I loved To Kill a Kingdom and being back in that world was an absolute delight! I really enjoyed reading it. The premise and plot were pretty interesting but I have to say, where it felt flat for me was definitely the romance. I think I was expecting a lot when it came to an enemies to lovers romance but I didn’t love the way it was done. Overall though, I think it was a pretty good book.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time reading Princess of Souls, it took me completely by surprise! Princess of Souls really grabbed me and I was invested in the story and characters!

I liked the references to Rapunzel, it's loosely a retelling but has its own separate plot too. I didn't find many references to To Kill a Kingdom but I don't really remember a lot of the world from that book anyway, so I probably just didn't connect the dots. For a standalone fantasy, it was quite impressive how much plot was packed in, the pace is fast and it held my attention throughout.

I enjoyed the magic system, the death visions and taking souls for power was really interesting and I found the magic system quite easy to follow.

Selestra and Nox had the true enemies to lovers arc that I wanted in To Kill a Kingdom, right from the start Nox hates Selestra for being a witch and it takes a while for her to gain his trust. There's a lot of banter between them which was a lot of fun and the side characters, Micah and Irenya, had great personalities too.

If you like Daughter of the Pirate King, Belladonna, Fable or The Drowned Woods then I recommend giving Princess of Souls a go!

I was initially really excited. But the story fell a bit flat.
I found it hard to connect with the characters, Selestra and Nox just weren’t as developed as they could be.

The world building was also really good, I love when fantasy books do a great job in describing how the world is, so you can just about immerse yourself further into the book.

Over all a decent book!

Loved loved this one!! Gripping and exciting and as always a fab read and can't wait to see what this author does next :)

I'm not totally sure how this is a retelling of Rapunzel, but that didn't stop me loving it! Selestra is a witch, heir to a powerful magic that uses the souls of the people to grant immortality to the King. She becomes accidentally wrapped up with Nox, a young soldier who wants to avenge the death of his father.

The world building in this novel was fantastic, weaving a brilliant adventure with strong characters. I was gripped from the start and fascinated by the magic.

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Bonnier Books UK (Hot Key Books) and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

For sixteen years, Selestra Somniatis has been trapped in a castle on the Floating Mountain, preparing to take her mother’s place as King Seryth’s right hand. Tied by blood to steal souls for the immortal King of the Six Isles, the Somniatis Witch foretells the deaths of participants in the Festival of Predictions. To outrun your fate is to save your soul and steal the King’s immortality. But if you die, your soul is forfeit. And though thousands have tried, nobody has ever beaten death. As a soldier in King Seryth’s army, Nox Laederic is an unlikely candidate for the Festival, but he has no plans to die at the hands of the King or his witches. His plan is more akin to violent revenge: steal the King’s immortality and kill the entirety of his court, starting with Selestra herself. But when Selestra touches Nox in her very first prediction, she sees her own death alongside his--their fates are unmistakably intertwined, and Selestra is no longer safe in the only home she’s ever known. Nox and Selestra will have to enter a turbulent alliance in order to survive long enough to free the Six Isles from King Seryth’s clutches and escape the new fate that hunts them.

Selestra feels rather naive about the world. She’s afraid of her abilities and even though she goes on a journey to new places, I don’t feel like she personally goes on much of a journey. There’s little growth to her character and I would expect quite a bit considering what this story is about. Towards the end, her personality seems to change suddenly and I felt very blindsided by it. We didn’t get to experience that perfect gradual change, keeping key parts of her the same whilst allowing her to establish herself as who she truly is. Instead, we get a Selestra who is suddenly different. It just felt too unrealistic to me.
Nox is someone driven by revenge and by all accounts, a character to keep an eye on and possibly swoon over. This wasn’t the case for me. He felt so lacklustre and one-dimensional that I felt rather disinterested in what happened to him. Sure he has a tragic backstory and swaggers his way through life, but I feel I never got to know the real him. For me, it felt like I was occasionally reading in a small side character’s view, one that added little to the plot.

Unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy this book. I contemplated DNFing it but curiosity had me by the throat and I had to finish it. The synopsis had me gripped and I really thought this was going to be the book for me. I’ve previously enjoyed Christo’s writing and hoped to do so again. But sadly not. This is meant to be an enemies to lovers story and if you know me, you know just how much I adore those. But I felt so meh about Selestra and Nox together. They felt so disconnected that I could scarcely see them as friends, let alone more. The overall story felt repetitive - I see your death, tell you I don’t want to again, death scenario plays out and we survive, more crap happens, and then repeat. Dual POV should have helped elevate this story too, offering different perspectives and insights to the events occurring but with no connection to the characters, I probably could have just read this as a singular POV story and come to the same conclusions. The ending felt as if it had been built up too much so felt underwhelming when it finally reached that point. Death occurred but it felt pointless and unnecessary. There were some twists that popped up along the way but there was little oomph to them that they didn’t help enhance the story in my mind. It’s such a shame because others have very much enjoyed this book and I hoped to join them. I’d have to say this is more of a 2.5⭐️ for me but I’ll round it up to 3.

