As a debut, Kiss of the Royal reads like a solid book. It has interesting plot, well-rounded characters, and an action-packed plot. This book is not without its flaws though. The main villain, despite feeling human with fleshed out motives, felt caricature-ish. Also, the showering and sparks of gold is really cliché, so while the characters are awed, we felt nothing. It’s something I’ve been looking for, and I’m looking forward for the author’s future releases!

Full review can be seen on: http://www.thenerddaily.com/review-kiss-of-the-royal-lindsey-duga/

I received a copy in exchange for an honest review!

What I say: Kiss of the Royal has a real reverse fairy tale vibe. Instead of kisses symbolising true love and happily ever after, kisses hold the power to save lives and love is outlawed.

Society is ruled by the Royal families who have magical powers. These powers are passed on through blood lines. Princesses can administer healing magic through kisses to help their partnered Princes. I have to admit I do like the sentiment that kisses can heal and act as a powerful weapon in times of war. War is a big part of the book in a very fairy tale evil Queen kinda way.

Princess Ivy possesses all kinds of powerful magic but has bad luck when it comes to battle partners. Her new partner Prince Zach isn't keen for her to use her kiss on him, even refusing her help when he would really benefit from it - she can't understand why.

To say Ivy and Zach don't exactly get on when they meet is a big understatement. Zach's very dismissive of her and her abilities which is a big knock to her pride. She thinks he's arrogant and rude. The slow burn in their relationship which goes from angry acquaintances to friends is certainly entertaining.

I loved the drama, angst, romances and of course the kisses. More please!

4 Stars in my Sky!

So this was “cute” but the story felt more middle grade than YA. The writing was clean and simple, and the characters very likeable.

I really enjoyed this fresh take on fairy tales. The book takes place in a world where a Kiss holds power to fight evil. It's used as a weapon in war, completely devoid of the outdated concept of love. But there is a faction of people (the Romantics) who have rebelled---they believe that the kiss is being misused, that the meaning of True Love's Kiss is much more important (and more powerful) than a kiss being used in war. I loved seeing Ivy's views on the possibility of love change and grow---and her understanding of her way of life evolve as she learns that many of her basic beliefs are not only wrong, they're dangerous. The romance is sweet, if somewhat predictable, and I appreciated that it moved slowly for the most part. (We find out that from Zach's perspective things moved quickly enough to warrant the dreaded instalove label, but the book is saved by the fact that the book isn't told from his POV and he doesn't declare his feelings early on.) Overall, I thought this book was a win!

***Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley and Fantastic Flying Book Tours in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***

This book was an epic, action packed thrill ride that had me hooked from start to finish.

What a super fun , engaging, beautifully written read. With rich detail and lush world building, I was captured. I love reads like this, so much back and forth between our MC's. Watching them slowly fall, but most of all watching them grow and change together.

I have to say that this book has been one of the most enjoyable reads I've had this year. Everything engaged me, and I didn't want to leave. Right now I'm not sure if there will be another book, the ending was pretty closed, but I do feel there are somethings that could be explored and there are some things left unexplained. But that ending, holy hell.. man I love it when books shock and surprise me. Just when you think you've see it all. Love it!!!

Over all this book is s super high recommendation from me. This book is more then unique and original, it's fresh, it has taken old cliché and turned them on their heads. This is not your normal cookie cutter YA. This is a must read!

Happy Reading

-E.A. Walsh

I want to thank Entangled Teen for sending me this e-copy, this hadn’t influenced my review, nor my rating in any way.

This was the first book I read after coming back from my hiatus and let me tell you what a great choice it was! When I first read the premise, I was a bit skeptical about whether I would like it or not – kissing is used in this book to enhance someone’s fighting skills, strength or heal someone and romantic kissing is seen as a taboo, something rather unnecessary. Their society is pretty much rooted in rational thoughts, lots of fighting against the dark forces (dwarves, dragons, witches and so on), even breeding is strategical to create very powerful individuals.

In my opinion, this premise could either go excellently or horrible. Fortunately, this book was really good and the plot was executed very well and in a creative manner, also things made a lot of sense.

mDHz4gzgI thought the world building could have been a little more complex, but really I didn’t mind it all that much because my entire focus was on Ivy and Zach, The romance between them was really good, it was a slow-burn, it was somewhat hate-to-love, it was full of tension and I was screaming for them to get together already at some point and I’m very patient person when it comes to those things. I loved their personalities and together they were super funny and entertaining, I was grinning for a good part of the book because of their banter and their apparent “dislike for each other”.

