(DNF at 23%, I'm sorry, I just couldn't do it anymore.)

Netgalley say to put good points about the book upfront, so here goes: it was nice that there were lesbians. As an LGBT person, I like seeing fellow queers.

Alright, now the pros are over, let's get on with everything else.

First of all, the overall plot was a terribly bland and cliche fantasy novel. Seriously, it was... rather excruciating. There is a princess, and she is prophesied to end the war. (She is the Chosen One of the Prophecy. I should probably make a disclaimer, once more, that I only managed around a quarter of this before my mind gave up, so it is perfectly probable that the whole prophecy thing turned out to be a massive twist and it was actually somebody else, I don't know. But the fact remains that this book did not manage to capture my attention in the first quarter, and read like a cliche fantasy novel. Regardless of whether it carries on like that, one of the most important things in writing craft is capturing the reader's attention, lest they go in sail of more interesting waters. And the author failed in this vital respect.)

The writing was not terrible, precisely, but there were some very annoying things that I'd like to mention. The servants all speak with a dialect, which is written out. All of them except Kitlyn, that is, because of course she is Special and Better than the others, or maybe the author just realised making Kitlyn speak like that too would lead to a saturation of transliteration of dialect that would be distracting to the reader. Now, I don't know if this was supposed to be going for realism, but quite frankly it is pointless and distracting. The odd word is fine, maybe dropping an H here and there or something, or a "ya" instead of you/your, but this is just unnecessary:

"I donnae know why 'ey all treat ya like 'is. I fink they jealous."

I don't know what sort of dialect/accent the author is trying to represent here. Since I grew up in Newcastle, it sounds like he tried to do a Geordie accent but failed. (It would probably be more like, "A dinna why they all treat ya like this. I think they're just jealous, man." perhaps, although I'm no expert. Maybe there is an accent out there that sounds like this, who knows. Maybe he invented it to be Original, I have no idea.)

Oona is also incredibly irritating, saying things like "I don't have to tell you where I'm going to be every moment of the day. How dare you speak to me like this!" First of all you impudent brat, there are Literal Actual Assassins out there. And at this point, I don't think I'd be sad if they succeeded in their mission.

There was also a completely pointless ableist remark in which Oona, stuck in some sort of corsety dress, says she feels like one of those "nutters" they confine in "straightjackets", which aside from the misspelling of straitjackets, is completely unneccessary and the sort of thing a good editor would have gone "Um, you really don't need this in here." It's also the sort of remark I could probably let slide with a bit of eye-rolling if everything else in the book hadn't riled me up first. Adding a disparaging remark about mentally ill people on top of your already questionable writing is not the way to make me do a volte face.

Overall - yes, I am aware this is a pretty much entirely negative review, but that is because I genuinely could find nothing that I liked, really. Sorry 'bout it.

I was unable to review this book because of a conflict in my schedule. Sorry for any inconvenience this has caused the publisher or the author of the work. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to review for you and I look forward to reviewing for you in the future.

I enjoyed this book far more than I thought I would. I requested it originally because I heard there was a main player – a Princess, no less – who was an LGBTQ character. Since, even in this day and age, this seems to be an underrepresented segment of society, I thought this work would be well worth promoting, or at least exploring. Turns out, I was right on both counts.

The author has crafted a wonderful adventure story full of intrigue, action, mystery, romance, and fantasy. It is truly a delightful tale, awash with magic and seemingly fueled with heart.

Despite how much I enjoyed the tale, I have to warn that it did start out SO boring! The first third of the book is world-building and stage-setting, but it just drags on and on. It is mostly full of the Princess Oona and her supposed hand-maiden Kitlyn both moaning, albeit mostly internally, about the drawbacks of their respective lots in life. Nearly everyone is especially and unnecessarily cruel to Kitlyn, which just became depressing to continue reading about.

There’s also an awful lot of teenage angst in the form of repeated “Does she love me?” queries, again mostly internal, from both characters, neither of whom can bring themselves to admit their true feelings. For, you see, Oona and Kitlyn, who once were the best of friends, now more Princess and servant, are in love with each other, but both are too afraid to act on it.

Eventually, due to other outside circumstances, things come to a head and the girls independently leave the castle where they’ve basically been imprisoned for years for their own protection. To say they are ill-prepared for the outside world is a bit of an understatement, but they each turn out to be loyal, creative, determined, kick-butt women in their own right. And after many adventures and mishaps, they finally get a shot at their own non-traditional happily ever after.

