A Stolen Crown (Stolen Royals #2)
by,
Kelsey Keating
Released: Jan 17, 2017
Rating: 3 stars 
Genre: YA, fantasy, romance
Spoilers FOR DAYZ
Goodreads summary:
“A stolen crown. An unbreakable friendship. One big mess in the making.
When Princess Cecily Degalt travels south to wed a prince she’s never met, she’s ushered into a strange new world alongside her best friend and bodyguard, Rory Castille. With an MIA fiancé, his handsome twin brother, and a kidnapping gone wrong, life in Myrzel isn’t quite what Cecily expected.
Rory will do anything to keep Cecily from harm–but when Rory’s darkest secret comes between her and Cecily, the greatest danger to the princess might be Rory herself.
Torn apart for the first time, each girl will have to think like the other as she faces not only the darkness of Fangralee Forest, but a dangerous enemy closer to home.”
After a hiatus of adjusting to post-grad life, I am back on my book reviewing ishhh! Woo-hoo, let the fun continue!
I originally received A Stolen Crown as a ARC but I signed up for so many books that I never got the time to read this one! lol I am happy that I picked it up; it is a easy, fun read. The novel does touch on some interesting topics that does make it stand out.
So BASICally….
Cece is a princess and has to marry this foreign prince…aka every story known to man. There are some differences though; Rory is her best friend/bodyguard/and a girl, Cece is full-figured, and the characters and likable. When Cece and her friends get to the country, the prince she is supposed to marry is AWOL and as she learns more about her new home from his brothers, she runs into some trouble. Cece is a pretty strong character and becomes even stronger towards the end of the novel.
The book lacks depth and world-building but as long as you know that going in, you should be fine.
Body Image/Feminism/Friendship
-I love how we have female characters who are more fuller-figured or not the “typical” heroine look in recent novels. This reminds me of The Girl of Fire and Thorns, where the heroine was fuller figured as well. I like how the author creates Cece this way but can we get some fuller-figured heroines who are proud of every curve? Yes, it is rough to look different in a world where you are supposed to be perfect but c’mon, I don’t need to read pages after pages about it.
-Yay! Feminism is here! There are a bunch of smart and strong female characters and I loved Rory because she was so tough. She does have a “gift” that allows her to be stronger but she still trains and is determined to have her voice heard in her male-dominated world. She wants to change how men view women in the military and teaches Cece how to fight, which is necessary in many parts of the novel. We do have one super whiney, shrieking violet female character but every one in the novel rolls their eyes at her dramatics instead of feeding in the idea of female’s being helpless.
-The novel begins and ends with Cece and Rory’s friendship. I loved it. Yes, there was romance in the novel, but it primarily focused on the two girls and how even despite their differences and the drama that occurs, that their friendship still stands strong. I love it. We need more novels with girl-friendships that are not the typical bitchy, jealous ones. And I love how the romance is not the focus–its mostly from Cece and Rory’s perspectives in the novel.
<Here, I will ramble about all the unanswered questions that are still confusing to me>
Magic
-I still don’t understand the entirety of the magic in the world: Are all humans born with the capability to wield magic? Why are sorcerers different? Do they and humans share a common ancestor? Do they need a wand? A book? Why are their love spells? Like c’mon.
The World
-So like the country is strange because people go to the beach naked? Why is there a Foul Forest? Why are those monsters there? Has this always been going on? What is with the shapeshifter? Why do they need a master? So, they are slaves? Why can’t shapeshifter have curly hair?
Romance
-So, a love spell was given to Cece, is her romance with the prince even real or not? That was barely even acknowledged?!
-The romance between Cece and the prince (notice how I don’t say which prince) is… okay I guess. I can see why they like each other and I guess it is slow building but I just don’t understand how people can fall in love with each other in a few weeks.
OVERALL,
This book is no about depth, but more about light-reading. If you want an easy, fun book to read this summer, I would recommend this one!
Mecca-Amirah Jackson 