become one day.
I enjoyed this story and loved getting to know some of the bachelors more and seeing Qloey's character arc. There was a lot going on in the story early on and I was struggling to feel invested in any of the characters. There is a large cast of characters in the story and it does feel overwhelming at first, at least for me, but as the story unfolds you start to learn more about the competitors and begin rooting for a few. I enjoyed reading Qloey's responses to various situations and seeing how she handled herself. She went from a naive young girl to a strong female lead and future ruler.
Overall, this story is a 3.5/5 for me. While I did love the character growth and concept, I feel the story dragged a little at times and was difficult to connect with. It's a well written debut novel and I would recommend checking it out if the premise is something you're interested in. This story did remind me of 'The Selection' initially, but it soon became its own story that was well developed and original. I'm glad I decided to pick this one up and I'll be looking out for the sequel in the future. I have high hopes for the series as a whole!
I received a free advanced copy/galley in exchange for an honest review
November 26, 2022
I won't lie - I picked this book based off the fact that the premise reminded me a lot of Kiera Cass' Selection series, which happens to be one of my favorite series that I've read. And whereas the story did start off very similar to The Selection, it soon took a turn and became it's own adventure. One that I truly could appreciate.
The plot of the story sound simple - Princess Qloey is having her Matchmaking event and has twelve suitors from nearby lands, including a commoner chosen by the people, two elves and a dwarf. She prepares events for each of them to participate in and whoever wins gets a personal date from her. She's also required to go on dates with each of the bachelors to help in her final decision making.
Each bachelor had their own pros and cons, though some had a lot more cons than the others. We had the elf Prince who seemed like he wanted to be anywhere but the competition. We had the knight in shining armor, we had the stuffy Prince who couldn't take no for an answer. And we had the Prince A-Little-Too-Charming.
It was told early on that no one would support the dwarf winning. Nor would there be support for the commoner - though these two seemed like the best choice for our down-to-earth heroine who was absolutely nothing like her wicked queen mother.
From the start, I was rooting for Prince Qinrel (an elf but not the one mentioned above) and Hedgewood (the dwarf). I could sense from the start - especially with Hedgewood - that she connected with those two the most. So I was happy to see their relationships develop the way they did.
Qloey struggled a lot throughout this story but in the end, she grew so much that you had to admire her. I was worried for a while that she would fold and give in to her mother but she surprised me by standing up to her in the end - despite being threatened with death - and chose from the heart, even if it wasn't her first chocie.
My heart did break a little when she made her choice but I could appreciate who she did choose as her husband.
All in all, the story flowed really well and I found myself being sucked into the storyline. I absolutely loved how the characters were written - where you could love or hate them. And I feel like the storyline wrapped up well in the end.
Will be looking forward to the continuation of this story (and please give me more Hedgewood!).
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
The plot of the story sound simple - Princess Qloey is having her Matchmaking event and has twelve suitors from nearby lands, including a commoner chosen by the people, two elves and a dwarf. She prepares events for each of them to participate in and whoever wins gets a personal date from her. She's also required to go on dates with each of the bachelors to help in her final decision making.
Each bachelor had their own pros and cons, though some had a lot more cons than the others. We had the elf Prince who seemed like he wanted to be anywhere but the competition. We had the knight in shining armor, we had the stuffy Prince who couldn't take no for an answer. And we had the Prince A-Little-Too-Charming.
It was told early on that no one would support the dwarf winning. Nor would there be support for the commoner - though these two seemed like the best choice for our down-to-earth heroine who was absolutely nothing like her wicked queen mother.
From the start, I was rooting for Prince Qinrel (an elf but not the one mentioned above) and Hedgewood (the dwarf). I could sense from the start - especially with Hedgewood - that she connected with those two the most. So I was happy to see their relationships develop the way they did.
Qloey struggled a lot throughout this story but in the end, she grew so much that you had to admire her. I was worried for a while that she would fold and give in to her mother but she surprised me by standing up to her in the end - despite being threatened with death - and chose from the heart, even if it wasn't her first chocie.
My heart did break a little when she made her choice but I could appreciate who she did choose as her husband.
All in all, the story flowed really well and I found myself being sucked into the storyline. I absolutely loved how the characters were written - where you could love or hate them. And I feel like the storyline wrapped up well in the end.
Will be looking forward to the continuation of this story (and please give me more Hedgewood!).
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
January 18, 2023
Thanks to #NetGalley and the publisher for the arc of this story. This review is my honest opinion.
This is the first book in the RMC series and is the first book I have read by author Zoiy G. Galloay. Princess Qloey is heir to the throne and to pick her consort is required to take part in the royal matchmaking competition. The competition invites 12 bachelors including elves, dwarves, humans, royalty and commoners to participate in competitions to win dates with princess Qloey.
Qloey seems to be a princess that has a different perspective than her parents on everything and doesn’t seem to have been brought up with any love or kindness in her life. She is fighting behind the scenes with her parents from the beginning of the RMC about her actions and choices. Qloey is very interchangeable and often doubts herself following discussions with her parents before then going back to her original thoughts. It is clear that the empress, Qloey’s mother, does not mean to let Qloey choose her consort and tries to manipulate the situation whenever possible.
There are 12 bachelors and it was difficult to get a true flavour for all of their personalities throughout the book. There were only a few that I felt I could say I liked or disliked.
During the RMC there are a couple of assassination attempts which also lead to the threat of war from a neighbouring centaur army.
Although this was a romance book it is very tame with a few kisses being shared and therefore it is a clean romance. I prefer my books with a bit more spice or at least some chemistry or tension that is building to something.
I didn’t like the ending of the book at all. Qloey seemed to bow down to pressure and didn’t stand up for what she wanted at the end. All bar one of the contestants seemed to be accepting of the decisions made which was too straightforward for me.
There were elements of the story that I felt were rushed and other parts that were laboured and repetitive.
I like the concept of the story and think there is definitely potential as this series develops. If you like a YA story with a fantasy aspect and clean romance then I would recommend this to you.
This is the first book in the RMC series and is the first book I have read by author Zoiy G. Galloay. Princess Qloey is heir to the throne and to pick her consort is required to take part in the royal matchmaking competition. The competition invites 12 bachelors including elves, dwarves, humans, royalty and commoners to participate in competitions to win dates with princess Qloey.
