Kiss of the Royal by Lindsey Duga offers a fun twist on the classic fantasy romance. Ivy, a fierce warrior whose royal kiss is supposed to enhance magic, teams up with Zach, a prince who doesn’t buy into the whole idea. What really stands out here is how the story challenges the usual "true love" trope, turning it into something more about trust and partnership. The world-building is clever, the magic system feels fresh, and Ivy and Zach’s dynamic brings just the right mix of tension and chemistry.

I had high hopes for this book based on the blurb (and the cover, to be honest). At first, I started to think that maybe my hopes were a bit too high, as while I liked the material being covered in the first few chapters, it felt a bit dry and info-dumpy. Plus, I was struggling to connect with Ivy and the other Royals.

Consider me surprised! I wasn't expecting to like this so much! It was a really fun and unique read—I found the whole royals having kisses of power to be very interesting!
The writing was easy to get into and highlighted the book even more. I also loved Ivy's character—very dedicated and intent on completing her goals. I couldn't help but admire her.
The book started off a bit slowly but once Zach was introduced, everything clicked into place. The pace picked up and it was a whirlwind afterwards. I couldn't stop reading, I was addicted. The adventure, the slow burn romance, oooh I just adored it. Ivy's development was authentic and wholly satisfying by the end of the book. I highly recommend this one!

This cover is awesome! The story reads like a fairy tale and if you go into it thinking of it that way you won't be disappointed bc it's cute. The beginning was slow but once that was over I loved the story because there is an evil queen, a princess, magical properties with any kiss and the knight in shining armor to save the damsel in distress. I loved this story and it's a great summer read. I would recommend for fairytale lovers.

A quick and fun ya fantasy read, but not a memorable one for me perse.
The story had enough promise but the execution wasn't always what I was expecting and hoping I guess.

Nontheless, I went through it fast and overall just enjoyed myself. The characters were fun and strong minded which I really loved about them and the dynamic between them was really palpable.

This definitely wasn't a bad written book or anything, but it just wasn't one that stood out to me in the end unfortunately. It's one I will recommend to pick up if it sounds like a book you'd want to read though. It's definitely worth figuring out for yourself what you'll think of it!

At the time I requested this book I liked the synopsis, but now I'm not as interested. The cover definitely drew me in as well. Thank you for the early opportunity though!

Don't really have an opinion on the book. It was okay, not entirely memorable. Read it when I received the e-ARC and actually forgot I even read it. I do remember the book being a very quick read, though.

It's been almost two years and unfortunately I haven't picked it up yet.. I'm so sorry for that! I don't think I'll be picking it up anytime soon though, so I'm just leaving it for now. Again, apologies! When I do manage get to it someday I'll change my review of course :)

The tension between Ivy and Zach was so thick it could be cut with a sword, it oh my goodness was it great. Loved this book so much!

This was a pretty average book. I liked some bits, and didn't like others. There were a lot of areas where I skimmed through the story cause I didn't really feel like reading it, but overall, it was pretty decent.

A quick, enjoyable YA fantasy. I found the characters to be likeable and interesting, especially Ivy. The only thing I wish was that the world building had been a little more developed. But overall a good read. It's a little on the younger side of YA so I can see a lot of 13-15 year olds enjoying this.

Interesting concept with memorable scenes and unique characters. It wasn't quite what I was expecting but I did enjoy the read.

This is a great take on the fairytale genre without being a giant trope. I loved the world building and the relationships (not just the romance) were sweet and realistic. Ivy is one of my favorite heroines to come along in a while. Definitely recommend!

Will no longer be reading or reviewing this book due to lack of interest in the title following a failed attempt to complete the book, and the fact that the title has been archived.

I found KISS OF THE ROYAL to be a bit of a mixed bag, both very engaging and readable, and also very silly. It's a bit of a hardsell concept, but I think will win people over nonetheless.
Reviewed in full in this video: http://www.thebookrat.com/2018/07/kiss-of-royal-by-lindsey-duga-review.html

I'm going to be honest here. I don't remember much about this book as I read it over the summer and forgot to review it but I did enjoy it. It was very unique.

Kiss of the Royal is a perfectly executed romantic-fantasy that highlights kissing as a romantic gesture by completely bashing it as a romantic gesture for the majority of the book. Yup, that takes talent!

The main idea of the story is this: a girl belongs to the royal family who has to protect her kingdom from the evil but the best power the girl has is her kiss so she has to select a guy who she can kiss and transfer the strength to him for him to become more powerful and kill the evil. You can read that again. And again. Yes, it can be a little...different from the usual fantasy plot lines which is why I picked it up. And to my surprise, a pleasant one for sure, THIS WAS SO GOOD!

The plot is well crafted and planned so as to not leave any loopholes. The fantasy elements are amazing with dragons, witches, dwarves and other evil creatures looming over the world. The characters are amazing and I instantly (as always) fell in love with the male protagonist at first line. Zach has officially made it to my list of book boyfriends! He's so ideological yet witty that it makes me want to do some witchcraft myself so he can turn from a fictional character to a real person. Ivy is my girl, I loved her so much! She's strong, smart, focused and just an amazing personality. And the characters grow through the story; their ideas change and they accept new beliefs so it was a good graph to look at.

But the best part of the book? It's ROMANCE! If I haven't convinced you to read this book in the last paragraph, I'm gonna tell you now: JUST. READ. THIS. And enjoy the slow-burn, gradually evolving tension-filled, nail-biting romance. As the title suggests, the kiss makes an important part of the entire story and while that's a good thing, it isn't that good when the reader suffers through sudden hyperventilation and eagerness to finally read about Ivy and Zach kissing...only to be disappointed because UGH. Though, the wait really pays off at the end! I don't even know if that's a spoiler or not, LOL. But seriously, just pick it up already.

I would recommend this book to any and every one who loves fantasy or romance or both or great character arcs or amazing plotline or just an overall really good book!

I could not for the life of me get into this book. I thought the whole concept of the story was ridiculous. Hated it

My Review: Although I did enjoy this title I thought that for the most part it felt more middle grade vs young adult. I really enjoyed the twists and turns and man dragons are my jam!! So that was a plus for me. This book puts kisses in the forfront of magic and it worked out great. You would think that it would be super cheesey but it really wasn't it was way cute and awesome! I just really wish that the voice would have been higher ya than what we got. The pacing was great and the characters were all wonderful as well. This fantasy gave new meaning to true loves kiss!

Wow, I loved this one! Such an exciting world, and I really enjoyed the characters and the magic system.