I really liked how their story progressed and how Ivy started to slowly understand and see things from Zach’s perspective as well and he was very patient even though he didn’t share her beliefs. I adored his personality so much because he was confident, but not cocky or an over-the-top alpha male. He was pretty swoon-worthy, truth be told. He only crossed me once when a certain incident happen, but I can see him clumsy enough to be that distracted, my silly son. (I’m not getting too much into details because it’s a spoiler and I don’t want to spoil any of you, go read the boooook)

I also appreciated how despite romantic love playing a huge role in the story, there was also mentioned that familial love can be just as important and meaningful. Props to the author for not playing the ‘romantic-love-is-the-only-love-that-matters’ card.

Another favourite part of mine was the backstory of the magic system, I didn’t see most of those things coming, they were pretty difficult to predict and I enjoyed this a lot. Also, Ivy’s character arc was incredible, I loved watching her go through different stages when she found out that her reality might not be as she knows it. It was very well written and credible, it didn’t feel rushed at any parts and I’m glad that her character arc didn’t have to suffer for the romance. Again, claps for that!!

All in all, I really loved this book, I would absolutely recommend it for people who are looking for a slow-burn romance, original plot and well developed characters.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
Kiss of the Royal was an odd book for me. I went in with no idea what the story was about, save for the stunning cover.
In this world, kisses are used by Royals during battle in order to strengthen fighters and cure curses. The book starts out with an excessive amount of kissing. I think that the author wanted to convey how meaningless kisses are in this society, but it is still overwhelming. The word Kiss shows up in the book at least 400 times.
The romance in the book was predictable, with a lot of telling rather than showing. Overall, this book was too fluffy of a fantasy for me. I prefer grittier realistic fantasies. Definitely a unique concept though.

"Seems like you're awfully eager to kiss me, Ivy. Why don't we just cut to the chase?"

In a world where the Royals must battle evil and save their people, Princess Ivy needs a partner. Her most recent partner has been bespelled and won't wake up, most likely fading away to his death- just like her last four partners. But Ivy can't have just any Prince to bond to since she is a direct bloodline to the Queen who started the magic of their realm. When a new partner is found for her, she is desperate to bond and get out and fight for her people regardless of the situation- but she never counted on "just" Zach.

This had a very fairytale feel to it with an Evil Queen (which is her name, awesomely enough), goblins and trolls, magic and a powerful kiss to cure all ails that I was really drawn into. But then it also had the gritty aspect of death and fighting that fairytales usually gloss over. Add in the fact that romance is a ridiculous idea that only the Romantica heretics believe in, instead bonds and mating pairs are made strategically with power and influence in mind (which I guess is good that nobody is romantic or in "love" since everyone goes around kissing others for, you know, magical reasons...). What a crazy world, with all these idea thrown together and mixed up to create this fantastical story that I absolutely loved.

The fact that the royalty are the ones out fighting the war instead of cowering behind their people was fantastic. And lets also talk about girl power here- because Ivy has it in spades! Girls are needed for their magic but taught to fight from a distance (aka bows and arrows) to stay safer but Ivy wanted to be a true partner and fight up close with the evils. She can take on anyone and has the skills and confidence to prove she belongs.

If this is what Lindsey writes as her debut book, with such a vivid world and imagery and the best kind of surprising characters, I can't wait to see what she will create next. I highly recommend this adventure for anyone who like fantasy, fairytales and overall entertaining stories.

​I am voluntarily reviewing an advance, complimentary copy of this book. Find more bookish stuff on https://smadasbooksmack.blogspot.com/

I really enjoyed this book.

The world in this story is a matriarchal society. The Princesses hold the power of the Kisses to protect their Prince partners. There was a hierarchy of who has the most royal blood. The more royal blood, the stronger the Kiss’s power.

The arrival of Zach disrupted Ivy’s life in many ways. He had a different belief system, which threatened their relationship. But they had to find a way to work together.

I really liked that Ivy grew as a character throughout the story. When she was given evidence that there are other options out in the world, she listened. She didn’t just dismiss them without hearing both sides of the story. She was also willing to try new things.

This was a great story.