Qloey seems to be a princess that has a different perspective than her parents on everything and doesn’t seem to have been brought up with any love or kindness in her life. She is fighting behind the scenes with her parents from the beginning of the RMC about her actions and choices. Qloey is very interchangeable and often doubts herself following discussions with her parents before then going back to her original thoughts. It is clear that the empress, Qloey’s mother, does not mean to let Qloey choose her consort and tries to manipulate the situation whenever possible.
There are 12 bachelors and it was difficult to get a true flavour for all of their personalities throughout the book. There were only a few that I felt I could say I liked or disliked.
During the RMC there are a couple of assassination attempts which also lead to the threat of war from a neighbouring centaur army.
Although this was a romance book it is very tame with a few kisses being shared and therefore it is a clean romance. I prefer my books with a bit more spice or at least some chemistry or tension that is building to something.
I didn’t like the ending of the book at all. Qloey seemed to bow down to pressure and didn’t stand up for what she wanted at the end. All bar one of the contestants seemed to be accepting of the decisions made which was too straightforward for me.
There were elements of the story that I felt were rushed and other parts that were laboured and repetitive.
I like the concept of the story and think there is definitely potential as this series develops. If you like a YA story with a fantasy aspect and clean romance then I would recommend this to you.
December 24, 2022
Everyone knows that those heavy classics are not really my thing. I might be able to appreciate the wonderful literary sentences, but I can't with the slow plots, the indirect conversations and the amount of nothingness when it comes to emotions and pain. I like lighter books. Books with romance. And yet, I do like those books with a touch of politics. So, when I came across this book on Netgalley I knew it was absolutely perfect. I was really happy I was granted an arc.
This book is exactly what you can expect the book to be. It's pretty light hearted. We have a princess on the brink of marrying and twelve men are competing for her hand. Quite soon we discover that, like with almost every (fictional) royal marriage, most of the candidates have only been invited to be polite. And of course we know that our princess is gonna fall in love with one of the candidates she's not allowed to love.
Although the biggest part of the book is about competitions, dates, romantic rendez-vous and not so romantic encounters, there is this little bit of politics making the book just that little bit more exciting. I personally would have loved to see the participants dealing with the security issues and assassination attempts a little more actively, but I did enjoy how even during the dates the princess and her men constantly showed their true colors and the history of the land.
It's because of the characters that the mythology and land feel rich. That we know there's a lot of history and bad blood. And that we know that things are not gonna change overnight. It's also because of the characters that we see princess Qloe grow into the wonderful empress she could be in the future. During the story she's learning about her qualities, her loyalties and standing up for the things she believes in.
I'm really curious to read the next book in the series and to see what adventures are waiting for us in that one!
This book is exactly what you can expect the book to be. It's pretty light hearted. We have a princess on the brink of marrying and twelve men are competing for her hand. Quite soon we discover that, like with almost every (fictional) royal marriage, most of the candidates have only been invited to be polite. And of course we know that our princess is gonna fall in love with one of the candidates she's not allowed to love.
Although the biggest part of the book is about competitions, dates, romantic rendez-vous and not so romantic encounters, there is this little bit of politics making the book just that little bit more exciting. I personally would have loved to see the participants dealing with the security issues and assassination attempts a little more actively, but I did enjoy how even during the dates the princess and her men constantly showed their true colors and the history of the land.
It's because of the characters that the mythology and land feel rich. That we know there's a lot of history and bad blood. And that we know that things are not gonna change overnight. It's also because of the characters that we see princess Qloe grow into the wonderful empress she could be in the future. During the story she's learning about her qualities, her loyalties and standing up for the things she believes in.
I'm really curious to read the next book in the series and to see what adventures are waiting for us in that one!
November 4, 2022
Thank you so much to the author and the publisher, Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op, for sharing an ARC of this fantasy romance book with me on NetGalley!!!
“For which is harder, helping someone in need of trampling over the weak? It takes a good leader to care about the least of us”
This book was so fun.
A fantasy romance story about a future empress, at the center of a competition to win her hand in marriage.
Elves, dwarves, fairies and humans all there to try and win her over to be emperor next to her.
But the competition gets more complicated by the minute when the princess has to unravel a plot to attempt at her life … thankfully she has the help of some very handsome and kind princes whose only purpose there is to be with her.
I had such fun getting through Qloey’s attempt at figuring out if she has feelings for any of them and who’s more suitable to be by her side.
It was an easy book to get through and I devoured it in a short time.
It wasn’t spicy in the least but overall I found the romance fo be a good one and very enjoyable !!
I’m really glad I had the chance to read this book !!
“For which is harder, helping someone in need of trampling over the weak? It takes a good leader to care about the least of us”
This book was so fun.
A fantasy romance story about a future empress, at the center of a competition to win her hand in marriage.
Elves, dwarves, fairies and humans all there to try and win her over to be emperor next to her.
But the competition gets more complicated by the minute when the princess has to unravel a plot to attempt at her life … thankfully she has the help of some very handsome and kind princes whose only purpose there is to be with her.
I had such fun getting through Qloey’s attempt at figuring out if she has feelings for any of them and who’s more suitable to be by her side.
It was an easy book to get through and I devoured it in a short time.
It wasn’t spicy in the least but overall I found the romance fo be a good one and very enjoyable !!
I’m really glad I had the chance to read this book !!
October 23, 2022
Writing:4/5
Character Development: 4/5
Romance:5/5
World Building: 4/5
Warnings: None
Themes: Fantasy, Romance
Qloey’s story in The Royal Matchmaking Competition was so much fun to read. The magical world Zoiy G. Galloay created had me absorbed in the world of royalty, elfs, dwarves, and many other fairytales. It was an interesting twist on the usual royal competition story with having 12 bachelors compete for the heart of the princess. Of course I had my favorites I was rooting for. Plus the additional drama of a potential assasin among the competitors made this story that much better.
I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a strong princess wanting to do the right thing against all odds while trying to pick her future husband among the many wonderful, and terrible, bachelors trying to win her heart.
I received a free copy of this book and I am leaving an honest review voluntarily.
