First of all, the cover for this book is absolutely stunning and I probably would’ve picked it up for that alone. It’s eye-catching and beautifully designed, and it really sets the tone for the story.

I don’t think I would’ve clocked the Legally Blonde connection if I hadn’t read about it beforehand. Looking back, it’s definitely there in the premise: girl thinks she’s about to get engaged, guy breaks things off and heads to a prestigious college, girl follows him, despite not fitting the mold of a typical student. Beyond that setup, though, the story really carves out its own path.

I loved the queer-normative world, and the world building. Some of the names of places/ people were quite similar, which made it easy to mix them up. But since they were Irish in origin, I think they added authenticity and richness to the setting, even if I couldn’t always pronounce them.

Clia’s character arc was one of my favourite parts. She starts off as a typical princess-concerned with appearances and how others perceive her, but grows into someone strong, determined, and genuinely inspiring.

The side characters had a lot of potential, though I wish they’d been given more page time. Sarait could’ve been a great friend, but she was absent for much of the story, and her romance subplot felt a little rushed. I wanted more buildup; missed glances, lingering touches, that kind of slow-burn tension. Kian deserved more, too. On the flip side, I adored Niamh. It was refreshing to see a fierce female warrior who’s always been that way, not just transformed by circumstance. Domhnall mostly seemed to show up just to say the wrong thing. I don’t think he’s a bad guy, but he was definitely frustrating. Every time he appeared, I braced myself for another accidental insult.

Ronan ended up feeling a bit too perfect. I loved the trainer/trainee dynamic, and his chronic pain storyline had promise, but it didn’t quite land for me. His pain was mentioned, but didn’t seem to impact him much. He was still the best knight around, even after injuries that should’ve sidelined him. That pulled me out of the story a bit, because it didn’t feel believable.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. The story was engaging, the characters were compelling, and I’d love to read more set in this world.

What, it's like, hard? Go off Clía.

The Princess Knight is a loose retelling of Legally Blonde in a Medieval setting and boy does it work. I found this to be a really fun read, even through all the knight training and swords.

I found the world building brilliant, it was descriptive and rich and I could imagine exactly what kind of buildings they were in (living around a lot of castles does help with this!). I liked the characters, they all had their own distinct personalities that stood up well against one another and meshed together with ease. It felt like everything was done with purpose and with finesse.

I do think the first half of this was a lot stronger than the second half and would have maybe worked better as a duology with the build up being the first book and the second half being a more fleshed out second book. But with this in mind, I think this was a really promising debut and Cait Jacobs has a promising career ahead of her.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book had a tremendously strong start! The early character development, the setup for the second half, and the evolving relationships gave me high hopes. The main character, though initially naïve, grows into someone worthy of her title, and I absolutely adored her journey. And Murphy—I always love an animal companion! I just wish we saw more of him.
For the first 40% of the book, I was hooked. The story was engaging, the relationships were layered, and the pacing felt just right. Unfortunately, as the romance began to take centre stage, the strengths of the novel—its plot, character arcs, and interpersonal dynamics—faded into the background. It was disappointing to see what had been such strong foundations get sidelined.
The side characters, in particular, lost their spark as the story progressed. The male lead especially felt like a different person than the one we met at the beginning. While there was some continued development in terms of his internal struggles, his personality flattened. What happened to the charming, loyal friend who shared such a great dynamic with Domhnall? There was so much missed potential.
The writing itself was fairly average, and I found myself wishing for more depth in the worldbuilding. However, I appreciated how rich and vibrant the Irish folklore in this novel was, it was beautifully woven into the story. Despite its shortcomings, the novel remained an easy and somewhat entertaining read through to the end and I am sure others will like it.

I throughly enjoyed this book, I loved the concept. I loved Clias character development throughout the book! I would have loved to have see more comedy moments from Murphy!! There were a few points where I felt the pacing was a bit slow and I struggled to get through them but it was totally worthwhile.

I loved this book!

Lots of plot twists, full character development and fight scenes. And the alternative title of Medievally Blonde would have been great! It took me a few chapters to get into but then I was hooked!

The art team also need to be commended - the locked library special edition looks so good. I love all the medieval references and humour.

I do think this book is quite cute and fun time. I don’t think I’ll ever reread it, but the characters were likable, I enjoyed the romances and how Clía learned about herself. Ronan is definitely the perfect grumpy exterior, soft interior kind of guy. The plot was a bit predictable but that doesn’t mean it’s not enjoyable. I think my main frustration was the pacing in the first half felt so quick and then it slowed down significantly for me once we reached part three.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for sending me an eARC in exchange of an honest review!

