Disappointed and would have DNFed, if it weren't so short. The premise was good, but the execution less than mediocre. The writing is simple at best, and the story doesn't captivate you whatsoever. Yes, the pacing is fast, but, unfortunately, it doesn't make you want to follow it.

I thought I would enjoy the fighting in a championship story of this book because it's something I usually love but I couldn't finish this book. It was a little too generic.

The book got my attention because of the amazing cover. The story which is hidden within the book is so good. The description was indeed my cup of tea but I didn’t expected to fall in love with this book. I loved it and I had never a boring minute while reading it. I read it in one setting and startet book 2 immediately. 

The world-building and the characters are interesting. Zora is a badass character and does everything to achieve her goals.  I fell in love with Griffin. He is mysteries and has a dark secret. The writing style is refreshing and easy to read, but it doesn’t make the story plain. I can highly recommend it. You should read it!

Title: The Cup and The Prince 
Author: Day Leitao
Pub. Date: October 15, 2020
Rating: 2 (DNF @ 41%)

This will be a short spoiler free review. Thank you to NetGalley and Sparkly Wave Publishing for gifting me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Ultimately this book just didn’t do anything for me. Comping something to Throne of Glass can be a huge benefit, or detrimental and in my opinion, it didn’t do this book any favors. I had such high hopes for this book and had immediately requested it upon seeing it comped with Throne of Glass. I really liked the cover and synopsis sounded promising. 

Then I started reading. 
And that’s when the disappointment set in. 

But before I get into my issues – I stopped reading at 41% because I just couldn’t make myself continue on. I do think the premise of this book is amazing and it truly sounds promising. It feels like such a missed opportunity and I’m really bummed that I couldn’t force myself to finish this book and that I didn’t love it. I don’t want to give it a 0 or a 1-star rating, because I do think this book has promise, and maybe one day I’ll go back to it and try again.

Now, I can’t talk on the whole book, since I didn’t read it all, but even with only having read roughly half, I have complaints. 

I hate Zora – the MC she’s whiny and cries ALL THE TIME. Everything is a personal slight. When she was first introduced I kind of thought she was a bit of a badass – she takes matters into her own hands and forges her own path. Everything kind of just goes downhill from there. She talks a big game, but rarely delivers. I’m all for strong female characters, but Zora talks so much about defying the societal norms but doesn’t actually do much and then gets all morose that she’s not as pretty or like other girls. And I get that we all compare ourselves, even when we’re confident in who we are, but Zora just seemed to flip-flop between being “strong” and being “whiny”. She was also woefully naïve.

I didn’t care for the love interest. Like, at all. He did nothing for me. And while I didn’t actually read their “romantic” relationship, I could easily pick him out and he just wasn’t enticing. 
Between the two of them she’s all power to women and he’s all women are pretty little fragile things. Blech. His brothers did nothing for me either. I was just unimpressed with the whole cast of characters. They were all one dimensional at best and basically stereotypes. Other than their physical descriptions I had no idea who they were so there were no emotional ties. 

The writing is trying to be coy and clever but just comes across stilted and flat. Everything is just told to you, there’s hardly any world building. Like, I have no idea what anything is supposed to look like. The lore/mythology/magic system is vague as fuck. A goddess was introduced in one scene, seemingly out of the blue and never ever mentioned again. And the whole existence of the shadow creatures is never explained beyond “someone did something bad and this was the consequences. 

Don’t even get me started on the ex-boyfriend who’s just rotting away in a dungeon seemingly forgotten about. Who cares about him? Why he was even included in the first place, I’ll never understand. 

The contest for the Blood Cup (though idk what that is or why it’s so important - it’s NEVER explained) is supposed to be dangerous af, but the first task was literally “pick up these balls in the dark, get as many as you can, but you can move when the light comes on”…like, really? 
It’s like a modified game of Simon Says, or flashlight tag. What bearing does that have on anything?

I just…I have no more words. I’m honestly so baffled by this book. I honestly don’t understand how it has high ratings, but I’m glad people are enjoying it. I wish I were one of them. Unfortunately, I’m not. I probably won’t pick up the second book in the series, but I do recommend picking up this book if you’re curious. My goal isn’t to turn you off books, but to give my honest opinion. Again, I wish I’d loved this book.

What an enjoyable read! I admit that it was both the title and cover that got my attention first but then I read the synopsis and I was sold with the Royal Games idea. 
 