I liked how it wasn’t the usual trope of the charming prince rescuing the helpless princess. Instead, it was about two young women coming of age and growing into their own voices, while simultaneously trying to navigate an awful of distracting outside influences.

I must admit that I found the “love scenes” more uncomfortable than I had anticipated. In reality, they entailed nothing more than some kissing and light petting. But I don’t believe I’ve ever read anything of the sort that didn’t involve just a man/woman pairing. Consequently, it did take a bit of getting used to. And it definitely reinforced to me that while I don’t have anything against same sex couples, and in fact in real life have several close family and friends in such relationships, it definitely is just not my thing.

The ending is basically a happy one, which I was very glad of; even though the girls will undoubtedly have many challenges ahead in their relationship and due to various issues in their kingdom, they are poised to have a wonderful future together. Yet it did all seem to wrap up a bit too quickly. I would have enjoyed some more explanation as to what comes next, as much with the kingdom as with the main characters. It was definitely a shame how some very intriguing secondary characters were rather abruptly disposed of in the tale; I would have liked to know more about several of them.

Definitely a good read that I highly recommend though, especially if you are looking for sympathetic and realistic LGBTQ characters, and the type of kick-butt female lead who can be her own heroine.

Everything from the description to the cover of THE ELDRITCH HEART grabbed me immediately. I knew I had to read it. The cover, with its eerie, green heart called to me, as did the back matter that hinted at dangerous politics and a forbidden love between a princess and her handmaiden.

Unfortunately, the setup proved to be more promising than the actual execution. I wanted to love THE ELDRITCH HEART so much, but it took awhile to get anywhere. The first quarter of the book dawdled as Oona, the princess, cried about not being able to leave the castle, and her handmaiden, Kitlyn scrubbed floors and rugs. Endless floors and rugs, until I felt as exhausted as Kitlyn. I also found myself worn out by the dialogue. Nobles dropped contractions to sound formal, while all other characters spoke with a dialect.

However, the reader is never led to doubt Oona and Kitlyn's devotion to each other. They are heartwarming characters that put each other first above all, including above the judgments of society. Ultimately, their story is sweet but lacks substance.

It was a good YA novel but it missed the wow factor. The author did a good job in writing a love story about two girls but the sensual part of the way was missing for me. I haven't read anything else by this author but this book showed that the author has a good imagination in making up a whole kingdom but something was missing in describing the love between two girls. All in all I would recommend the book but it is a typical YA novel.

I really was intriguing by the cover and description of this book I had high hopes for it but frankly it feel very flat for me there was nothing unique or intriguing about it. Yes I enjoyed that the difference was the romance of the lesbian couple but other than that it was just the same as so many other stories just with a lesbian theme. Had there been more meat and intriguing to the book I would have loved it.

A good YA fantasy read. This is the first book I have read by Cox. I don't think he normally writes LGBT characters, he did a good job though and it was very sweet. I love fantasy, so this was an easy book for me to pick. Cox has a good imagination, and it was easy to get immersed in this world.

The story is about a 16 year old princess. She is confined to the castle, because her kingdom is at war. Assassins are around ever corner, because the princess is foretold to end the war. The enemy believes she will destroy them. But all Oona really wants to do, is spend more time with her best friend Kitlyn. Kitlyn is a servant at the castle, but Oona loves her. When Oona is told she must marry for a strategic alliance, she flees the castle. Can Kitlyn find her before the assassins do?

This was a good adventure. The book is on the longer side. I did think it dragged a little in the first half, that was in the castle. You got to see the bond between Kit and Oona, it just is a little slow. Once the scenes outside of the castle happen, the book really picks up and is exciting.

This is definitely a YA book. While there are adult themes, there is not a lot of explicit content, besides some violent deaths. The characters are young and sweet, so there is some kissing and light touching, nothing more.

This didn't quite have the wow factor of a Breaking Legacies, but it was an enjoyable read. I do wish the ending was a tad more exciting. The "bad guy" of the book, relented pretty easily. I was hoping for a bit more conflict there. Besides that, the rest of the ending was a good, happy ending. If Cox writes another book with lesfic characters, I will absolutely read it. This is pretty easy for me to recommend to YA and or fantasy fans.

An ARC was given to me by Netgalley, for a honest review.