Character Development: 4/5
Romance:5/5
World Building: 4/5
Warnings: None
Themes: Fantasy, Romance
Qloey’s story in The Royal Matchmaking Competition was so much fun to read. The magical world Zoiy G. Galloay created had me absorbed in the world of royalty, elfs, dwarves, and many other fairytales. It was an interesting twist on the usual royal competition story with having 12 bachelors compete for the heart of the princess. Of course I had my favorites I was rooting for. Plus the additional drama of a potential assasin among the competitors made this story that much better.
I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a strong princess wanting to do the right thing against all odds while trying to pick her future husband among the many wonderful, and terrible, bachelors trying to win her heart.
I received a free copy of this book and I am leaving an honest review voluntarily.
December 30, 2022
I LOVED this young adult fantasy book! A matchmaking contest to find a husband for a future Queen. I enjoyed the vivid descriptions of each bachelor and their thought processes. So many undercurrents and agendas. There is danger and suspense. Who is trying to kill the future Queen? Nothing seems as simple and straightforward as you’d think. I fantastic must read start to a series by author Zoiy G. Galloay I can’t wait to read the next book. *I was given a copy via BookSirens and am voluntarily giving my honest review.
arc-reviewed
December 13, 2022This debut has a lot of potential.
Note: I read Galloay’s post that she listened to her reviewers and made adjustments to the second book in the series. I can absolutely get behind that. I look forward to reading the next book.
Thank you for this ARC provided by Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op.
Note: I read Galloay’s post that she listened to her reviewers and made adjustments to the second book in the series. I can absolutely get behind that. I look forward to reading the next book.
Thank you for this ARC provided by Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op.
October 5, 2022
This compelling, addictive book has passion, intrigue, volatile emotions, many secrets, lies and surprises in spades.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
October 26, 2022
The best way to describe this is...Medieval fantasy meets The Bachelor.
I really wanted to love this book, but I never felt connected to the characters. The premise of the book is really interesting. It was slow at times, but I couldn't have guessed the ending.
Thank you to the author, and to NetGalley for the eARC.
I really wanted to love this book, but I never felt connected to the characters. The premise of the book is really interesting. It was slow at times, but I couldn't have guessed the ending.
Thank you to the author, and to NetGalley for the eARC.
December 12, 2022
4.5/5 stars
If you like The Selection by Kiera Cass, then this is the book for you!
The book is about Princess Qloey finding a future husband during the RMC which is a competition where 12 suitors compete to be her husband. She goes on dates with them and in the end is supposed to choose the one that she will marry. The men range from all the kingdoms, some being princes, elves, dukes, lords, dwarves, knights, and one commoner. Add an attempted assassination and the possibility of a war into the mix and you have a fantastic story!
When I began reading the book, I absolutely despised Qloey and I thought she was vain judging the suitors based on beauty and status. However, as the story progressed she has extraordinary character development. As she got to know the boys she began to change and her views became more practical when trying to find a husband. Of course, out of the suitors I had a few favorites and it was great to find out if she picked the one I wanted her too. I couldn't tell who she was going to pick until the very end and I was pleasantly surprised on how that played out.
There are only 2 criticisms I had about the story. The first being that it should be mentioned that we have to learn about the stories and relationships between Qloey and the 12 suitors, adding other characters that aren't necessary super important to the story makes the story itself seem crowded. Either take some characters out or make the book longer. The second criticism I has is that since there were so many suitors from different places, there should have been more world building. It felt like at times the story only focused on specific places more than others. Again, this might be the issue that the book's length wasn't long enough to truly go into greater detail about the other places.
I can't wait to read the second books when it comes out!
Thank you to the author and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for sending me an arc of this book for an honest review.
If you like The Selection by Kiera Cass, then this is the book for you!
The book is about Princess Qloey finding a future husband during the RMC which is a competition where 12 suitors compete to be her husband. She goes on dates with them and in the end is supposed to choose the one that she will marry. The men range from all the kingdoms, some being princes, elves, dukes, lords, dwarves, knights, and one commoner. Add an attempted assassination and the possibility of a war into the mix and you have a fantastic story!
When I began reading the book, I absolutely despised Qloey and I thought she was vain judging the suitors based on beauty and status. However, as the story progressed she has extraordinary character development. As she got to know the boys she began to change and her views became more practical when trying to find a husband. Of course, out of the suitors I had a few favorites and it was great to find out if she picked the one I wanted her too. I couldn't tell who she was going to pick until the very end and I was pleasantly surprised on how that played out.
There are only 2 criticisms I had about the story. The first being that it should be mentioned that we have to learn about the stories and relationships between Qloey and the 12 suitors, adding other characters that aren't necessary super important to the story makes the story itself seem crowded. Either take some characters out or make the book longer. The second criticism I has is that since there were so many suitors from different places, there should have been more world building. It felt like at times the story only focused on specific places more than others. Again, this might be the issue that the book's length wasn't long enough to truly go into greater detail about the other places.
I can't wait to read the second books when it comes out!
Thank you to the author and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for sending me an arc of this book for an honest review.
October 6, 2022
Charming book with surprisingly deep insights into royal responsibilities, and a gaggle of sweet and fall-in-lovable suitors. Every time I thought I had a favorite, someone else won me over!.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
August 15, 2022
I received an ARC.
Comedy, mystery, fantasy, and romance all in one. This book was full of surprises, including the light humor. You think everything's going one way, then the author surprised me with a few twists and turns that kept me on my toes.
I indulged in every page and really like the main character. There was depth and maturity to her and she made realistic decisions. I really fell in love with one character that she didn't chose, but I won't spoil the ending.
Can't wait for the sequel.
Comedy, mystery, fantasy, and romance all in one. This book was full of surprises, including the light humor. You think everything's going one way, then the author surprised me with a few twists and turns that kept me on my toes.
I indulged in every page and really like the main character. There was depth and maturity to her and she made realistic decisions. I really fell in love with one character that she didn't chose, but I won't spoil the ending.
Can't wait for the sequel.
November 26, 2022
The Royal Matchmaking Competition (RMC) is a competition where the crown princess/ prince chooses their spouse out of 12 representatives after interacting for 4 weeks. It is a romance with elves, dwarfs, commoners and nobility from various regions.
