Immature writing and hackneyed tropes made this book predictable and then unreadable. More clever ways to genre-bust exist. Find them.

This book was high up on my anticipated list. There is a royal family setting with a race to find an heir to the throne. There is a mystery developing in the plot which is quite exciting. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I love a royal setting of any kind. There is a trope of lost royalty which is probably one of my favourites to read. You can follow the character progression in this book very well.

The cover is beautiful and the story has a decent plot but I kept getting the sense it is written for teens than young adults. I was not a fan of the writing style but can appreciate the story line and characters.

The story had promise but fell flat. Prince Tristan is 20, somehow escaped the same fate as his late parents and was found living on the streets not knowing he is the prince. I had a hard time with this being a YA book it really reads more like a middle grade with the way Tristan acts and pouts.

This book has been removed for further edits, so I'm not currently able to access my copy and read it. As a result, I'm not able to provide a review.

This was my first book of Alonna’s and it didn’t quite do it for me. I really wanted to like this book because the plot was right up my usual alley. I found the plot kind of predicable, which is fine, but I like to be surprised. But I did like the way Tristan found out about his family. All in all I just think it wasn’t for me, but I will give Alonna another try in the future.

I received an eARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

2/2.5 stars

I had high hopes for this story of a lost Prince finding his way home, discovering who he is and his past whilst tackling the new challenges that come with his identity.

It had great potential to be a fantastic self discovery book, wrapped in a murder mystery. However the execution and writing style didn't feel polished enough for my liking.

The main character Tristan, is supposed to be a young man in his early twenties that has spent the vast majority of his life living it rough, on the streets, without realising he is actually the lost prince his kingdom needs. Unfortunately his character comes across extremely juvenile, I kept being confused by his mannerisms and speech as he read as a young boy of between 10 and 12. And sadly it wasn't just his, almost all the characters, including his grandparents speech is all over the place. The storylines momentum seemed a little all over the place and I wanted there to be more depth and meaning to some scenes that were glossed over completely.

A really great concept, and I think if this had had more time to be thought over and ideas developed further, it could have been something really compelling.

I didn't particularly like this book. It's sad, because the synopsis was good and the book has a lot of potential, but it feels unfinished and juvenile. I could see this book as a MG rather than a YA. I love rags to riches stories, but some parts of the book felt incoherent and could use some enhancements, like:
- Tristan is over confident when he is a thief, but he's constantly stammering and whimpering in his new life. I wanted to shake him up! It's normal, in his situation, to feel insecure... But crying like he does for absolutely nothing? No excuses.
- He is 20 years old, but he is acting like a 12 year old. Everyone is treating him like a 9 year old.
- The villain is so obviously mean, bullying everyone just because he wants to... It needs to be more subtile.
- The plot is SO predictable and obvious. (Did I say it's obvious? Because it is.)

What I did like:
- His escaping attempts were really funny.
- The emerging romance that begins somewhat weirdly with Princess Aliona.
- Dorian and Elandra are adorable.
- I loved Meggin. I would have loved for her to have a bigger role in the book.
- The way Tristan learned about his parents was fabulous!!!

In retrospect, the book isn't bad. It may be for younger readers rather than me.

Many thanks to Blue Gingham Publishing for the complimentary e-copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I'm afraid to say I gave up on this book and didn't finish. This retelling of a classic story was far too predictable.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

Since the publisher has already taken feedback on this book about the age of the main character and language, I will stop reading this book and look forward to reading the revised version later in the year.

The "Prince and the Pauper," has long been a staple in fiction. This version tends to be over dramatic and lagging in areas. You can almost predict the next line of dialogue. Today's young adult audience will pick this up and quickly put it back for it lack luster story line.

Summary
A tale about a lost Prince, who spent 2 decades of his life thieving and surviving in the slums.
However, his life is turned around when the King announces his attempt at searching for his heir who was rumored to be assassinated 17 years ago...
Tristan considers himself a pro in his lifestyle and way of living, and when the fated announcement is made he does everything to avoid being detected but obviously that doesn't go to plan.
His entire word is turned over as soon as he steps into the palace...from rags to riches, the transition frightens him endlessly but Tristan might just be the key to find the person behind the assassinations all those years ago.

Thoughts
This book had so much potential it had a very intriguing concept of a boy going from literally rags to riches not just in clothing and food but mannerisms, outlook and so much more. But the way the story was presented, I think it would have better worked out a play since we weren't given any worldbuilding or adequate description of our character and his surroundings; we were told everything in internal monologue and intermittent flashbacks to the time around the assassination.

Another problem was the MC himself his mannerisms were way too juvenile for a 20-year-old especially the one who lived his life braving the streets.
Fainting spells, hiding behind his guard out of shyness or uncertainty and everything was delivered in specific scenes and dialogues ( see what I meant by this having a greater chance at being a play)

What I liked, This book managed to realistically grasp the downside of the transition as he grappled to get his bearing s and his friend s consider him a traitor, and his court finds him akin to a fool.
We were even given attempts at sabotage as he tries to secure alliances and to final honor his family's legacy, furthermore, I liked how we uncover what really had happened that fateful day.