I went into The Princess Knight with a certain set of expectations, and they have both been met and not.
Let me preface that I haven't watched Legally Blonde in years and I'm a little hazy on the plot points, but of course, I could appreciate how this story wanted to be a sort of retelling of that with Clìa's character. Murphy was adorable (I'm always here for a cute animal sidekick) and I loved that Clìa had a different parental figure besides her actual parents. I also very much liked how Ronan's chronic pain was tackled.

That being said, I didn't find the writing style very engaging and at every end of chapter there wasn't that push that made me want to keep reading until late into the night. The stakes were high, in theory, but I didn't perceive that urgency in any of the characters. I think their personalities could have been more flashed out, and wish the romance had sweeped me off my feet.

All in all I felt this will be a good introduction to fantasy for those who are looking to start reading the genre and want that sweet romantic element thrown in the mix!

#netgalley #ThePrincessKnight

3⭐️

Enjoyable, YA romantasy tale, based on believing in yourself and fighting for your worth.

Finding this one a little hard to rate, mostly because I think it’s maybe not being quite marketed at what its stronger points are and therefore fell a little flat to me. It’s a solid enjoy YA read and I think if I’d approached it as such, I’d have maybe found it a little less lacking. I think really what I wanted was for the book to be a little longer, to see some more time/space for the overall story/world development and then the romance development it’s self. In its current form they felt a little flat and 2 dimensional but it felt like there was some great potential there and I think for me personally it was setting up for a further story, that does have a lot of potential.

I think if you enjoy fantasy and YA this is worth a read, even if it’s for the lesson that you can kick ass and still look good doing it!

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK for this arc.

This was pitched as a medieval Legally Blonde retelling and marketed as adult, but reads very YA. I was expecting something fun and clever, but instead found it super flat and boring. The characters, plot, and dialogue all bland.

I will say, for a debut, the writing was solid. I think maybe a younger audience might enjoy this more than me.

I wasn't aware this was YA (which is not my preferred genre) as I was under the impression it was Adult. Regardless I still had a fun time with it - it was very entertaining! I found little engaging and the time passed quickly while reading it.

Thank you so much to HarperCollins for the ARC via NetGalley and for giving me the opportunity to share my honest thoughts on this book.

This was a super readable and fun ya romantasy adventure that I had a ball reading.

I usually dislike fantasy with high political plotlines but I found it flowed so well with the rest of the plot I really didn't mind it in here. There were some grammar in here that I don't think worked as well, though - especially reading this as an Irish person, reading the phrase "dalta's" so many times was a little painful, but I understand the language in here isn't Irish, more so just inspired by the language. Some of the references to Irish folklore/culture/language was a little hard for me at times as well, but again I realise that it isn't claiming to be representing Irish and is just inspired by it.

The leads were very fun, I love that they each had an issue they felt was holding them back at times and I thought the representation was done quite well.

“I hope you realize the truth now. I’m more than a ‘pretty face’. I’m more than someone you can toss aside like nothing. I am more than you.”

🌟 rating: 3
📚 Genre: Romantasy
🗓️ Publication date: 14-10-2025 ———Arc received from the @netgalley and @harpercollinsuk
🌺 Tropes: one tent, academic/school setting, quests
👫 POV: dual point of view
🌶️ level: 0.5
#️⃣ pages: 400

Thank you harpercollinsuk for providing me with this arc trough netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The legally blond inspiration in this books is definitely there. And while that is funny for quite a bit, at some point it started bothering me a little. I think overall the story is very cute, but I did notice myself attention drifting off so now and then.

The relationship between Clía (FMC) and Roman (MMC) was one in which the pacing for me felt a bit off unfortunately. It was sweet for sure, but I didn’t really feel their chemistry unfortunately.

I did like that Clía had to work and didn’t magically become a warrior. But in the end her progress seemed a little off to me. Like I get that it was for the plot, but how can someone who just started beat life long warriors?

Also, kudos for how the author wrote Domhnall, he is a complete ass and I really don’t like him. So he was well written!

So all in all a solid book, it’s not bad but also not the best in my opinion. But definitely a fun read that might fit the upper young adult category the best.

3.25 ⭐️

Story: 3/5
Characters: 3.25/5
Spice: 🌶️ (rating chart at bottom for ref)
Pacing: 3/5
Plot twists: 3.5/5

As can probably be gagued from other reviews, this is medieval retelling of Legally Blonde. And whilst it is a fun time, it does feel like this limits the story a little.

