3.5 Stars. I would classify this as High Fantasy Lite.

It has the action, adventure, betrayal, humor, magic, and romance I've come to expect in a HF story, but something was missing for me. It was almost as if this was intended to be more than one book but someone decided it to fit it all into one.

I really enjoyed the relationships though, whether they be sibling, friends, or romantic.

If you're looking for a fast, fun, and entertaining read, definitely give this one a shot.

OMG! This one, hands down, is going to be a HUGE hit with YA readers. It's fun, fast-paced, has just the right balance of light and dark, and it has the word "bastards" in the title. Seriously, teens are already sold! My only criticism (and I wouldn't even call it that) is that I would have loved the characters to be a bit more developed. But seeing that this is the first in a planned trilogy - my hope is that the subsequent books will reveal even more of what are sure to be some well-loved characters. Definitely a debut I'm on board with and one I can't wait to share with my teen readers this summer!

Royal Bastards focuses on the life of Tilla, a bastard who wants nothing more than to be seen as the legitimate daughter of her father, the Duke of Somewhere or Other (I forgot. That should tell you something about the book). However, when the Princess of the Other Land (welp. Two for two on remembering where places are in this book) visits, Tilla's father reveals his scheme for taking control of the West and starting a new Great War. Tilla, her friends, and the Princess must flee the castle and make it to safety before the whole kingdom in embroiled in a new war.

I wanted to love and adore this book so damn much. Powerful female protagonist? Check! More than one character of color? Check! Fantasy, a favorite genre or mine? Check! Friendly attitude towards LGBT people? Check! A title that I feel comfortable recommending to my students? Erhm. No. A love triangle? Oh dear god. Yeah, there's sort of kind of one of those.

However, the above is minor when compared to my biggest gripe with the book: the use of modern slang in a fantasy novel. Every single time I came across modern slang, I was violently jarred out of the world I had built in my head while reading. A book using modern slang reminds me of a grandma who's trying to be hip and cool: while it's occasionally endearing, overall it just makes you look kind of needy while you're trying too hard to get the cool kids to like you.

Ultimately, Royal Bastards is an okay novel. Someone who enjoys fantasy will probably like this book; however, I'd save your money, kiddos, and borrow this one from the library.

i liked royal bastards more than i thought i would. i didn't have many expectations before going into this, and i found the beginning a bit slow. royal bastards picks up pace rather quickly and it's hard to not like it.

one thing i absolutely hated about this book was the romance. it was so annoying and didn't add anything to the story. the romance impacts the twist towards the end of the book but it was somewhat unbelieveable (as a certain character acts very over the top about it). it would've made more sense if the romance was erased and the twist was something planned from the beginning rather than a last minute, emotional decision.

i really loved lyriana. i found her interesting and well developed. i'd love to know more about her story and what happens next for her. i enjoyed tilla, but not as much as i'd've liked for a protagonist. she wasn't as developed as lyriana and i hope this is something that changes with the next book. (i'm assuming there'll be a sequel). i found zell really interesting! his backstory needed more elaboration. he comes off as one of those "mysterious background" types, and i hate those. but he's very cool and worthwhile. miles, on the other hand, was extremely boring. i couldn't stand him one bit.

i found the plot somewhat lacking, but i still really enjoyed learning about the characters. i liked the journey and the exploration of the world. nothing gives a better opportunity for world building than going on a journey/quest of some sort. the place felt very much like medieval england (mostly because of the name "kent").

i'm very glad to have been given the opportunity to review this book, especially since it exceeded my expectations. it was a fun, light read and i can't wait to see where the next book takes us.

This book was entertaining but unfortunately it didn't wow me. I would say that it was "fine" but predictable

3.5 Stars. I would classify this as High Fantasy Lite.

It has the action, adventure, betrayal, humor, magic, and romance I've come to expect in a HF story, but something was missing for me. It was almost as if this was intended to be more than one book but someone decided it to fit it all into one.

I really enjoyed the relationships though, whether they be sibling, friends, or romantic.

If you're looking for a fast, fun, and entertaining read, definitely give this one a shot.

This is a review of an ARC from NetGalley
3.5 stars
Tilla and her half-brother Jax live in a castle in the Western lands. Jax is a stable hand, but Tilla's position is less clear - she's a bastard, the not officially recognized daughter of a Lord. When a rebellion against the Lightspire rulers breaks out, Tilla and Jax find themselves on the run with two other bastards as well as Lightspire Princess Lyriana.

This is your standard fantasy world - castles and magic, distant rulers, and rebellious warlords. The book feels a bit more modern mainly because of the language; while Tilla and her friends are living in a world of princes and mages, they talk like modern teenagers with references to "abs" and "making out." The group paired up romantically exactly the way I thought they would, but there were still a few interesting twists, unexpected deaths, and some mild character development.

The part I actually found the most interesting started midway through the book. Shvarts lets the characters start to discuss exactly why they're fighting for one side or another in the war, getting into discussions of loyalty and whether a war between kings is worth the lives of peasants who actually do the fighting. It doesn't go as deep as I would like, and it's sort of brushed aside by the end, but it was not something I expected to see in this type of story.

Another book I couldn't put down. Themes of betrayal, love, loyalty, honour and action woven throughout! Kept me on my toes and guessing the whole time. Eagerly anticipating the second instalment!