I really enjoyed the first half of the book. Even though the beginning was rather slow, seeing Qloey (female main character) interacting with the 12 contestants and her palpable chemistry with some was really engaging. The middle portion of the book was especially well-written. The portraits of Qloey and the 12 contestants were really interesting too. Some contestants were as I pictured, while some were hilarious to look at (ahhem Prince Edgar’s portrait). Her updated RMC list, where she draws hearts over her favourite contestants, was really adorable too,
*Spoilers Ahead*
However, I didn’t like how Qloey was stringing them along. She proclaims that she has fallen in love after every. single. date. She once kissed more than one contestant on a single day, and confessed to multiple people that she loves them. It was really uncomfortable to read those portions, and felt more like infatuation than real love. In addition, the ending was not satisfying to me. I will first preface this by saying that my favourite contestant is Hedgewood. It was really upsetting to see how he was her first choice, but she ended up getting married to her second choice instead due to external forces. It would have been refreshing to see her end up with someone she never expected to fall for instead of a “hot attractive elf”. It would have shown great character growth, where she grew to love inner beauty more than outer beauty. “ “I’ll always love you.” “And I’ll always love you. In our next lifetime perhaps.” As he stepped into the carriage, I witnessed a tear fall down his cheek. Even well after his carriage was out of sight, I gazed into the horizon, wondering what life would be like if we were allowed to be.” This truly broke me. They would have gone on to become outstanding rulers of Velazia.
The beginning is 3 stars, the middle is 5 stars, while the ending is 2 stars. Overall, this is ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
I really enjoyed the first half of the book. Even though the beginning was rather slow, seeing Qloey (female main character) interacting with the 12 contestants and her palpable chemistry with some was really engaging. The middle portion of the book was especially well-written. The portraits of Qloey and the 12 contestants were really interesting too. Some contestants were as I pictured, while some were hilarious to look at (ahhem Prince Edgar’s portrait). Her updated RMC list, where she draws hearts over her favourite contestants, was really adorable too,
*Spoilers Ahead*
However, I didn’t like how Qloey was stringing them along. She proclaims that she has fallen in love after every. single. date. She once kissed more than one contestant on a single day, and confessed to multiple people that she loves them. It was really uncomfortable to read those portions, and felt more like infatuation than real love. In addition, the ending was not satisfying to me. I will first preface this by saying that my favourite contestant is Hedgewood. It was really upsetting to see how he was her first choice, but she ended up getting married to her second choice instead due to external forces. It would have been refreshing to see her end up with someone she never expected to fall for instead of a “hot attractive elf”. It would have shown great character growth, where she grew to love inner beauty more than outer beauty. “ “I’ll always love you.” “And I’ll always love you. In our next lifetime perhaps.” As he stepped into the carriage, I witnessed a tear fall down his cheek. Even well after his carriage was out of sight, I gazed into the horizon, wondering what life would be like if we were allowed to be.” This truly broke me. They would have gone on to become outstanding rulers of Velazia.
The beginning is 3 stars, the middle is 5 stars, while the ending is 2 stars. Overall, this is ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 29, 2023
I'm of two minds with this one. There were some things I really enjoyed, even loved, and others that were beyond disappointing.
What I liked:
The plot is good. I enjoyed the fact the matchmaking side of the story wasn't everything. There's court intrigue, treason, high stakes--the works. It could have been absolutely amazing! The fact it isn't all focused on "finding the right guy" from the selection on offer was unexpected and made it a good read.
I also really liked the group of boys. I often have an issue with Reverse Harem books where the love interests are all cut-outs of the same personality dressed up in a different "look" each time, but this one is different. Galloay does achieve a great mix of different personalities and physical appearances, which was a nice surprise.
I totally adored the subtext on prejudice. Although Galloay chooses to transfer our human tendency for racism to "speciesism" in the human-dwarf relations and develops fantastic classism in how Kipp, the commoner, is treated, there are wonderful parallels to our own society and beautiful lessons for younger readers.
What could have been done better:
The world-building seems to have fallen by the wayside. The human peoples, even though they come from different kingdoms and duchies and cities with what ought to be very different cultures, they are all the same. There are no differences in speech. There are no differences in belief or culture. The only differences presented are in physical appearance and clothing. It simply wasn't believable for me.
In addition, there are the names. The MC is Qloey, and sure, that's an interesting spelling but "Chloe" is rooted in a specific region and culture for us, so her brother being "Farooq" just kept jarring for me, especially because all the other human characters had names that fit them in the real world region where their clothing style comes from. Abdullah, Alejandro, Octavio and Edgar all fit this pattern, which is, I suppose particularly why I struggled with the non-existent world-building because there is no proper separation between our real world and the invented Empire in the book. In all honesty, it feels like lazy worldbuilding.
I think these issues are a matter of an imbalance in the scope of the story and the space the author gave herself to present the situation. I think this story would make an excellent trilogy, allowing for more opportunity to bring across other elements of socio-cultural differences. There are twelve men in the competition. I just finished the book and I've already forgotten three of them. I have no idea what their names are and can't remember anything about them. Two others I remember, merely because I found it highly irritating how they were there but we never get to know them. They're about as ephemeral as ghosts. If the author had given more space to allow for the reader to develop connections with all the potential love interests, it would have been a more powerful book and would have given an opportunity to really get the worldbuilding right and also allow for differences in culture, belief and social behaviour on the part of the humans, not just between nobles and commoners, and humans, elves, and dwarfs.
Because the author rushes through things in a single book of 400 pages, the final twist of Qloey's choice lacked any impact. Because the author was limited on space, it was obvious what was being pushed and with the parents' stance being so obvious right from the start, it made that twist predictable and took away from the "shocker" I think the author was trying to go for.
Then we have Qloey's lacklustre "oh, I love them all" attitude, but as mentioned there were several characters who practically faded off the page even as they were introduced. And even though the book is written mostly in first person, I have no true insight in Qloey's thoughts and feelings. Somehow, the author managed to keep those at arm's length instead of allowing me to live this experience with the character. I truly wish I could have connected better with her, because there was a lot to like.
Lastly, there's the plot on Qloey's life, the political intrigue and faction shuffling, not to mention the investigation to find out who the culprit is. Oh, wait. None of that really features--well, not from Qloey at any rate. She's too busy playing "eenie-meenie-miney-mo" to put any energy into trying to figure out who's got it in for her. She just lets others do it for her and then goes, "oh, that's an interesting fact" every time something new is unearthed. I wish she'd been proactive. I wish she'd sent her friends off to sleuth, as opposed to letting the enemies from within run the investigation, especially since she knew right from the start she was going to have trouble with her mother, because of the issues in their relationship. It just didn't make sense to me that this girl would be so "laissez-faire" about her own life.