I also feel like its marketing as an adult novel is a little off, I would say this sits better in Young Adult. And the author herself has said: “I have been describing the book as a crossover between upper-YA and adult. It’s being published by an adult publisher in the US, however when I originally wrote it, I intended it to be for a YA audience."
I think if the publisher had made this clearer it would have set my expectations for the book better, and I might not have picked it up as I tend to not favour YA fantasy.

The story firstly follows Clía, a princess who has been jilted by Prince Domhnall and decides her redemption arc is to beat him at his own game, attend a legendary military academy Caisleán Cósta and become a capable warrior, worthy of any marriage.
It also follows Ronan, a young captain of Prince Domhnall's guard. Growing up from nothing, having lost his mother to conflict, he has worked his whole life to attend an academy like Caisleán Cósta. What will he do when Clía arrives in gowns and powders, ready to distract from everything he's worked towards.

This was a really fun premise, and I enjoyed Clía's resilience and drive. She was really sympathetic as a character, and I enjoyed how hard she worked to deserve her place. She definitely doesn't just use her position of royalty, and really shows a lot of determination.

I enjoyed the dual POVs especially, it was really enjoyable to understand the situation from both Ronan and Clía's perspectives. And I liked their relationship, although it did feel very...light? Again, I think this is because the writer wrote it with YA audience in mind, and I really do have a preference for much more complex and passionate pairings in fantasy.

I found the story a little straight forward and unevenly paced. I think its commitment to staying so true to the original story of Legally Blonde did prevent a lot of more organic growth. And I think the difference in setting also made the story a little more difficult to buy into.
For example, the original story involves mental strength in the world of law, and the FMC uses her own personal knowledge to gain an advantage in court. Which is pretty plausible. This story focuses on a very physical discipline of combat and fighting. And whilst I agree that you can use strength and speed to your advantage, I did struggle to suspend my belief that (even with hard work) a Princess who had spent her whole life in luxury would be able to hone her body for combat with a few months of training.

Overall, I did enjoy the story. I found it a little simplistic and the romance bit 'soft', but I think that is really down to the poor marketing of this book as a adult novel when really it should be YA. With that knowledge in mind I do think it was a good book, just not for me.

Thank you so much to the publisher, author and NetGalley for this ARC, all views and opinions are my own ✨

Spice rating:
🫑- low to no spice, just kissing
🌶️ - Low spice foreplay, fade to black/closed door sex
🌶️🌶️ - One or two open door “soft” (not overly explicit) sex scenes and/or spicy foreplay
🌶️🌶️🌶️ - Multiple open door explicit/detailed sex scenes and detailed spicy foreplay
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ - Lots of open door sex scenes and spicy detailed foreplay
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ 🌶️- more sex than plot

This is such a brilliant, hilarious Medieaval Romantasy romcom! Clia is a brilliant main character, I rooted for her at every turn and loved seeing her development across the book! Her romance with Ronan was adorable, with great tension and angst. The world was so well constructed, with an enchanting setting and felt lived-in. As aforementioned, this was hilarious and charming, always funny but also sweet in the nuance of the characters, not relying on archetypes and easy answers. The threats felt real and present, and I loved how the plot slowly unfolded, with twists and turns that took me by surprise!

The Princess Knight does its original title, medievally blonde, justice. In our book, we follow Clía, the princess of one of five kingdoms. She loves fashion, sews and adjusts her own clothes and even though she hates it, she’s skilled at participating in the happenings of a royal court. She’s supposed to marry the princess of a neighbouring kingdom to establish a political stronghold, until he decides she’s not enough of a warrior for him to marry. And so, what’s more logical than following your man to a prestigious warrior academy and proving that you are indeed a warrior in order to win him back. Along the way, Clía is helped by Roman, the prince’s guard, and the two share a spark.

The Princess Knight was highly entertaining. While it’s of course entirely separate from legally blonde, this book manages to recreate the satisfaction of when an underestimated woman proves everyone wrong. It’s also a funny book and the characters are lovable and well characterised. I also really enjoyed the entirely casual LGBTQ+ representation. Especially in fantasy books, the introduction of a characters sexuality is often done quite awkwardly. Here, it’s not even discussed, characters just are queer and that’s just how it is. It made me very happy.

