DNF. I couldn't connect with this book at all and found it really hard to get into. I had high hopes for this, which is a shame.

I largely enjoyed the first book in this series, apart from the very dubious queer-baiting going on as the author teased a relationship between the two (female) main characters, but chickened out of going through with it, instead offering a male love interest in the final few chapters. So I picked up this sequel mostly out of curiosity as to whether this was going to be more of the same, or actually give the reader some decent queer content after teasing it. Sadly, though we get more flirting and even a kiss, it is all dismissed again. Perhaps this is the author's attempt at a slow burn, but it's honestly just annoying to be so vague and dismissive of it.

That issue aside, this continues to be far-fetched, fast-paced, and excessively dramatic - so perfect for the kind of wish-fulfilment pre-teen fantasy it's aimed at being! It definitely sits at the younger end of YA, and I think it works as a continuation of the series, with some mysteries from the first book resolved, and some new ones discovered. I don't think I'll be reading any further in the series, but for those who don't mind being teased about queer identities, then this should be enjoyable.

Princess in Practice was such a great sequel to Undercover Princess. It fills in the missing gaps of the first book, diving deeper into the heritage of the Rosewood school and it's founder, while also shedding light on Lottie's family tree. This took up a large chunk of the book, but the information we learn while definitely affect the rest of the series in massive ways and I'm looking forward to how Lottie and Ellie will deal with these princess developments.

Introducing the Leviathan here as the main threat was a great choice. There's more menace behind this scheme of poisoning Rosewood students and it's great to see the stakes get higher for everyone. It leads to more hijinks involving mysteries and break-ins that is very much the comfortable zone of this series. I just wish everything felt a little less convenient, or ready-made for the characters. There's a real lack of struggle for them when it comes to overcoming problems.

I liked how the relationship between Lottie and Ellie developed. It appeals to the School for Good and Evil lover in me, as their connection feels very reminiscent of Aggie and Sophie in the first book, when you're not sure if they're going to close the distance and kiss or not! I'm so grateful for what Connie Glynn is doing for breaking gender conventions and having queer leads without batting an eyelid. I'm literally rubbing my hands together, waiting for another scene like the ballroom dance in book one.

This series has a lot of potential, and I'm waiting on large character development so I'm looking forward to following it until the end!

The second book in the Rosewood Chronicles series. Lottie, Ellie and Jamie's adventures continue. This is a thoroughly enjoyable romp through princesses, boarding schools, teenage love. Can't say too much about this as I don't want to spoil the first book in the series, however, this was a really enjoyable read and I can't wait for the next instalment.

Lottie and Ellie have already switched places. It's a dangerous time for royalties, and the princess must be saved at all costs.

Now the girls are back to school, where it's supposed to be safe. But strange things have followed the girls to Rosewood. People are being poisoned, and not even the confinement of school is safe anymore. Will the girls be able to solve the mystery and stop the poisonings?

Princess in practice is a fast-paced story. Somewhere between YA and fantasy, it's a very interesting and quick read. As a reader, you'll quickly get to like Lottie and Ellie- that is, if you haven't already read the first book in the series. Worry not, this story can be read perfectly easily as a stand-alone book. Definitely a recommend read for the young audience.

From Connie Glynn comes the second book of the Rosewood Chronicles - Princess in Practice, and it is the adventure of a lifetime that we all have been waiting for. If you thought Undercover Princess was amazing - you will definitely love its sequel.

''Nothing in life is to be feared; it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.''

The story continues where it left off, with Ellie, Lottie and Jamie settling after the adventurous ending and getting ready for their second year in Rosewood. With the new school year starting, their enemies are on the rise again, plotting their new actions, and Lottie and Jamie are more than ready to protect their princess.

But as always, things are not as easy as they seem, and they never suspect that danger will be so close to them, now more than ever.

I loved that Lottie has her moment with her old best friend, when she visits the hometown, and tells him all about the princess world. It was soothing to know that she still cares about him, and always will, despite their lives being very different now.