I wish I could recommend this book because it's got some merit, but unfortunately the execution fell completely flat for me and only highlighted more acutely how much unrealised potential this story has.
What I liked:
The plot is good. I enjoyed the fact the matchmaking side of the story wasn't everything. There's court intrigue, treason, high stakes--the works. It could have been absolutely amazing! The fact it isn't all focused on "finding the right guy" from the selection on offer was unexpected and made it a good read.
I also really liked the group of boys. I often have an issue with Reverse Harem books where the love interests are all cut-outs of the same personality dressed up in a different "look" each time, but this one is different. Galloay does achieve a great mix of different personalities and physical appearances, which was a nice surprise.
I totally adored the subtext on prejudice. Although Galloay chooses to transfer our human tendency for racism to "speciesism" in the human-dwarf relations and develops fantastic classism in how Kipp, the commoner, is treated, there are wonderful parallels to our own society and beautiful lessons for younger readers.
What could have been done better:
The world-building seems to have fallen by the wayside. The human peoples, even though they come from different kingdoms and duchies and cities with what ought to be very different cultures, they are all the same. There are no differences in speech. There are no differences in belief or culture. The only differences presented are in physical appearance and clothing. It simply wasn't believable for me.
In addition, there are the names. The MC is Qloey, and sure, that's an interesting spelling but "Chloe" is rooted in a specific region and culture for us, so her brother being "Farooq" just kept jarring for me, especially because all the other human characters had names that fit them in the real world region where their clothing style comes from. Abdullah, Alejandro, Octavio and Edgar all fit this pattern, which is, I suppose particularly why I struggled with the non-existent world-building because there is no proper separation between our real world and the invented Empire in the book. In all honesty, it feels like lazy worldbuilding.
I think these issues are a matter of an imbalance in the scope of the story and the space the author gave herself to present the situation. I think this story would make an excellent trilogy, allowing for more opportunity to bring across other elements of socio-cultural differences. There are twelve men in the competition. I just finished the book and I've already forgotten three of them. I have no idea what their names are and can't remember anything about them. Two others I remember, merely because I found it highly irritating how they were there but we never get to know them. They're about as ephemeral as ghosts. If the author had given more space to allow for the reader to develop connections with all the potential love interests, it would have been a more powerful book and would have given an opportunity to really get the worldbuilding right and also allow for differences in culture, belief and social behaviour on the part of the humans, not just between nobles and commoners, and humans, elves, and dwarfs.
Because the author rushes through things in a single book of 400 pages, the final twist of Qloey's choice lacked any impact. Because the author was limited on space, it was obvious what was being pushed and with the parents' stance being so obvious right from the start, it made that twist predictable and took away from the "shocker" I think the author was trying to go for.
Then we have Qloey's lacklustre "oh, I love them all" attitude, but as mentioned there were several characters who practically faded off the page even as they were introduced. And even though the book is written mostly in first person, I have no true insight in Qloey's thoughts and feelings. Somehow, the author managed to keep those at arm's length instead of allowing me to live this experience with the character. I truly wish I could have connected better with her, because there was a lot to like.
Lastly, there's the plot on Qloey's life, the political intrigue and faction shuffling, not to mention the investigation to find out who the culprit is. Oh, wait. None of that really features--well, not from Qloey at any rate. She's too busy playing "eenie-meenie-miney-mo" to put any energy into trying to figure out who's got it in for her. She just lets others do it for her and then goes, "oh, that's an interesting fact" every time something new is unearthed. I wish she'd been proactive. I wish she'd sent her friends off to sleuth, as opposed to letting the enemies from within run the investigation, especially since she knew right from the start she was going to have trouble with her mother, because of the issues in their relationship. It just didn't make sense to me that this girl would be so "laissez-faire" about her own life.
I wish I could recommend this book because it's got some merit, but unfortunately the execution fell completely flat for me and only highlighted more acutely how much unrealised potential this story has.
January 17, 2023
*1.5 stars*
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me this eARC in exchange for an honest review
My experience with this book was wild, I had high hopes of enjoying this book, the premise seemed good enough to be a solid 4-star read, but we ended up flat. One of my biggest, yet also somewhat irrelevant, icks with this book, was the constant use of the word "Unicorn" instead of "God". For example, the character would say: "Unicorn forbid", instead of "God forbid". Oh, and let's not ignore the part where the main character's mother used 'mental illness' as a reason to why the main character is unfit to rule the empire, and make her own decisions. The main character does not have a mental illness by the way, and is only used as an excuse to call her daughter crazy and incapable. Not exactly the best way to introduce mental illness to young readers (considering this is a YA book).
Other than things like that, and the occasional grammar error, the book, for me, still lands at a solid 1.5 stars.
Characters: Because this book is set up like a Bachelor style, we get introduced to a vast array of characters. Starting off with the main character Qloey. In the beginning you really cannot like her at all, she is not only shallow but also incredibly one-dimensional. As the story continues, you learn more of why Qloey is the way she is, and you also see her grow a little. However, she continues to stay slightly shallow, and overall the logic of her "falling in love" with several of the contestants after only meeting them for such a short amount of time- she goes on ONE date with a contestant and suddenly she is in love? That's no longer love.. it's desperation.
The contestants that we get to "know" also seem quite one-dimensional except for a select few. Since the author has tried their best to make them distinguishable, they often have a personality trait to the extreme, for example: one very cheesy and charming fellow, a super snobby and irritating one, one who is portrayed as a clown (he's literally jumping around and doing flips everywhere), an extremly kind and thoughtful 'peasant', etc. Even if you grow to like one, or few, of the contestants, it is almost impossible to LOVE them, as you don't fully get to know them.