My only point of ‘criticism’ is that i wish this was a standalone. I think this will turn into a series but it would’ve worked perfectly as a standalone and I probably won’t continue the series even though I really enjoyed this. In fact, the only negative things about this book are related to preparation of a sequel. The aspect of magic in this book was kind of unnecessary, there was enough going on without introducing magic and gods and so that felt unnecessary and the exposition of it was rushed. I understand that the magic will probably be a major point in sequels, which is why im saying what i don’t like about the book is connected to turning it into a series.

However, the book can for sure be read as a standalone if that’s what you prefer. We’ve got a satisfying ending. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and me saying it shouldn’t be a series isn’t a reflection of it being not entertaining enough for a series but it relates to the fact that too many fantasy books nowadays get dragged into longer series that are less good than the singular books and kind of ruin the original experience. Either way, I recommend reading the princess knight if you enjoy fantasy. Thank you so much to the publisher and netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy of the book.

I immediately loved the whole context of chivalry and royalty, but with the twist of inspiration from Legally Blonde!

⭐️⭐️⭐️,5/5

🌸 This book is full of humor. Clía is a determined character who can sometimes seem frivolous and overly idealistic. I liked her narrative arc and the fact that she is not as vain as others think she is. Being girly and passionate about fashion does not mean being stupid and I liked that !

🌸 The whole story begins silly with Clía being rejected by the man she thought she would marry for the rest of her life. She decides to follow him to his military academy to seduce him and prove her determination. In the end, she finds herself and charts her own path. The message is simple but resolutely feminist. I also appreciate the very queer and c*nt aspect of the story, even though I felt that the absurd and girly side specific to the y2k universe could have been pushed further.

🌸 The romance in this book is adorable. I would have liked more tension between Clía and her love interest, but the development of their feelings was natural and adorable. There is a conflict of interest given the love interest's position, and that made things more spicy! Female friendship also plays an important role, and I was very touched by the girls. Competitiveness quickly gives way to pure and simple sisterhood.

🌸 There is also a subplot that takes on increasing importance: the threat to the kingdoms where Clía and her friends live. Political intrigues and conspiracies unfold in the most unexpected places. It was very enjoyable and engaging to follow this alongside their military training, their relationships, and their student lives. It eventually reaches its climax and really pushes the characters to evolve.

In conclusion, it was a pleasant and light read for the summer, but one that still presents real issues around identity and how our actions define us. I would have liked to see more emphasis on the aesthetics, but I still smiled a lot and was touched while reading.

Thank you to @netgalley and Harper Voyager for this ARC !

FR VERSION 🇫🇷

Tout ce contexte de chevalerie, de royauté mais avec le twist de l’inspiration autour de Legally Blonde m’a tout de suite plue !

⭐️⭐️⭐️,5/5

🌸 L’humour est au rendez-vous dans ce livre, Clía est un personnage déterminé qui peut parfois paraître légère et trop idéaliste. J’ai aimé son arc narratif et le fait qu’elle ne soit pas si vaine contrairement à ce que pense les autres. Être girly et passionnée de mode ne signifie pas être stupide après tout !

🌸 Toute l’histoire commence bêtement par le fait que Clía se fasse rejeter par celui qu’elle pensait épouser toute sa vie. Elle décide de le suivre dans son académie militaire pour le séduire et lui prouver sa volonté. Au final, elle se trouve elle-même et dessine son propre chemin. Le message est simple mais résolument féministe. Je salue aussi tout le côté très queer et c*nt du récit, même si j’ai trouvé que le côté absurde et girly propre aux univers y2k aurait pu être plus poussé.

🌸 La romance est adorable dans ce livre. J’aurais aimé plus de tension entre Clía et le love interest mais le déroulé de leur sentiments était naturel et adorable. Il y a un conflit d’intérêt au vu de la position du love interest et ça a rendu les choses plus spicy ! L’amitié féminine occupe aussi une place importante et les filles m’ont beaucoup touchée. La compétitivité laisse rapidement place à de la sororité pure et dure.

🌸 Il y a aussi une sous-intrigue qui prend de plus en plus de place : la menace des royaumes qu’habite Clía et ses amis. Des intrigues politiques et des complots se déroulent dans les lieux où on s’y attend le moins. C’était très sympa et prenant de suivre ça en parallèle de leurs entraînements militaires, de leurs vies relationnelles et étudiantes. Ça finit par atteindre son point culminant et à vraiment pousser les personnages à évoluer.

En conclusion, ça a été une lecture sympathique et légère pour cet été mais qui présente tout de même des vrais enjeux autour de l’identité et de comment nos actions nous définissent. J’aurais aimé qu’on pousse plus l’esthétique mais il n’en reste que j’ai beaucoup souri et été attendrie en lisant.