All in all, this book albeit full of potential to an enjoyable read fails to be entirely wholesome of a novel.

DNFed at 31%, unfortunately.

The scenes were flat, there was no conflict in the non-existent plot and it genuinely felt like this was some unedited draft a kid wrote.

The Lost Prince is an exciting and gripping read about a lost royal. It's extremely easy to connect to and enjoy. The only thing is the main protagonist acted and spoke in ways which seemed much younger than the age he was supposed to. Either he was written to be extremely immature for his age or it was slight oversight., but it doesn't make too much difference to the overall story.

I read the synopsis and was instantly hooked by it. A story about a lost prince, oh I was so excited. I thought it would be a really fun reading but unfortunately I didn't like it.
If this story was a disney movie maybe it would've been netter but not as YA. I was really disappointed.
I picked up this book for the review and also the cover is really pretty. But I DNF'ed it at 20% cz I really couldn't connect with the story. I didn't like the writing style nor the characters. I mean it wasn't a horrible book it's just my personal preference.

This book was good! It was a fun story and I did really enjoy the characters! Lost royalty isn’t my favourite trope but it did work well here. My only complaints are the MC seemed to act younger than he was and I’ve been reading a lot of fantasy lately and I don’t think this will be memorable for me.

Interesting tale with lots of twists and turns. Can I just go ahead and say that my favorite character here was August? I mean a knight/soldier who is good with dogs?
So, the story introduces us to King Dorian who is looking for his grandson, 20 years after the murder of his son and daughter in law...and when he finds him, Tristan, or Tricks as he's known to his street family- is afraid, hasn't learned how to read or write and is scared of life as a royal.
I know the author had a plan for this plot- however something about Tristan's age does not mesh well with his personality and behavior, he seems more under the age of 16.
Thanks Netgalley for the eARC.

This was a clever story with unique twists and turns that kept the reader guessing. However, the way the mc was presented and his age didn't mesh well at all. He would have been better suited to have been at least 4 years younger to match his voice, intelligence and depth.

Sweet adorable story that felt like an old fashion fairy tale.
My biggest critique is that it read more for a younger audience, such as middle grade. The main character Tristan is sensitive and loving. He’s very emotional and always speaks his mind. The characters around him treat him like a child despite being 20 years old and he often acts like one as well. It would have been more believable had he been five years younger.
The plot was predictable but enjoyable. I was constantly looking forward to reading the story simply because it always put a smile on my face.

The Lost Prince is a story which can be seen to be influenced by aspects of Disney's Aladdin, Hercules, The Lion King and maybe a little bit of Anastasia, knotted into a bow in the YA genre.

The story begins with how King Dorian needs an heir and his belief that his grandson may still be alive somewhere. This then jumpstarts the search for the missing prince and whether there could be the possibility that he survived where his parents did not. He sends out a search with some of his men where they believe that it is less suspicious for them to say to the public that the royal family is one the search for a missing person, rather than the missing twenty year old prince. But doesn't this already make such a search by the royal family quite suspicious? Any search from a royal family rings some sort of alarm bells doesn't it? However, I find this part of the story to be less believable due to how there would always be some rational person seeing behind the veil of this deception. Luckily this is where the main protagonist steps in.

Throughout this book I felt like there were some places where I found the story to be far-fetched. For instance, there seemed to be some events which take place simply out of convenience to move the story forward, rather than to make conflict and throw in some twists which could have thrown the reader off track. This can be shown throughout the first half of the story where we discover Tristan and what he is to become and how this would relate to rest of the characters through out the story. It also seems like there is little conflict with the King and Queen themselves, they seem a little too good for my liking and very forgiving of Tristan. I know blood is thicker than water, but if it was me, I would have given Tristan a few stern talks or two! On the other hand, it seems as though the more the relationship progresses, the more that it is felt that these talks are easier to take place.

I have found that throughout the book there are some likeable characters. For instance, Queen Elandra, Princess Aliona and Meggin have kind and strong personalities that shine throughout. In fact, I find that Elandra is one of the better characters as it feels as if she is kind-hearted grandma who not only is a lovely grandma to Tristan, but she also feels as though she is coming through the pages and giving the reader a warm hug and telling that everything will be ok.

There were laugh out loud moments the more the story progresses, as it feels as if the author begins to settle into the story, rather than set up the scene. The villain in the story can be seen to be a little predictable, but the flashbacks were a joy to read with the love story that can be reflected in the present day.

Overall, the story feels as though I should give a three star rating, as there are some promising moments but at times it felt like there were something missing. It might have been how the narrative progressed, the voice of the author or the characters themselves. I just can’t seem to put my finger on it.