Throughout the book, we don't see any romantic scenes, but we do have a lot of subtle talks about them. I really loved the romance between Anastacia and Saskia. Maybe not the romance itself actually, because to be honest, as much as I love the author, she doesn't have a skill set for writing romance. What I did love, was the dedication of the couple to stay together and what Saskia would do and sacrifice, just for the person she loves.

I was very upset with the author trying so hard to make Lottie and Ellie a couple. Yes, we know lesbian relationships are against the rules in the kingdom and Ellie's father would be furious to find out. But Lottie had such a nice slow-burn romance going with Jamie, getting to know him and all. They even reminded me of Dimitri and Rose from Vampire Academy. They have a thing, and the author ruined it with trying to convince me Lottie likes girls. Well, I am not convinced. I already have my favourite girl couple, and it's not Lottie and Ellie.

Princess in Practice was a better-written book than Undercover Princess in my opinion.

If I had to choose though, I would still prefer the first book, because of the whole set up. The friendship stories were better and even the villains were better in the previous book.

The villains we had in this book were plain, without a character, and I simply did not care about any of them. Even that last chapter, with the mysterious leader that stands behind everything, all I could feel was - MEH!

When it comes to the friendship, and the wider team that helps these three main characters, we didn't really get to know them much more than we did from the previous book. My favourite was and will stay Raphael, who always makes me laugh.

''What? Why don't I get to be a plus-one?'' Raphael maned, tutting.

''Because, Raphael,'' Anastacia mocked, ''you're not a trained bodyguards, nor are you a princess.''

To conclude, I loved reading Princess in Practice. It had a nice overall story and it was very easy to read. I will definitely be waiting for the third book to come out and will be desperate to read it! A great book during the summer period for sure. If you love princesses - that is :)

IN SUMMARY: Though a general improvement from the first novel, PRINCESS IN PRACTICE flounders with a weak voice and one-dimensional characters.

MY THOUGHTS:

Once again, before I start, I want to note that just like UNDERCOVER PRINCESS, Glynn has so much potential as a storyteller. You can tell she really loves and cares for her characters and world. Unfortunately, she just isn't skilled enough to pull off her ambitious story yet. The voice is still flimsy, often filtering and over-explaining things, but what is most frustrating is the total lack of subtlety. There is no trust for the reader to catch cues or read between the lines. Things are stated blatantly constantly, as if I'm not able to infer from body language or tone how someone reacts to something.

Characters still lack dimension. Every single one of the supporting cast seems so blatantly created for a specific purpose, with no development, arcs, or unique enough traits to distinguish them. Most characters are plot devices. Poor Lola and Micky are still interchangeable (despite attempts to separate the two this time around). The one new character introduced at the beginning of the book is obviously the only candidate who could fill the gap in the barebones mystery.

One thing that is done right is the diverse range of characters. A large chunk of the cast are gay or bi. Binah is aromantic. Percy is deaf and uses sign language. If we could stop using food words to describe skin colour though, like 'mocha' or 'caramel', that would be great. Don't see white characters being described as 'milky' or 'white as bleached rice', do we?

The characters introduced later are spewing their villainy so hard that it's comical. None of them are believable antagonists. Even the mysterious leader of Leviathan was bathed in dark, eeeeeeeeevil green light that it just made me wince, rather than fear him.

As for the plot, there were too many convenient moments for my liking. They often just happen to run into the things they need. Sometimes conveniently-omniscient Binah drops annoying puzzles for them to solve because she somehow knows everything (read: she knows things important to the plot at the time and so it makes it look like the main characters are discovering things instead of just being handed the information).

There's some key, plot-important messages written in German, and yet Lottie doesn't think to ask until much later what the translation is. If you don't immediately provide a translation (of real, translatable languages, that is), you're just withholding the mystery whenever it's convenient for the plot, when your reader can just go to Google Translate and find out immediately. It's an asinine way to prolong the story that will only frustrate your reader.

