This was such an interesting and incredible read, there was such depth and intrigue. I found myself completely entranced by the story.

What can I say about this book and the author? Hmm.. Well, I really don't know why she writes so little when she creates such amazing worlds with every book! The first book was very good, but this one... It was definitely worth the wait. It keeps the reader interested, excited, and energized all the time. If you want to read something great, this book is for you. Especially if you love references to children's fairy tales you will fall in love with the story! Read it and don't wonder!

This book unfortunately was quite forgettable. I really enjoyed To Kill a Kingdom but this one fell flat for me. This is advertised as a Rapunzel telling but I think it steers away from it quite drastically.
For me the romance also had very little chemistry and I found myself waiting for their scenes to be over.
After reading it I didn't think about it again and found myself reluctant to pick it up when I'd take a break.

I would give Alexandra Christo another go but I was quite disappointed with this one

Loved this book, great characters and story. Full of adventure and surprises keeping me intrested and wanting to know more the whole way through.

Princess of Souls- It was a book I loved at the time of reading, but looking back it’s kind of blurred a bit . Many Thanks to Netgalley and Hot Key Books for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Review:
So I adored to kill a kingdom, so hearing the words “rapunzel retelling” had me requesting this instantly. Also enemies to Lovers- Yes just give me it please I’m a sucker for a good love story.

Plot- So it was fine, I mean the plot sounds amazing from the synopsis and reading it was a genuine pleasure and its done in a great style with really good pacing. It was fine overall, nothing really standing out as good or bad, even if it was a tiny bit predictable where it was going.

World building- I’d expect nothing less than fantastic on the world building and it delivered.

Characters- Okay this is where I took a nosedive. I had zero investment in the two leads and the romance felt meh. Like if they got together or not I was not in any way bothered. They didn’t feel to have any development either? I can’t put my finger on it but it just made me not enjoy the story as much.

Overall:
An anticipated read that worked for the most part- just the characters and romance arc didn’t quite work for me.

First of all thank you to Hot Key for letting me read this book early! Billed as a retelling of Rapunzel, Christo manages to create an utterly unique story that takes only the bare bones of the story to create an amazing world.
Seles tea and her mother are the last of their kind and whilst her mother willingly serves the immortal king, Selestra is desperate for more than reaping souls to feed his life span.

Able to foretell a person’s death from a single touch, Selestra’s life becomes unwittingly entangled with the that of one of the king’s best soldiers when she performs her magic for the first time.

To save herself she has to save Nox and defeat the king who now hunts him across the world.

Like To Kill a Kingdom before it, Christo sweeps you off on a grand adventure across the sea, and through magical islands determined to kill our enemies to lovers with swoon worthy banter. I was hooked reading this utterly entranced in Selestra and Nox’s story. I loved how they slowly came to trust each other as Selestra’s world unravels and reforms as she races to escape death.

It’s well paced and at no point did i feel that it was overlong despite having struggled with To Kill a Kingdom initially - though that was probably a me thing.

I’d love for more stories in this world especially where the characters start to overlap and cameo but not gratuitously.

As soon as I saw this was a return to the world of To Kill A Kingdom I knew I needed to read this, as who didn't love TKAK?

Yet again you see some amazing characters written by Alexandra Christo, and the dynamic between the two MCs Nox and Selestra I just adored. It was also so interesting to see how Selestra managed to break away from her childhood and the beliefs that were instilled into her from an early age, I love a good character growth and this one was written so well. I especially loved the scene where Selestra first left her home town after being stuck there for her whole life, you really felt you were there and the imagery was beautiful.

I can't wait to see if any other books will be set in this world, I certainly hope so!

Selestra is a witch-in-training, duty-bound to steal souls for the immortal king. Nox is a soldier intent on bringing them all down, but fate ties them together.

I received a free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book follows our two main characters.
Selestra may live in the castle, and have every luxury, but she is little better than a prisoner. Her mother is the king's witch - feared by all, seeing deaths and stealing souls to keep the king's immortality. Selestra is the witch's heir, born to follow in her mother's footsteps.
When she meets Nox, she sees his death is tied to hers, and decides they have to work together to escape their fate.

Nox is the perfect soldier. He is a legendary fighter, loved by the army and even has the king's respect. It's all a facade though, the king and his witches murdered his father, and Nox is going to kill every last one of them. And it starts with winning a wish in an annual competition - and if he loses, he dies.
When he meets the fearsome heir, she's not quite what he expected, and that she hates the king too. He doesn't trust her, but realises that his enemy's enemy could be his friend.