Zora was a great character to follow and I couldn't not cheer for her. She was relatable, yet very strong and passionate. She was determined in both her goals and values. On the other side, we had Griffin, which was interesting to read about, because you learn more about the inner workings of the games and how he really felt. However, I still preferred Zora's point of view, because it was fresher and filled with more action. Griffin's perspective was necessary but some passages felt a bit repetitive because of his storyline.

It is a pity that the book was so short because even though it was still entertaining, it could have had more in character development and the relationships built throughout the story. Some characters were a bit too much and a couple relationships suffered from the shortness of the book, but it's not something that took me out of the book or made me enjoy it any less. Some characters surprised me because I was not expecting to like them or did not imagine they would be in the book as much, but I was disappointed in others (again, probably due to the lenght of the book) and their actions. I am wondering if we will see any changes in the next books with those characters or get to understand them better.

The Royal Games were interesting and I was curious about the process and the actual games, which were easier than I would have expected, but it was Zora, her defiance and attitude that made me enjoy the book as much as I did. I cannot wait for The Curse and The Prince in a few days!

I was initially hooked by this books synopsis, but sadly this is one of those rare cases of a great premise but not so great execution. I’ve never DNF’d a book but after reading the first chapter, I was close and instantly knew that I wasn’t going to click with the overly simple writing style and characters. Our protagonist Zora is trying to be this powerful and feminist figure but instead ends up feeling naive and indifferent. However, the plot was pretty solid, and the world Leitao has created has the potential to become something really intriguing. I feel like the only person who didn’t like this book, but if you’re looking for a fast paced and easy fantasy adventure then this might be something to look into!

This book was an easy read, and I did enjoy it, though I had a few minor issues with pacing. The main character is relatable and interesting which kept me reading the book.

This book was fantastic I really loved the world building and character development. Zora was a great under dog and this made my girl power heart Soar. Zora is betrayed back home and extracts her revenge by taking her betrayers place as the Dark Valley Champion. Her she must undergo a series of challenges to defeat her competitors to take the blood cup. She goes up against Prince Griffin. Zora proves her worth even as roadblocks are put up against her. There are secrets and deceit and it all builds up to a mind blowing cliffhanger. What a great read.

This was actually good!
Zora leaves home on revenge to compete in a competition to win a cup that will help her home.
It's hard to tell who is good and bad. And im intrigued with the ending and want to read the 2nd book.

**Thank you to Netgalley and Sparkly Wave for an eArc in exchange for an honest review. This in no way changed my rating**

The Cup and the Prince has two main protagonists: Zora, a girl who leaves her dangerous village as a means of petty revenge on her cheater ex, and Griffin, a prince with a secret. Both enter into a dangerous series of competitions, as well as games of political intrigue. 

This was a perfectly good Fantasy book. The idea of the shadow creatures Zora has to fight in her home village and her underlying motivation to win the competition to help her people were bright spots. Additionally, I liked all three royal brother characters (although Larzen was my favorite). I liked that Zora was a capable female character with capable female friends, which is a trait that is all too often skipped in YA series nowadays. 

That said, the idea that the main motivation for another female character appears to be jealousy the entire book up until the bitter end was a problem for me. The actual issue behind her character was so much more intriguing than "a pretty girl is flirting with a prince" and I would have liked to have been let in on that earlier. Additionally, the ending left a lot open. I would probably read the second book of this series because it was left in a place that I want to know what happens and the writing was good enough to check it out. I just am hoping for a little more detail on the parts that were left open (where did the shadows come from? can they be stopped for good? What's going on with Griffin?) and less petty girl fights and open underestimation of female characters due to sexism. 

4/5 stars

This was not my cup of tea, and I DNF’d it. It was more YA than I was expecting. So, I’m not discounting it’s ability, but it just wasn’t for me. What I think is a 1 star review is someone else’s 5 star!

I really enjoyed The Cup and the Prince!  It was fast-paced and kept my attention from start to finish!  I would have liked a little bit more detail about the world and background information on some of the characters...hopefully we will get more juicy details in the next book!  I can’t wait to read it!

#TheCupandthePrince

The Cup and the Prince by Day Leitao is a YA fantasy focused on 17-year-old Zora who enters the Royal Games in her ex-boyfriend's stead due to wanting to prove that she has the strength and brains to compete (as well as his unfaithfulness, the jerk). She is met with opposition including from the younger prince who sees her as a fair damsel and sets challenge after challenge against her. While the older prince is helping her as well as offer dangerous flirtations. Either way, she is faced with danger including an assassin. 