First of all, I love the cover of this book! Very striking and eye catching. The plot to the story was an interesting concept - a magical kiss between royals to fight evil in the land. In the beginning you learn that Princess Ivy's kisses are the strongest and so they want to pair her with a strong prince. Unfortunately, so many princes have died that there are few pure bloods left. That's where prince Zach comes in. He is only half royal, but his fighting skills are unsurpassed and he is their best choice for Ivy.

Even though Zach's father was a Royal, his mother was a "Romantica" (a group of people who believe in love). The Royals do not believe in love, only lust. So, Romanticas are considered heretics and outcasts. But, desperate times call for desperate measures and they don't have any other options but to partner Ivy with Zach. At this point, Ivy doesn't care as long as Zach is strong and skilled. Together, they must find a dragon egg before it hatches because then they'll all really be in trouble.

But, what Ivy and the rest of the Royals don't know is that Zach has no intention of kissing Ivy. He is a Romantica like his mother and it's not until they leave to find the egg that Ivy realizes this. Zach's kisses mean something to him, and he will not be kissing Ivy just because.

However, there is another reason why Zach won't let Ivy kiss him and use her magic. But, he's going to have a hard time convincing her because it threatens to destroy everything Ivy has been taught her entire life.

Overall, I did enjoy the story because it was unique and interesting. I did like the connection between Ivy and Zach. Some may feel that Zach falls in love with Ivy a little too quickly, but it really can't take too long since this is a standalone book. Recommended for readers 13 and up and if you like story's about the power of true love and true love's kiss!

3.5 stars!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

We have all the basic ingredients of a fairy tale but with a little darker tone (which I actually quite love). A prince and princess – lots of them actually. We have the one and only villain of all villains – the Evil Queen. Of course, we have magic, a magic Kiss. But what I like the most? We’re on an journey! This time, we’re about to go on a dragon hunt and face different kinds of mythical creatures on the way.

And discover the real meaning behind a Kiss.

I didn’t expect anything grand about this book. To be very honest, I was a little skeptical after reading the synopsis, so I braced myself for a possible over-the-top romance. The whole idea may also sound cheesy, but it actually wasn’t. It’s quite sweet and I was actually very surprised to find myself so enthralled by the story and the whole idea of the novel.

It didn’t quite get me at the beginning, but as the story goes, I was getting more and more interested until I just couldn’t stop reading.

I didn’t know it’s a standalone until I was about 90% of the book. It was not rushed at all. Kiss of The Royal was nicely wrapped up in one piece.

If you’re worried about an excruciating waiting game, worry no more.

I received an ARC copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This has no impact on my review/thoughts.

Rating: 3 stars

The Kiss of the Royal by Lindsey Duga is definitely a guilty pleasure read. Going into it, I knew that it would be your typical YA Fantasy story with nothing extraordinary happening but I needed it just to read for fun! One thing I do like about it is that Prince Zach stood by his belief and didn’t let other people to force him to think otherwise. Some might view it as a bad thing but I believe if what you believe is right then I’m fine with it. Also, one hilarious aspect that I find about this story is the amount of Royals characters! I’m all about the royalty but when it’s overdone, it’s like really? Is it really necessary? But in this scenario, I understood that it was necessary because the Royals are basically a production for the kingdom, they need to make as much as possible in order to have an army, still it’s ridiculous!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me this ARC!

Kiss of the Royal gave me so much more than what I expected. I honestly didn't know it'd be so fairy tale-esque. Not that that's a bad thing. I mean I grew up watching Disney movies and believing in Prince Charmings and happily ever afters. I just didn't expect the whole True Love's Kiss and whatnot. Although now that I think about it, I think that's what made the reading experience all the more enjoyable.

I'm so glad I gave this book a shot. It's SO GOOD. I love the writing and Ivy and Zach were just too adorably cute together. (What is it with all the Zach's I meet? Always so charming and loveable! I LOVE every one of them!)

I received an e-arc to read and review.

SO I grabbed this book up based 100% on the cover and I devoured this novel page after page.



This book was unique and invigorating and OMG. The angst that wasn't angst and completely was! I just can't even. Page after page the characters this novel became everything. I don't think I have ever felt kiss was as powerful as it was in this novel and not in the way that you think.