I enjoyed this story, with it's hint of dark Rapunzel with a bit of Medusa thrown in.
I thought the magic used by Selestra and her mother was very interesting. How their ancestor bound them all to serve the power-hungry king in any way he sees fit.

The first half follows them as they try and escape the king and his army - Nox only has to survive a month to win the contest, and Selestra is keen to get as far away from her prison as possible.
Nox believes they will only be safe on an island that is impenetrable, and is rumoured to be the home to a legendary weapon - the only thing that can defeat the immortal king.
It's interesting to watch how their plans start to change, when they realise not everything is as it seems. And Selestra finds that she will have to face her enemy to truly escape him.

The not-so-good.
The main characters are alright to start with, they have their desires and drives, but they're nothing special. The friends that accompany them are much more interesting.
As the story goes on, and the "relationship" develops, I found they got blander and blander. Nox loses a lot of his depth, and he's just their to support Selestra; but it never feels like a real relationship. It's just ticking boxes and saying they're in love.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and look forward to more by this author.

An interesting take on the Rapunzel fairytale.

Selestra has been trapped in the castle her entire life. Heir to the King’s Witch, she is kept isolated from everyone, and prepared to follow her mother into service to the immortal King by feeding him souls every year as part of the Festival of Predictions.
Nox’s father mysteriously died the day after he revealed to his son that he perhaps wasn’t as loyal to the King as his son had always believed, and he enters the festival to enact revenge upon the King.
Their unlikely alliance leads them across kingdoms to the one land that has held up to the King’s rule.

I loved the settings the story takes place across, and seeing the different lands and peoples was interesting.

The characters were well developed and engaging. They’re young, and therefore make some decisions that older readers may find inadvisable or naive, however this fits with their ages and the narrative.

The magic system was intriguing and I loved learning more about it as the story progressed. Seeing the loopholes in the curse and how they came about made for an interesting plot.

I particularly liked how this story fit into the world of To Kill a Kingdom and the way that the stories work together - if centuries apart.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the story and would read other books by Alexandra Christo in the future.

Princess of Souls is such a beautifully written YA fantasy. The world-building is outstanding. This sequel is well written with an enchanting storyline and well-developed characters that engage from start to finish. The world is atmospheric and feels real with vivid descriptions and rich imagery. I cannot get enough. Highly recommended. Be sure to check out Princess of Souls today.

I cannot express how much I loved this. I love fairytale retellings and To Kill a Kingdom is one of my favourite fairytale standalones, so I had to read Princess of Souls which is set in the same world. It was so good and I love how Christo takes inspiration from Rapunzel and grows her story from the original, rather than keeping it so close to the story.

Selestra is a witch and has spent her whole life preparing for the day she takes over from her mother as the owner of a powerful magic. Each year, the king requires his Somniatis witch to foretell people’s deaths and link their souls to him. The king uses these souls to fuel his immortality and Selestra’s bloodline is tied to him. Whenever Selestra touches anyone without gloves, she will see their death, so she has grown up very isolated and she longs to escape the life that is expected of her. When she turns 18, she will take over from her mother at the Festival of Predicitions where 200 people come forward for the chance of gaining a wish if they can avoid the death predicted for them after 2 weeks.

Nox is part of the king’s army, but after the death of his father, which he believes to be at the hands of the king, he is determined to take the king’s immortality and kill his entire court. When Nox enters the courtroom as the final participant for the Festival of Predictions, the king makes Selestra see his death. From this moment, Selestra and Nox are tied to each other whether they realise it or not, as Selestra also foretells her own death.

Selestra learns a lot about herself over the course of this book. She discovers many things about her power and I loved watching her grow into herself. I loved the found family theme as with Selestra comes Irenya and with Nox comes Micah. The dynamic between the four of them was great, but obviously I adored Selestra and Nox together. It was quite a slow-burn and sort of an enemies-to-lovers relationship but it was more enemies to mistrust to friends to lovers, but either way I ate it up!

There was the perfect amount of romance as well as action in this one and I loved it! Definitely recommend if you love fairytale retellings!

An enemies to lovers set in the same world as to kill a kingdom, and hearing about this it sounded like my kind of book. But I had the same problems with both books. The characters felt too surface level and the writing was disjointed. I liked the concept and the ideas were there, but most of this book was boring and slow, and I'm not sure if it's a series, but it read like a standalone.

I loved being back in the world of To Kill a Kingdom! This was such a fun easy read and I really enjoyed Selestra and Nox as characters. There was plenty of intrigue and wit throughout and I absolutely flew through it!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a free ARC in exchange for a review!