Tilla has always just wanted her father's approval and to become his heir. Instead, she is a bastard daughter who is treated fairly well, but not as well as his wife and legitimate daughters. However, on the day of a visit from the monarchy, Lyriana, the princess, goes beyond convention and sits herself at the bastards table. Wary of her, but sensing her innocence, a friendship grows. Tilla, Lyriana, Jax, Miles, and Zell sneak out at night to visit the beach, but while there they witness their parents kill Lyriana's Mage uncle, betraying the throne to start a war for freedom of their lands. Now wanted, they flee to find help from Lyriana's father in the capital. As they near freedom, a betrayal from one of their own stops them in their tracks and derails their plans.

That's all I got. LOL! This really was a great book. I was leary of the title, however I thoroughly enjoyed the story and am looking forward to a sequel!

What a great ride! I really enjoyed the adventure and themes in this novel. We had a ragtag group of misfits who find a way to work together and grow in friendship along the way. I loved the new take on the subject of nobility and their illegitimate children. It was great to see a strong protagonist in Tilla, but it was great to see the growth of the princess too. It was easy to lose yourself in the narrative. Really, it a fun book overall.

I would definitely recommend this novel to my older students.

Thank you for the advanced copy.

I really enjoy historical romance novels and this one would appeal to the young adult audience. However, I believe the title may limit the number of schools who would purchase this book.

Magic is not the main focus; nor is the romance. This book is 85% political intrigue and adventure. I enjoyed reading it, and mainly I was very pleased with the character development.
Problem is it won't be out until June, and having the sequel RIGHT NOW will be very much appreciated! It doesn't end in a cliffhanger, but after spending 13+ hours breezing through this book, I now find myself missing the characters, and their journey.
Also, a small peeve:
*SPOILERS*
Miles was highly predictable. I smelled his treachery from the very beginning.

Royal Bastards was one of my most anticipated books of 2017. I was super excited to start it but it took me forever and a half to finish it. This book is such a roller coaster. I liked it and then I didn't think I could finish it, it was such a back and forth battle. But even though I have my problems with this book, it got me emotionally invested in the plot and the characters.
My biggest problem with this book is the characters. Two of the main characters, Tilla and Miles, annoyed me so much. Miles was such a boring character to me and Tilla was just really mean at times. She was so unsympathetic a few times toward Lyriana and it really bothered me. I'm not going to go into detail because I won't give out spoilers but she was kind of mean with her thoughts. She caught herself and changed her thinking, which I appreciated, but I still thought it was really mean of her.
I did like Lyriana, Jax, and Zell though. I also really appreciated how Lyriana was so explicitly described of being a POC. There's not a lot of POC in YA fantasy and Lyriana is much needed. (I don't remember for sure if any of the other characters are described as POC but it's likely that they're described and I just don't remember because I already pictured everyone as POC and skipped over their description)
I did like the writing style but the dialogue was oddly modern at times and it threw me off. Maybe I'm just being overly critical but it was just the little things in this book that bothered me.
I loved the concept and plot so much. If I didn't find Tilla and Miles to be so annoying, I would have had a blast reading this book.
One thing that really surprised me was how unexpectedly violent this book was. I don't really have a problem with it but if you're sensitive bloody fight scenes, you might want to pass on this book or just skip through those parts.
Overall, even though I'm not head over heels for this book like I thought I was going to be, I loved the concept, plot, and three of the characters. This book did keep me engaged and I was emotionally invested. If you're a critical reader like me, this book might not be for you, especially if you expect a lot from fantasy books. I do think it's worth the chance though. Just don't have super high expectations like I did.

This book is fun and has a lot of great action scenes. I just could not get past some of the modern speaking. It was like the movie Romeo and Juliet (The Leonardo Dicaprio one) only reversed, with the speaking being modernish in a historical setting. If you want to read a fun and fast paced book this is a good one to check out.

Has solid elements of ya fantasy with dashes of romance, revenge, etc. Recommended for readers who like semi-modern speech with the feel of historical settings.

This book sounded very interesting and I was looking forward to reading it. I almost put it down about three times in the first two chapters, however, and had to force myself to keep going. The problem was not with the story itself, the plot, the action, or most of the characters. The problem was with the main character Tilla. The book is narrated in the first person from her point of view, and in the first several pages she comes across as immature, slightly petulant, shallow, and coarse. I felt as though I were watching a bad CW program instead of reading a medieval-type fantasy novel. And this is mainly due to the words the author chooses to use. Insert "belly" for "abs," "carousing" instead of "partying," or "awe-inspiring" for "awesome," and the story would have flowed so much better. As it was, the author's word choice and syntax made Tilla seem unintelligent, uninteresting, foolish, and immature. I was not impressed by her at all and did not want to read a whole book told from her perspective.
I did press on, though, and despite the fact that Tilla never did get much better, the story and plot was good, and that kept me interested.
If the author had written a book with characters who fit into the medieval type of world that he created, this would have been a great book. It seemed however, that he took modern teenagers and stuck them right into the story where they did not fit, along with their verbiage, interests, and attitudes. Words and phrases like "hooking up," "screw braiding my hair," "old fogeys, and "He was hot," were extremely jarring and just took me out of action every time. Take away the modern use of words and this would have been a much better book.