Ivy and Zach. I don't even know where to start with these two, the back and forth was everything. Ivy had such a burden on her shoulders and it wasn't anything she ever batted an eye at. She was a woman who as goin to do what   she could to save her people.

Then Zach entered the picture and she finally had her chance to do something monumental to save more people. AND THEN ALL THE SECRETS THAT I CAN'T TALK ABOUT BECAUSE THEY ARE SPOILERS!

But really, this novel was one fo the best YA novels I have read this year and that is saying a lot because I have been binging YA reads!

The Forces of Darkness seem to continue to grow stronger, no matter how many battles the royal army wins. They have fought the war for 500 years, and every princess has the power to Kiss their prince to enhance their abilities, and Princess Ivy is the direct descendant to the original queen and therefore has the most powerful kiss. Because of this she must have the most powerful swordsman, Prince Zach at her side. Together their combined magic would be able to finally put an end to the war. The only problem is Zach wont Kiss Princess Ivy.

The Story
I loved the underlying concept in this book, but unfortunately the delivery just wasn't all there for me. As the story progressed there was a lot of repetitiveness as Princess Ivy told the reader how powerful she was rather than showing. She also spent a great deal reiterating why things were, usually one chapter after a massive info dump. I felt this stunted the pacing of the book, and ultimately made it a lot longer than it needed to be.

However, the story itself was fun and I loved how much of a slow love story it was, at least on Princess Ivy's side. There was a lot of action sequences that helped break the story up as Ivy & Zach encountered more and more dark forces.

The World Building
I had a hard time really getting into the world that this story was set in. First of all the princes and princesses were descendants of one queen and king. They are ultimately bred to have as much of the original bloodline. I'm not sure if the writer thought about this, but sounds like a LOT of incest to me, and it just made me rather uncomfortable, sure, 500 years later there's quite a few generational lines they can choose from, but I mean, the second generation? In order for it to be a pure blood they would have had to have children with their siblings, or eww, their parent. I am probably thinking too hard on it, but it really just made me egghhh. Anyway, the entire time, Ivy kept saying that she was a Princess that was a direct descendent of Myrna, the original queen....but all of the royalty should have been a direct descendant if they held that power.

The other thing I had issues with was that the war was all encompassing around the Evil Queen's ambitions and all the creatures she was making, which was great and all, but sometimes during the action scenes little factoids would be introduced in the moment that created conflict with the characters. To me it made for some poor writing as the information wasn't built up ahead of time that could have been used, the information was given at the moment for convenience sake. It's not exactly bad, but in a world where there are so many books that are set up so well, it definitely doesn't make it stand out as far as world building goes.

On a positive note, I loved how the world had construed the belief system on love and how it tied in with familial bonds and lust. I think it helped support the use of Kisses as a fighting tool rather than a romantic gesture.

The Characters
I actually really liked Ivy and Zach. I loved how they were both very headstrong in what they believed and were willing to put their lives at risk for the safety of others. At times I did find Zach to be a little full of himself and honestly, quite a tease. But that really helped the dynamic between him and Ivy really falling for each other (if you can't predict that yourself then I am sorry for spoiling that for you, because obviously that would happen).

This story started off strong and very interesting. To a certain point it's not nothing new in the sense of a Kingdom having to go to war again something evil. Except this author has given in an unique turn. The Royals have a Kiss that can help with battles, healing, etc. As long as they have a partner that is Royal, they can make things happen. I loved how dedicated Ivy was to her Kingdom. No matter what she was planning on fighting with or without a new partner. There were definitely elements of humor in this story and it was fun seeing Zach and Ivy annoy each other. For me this book was centered a bit too much around Ivy and Zach's relationship. While reading I definitely understand why, Ivy does start realizing her people's way, may not be the only way, but I wish we would've gotten a bit more background information. In the beginning more is told over the Evil Witch and the Dragon they have to beat, but that wasn't enough for me. I would've loved a bit more worldbuilding, that eventually does pop up later on in the book. Kiss of the Royal has a few plot twists I didn't see coming or really expect while reading. I loved that I didn't see it coming. Kiss of the Royal is also amazing in the sense that we really see the characters change. They both become more open minded and willing to listen to the other. In the end, working together and maybe realizing not everything you learned is true, helped in a big way. I definitely recommend this book and hope that this author gives us more books!