I really loved the world-building and the magic inherent in Selestra and Nox's world. There were a few parts where I got a bit lost, as it is pretty complex, but the big picture was easier to grasp. Some of the aspects did give me pause like <spoiler> Selestra's death visions always coming true early when she's supposed to be able to predict down to the day and time. That was never really explained even with a "future is always in flux" kind of throwaway thing, it was just a weird thing that happened a few times and was never really brought up again. </spoiler>

My most favourite thing about the book was the impeccable banter between Nox and Selestra. It is quick, witty, funny, and genuinely unique. Although they fall into an enemies to friends to lovers trope, Christo makes it her own and feel new and exciting through her clever writing of their relationship. Plus who doesn't already love enemies to lovers?

I also really enjoyed the best friend characters, Micah and Irenya, especially their individual relationships with their bestie and each other. Truly a highlight of the book is the quick-witted humor.

I really, really ended up rooting for Selestra and Nox, and I loved watching them fight against Seryth. I really felt for them throughout their battles and losses. I also think this is actually a standalone fantasy which is so rare and welcome!

4.5 stars from me, rounded up to 5 for Goodreads.

Fantastic read. Love the writing style and the characters. Good plot and flow. The way you feel connected to the characters made it an easy read and one to enjoy.

The premise to Princess of Souls itself is interesting, about wishes and death trials and witches. The world building in that sense is done well. However, I wanted to give up on this book several times and I’ll go into my reasons below.

I don’t like Nox so the romance this book blatantly heads toward just wasn’t for me. He’s unnecessarily aggressive to Selestra, waking her up in the night to a knife at her in bed, demanding her time and assistance, insulting her, mistrusting her, judging her when he knows nothing about her. He even threatens violence on her and to betray her and all while looking down on her as being a heartless monster ironically void of emotion or kindness - despite her behaviour saying otherwise. I don’t know, he’s entitled and cocky, he wants to use a girl he makes clear he doesn’t respect (but fancies) and I just never warmed to him or thought he deserved Selestra. He needs help, he goes to Selestra to help, but he brings a knife, you have dialogue about him “enjoying the look of desperation she’s trying so hard to hide” when she needs help in return. What even is that?? It takes literally half the book before Nox treats Selestra like a human being and not a monster or a resource to use, which makes the romance void for me thanks. Later in the book he talks to Selestra about how other people have dictated and used her and yet, zero self awareness he was just the same in making her feel like she was a heartless witch because he was pig headed and prejudiced to someone who always showed otherwise. Then whiplash, he’s an ass again to her. He treats her like she’s worthless, he admits he was going to kill her for who she is, he takes his grief and anger and issues out in her (without apology) and then we have to hear him telling her to believe in herself. It’s pretty unhealthy how he doesn’t take real responsibility for how he demeans her and then the moment he shows kindness to her, he gets what he wants. Please stop with these kind of romances. Being stuck in the head of a teenage boy narrative is a frustrating experience at times.
Of course he’s the tortured boy with the sad past who hides it behind the smirk and a-hole bravado that’s typical YA boy candy, but there isn’t enough glimpses to see why people actually like him.

Nox is so blind in his revenge, to kill the King who killed his father, that it doesn’t leave much else. He is almost proud of how reckless and impulsive he is, he has a goal but he doesn’t plan and it risks and hurts those around him. You get in themes of grief and mourning and how pain turns into anger when not dealt with, but just not enough. Throw in constant petty swipes from the group such as how Irenya would throw up if Micah carried her. Or Nox’s insistent on calling Selestra princess because “she seems to hate the word, which only makes me want to say it more”. The word “princess” is then used like a comma throughout the book (so help me). These are, well, idiots trying to change the world, I know characters in YA can be young, 16 in this case (!!) but the dialogue here makes them juvenile and it’s annoying and ridiculous they’re supposed to be the heroes and Nox this deadly soldier. You’re reminded frequently that they’re children, maybe that’s the point (?) but then don’t call Nox one of the “King’s men” and have him actually fighting grown muscles soldiers and winning :/ Also slightly weird Nox refers to Selestra as “just a child” at 14 but lusts after her at 16…

Micah was a fun character who deserved better content. I did like Selestra but she’s nothing different; she’s defiant, misunderstood, she’s learning who she is and stepping outside the confines of her cage to find her purpose. I did like her, despite her being typical and not really developing, although she’s a strong female character who just lets herself be misused by Nox and the behaviour is forgotten because he has a dimple <3 so I dunno how inspiring that is. That said Nox is literally her first exposure to a guy and even being how he is, he’s nicer than most people have been to her, which is a low bar to be fair - again this doesn’t make this healthy though.
The character I found most interesting though was Theola, Selestra’s Mum, and I wish we had more of her complex relationship with her daughter and the King and the battle between love for her daughter and the blood oath that controls her.