Atmosphere and writing: The book is set in a high fantasy setting, though you do not familiarize yourself with this world. As the story only takes place in the castle (with a few scenes where they go on a day-trip somewhere outside the castle grounds, yet still nearby). The contestants come from various parts of the world, and are of various race. There are human, elven, pixies (or was it fairy? can't remember, and either way he was barely in the book) and dwarfs. We only get to know about these different races, and some superficial information, through what the main character knows, which should be taken with a grain of salt since she has lived isolated in the castle, and through the little information we get from the contestants. This leads to the point I want to make of where the writing seems very tour-guidey. An example of this is in the beginning where we have Qloey's thoughts describing the palace grounds to us, it is given in the way of a tour guide, "to the left we have the bed chambers, and to the right we get to the kitchenette" (not an actual quote from the book, but the surroundings were described in this style which was very off-putting).
I actually believe this book would fare better without the high fantasy elements. The fantastical creatures and world seems to only be there for an added part of politics to the book, yet such politics can also be achieved in a historical fiction setting. Without the high fantasy elements, the author would have more space for world-building, as the different races and their magical powers do not have to be explained, except instead of explaining races, things like class differences would still have to be built upon.
Plot: The last part of the review I want to focus on is the plot, finally. The entire book is about this Royal Matchmaking Competition, of Qloey selecting a husband and future king. Although we get teased about a mystery element of one of the contestants trying to assassinate her, unfortunately, this mystery is not much of a mystery. There IS a contestant trying to assassinate her, but as you get to the half-way mark, it is very obvious who it is, and why they are doing it. As I mentioned, it really is unfortunate, because the one part that intrigued me was the mystery part and involvement with the Centaurs, yet after that one 'scary' encounter with them, we went right back to the competition and going on dates with the contestants and to me, the intrigue was lost after that. There was one part of the book that remained somewhat interesting throughout, which was about Qloey's mother. She is a very abusive and controlling mother, who stood as a hindrance to Qloey's free will and choices both generally in life, but also in the competition, which was the focus.
Overall, I did not enjoy this book as much as I wanted, barely at all. What kept me to continue this book was to find out who Qloey would choose, would she choose a husband she wanted, or one the people (and mostly her mother) wanted? And in the end, I was left disappointed with how it turned out, as I was expecting a grander turn-around, especially with how the 'peasants' seemed ready to revolt at any time. It did however leave a good opening for a continuation in this series since there is so much more to explore in this underdeveloped world.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me this eARC in exchange for an honest review
My experience with this book was wild, I had high hopes of enjoying this book, the premise seemed good enough to be a solid 4-star read, but we ended up flat. One of my biggest, yet also somewhat irrelevant, icks with this book, was the constant use of the word "Unicorn" instead of "God". For example, the character would say: "Unicorn forbid", instead of "God forbid". Oh, and let's not ignore the part where the main character's mother used 'mental illness' as a reason to why the main character is unfit to rule the empire, and make her own decisions. The main character does not have a mental illness by the way, and is only used as an excuse to call her daughter crazy and incapable. Not exactly the best way to introduce mental illness to young readers (considering this is a YA book).
Other than things like that, and the occasional grammar error, the book, for me, still lands at a solid 1.5 stars.
Characters: Because this book is set up like a Bachelor style, we get introduced to a vast array of characters. Starting off with the main character Qloey. In the beginning you really cannot like her at all, she is not only shallow but also incredibly one-dimensional. As the story continues, you learn more of why Qloey is the way she is, and you also see her grow a little. However, she continues to stay slightly shallow, and overall the logic of her "falling in love" with several of the contestants after only meeting them for such a short amount of time- she goes on ONE date with a contestant and suddenly she is in love? That's no longer love.. it's desperation.
The contestants that we get to "know" also seem quite one-dimensional except for a select few. Since the author has tried their best to make them distinguishable, they often have a personality trait to the extreme, for example: one very cheesy and charming fellow, a super snobby and irritating one, one who is portrayed as a clown (he's literally jumping around and doing flips everywhere), an extremly kind and thoughtful 'peasant', etc. Even if you grow to like one, or few, of the contestants, it is almost impossible to LOVE them, as you don't fully get to know them.
Atmosphere and writing: The book is set in a high fantasy setting, though you do not familiarize yourself with this world. As the story only takes place in the castle (with a few scenes where they go on a day-trip somewhere outside the castle grounds, yet still nearby). The contestants come from various parts of the world, and are of various race. There are human, elven, pixies (or was it fairy? can't remember, and either way he was barely in the book) and dwarfs. We only get to know about these different races, and some superficial information, through what the main character knows, which should be taken with a grain of salt since she has lived isolated in the castle, and through the little information we get from the contestants. This leads to the point I want to make of where the writing seems very tour-guidey. An example of this is in the beginning where we have Qloey's thoughts describing the palace grounds to us, it is given in the way of a tour guide, "to the left we have the bed chambers, and to the right we get to the kitchenette" (not an actual quote from the book, but the surroundings were described in this style which was very off-putting).
I actually believe this book would fare better without the high fantasy elements. The fantastical creatures and world seems to only be there for an added part of politics to the book, yet such politics can also be achieved in a historical fiction setting. Without the high fantasy elements, the author would have more space for world-building, as the different races and their magical powers do not have to be explained, except instead of explaining races, things like class differences would still have to be built upon.
Plot: The last part of the review I want to focus on is the plot, finally. The entire book is about this Royal Matchmaking Competition, of Qloey selecting a husband and future king. Although we get teased about a mystery element of one of the contestants trying to assassinate her, unfortunately, this mystery is not much of a mystery. There IS a contestant trying to assassinate her, but as you get to the half-way mark, it is very obvious who it is, and why they are doing it. As I mentioned, it really is unfortunate, because the one part that intrigued me was the mystery part and involvement with the Centaurs, yet after that one 'scary' encounter with them, we went right back to the competition and going on dates with the contestants and to me, the intrigue was lost after that. There was one part of the book that remained somewhat interesting throughout, which was about Qloey's mother. She is a very abusive and controlling mother, who stood as a hindrance to Qloey's free will and choices both generally in life, but also in the competition, which was the focus.
Overall, I did not enjoy this book as much as I wanted, barely at all. What kept me to continue this book was to find out who Qloey would choose, would she choose a husband she wanted, or one the people (and mostly her mother) wanted? And in the end, I was left disappointed with how it turned out, as I was expecting a grander turn-around, especially with how the 'peasants' seemed ready to revolt at any time. It did however leave a good opening for a continuation in this series since there is so much more to explore in this underdeveloped world.