Overall, Princess of Souls is a story that fell very flat for me and, sadly, isn’t enjoyable.

⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Thank you again to Bonnier Books UK (Hot Key Books) and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book. Review will be live on my blog on release day.

I received this book as an ARC in exchange for an honest review, so here we go 💖

Rating: 5/5⭐️

Princess of Souls is a Rapunzel-inspired YA Romance about a witch groomed to steal souls for an immortal king, and a reckless, rebellious boy whom her fate is tied.

For sixteen years, Selestra Somniatis has been trapped in a castle on the Floating Mountain, preparing to take her mother's place as King Seryth's right hand.
Tied by blood to steal souls for the immortal King of the Six Isles, the Somniatis Witch foretells the deaths of participants in the Festival of Predictions. To outrun your fate is to save your soul and steal the King's immortality. But if you die, your soul is forfeit. And though thousands have tried, nobody has ever beaten death.

As a soldier in King Seryth's army, Nox Laederic is an unlikely candidate for the Festival, but he has no plans to die at the hands of the King or his witches. His plan is more akin to violent revenge: steal the King's immortality and kill the entirety of his court, starting with Selestra herself. But when Selestra touches Nox in her very first prediction, she sees her own death alongside his--their fates are unmistakably intertwined, and Selestra is no longer safe in the only home she's ever known. Nox and Selestra will have to enter a turbulent alliance in order to survive long enough to free the Six Isles from King Seryth's clutches and escape the new fate that hunts them.

I’ve previously read another book from Alexandra Christo and I love her writing. It’s compelling, easy to follow and magical. And just like her To Kill a Kingdom, Princess of Souls also has a beautiful dark twist to a classic fairytale - Rapunzel. This dual POV is really good, both Selestra and Nox are incredibly interesting characters to know and follow so it was delightful to read both POVs at honestly, any time throughout the book!

Rich characters with rich plots and developments and if you like Romantasies with a twist of fairytale, enemies-to-lovers, courageous heroines, rebellious hero’s, found family and happy endings, then you are in for a treat!

Make sure to keep an eye on my bookstagram (@maria_bookshelf) during the release day for a special post 🌸💖

After loving to kill a kingdom I decided to give this book ago, but unfortunately for me it fell flat. I was heavily interested in the beginning as the plot seemed very interesting, but later I got a bit bored. The characters in this book were okay, but I definitely prefer lira to this female protagonist. Overall, still a good book but not as good as to kill a kingdom

This does not directly link with To Kill a Kingdom - but it is in the same world. The rapunzel retelling is really interesting and the characters were all bewitching - I really enjoyed this dip into the world again and having another POV.

In the beginning I was in love with this book. I adored the dark almost necromancy magic that was introduced, it was unlike anything I’ve ever read. I loved how the king was kept immortal by eating the souls plucked for him by his head witch, it was brilliantly disgusting. The premise of Selestra one day inheriting the death magic and becoming the king’s witch upon the passing of her mother was an intriguing plotline and I really wanted to see it happen. I liked how Selestra was reluctant to become a monster like her mother and did not want to loose herself in the king’s pull. To me, this storyline was interesting and I wanted the novel to hinge on it. However, once Nox is introduced and Selestra’s fate becomes tied to him, the storyline moves away from the death magic and towards Selestra’s escape from the kingdom to find a magical sword to destroy the king. Sadly, this didn’t interest me as much. I wanted more of the psychology of Selestra having to face taking people’s souls rather than galivanting off on a typical YA adventure quest.

The book is toted as ‘evil Rapunzel retelling’ but I didn’t get this vibe at all. Yes, Selestra is confined to her tower after disobeying her mother but this is a third of the way into the book and is literally for only one chapter so this selling point didn’t work for me. The enemies to lovers trope didn’t really work for me either, Nox didn’t really have a burning hatred for Selestra to warrant the trope, yes he hated witches but I never got the sense that they were true enemies especially as Selestra had a familial relationship with his father. It saddens me to say but I did have to DNF this book 64% in. This upset me as I really wanted to like it and invested a lot of time into it but the storyline just didn’t pull me in. I liked Nox and Selestra but the supporting characters lacked any personality or depth. Its a real shame, I feel like this story had so much potential, I loved the beginning and the introduction to the dark, soul magic and the idea of the king’s hunt but I didn’t like how the plotline continued.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hot Key Books for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Loved the concept! loved the writing! love the author!
amazing concept and twist on a typical fairy-tale. interesting characters and setting. perfect vibes for autumn/halloween.