I hate to say, but the attempt at romance was cringe. There's an attempt at a slow-burn friendship-to-romance, but the carrots aren't being dangled at the right time. Heck, the carrots are all there, for the amount of times Lottie moons over Ellie and vice versa, but neither character is biting. They're not battling their feelings. In fact, all their feelings are present; they're just too obtuse to notice what they are. There's no conflict between them.

OVERALL. This was definitely better than UNDERCOVER PRINCESS, and I read this quickly, but once again the idea runs away from the execution. I still enjoyed this despite the, ahem, 1k review I have dumped here. I can't wait to see Glynn improve as a writer and see it in each book of the series.

WILL I READ ON? Oh yep. I'm on this train. Hype for THE LOST PRINCESS!

I think that this book, overall, was pretty good. It manages to capture that feeling of a fantastical narrative that still somehow feels like you, the reader, could slot into the story. It's that 'ordinary girl becomes a princess for a day' narrative that is so familiar and so fun to read. On top of that, you have the fun of 'gloriously old private school filled with secrets to uncover'. This book ticks a lot of boxes. I'd categorise it at the younger end of YA, which is an area of publishing which I've seen people talk about being neglected of late. I would have loved to read this book, this series, when I was in the early stages of secondary school, transitioning from middle-grade books to YA. Knowing that is the intended readership is part of why I wouldn't be as harsh about some of the 'ooh a plot device' things that happen in this story - as it's part of setting that kind of tone. 

This book was...less queer-baity than the first book. I don't know. On the one hand, I'm pleased that romance and crushes and such don't take over the whole book, and it's nice to have these things introduced in a gentle way. On the other hand, I feel like this story could be gloriously queer and it feels a little...restrained in a way? I'm not expecting passionate kisses in the corridors (I mean...I am but I can deal with them not being there) I just want the conversations about these things within the book to be a fraction more explicit? Especially since, for some readers of the intended age range, this might be an early exploration of those ideas, a conversation starter or more. That will, of course, be a matter of personal preference but I was still left feeling a little flat where I wanted to feel triumphant. I'm going to keep reading this series because I feel like it's building into something but I still want more.

The plot is...silly but fun? It feels odd to call it silly because it's obviously quite high stakes and there is some genuine danger for the characters. It really felt, to me, like the plot of a Hallmark Christmas movie (but not at Christmas). It has that cosy 'none of this is real and everyone will be ok' feeling that just makes you feel as though Santa might turn up and wink at the camera any minute. Again, that will either be your cup of tea (cocoa?) or it might not be what you're looking for. I kind of think that softness is so core to the identity of these books that to bring in a bit more bite would feel just as false? 

If you like a cosy comfort read I think this book and the previous one are both great examples. Glynn manages to create and sustain particular tone with this book that keeps you interested and also gently prods some themes that perhaps aren't being addressed in other traditionally published books aimed at this age range. 

My rating: A solid 3/5 stars

I received a free digital advanced review copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own. 

Princess in Practice is out in paperback on June 13th!

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with access to this.
A well-paced mystery, with thrills and adventure throughout. Lottie is still not sure about her role as undercover princess, but it becomes painfully obvious that she’s very necessary.
There are hints of Leviathan and their aims, and plenty of details hint at what’s to come next. Of course I’m keen to know who’s behind it, and I’m curious to know more about the plan.

After reading book one in this series I was very excited to see what happens next and I must say it did not disappoint I may not be in the target audience for this story but It didn't matter one bit. I'm a huge princess diaries fan and i have always been searching for something that is just as good fun to read and I feel like this series is it!

Can't wait for the next book in the series now!

I adore this series and this author and as always she doesn’t let me down , a great entertaining read. I’ll be off to preorder in hardback now . I love it

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest review

*4.25 Stars*

I had very high hopes and expectations for this one and as much as I did like it, I was a bit disappointed. I had heard this was very gay and it let me down a bit on this department. Still, I really love all my girls, and I do mean all of them, also the intrigue was really captivating and kept me on my toes the entire time. The only thing I found lacking was how little time Ellie and Lottie spent together just the two of them, they had very few scenes just them and I wish they had more. And now, I really cannot wait for book 3.