December 28, 2022
I really wanted to like this book. The premise reminded me of Kiera Cass' The Selection, which I loved. I was really excited for this as it switched up that idea with different fantasy races being included, as well as the FMC being the one who is doing the choosing. However, this one really fell flat for me. Our heroine, Qloey, was difficult and a bit unlikeable at times. I don't mind an unlikeable MC, I think sometimes those books are the most interesting. But in this case, it just didn't work. Qloey is incredibly naïve. I can give her a pass on that as she did grow up sheltered in a palace, but where I stopped being forgiving is how she didn't exhibit a lot of growth. Throughout the story she learns more about her people and herself, but she also consistently falls back on her naïve ways- in particular when it comes to the boys in the RMC. When presented with pretty large flaws of some of the boys, she keeps falling back on "Well they're very charming" or "they really seem to like me'. I would have rather seen her grow as the story moved on, and not flip flop so much. Speaking of the boys, there are a lot of them. 12 to be exact. I felt like this was too many. It was so hard to keep track of them, how they related to each other, and who they were. Of course there were a few who stood out in good ways and bad, but the rest seemed to get lost in the shuffle. I felt like several of them were only around to act as plot devices, and I think there may have been more effective ways to deliver the plot. I think if the number of contestants was less, it would have been more effective, as readers would know them and would grow attachments to them. As for the plot, I liked the idea of the plot, sheltered princess holds a competition to find her prince, and her world gets turned upside down when the contestants challenge her worldview. Leading to her ultimately finding herself and becoming a bad ass. The problem for me was that this didn't deliver on the promise of the premise of the plot. Qloey found herself in a way, but I would have loved to see her develop into a total bad ass leader, and I think she could have. I think in part it fell short because of the number of characters involved, if it were trimmed down there wouldn't be as much for readers to keep track of. Overall, things felt rushed and underdeveloped from the story itself to the world building. I know the book is slated to release soon, but I really think that some more time spent developing the plot and the world could make this book a solid 5 star read. It might also do well split into two books. Perhaps book 1 cold cover until the first elimination, and the second could cover after it. I really do love the bones of the book, but I think some more editing could make it so much better.
December 16, 2023
This book... Well, I liked 80% of it. It was well written, the world building was amazing, the description of characters, outfits and everything else was superb. The names were also nice. Everything was all right. Except... Princess Qloey! I liked her only 40%
She was annoying me almost every page. She was stupid (a little), naive (she just wanted to feel love and honestly wasn't wise to go about what she wanted in a mature way). She was too timid for my liking. I hated the way she thought so low of herself. Yes, her mother was a monster whom I didn't like one bit. But sometimes, she'd stand up to her and the next minute she'd look down on herself and say or do something stupid that I'll feel like smacking her through the book.
Another thing I absolutely abhorred was the way she professed love to almost every single ‘boy’ just pages away from professing love to another boy. Yikes! I felt so mad at her. It was like she was a twelve year old falling for all members in a stylish boy band one after the other.
Now, the contestants were stew...peed. They were all boys. Kids! Only Hedgewood ‘the man’ had my heart. Later McKinley joined in. Then Qinrel. Other than that, the rest made me wonder why only children were contestants in the RMC. Alejandro... Gosh, I don't even want to say anything. Zack was a laughing case. Prince Abdulla is even mature and just cool. Prince Octavio is the most mature ‘man’ in my opinion... For obvious reasons of course. Kipp, he was a kid, yes. But I liked him. Obviously, he would make a great father though honestly, he wasn't suited to be Emperor but he was a good boy. May I never meet a Prince Zazzan in my life. And Prince Edgar was inordinately, exceedingly, supremely, uncommonly, eminently, decidedly a NIGHTMARE! Oh.
Princess Qloey and I are on the same page, paragraph and line about him. And one of my happiest moments with her happened when she was standing up against her mother and the entire council when asked to marry Prince Edgar.
I love the way the story ended, though I wish the battle was in this story instead of ending it before it began. I'm okay with it though.
This book brought out the most annoying emotions to me, but I must say it's an excellent storyline. The criticism above is not meant for the author or story itself but the characters mentioned above. So please, the author shouldn't be annoyed. Her book is nice. And all the ‘boys’ met their very deserved ends so... Great.
I look forward to reading Prince Zadkiel's story. I feel his mother and father did an excellent job on him.
Oh one more thing... This book had no spice. Kudos! Bravo! Perfecto!
September 29, 2024
Have you ever read a book and felt like you
were seeing yourself in that story? It's like the author was telling you about YOU. That's how I felt reading this book.
PRINCESS QLOEY is a very interesting and romantic coming of age story of the crown princess who lived her whole life being told what to do and trying to please everyone.All her life everyone made her feel worthless and incapable of becoming THE empress and ruling her people. But then comes The RMC(Royal Matchmaking Competition), a life changing occasion that'll not only change her perspective on life but also her destiny.Eleven Princes and one Commoner competing to win her heart and rule with her.She learns what it means to LOVE and BE LOVED and to FIGHT for love and also her LIFE.The intense emotions and pressure all remind me of myself and how I'm also in a similar situation. I feel like every teenager at this age will relate to this story. Because this is the point where you have to stand up for yourself and make a decision. It's a scary thing to do but it's what has to be done. Standing up to your parents,going against society and being different, these are really hard ways to live but Princess Qloey taught me to follow my heart and it's okay to be afraid of what might happen and in the end, love is the most important thing.
I like a book that draws me in from the beginning, it's not always necessary as some books get interesting over time but I'm a very visual person. I imagine as I read, that's how my brain works and it feels like I'm in the story. That's how I felt while reading this book. I was right there every step of the way. I felt the emotions as they were described and I felt the connections with the characters.
I also liked the fact that there were illustrations of the characters too.
There's a lot of plot twists and suspense. Things you'd never expect to happen, people you never expected to change.
It gets even crazier when her life is threatened. But WHO would want to kill her and WHY? Didn't they all love her? Isn't that why they were competing? To win her heart? unless… THEY WANT THE THRONE!
There's also a teaser for the second book in the series which im really excited to read next!
I'm really glad I was chosen to review this amazing book!
If you love Romance, adventure suspense and a little bit of action I would HIGHLY recommend this book. Trust me!
were seeing yourself in that story? It's like the author was telling you about YOU. That's how I felt reading this book.