Merci à @netgalley et @harpervoyager pour ce SP non rémunéré!

One of my most anticipated reads of 2025, The Princess Knight hooked me with its 'Legally Blonde' meets medieval romance premise, a concept that sounded like a blast. While the set up was full of promise, the execution didn't quite match my expectations.

I went in hoping for a bit rom-com energy and witty banter, but the tone leaned more towards straightforward fantasy. That might be on me, but I couldn't help feeling a little underwhelmed. The story its was decent and kept my interest enough to see it through, though it never fully wowed me.

Personally, the pacing started off pretty slow and didn't really find its stride until about the 60% mark. Despite the book being marketed as adult fantasy, the book gave off more of a YA vibe. The romance, too, was underwhelming and somewhat flat. The relationship between Clia and Ronan was sweet and respectful; it was missing just a TAD bit of tension.

That said, there are things The Princess Knight does really well. I appreciated the queer normative worldbuilding. The representation of chronic pain and autism was handled with care and added meaningful depth to the characters and their journey. That inclusivity brought a lot of heart to the story even when other elements fell short.

Overall, a mixed read for me. Not quite what I was expecting but still had a fun time. 3.5/5 star read.
Thank you to HarperCollins UK and Netgalley for this ARC!

I had a good time with this book. Think Medieval Legally Blonde. We follow a dutiful princess, ready to get engaged to the prince she’s been told she will marry since she was a child. However he brutally rejects her, saying she’s too weak to be his queen. She is adamant she’s going to prove him wrong so signs up for the elite training academy he’s going to so she can become a warrior.

I was really rooting for the main character here. She’s always tried so hard to do the right thing, the do her duty to her parents and her kingdom and doesn’t even put her wants and needs first. The journey she goes through in this book helps her to reframe how she sees herself and to build on that inner strength she always had.

I usually find physical ‘training’ scenes in books quite dull as they get repeated in so many books just as a vehicle for getting physical contact between love interests. I was delighted that this author got the training scenes so right! There was no whirling or twirling or roaring, just concise, useful training scenes that added to the story! This book was good anyway but I was genuinely impressed the author managed to do this so well that she managed to change my mind.

I found this book totally compelling and one I didn’t want to put down. I was so invested in the main character’s journey of self discovery and personal growth. I would definitely read this again and recommend it.

I read an eARC of this book on NetGalley so thank you to the author and the publisher.

The Princess Knight is so unique! It has this perfect Legally Blonde vibe, which the book was inspired by, and crossover with medieval romance.

I enjoyed the storyline, I didn't mind the characters, and I really loved the broad representation in this book of mental health, disability and queer representation.

This book read a little more YA than Adult in my opinion. The world building was impressive, I didn't feel overloaded with information, although towards the end I struggled a little to keep track of the different groups and sides. Ronan was as perfect as they come, he was my favourite character in The Princess Knight. Our FMC, Clía, had some strong character growth, and I found myself liking her more and more.

I was a bit surprised by how long the book was, but a lot happens and it all wraps up very nicely.

ALSO THE COVER, absolute perfection, I need it on my shelf immediately.

3.5/5 🌟

I am a HUGE fan of Legally Blonde, and so how could I resist something that draws inspiration from the movie that shaped a huge part of my adolescence? And I truly, genuinely enjoyed this book and I always picked it up wanting to know more. I will say, don’t take this book too seriously. The world building is a little confusing (lots of abstract place and people names, with the actual world building quite limited), and the story is a bit clunky at times.

I loved the concept, and I loved most of the characters (Domhnall grew on my towards the end). I would have loved to see more of Clía and Ronan’s romance - it was one of the sweetest friends to lovers romances I’ve read for a while and I loved seeing it play out in a fantasy setting. Niamh is my spirit woman and I adored her character development through the book.

A possible spoiler? More of a frustration with the plot.

I will say, what frustrated me the most and I couldn’t stop thinking about it the whole book, was the notion of Clía turning up to the most prestigious military academy in the realm with zero training or idea. I applaud the ambition, and love that Ronan spent the time training with her to get her up to speed. But warriors train their whole lives for the opportunity to even attend, and suddenly she trains for a few weeks/months and she’s at the same level as these elite warriors? I don’t mind a level of exaggerated storytelling and hyperbole, but it just felt like this took away from the story and cheapened it, instead of maybe building on limited skills that Clía was never able to fully develop. Apart from this, I really loved the book, I just couldn’t separate this from it.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Harper Collins UK for the eARC of this book!