To Kill A Kingdom was a solid 3 stars for me but this book blew me away. This very Rapunzel-esque fantasy story is a truly sensational read.

Princess of Souls

Amazon Reviews

For sixteen years, Selestra has been trapped in her tower on the Floating Mountain, preparing to take her mother's place as the King's Witch, who foretells deaths in the Festival of Predictions. Outrunning your fate earns a wish and the chance to steal the King's immortality. But die and your soul is forfeit. And though thousands have tried, nobody has ever beaten death.

A soldier in the King's army, Nox is an unlikely candidate for the Festival, but, driven by revenge, he is determined to steal the King's immortality and kill the entirety of his court, starting with Selestra.

Yet when Selestra touches Nox in her very first prediction, their fates become entwined, and death seeks to take both their souls. Only by working together can they survive long enough to escape the dark fate and the immortal King that now hunts them.

My Review

I wasn’t too keen on To Kill A Kingdom but I liked this book ALOT more. I’m really hoping this will be a paperback in one of the autumn Fairyloot boxes.

The Cover is beautiful! This is a Rapunzel esq fantasy romance with a hint of enemies to lovers.

The world building is good with an interesting plot. I loved the magic system in this book and couldn’t put it down.

A very solid 4 stars

This book was extremely enjoyable and definately well described as a Rapunzel retelling. There were many subtle links between the imaginative story Christo wrote and Rapunzel despite the overall tale being ever so different. Although it was quite predictable at times, the book was action packed and kept you hooked. The kindle layout of this book didn’t quite fit, with random headers/footers and page numbers in the middle of the main text which confused me a bit to start with.

*slight spoiler ahead*
Towards the end of the book, we see the death of a character that could have been heartbreaking if only we’d have been able to see Selestra’s relationship with them develop a little more. It would have been nice to have had that and the emotional impact of their death.

Princess of Souls is promoted as a Rapunzel-inspired fantasy romance, but I would not recommend picking up this book if you are looking for a retelling. Our main character, Selestra, has long hair which is cut off early on in the book and she is living in a tower for the first handful of chapters that she narrates. She also has a standoff against her 'evil' mother in the finale. For me, this is the extent of the similarities. So yes, you could describe it as 'Rapunzel-inspired', but it's incredibly loose inspiration, especially in comparison to many of the fairytale-inspired works that are popular right now.

Both books begin with the teenage female main character leaving a toxic home environment and meeting a charismatic male main character and his slightly less charismatic best friend. In Princess of Souls, Selestra is joined by her own charming best friend so the two male and two female characters can be coupled off nicely by the end of the book. Both books spend some time travelling on a boat to a port city location which might be the same city but it's been so long since I read the first book that I no longer remember that detail. During this time, there is a lot of hatred between the main characters that is a long stronger than reasons I can justify and some banter as we begin a slowish-burn, kind-of-enemies to almost-lovers arc. Princess of Souls has some of the travelling and banter in a hot air balloon which I genuinely found to be an exciting addition to a fantasy world. Both books arrive at the third location and begin a final journey to find the object that the male main character has been hunting for years. There is some kind of argument between the main characters about hidden identities or secrets. Both books end with the female main character confronting her toxic mother.

The books are promoted as being part of the same universe, but that was actually one of the elements that I found different and enjoyable: there is very little - if any - overlap between the locations and there are no cameos from the To Kill a Kingdom cast that I noticed. I liked that Princess of Souls could stand on its own in a sense and could be enjoyable for readers who are completely new to the author's work without expecting appearances from another book.

I was going to spend some time here talking about the character dynamics, but I don't think I have anything to add that hasn't already been covered. The female and male protagonists are very similar to the ones in To Kill a Kingdom. There are fewer crew members this time, so the side characters had more room to grow, although I don't feel they added any substance to the plot other than comic relief and fleshing out the main characters' backstories. There is a lot of banter and very few serious or emotional moments to add some dimension to their personalities.

I do think that Princess of Souls is superior out of the two books, although I don't think any book can top the majesty of To Kill a Kingdom's opening line. The plot itself also hits more of my niche interests, and I was a lot more invested in the main character's arc, even if I found her a little bland as a character. There were also some descriptions of a sentient haunted forest that tugged at my soul as horror influences and forests in general are very exciting to me.

In summary, if you've already read To Kill a Kingdom, you've pretty much already read a majority of Princess of Souls. I would not recommend picking up the latter unless you either haven't read the former or adored it with your whole heart. However, ignoring any other books, Princess of Souls was an enjoyable fairytale-inspired adventure and slow-burn romance with an enemies-to-lovers dynamic. I rated this book three stars on Goodreads but I would more accurately rate it as 3.5 stars, mostly for the haunted forest.