Zora is sassy and resilient, which is why I like her. I enjoy that she was focused and determined on proving herself. The side characters were boring to me and when there was something interesting, the shadow creatures, it doesn't unfold. This is a fairly short installment for the beginning of a fantasy series - stay tuned for the sequel. 

The book is an entertaining and fast read, however, it is ripe with cliches and tropes that don't have original shapings. I do feel like this would like it is an addictive read for people who want a read meant for fun. 

Many thanks to NetGalley and Sparkly Wave for sharing the  ARC with me in exchange for my honest opinions.

DNF. Thank you NetGalley and Publisher for this early copy! I decided to not keep reading this one, it was not for me. Thanks!

I ended up liking this book and I hope to read more books from the author in the future. I do hope that the author ends up writing more in the future.

Huge thank you to the publisher for sending me this book for an honest review! This is was such a fresh and unique book that I enjoyed reading. There's action, magic, intrigue and romance - everything you need for a fantasy!

Writing wise, the plot and writing style felt choppy and the intrigue wasn't quite there for me. Having read the full book I understand what the author was trying to do and while it was fast paced and there was lots of action, I felt there was a lot was left out that could have helped develop the plot and characters along. This is true of the world building as well, which once again felt a bit underwhelming. I'm intrigued to see whether this is developed on in the next book.

Character-wise, I really liked the main character Zora and enjoyed her point of view. The idea of a badass woman trying to fight the limits put on her gender is always a must read. Whilst she felt naive and maybe slightly unreliable in places, I loved her bravery and desire to prove her worth. Other characters such as Griffin and Larzen were mysterious and intriguing enough that they kept you reading. The romance wasn't quite there, but again I'd love to see how this goes in the next book.

In conclusion, The Cup and the Prince is an action-packed, entertaining and fast read. It has a lot of potential that could make this an epic fantasy series and I'm intrigued to see where the author takes it.

The Cup and the Prince is your typical YA Fantasy novel with romance. I found it rather entertaining, and that it was overall a pretty decent story. Nothing impressive, but nothing damning either.

3/5 stars

Thanks a bunch to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this e-arc

I unfortunately was a bit disappointed by this book as i was expecting more. The characters weren't my favourite which insinuates my menefreghismo towards them

I was torn between rating this 3 or 3.5 stars because, based purely on entertainment, I’d rate this higher than 3 stars for sure - it was fast paced with lots of action and a good plot - but there were a lot of  aspects that could have been improved.

I wish the characters had been better developed. Zora is a reliable narrator but she reads younger than 17. She’s too naive and her actions often reflect that. By the end of the book we still don’t know much about Griffin as he spends most of the book being manipulated. Loretta was the most useless and pointless character in the book.

The only characters I cared for were Mauro and Larzen. I thought there was enough of them for me to be intrigued and want to see more of them in the story.

The romance was pretty meh. There wasn’t much to begin with but the pairing didn’t have much chemistry IMO and I thought Larzen would have been a more interesting option tbh.

I also wasn’t a fan of the writing style, although it was fairly easy to read and follow. Sometimes it just sounded a bit awkward and there was more telling than showing, which I’m not a fan of.

I thought the challenges of the games were pretty tame and not that dangerous, as we were told they would be. That kind of disappointed me. The lack of tension and real challenges was underwhelming.

Griffin’s reason to keep Zora out of the tournament didn’t make sense either. Not just because the games were anything but dangerous, but because I don’t think the audience and these so called “visitors” would much care if a peasant girl died. It would make more sense if Zora was noble.

The work building was lacking and underdeveloped but I hope that will change in the second book when we are back in the Dark Valley.

I do want to continue reading this series but I thought this book could have been better executed than it was. It was still entertaining and interesting enough to make me want to read the sequel so I’d recommend it for that.

This book was described as a combination of Minecraft and Throne of Glass, and to be completely honest, I’m not really sure where the Minecraft part came from. Throne of Glass I can definitely see, but Minecraft? A bit odd. 

This book was pretty good overall! I liked the pacing, the plot was fairly strong, and the characters were like able. I am a sucker for a good fantasy book, and I certainly was not mad at this one. I liked Zora, and I liked her fire and spark. She wouldn’t take no for an answer, and while she did have her flaws, I feel as though she was very well written. 

The book is pretty standard YA, but that’s not to say it isn’t unique! It has a wonderful world, and I think many people will enjoy this book. It’s a very solid fantasy novel!