PRINCESS QLOEY is a very interesting and romantic coming of age story of the crown princess who lived her whole life being told what to do and trying to please everyone.All her life everyone made her feel worthless and incapable of becoming THE empress and ruling her people. But then comes The RMC(Royal Matchmaking Competition), a life changing occasion that'll not only change her perspective on life but also her destiny.Eleven Princes and one Commoner competing to win her heart and rule with her.She learns what it means to LOVE and BE LOVED and to FIGHT for love and also her LIFE.The intense emotions and pressure all remind me of myself and how I'm also in a similar situation. I feel like every teenager at this age will relate to this story. Because this is the point where you have to stand up for yourself and make a decision. It's a scary thing to do but it's what has to be done. Standing up to your parents,going against society and being different, these are really hard ways to live but Princess Qloey taught me to follow my heart and it's okay to be afraid of what might happen and in the end, love is the most important thing.
I like a book that draws me in from the beginning, it's not always necessary as some books get interesting over time but I'm a very visual person. I imagine as I read, that's how my brain works and it feels like I'm in the story. That's how I felt while reading this book. I was right there every step of the way. I felt the emotions as they were described and I felt the connections with the characters.
I also liked the fact that there were illustrations of the characters too.
There's a lot of plot twists and suspense. Things you'd never expect to happen, people you never expected to change.
It gets even crazier when her life is threatened. But WHO would want to kill her and WHY? Didn't they all love her? Isn't that why they were competing? To win her heart? unless… THEY WANT THE THRONE!
There's also a teaser for the second book in the series which im really excited to read next!
I'm really glad I was chosen to review this amazing book!
If you love Romance, adventure suspense and a little bit of action I would HIGHLY recommend this book. Trust me!
November 21, 2022
http://www.leslecturesdophechups.fr/2...
Tout d'abord parlons un peu de la couverture, car c'est elle qui m'a attirée en premier. Elle est juste sublime. On y voit une magnifique jeune femme couronnée entouré de magie. De quoi tout de suite donner envie de lire le livre, vous pensez pas? Alors quand j'ai vue la couverture du tome 2 le prince Zadkiel, omg je suis devenue folle, elle est encore plus belle.
Parlons un peu de l'histoire et des personnages : Qloey est une jeune princesse qui comme le veut la tradition, lance un concours afin de trouver son futur mari, à la clé un mariage. Il faut dire que cette jeune femme, a vécu jusqu'à ce jour une vie protégée et naïve sous la tutelle de ses parents.
Elle ne croit pas en l’amour et son but est de trouver le meilleur futur leader et partenaire, un combo gagnant sans amour à la clé. Cela ne vous rappelle rien ? Moi ça m'a fait penser à "La sélection de Kiera Cass" ou encore " Le joyau de Amy Ewing".
Il faut savoir que ce type de mariage est une tradition de longue date, mais il y a certaines conditions qui doivent perdurer : il doit inclure un roturier et un nain. Au fils du roman, on comprend qu'Qloey ne veut pas suivre les traces de sa mère, pensez-vous que cela lui sera bénéfique ?
Qloey est un personnage à demie teinte à la fois très détestable mais touchante, elle cherche à en apprendre davantage sur les prétendant , sur leur culture et le monde en dehors des murs du palais. Car certes son but n'est pas de trouver l'amour, mais de trouver en son futur mari un allié de taille.
“For which is harder, helping someone in need of trampling over the weak? It takes a good leader to care about the least of us”
Malgré une grande incompréhension au début du roman vis à vis des personnages, on arrive au fur et à mesure à s'attacher à certains d'entre eux, on voit aussi Qloey passer d'une jeune femme naïve à une future souveraine. J'ai aimé regarder son évolution.
J'ai passé un bon moment à découvrir cet ouvrage, le concept est bien engagé. Certains moments du roman, on traîne en longueur, certes, je comprends que c'était pour faire la mise en place, mais cela peut parfois prêter à confusion pour la compréhension du roman. Malgré ces quelques bémols, j'ai hâte de lire la suite.
Tout d'abord parlons un peu de la couverture, car c'est elle qui m'a attirée en premier. Elle est juste sublime. On y voit une magnifique jeune femme couronnée entouré de magie. De quoi tout de suite donner envie de lire le livre, vous pensez pas? Alors quand j'ai vue la couverture du tome 2 le prince Zadkiel, omg je suis devenue folle, elle est encore plus belle.
Parlons un peu de l'histoire et des personnages : Qloey est une jeune princesse qui comme le veut la tradition, lance un concours afin de trouver son futur mari, à la clé un mariage. Il faut dire que cette jeune femme, a vécu jusqu'à ce jour une vie protégée et naïve sous la tutelle de ses parents.
Elle ne croit pas en l’amour et son but est de trouver le meilleur futur leader et partenaire, un combo gagnant sans amour à la clé. Cela ne vous rappelle rien ? Moi ça m'a fait penser à "La sélection de Kiera Cass" ou encore " Le joyau de Amy Ewing".
Il faut savoir que ce type de mariage est une tradition de longue date, mais il y a certaines conditions qui doivent perdurer : il doit inclure un roturier et un nain. Au fils du roman, on comprend qu'Qloey ne veut pas suivre les traces de sa mère, pensez-vous que cela lui sera bénéfique ?
Qloey est un personnage à demie teinte à la fois très détestable mais touchante, elle cherche à en apprendre davantage sur les prétendant , sur leur culture et le monde en dehors des murs du palais. Car certes son but n'est pas de trouver l'amour, mais de trouver en son futur mari un allié de taille.
“For which is harder, helping someone in need of trampling over the weak? It takes a good leader to care about the least of us”
Malgré une grande incompréhension au début du roman vis à vis des personnages, on arrive au fur et à mesure à s'attacher à certains d'entre eux, on voit aussi Qloey passer d'une jeune femme naïve à une future souveraine. J'ai aimé regarder son évolution.
J'ai passé un bon moment à découvrir cet ouvrage, le concept est bien engagé. Certains moments du roman, on traîne en longueur, certes, je comprends que c'était pour faire la mise en place, mais cela peut parfois prêter à confusion pour la compréhension du roman. Malgré ces quelques bémols, j'ai hâte de lire la suite.
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