Although the concept was intriguing, Kiss of the Royal wasn’t for me. I found the storyline to be quite cheesy. Princesses go into battle with princes and bestow great strength and endurance upon them through a magical Kiss. And they’re fighting the forces of the Evil Queen. It was just too difficult for me to take the story seriously due to the capitalizations.

World-building is so important to me and I just had too many questions to ever be able to sink into the world and enjoy the story. The history of the world was poorly explained. So were the social structure, the political system, and the history of the current evil they were fighting.

While I think others may enjoy Kiss of the Royal, this book wasn’t for me.

*Disclaimer: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

One of my favorite parts about this book was the fact that it had so many elements that I love in fantasy from curses to dragons to magic to all of the world building that came into this story.

And with all of this, there was still romance that fit nicely while not overpowering the storyline. We get to read a story with a stronger female lead battling what appears to be a mysterious, magical element. Emotion plays a large part in the story and brings a more humane element to this otherwise battle-filled book.

I felt like there was enough mystery to the plot to where it left you wanting more (even though this is a standalone). I gave this book a 4 out of 5 star review. I was engaged the entire book, and, as this is the only book written in this world, I felt it wrapped up rather satisfactorily. I also loved how we got to see a later view of how the world turned out after the initial conclusion of the story.

Overall, this was a solid fantasy story full of many elements that I love reading. I am a HUGE sucker for dragons!

I thought this was a really different, intriguing concept to a fantasy book. There’s princes, princesses, witches, magic, dragons and all kinds of fun things. I mean a Kiss that can heal and defeat anythig?! How cool is that?

It was a cute story. The first half of the book was hard for me to get into. It was rather slow and not too many exciting things happen. After this point, I really got into the story and was excited to know what happened next. I will say, I did see the twist coming from a mile away.

I did enjoy some of the characters but the main character, Ivy, rather got on my nerves at times. I also couldn’t handle how many times I had to read the word “Kiss.” It was just too much. Yes, it’s one of the main points about the book but it was overused, for sure. I did like the supporting characters. They were a lot more interesting and I connected to them a little more.

I found a lot of this book way too predictable, the romance, the character choices and the “twist.” I thought that the end with the dragon was way too easy. I did like how the epilogue wrapped everything up all nice and sweet.

Overall, it was an okay read but it fell short. I was excited about the premise but it just fell really flat for me. I am giving it 3/5 stars because I still mostly enjoyed the last half of the book.

Thank you to: Netgalley, Entangled Publishing and YA Bound Book Tours for an e-ARC of this book, to review. #KissOfTheRoyal #NetGalley

While it did take me a couple days to read through this one (*shakes fist at adulting in general*), I was constantly wondering about it even when I wasn’t able to be reading it. I don’t remember any specific TW/CWs so we’ll just dive right in. If you’ve read Kiss of the Royal and noted TW/CWs please let me know in the comments and I’ll update this post. 🙂

The characters were all pretty interesting and unique. I did find myself really disliking Ivy for the first half of the book, but I’m going out on a limb and saying it was probably meant to be that way. Her entire world is practically flipped onto its head so clinging to the core beliefs she’s grown up with is to be expected. I did like Zach right from the beginning, though. He’s sincere and sweet and so sarcastic and I need for him to be protected.

The world took a little getting used to. The locations were described well enough to be visualized, though I did have some trouble fully immersing myself. I could, at least, see the characters in their surroundings. The thing that took the most getting used to was the belief and hierarchy system. At the beginning, it seemed almost like I was expected to already understand the way things work hierarchy-wise. There is a bit of explanation of this a few chapters in, but until then I was a bit confused. After that explanation, though, everything comes a bit more smoothly in terms of world building.

As I said before, the premise of the story is what made me really want to read it. It felt a bit forced in the beginning, but once the flow of the story started going (around chapter 2 or 3) it really flowed well. There were a couple of twists and turns in the story, though I think they were mostly the type of plot twists that are meant for the characters and not the reader. I did have some trouble putting this down in places, leading to one too many “one more chapter” nights with work the next day. Also, some of my favourite words to be able to say together in a review: slow burn romance.

I do feel a bit confused by one very specific aspect of the ending, though it could possibly just be Lindsey Duga leading a possible sequel? I’ll keep an eye out for anyone else with similar questions, but I can’t specify anything here without ruining like 80% of the book. I did really enjoy this novel and I look forward to seeing what Lindsey Duga comes out with next!