I thoroughly enjoyed this return to the world of To Kill a Kingdom. Fresh and fun, this is a take on Rapunzel, with the story of Selestra Somniatis, heir to a terrible magic which keeps the king immortal. Celebrated soldier Nox is on a mission to kill the king and avenge the disappearance and death of his father two years previously. but Selestra and Nox will be tied together by the King's bargain - in a series of near-death experiences, Nox and Selestra will come together to escape the castle and embark on an adventure with a butterfly, a seamstress, a cantankerous old inventor, and a host of dangerous and deathly circumstances.

This is a ripping adventure across the Six Isles, introducing us to ancient magics, psychic visions of death, a young woman who's never been touched, and a spooky magical tattoo of a snake. It's a riff on Rapunzel, so it's an isolated young woman making her way out into the big bad world and realising that perhaps those who were raising her weren't entirely honest about how the world works.

I liked lots of the side characters in this one, and thought it was well developed for the most part. I was quite confused, though, about the initial magic that set things off - for some reason Selestra's fate was tied to Nox's, which is what set them on the whole ripping adventure together, despite despising each other. But I don't understand how or why that happened, and it's never really... explained? Nox is tied to the King, and Selestra is tied to Nox, but Selestra doesn't seem to be tied to the King, despite having his mark on her hand?
Because this happened so early in the book, it irritated me the whole way through that we never got an explanation for this, and I was left kind of flat at the end of it.
Overall, though, a pretty enjoyable romp through a new kingdom linked to the world of To Kill a Kingdom, with a gentle opening left for a third installment to tie together these two stories.

(Thank you to Netgalley and Hot Key Books for an eARC in exchange for an honest review)

This book started off a little bit slow paced but I was intrigued by the magic and witches right from the start. And the plot definitely does pick up the pace and becomes action-packed with both tense and funny moments. I loved the magic system and witches although there wasn’t really much explanation as to how the witches’ power worked exactly which confused me a little, but the backstory and the explanation as to how they got their magic was really cool.

This is marketed as a Rapunzel retelling but there is only a couple of similarities. That being said, I did quite like how it felt different to the original tale and had its own unique plot. I also really liked all the characters, especially Selestra as she had fantastic character development.

I was excited to see that this is set in the same world as To Kill A Kingdom (as I really liked that book) but there weren’t really as many calls to or mentions of the kingdoms or sirens as I was expecting (in all fairness, places or names may have been said that are from To Kill A Kingdom that I easily could have forgotten about).

A big thank you to Hot Keys Books for such a brilliant book .


The Book is a mix of Sc-Fi and Fantasy / Teen / Young Adult




Plot : Selestra has been kept in the tower for 16 years as a prisoner , she has to take her mothers place as the kings witch , as they can foretell deaths in the festival of prediction and this very useful to a immortal king ,why you ask.... well if you can outrun your fate it can earn a wish and YES have a chance to steal the king immortality, but if you die will you are doomed forever . then we get introduced to charming Nox who is a candidate ,but he has no plan to die oh no !! he planning to take out the king and his enterer court , but when Selestra touch Nox her first prediction she see her own death as well as Nox . then Nox and Selestra forced to work together to save their-self's..

My Thoughts : Now I haven't read To Kill A Kingdom but WOW!! not I really do , do don't need to read the book before though its linked by places in the story which if your fan you will love .I know I will be as I really enjoyed this story was incredible.
it is a bit of a retelling of Rapunzel which HELLO !! we all know I love a retelling that real sold me on the story but a lot darker its no Disney film its so much more .The book really lived up to it expectations and more
the book pulled the rug from under me but in the best way .
The characters oh my gosh !! they was on fire totally badasses doesn't even cover it I would say a lot of them are very morally grey in their own ways. now my favourite has to be Nox , hot and hero in his own right I know a lot of people will love Selestra I really loved her true girl power , but Nox was the one who kept me gripped ill let him come save me anytime ,

this story is going to stay with me got a very long time the magic being pulled in to a different world for a while and felling like you part of the gang was truly amazing and I'm sure of this you will to .


I give this book 5 gripping stars

I am unsure if it was the book itself, or me for being a mood reader. But I got about 10% into the story and I just found myself not caring at all. Nothing was urging me on to keep reading.
Hopefully I will try again in the future and have a different outcome, but for now, it's being put aside.

Another look into the world of to kill a kingdom but this time with a rapunzel themed tale.
I loved the dual POV and the fun relationship between the characters.
Again, not what I expected at all but very enjoyable!

Thankyou netgalley for the opportunity to read this arc