There isn’t much similar in this book to To Kill A Kingdom in the sense that while it’s the same world, it doesn’t necessarily feel like it, beyond some references. That said, the characters themselves feel a continuation, you’ve got the girl who has the face and presence of a monster who actually can be good and wants to be more, and you have the swaggering hero who can be a bit of a ****, especially to a girl he wants to use to get something from, but they go on adventure and learn and love etc. It doesn’t feel different enough.
Also I know this is meant to be Rapunzel in nature but you just get some hair mentions really. That said every time Nox mentions his Dad and the sword and how his whole life has been about vengeance, training every day with his fathers sword, I heard in my head “My name is Inigo Montoya, you killed my father. Prepare to die!” :D
It doesn’t feel enemies to lovers, it’s just poorly developed, Selestra never sees Nox as her enemy and Nox more looks down on her than hates her in return. Besides you never see Selestra as a monster, in fact Nox has no reason to either. It’s just not developed enough.

Ultimately this book just wasn’t for me. It had potential with the premise but the characters and writing dragged it down. It’s just children playing at being adults and it’s a frustrating read, especially with a (literally) childish romance with toxic vibes. Nox in particular (who, from my review you can tell I really don’t like) highlights this immaturity, which may work for younger readers, but alas, I am not young, I am old and cranky. It’s petulant and juvenile at times and if you’re interested in the plot, you have a lot to endure to get to it and not much to show for it.

Thank you NetGalley for the copy in exchange for an honest review

Unfortunately ran out of time with this book and didn't get to start it 😕. Will rate 3 stars for fairness.

Please note that this book is not for me - I have read the book, However I had to DNF and because i do not like to give negative reviews I will not review this book fully - there is no specific reason for not liking this book. I found it a struggle to read and did not enjoy trying to force myself to read this book.

Apologies for any inconvenience caused and thank you for the opportunity to read this book

Don't you feel like three star books are the most difficult to talk about?! It's a "I didn't dislike it but I'm not sure I loved it either" kind of vibe.

Alexandra Christo writes in such a compelling, easy style - it's the quintessential YA style that just works, and this book is no exception. I really enjoyed some of the world building, the dialogue was just in that sweet spot most of the time, and the plot moved along quickly. But none of it was perfect, none of it was elevated past just being a compelling page-turner.

In this loose Rapunzel retelling, we are plunged back into the same world as To Kill a Kingdom. This time, corrupt King Seryth rules the land with an iron fist, quite literally gobbling souls to maintain his own life source. He does so with the help of his loyal witch servant - mother to Selestra, future witch in training and heir to the position of soul-sucking-witch when she comes of age. Bet she can't wait.

Every year the King holds a festival whereby people in the local towns can bargain with their souls. Selestra's mother shows them a vision of their death, and if they can outsmart that death and others for the month to pass, they keep their souls and have a better life because of it; in fact, they could even take the King's position for themselves. Of course, that's never happened - once your fate is sealed, there's very little you can do to escape death, but people are desperate and this is their only chance at a better life.

The concept is pretty good (although had a handful of holes you just had to overlook). Christo strikes the perfect balance here with the dialogue. Sometimes I fing her snarkiness a little too much, overused and therefore not funny anymore which was a struggle for me in her adult books, but she was absolutely on point this time with funny one-liners and genuinely likeable main characters. The characters are also really well developed, with believable bonds between Selestra and Nox - the soldier who believes he can beat the prediction she bestows upon him. Unfortunately, some of the secondary characters who you should be really invested in on behalf of Nox and Selestra don't land so well; I didn't feel any emotional connection to them at all really, which was a problem as the story progressed. Equally, Seryth is a cookie-cutter villain - there was nothing believable about his dastardly behaviour and instead he felt more of a background feature knocking at the door rather than a genuine threat. Whenever a villain relies solely on their grumpy army to do their dirty work instead of posing a real threat themselves, I'm immediately not intimidated by their presence. I want to understand the villain, their motives, their complexity. Seryth was flat as a pancake!

A little predictable and sometimes a bit cheesy with the romance, but compelling writing and an enjoyable book; I think we've seen better from Christo and from our hugely saturated YA fairytale retelling market, but it was a fun ride nonetheless.

3⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you so much to Bonnier Books UK/Hot Key Books and NetGalley for an e-arc of this book.


This was a nice quick, enjoyable read. This isn’t anything groundbreaking or wildly new, but it is written well with an interesting world and magic system.

I did enjoy To Kill a Kingdom more, in that book I found the story more original and the characters more engaging. But if you enjoyed that book you will like this one too.