I’m not really sure what to think about this book. It was in no way a bad book, but it was just not my type. The characters was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed followibg them

If I could give this book more than 5 stars, I totally would! I ADORED THIS BOOK! From the premise, to the characters, the world, and of course, the dragons!

I have followed Melissa on Wattpad for a while now, and was always intrigued by her stories of Dragonwall, but had never picked them up until now. And man, was I missing out!

I loved Lena’s character and her arc, especially when she met Tristian. He just seemed like her rock, someone who could keep her grounded. The progress in their relationship was a beautiful thing to witness. Overall, I loved this story! I can’t wait to check out Melissa’s other books as well! I will definitely be adding this to my wishlist! I need a physical copy! I think the fact that I finished this in 3 days is proof that I enjoyed this book.

If you are a fan of the Selection series and The Inheirtance, pick up this book, you won’t regret it! Thanks to Netgally and Melissa for sending me an e-arc! Definitely gained a new favorite author!

I’ve also made a fan cast, if your interested feel free to check it out my Bookstagram! (@theenchantedshelf)

For The Crown by Melissa Ricketts is imaginative and unique. Men who turn into dragons? A King and Queen cursed to outlive their child? Duels? Romance? What more could we possibly want from an fun, quick paced, YA novel.

The plot, though engaging, was fairly predictable. But, that did not mean I enjoyed it any less. I predicted what happened, yes, but I was also routing for the story to take me there. I wanted it to end the way I predicted, anything else, I might have found myself disappointed.

I found myself grinning and giggling to myself through out the story. The innocence of first loves and infatuation were enough to give me butterflies, reminiscent of my own days chasing fancies. There are multiple "love" matches throughout the story, evident in the summary indicating that there are "hopefuls flocking to the capital" for a chance to win Lena's heart and the crown. There are also those we immediately dislike for their lack of goodness.

Lena herself is an engaging and exciting protagonist. She's so human. Her faults and her virtues are all so simply human. I love that we see her character grow and develop as she faces these faults and virtues throughout the story. She is rambunctious, young, naïve, and sometimes selfish, but her heart is made of gold and she truly means well. But most importantly, she's scared. I think she's a wonderful role model for teens as they are faced with their own short comings.

All in all, I really enjoyed this book. I ultimately give it 3.5 stars, but am rounding down for the sake of the rating systems here.

Thanks to Netgalley for the free e-arc in exchange for a voluntary and honest review!

this was a really unique read, the characters were great and I really enjoyed the use of dragons and royalty, I'd love more in this universe.

This was a great YA Fantasy Romance complete with dragons. While the book did have some predictability and the main. Hats tee had some incongruities, the writing style was lovely and the story moves at a good pace. I would recommend this for fans of the genre. Melissa Ricketts is a great storyteller.

DNF at 20%

When I saw that this book was compared to The Selection, I knew I wanted to try it. The Selection series is one of my absolute favorites. Unfortunately, this book was just not for me. The story was interesting enough, but I wasn’t too big of a fan of the writing style or the main character. The writing style and the MC both just felt a little immature. Over all, this could be a solid read, it just wasn’t for me!

This is my first read by Melissa Ricketts. I was not sure what to expect. I was intrigued by the beautiful cover of this book and the synopsis. I was very pleasantly surprised. This is definitely a YA book. The heroine is 17, about to become 18. She's extremely smart, but some of her emotions are a bit immature. The story was engaging- I continued to read to see what would happen next. There were a few unanswered questions I had by the end of the story but nothing that affected my rating. My only struggle was that she was so young compared to the dragons that were competing for her hand. Otherwise, great story!

This was PERFECT! I loved every minute of this. The story was well thoughtout, I loved the time period.
Beautifully written!
Looking forward to reading more from Melissa!

ARC from NetGalley

3.5 stars

This was a decent read, but it had a few failings. Firstly, it was incredibly predictable. I wasn't frantically turning the pages with hope and excitement on the edge of my seat wondering what was to come. I was turning the pages thinking, "okay come on, let's get it over with already." (spolier removed because I don't think NetGalley filters it out, and I don't want to spoil anyone.)

Secondly, Lena is really irritating. She suffers from DSS in that she is constantly doing stupid shit. I really hate reading characters like this who constantly do stupid shit and I sit here raging and yelling at this fictional being in my mind "stop doing stupid shit!"

That said, it was relatively enjoyable. It ticks most of the YA fantasy boxes. You will get romance and magic and dragons and royalty. You will just also find yourself shaking your damn head at times and wishing this book was just a teensy bit better.

I have recieved this ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was like a cross between Hunger Games and the Selection. Princess Lena has to find her mate by her 18th birthday or else she will be forced to relinquish her crown to whoever wins a tournament. Her father, King Cornan summons all the unmated dragons to the capital to see if Lena is one of their mate. Lena doesn't want a mate but she understands that she can only rule as a dragons mate because the length of her life will be extended. Fate is cruel and Lena does not find her mate at the choosing ceremony so she is forced to give up her crown to whoever can win the tournament for the crown. When the tournament begins, a mysterious stranger named Tristan shows up. A mysterious unmated stranger that didn't show up when her father issued the summons. As the tournament goes on Lena and Tristan become closer and she realizes that she might be open to the idea of a fated mate.

I really enjoyed Lena as a character. She was rebellious, resourceful, and willing to do what was best for her country. I really enjoyed this book. I enjoyed the romance, the scheming, the pranks, and the battles.

This is a reverse Selection and with DRAGONS. :) Yes,... with dragons. If that doesn't get your attention, I don't know what else will. :) The heroine is great. I like how she tries to handle things herself and isn't a pushover. The plot gets very interesting half way through especially.

I love me a good fantasy romance. The premise of this book had me suckered in even though I wasn't sure how I would like it since I honestly haven't read many dragon fantasy books. The idea of dragons was always one of those things that I just thought I would never be into. I recently finished another book with dragons and was shocked by how much I loved it so decided to give this one a try too. And I am so glad it did!

I really loved the royal aspect of the book and loved the idea of men trying for the hand of the princess. There were many characters I loved, especially Ramar. And I was really captivated by the whole Drengr/rider bonding aspect. The only reason I didn't rate five-stars was because I felt that the romance with the true love interest fell a little flat. I found myself rooting for a couple of the different hopefuls, but with the main love interest, I didn't feel like I knew him well enough.

Overall, this was a really good and enjoyable read! This was my first book by this author, but it won't be my last!

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

For the Crown was an interesting take on some dragons and bonding. It started off on a pretty good note for me but then it sort of dragged towards the end. In it, you will meet Lena and Tristan. For me, I liked Lena a whole lot more but I did find it weird that her parents just kept forcing her to mate with someone. Like Tristan.

There was also some weird drama going around and Lena kept thinking that he didn't truly love her and such. Well girl, do you love him? I'm just asking because if you do, then fight for him. Or I don't ask him about his feelings or emotions. Communication is key girlfriend.

Other than that, we get a fight and an underwhelming bonding towards the end of the book. I was honestly expecting something a bit more than what I got. So I'm not really sure how I feel about this ending besides being disappointed in it.

While I loved the pace and plot of the story and would continue to read any further books in a series, I do have to admit that I found the main character, Lena, to be utterly unlikeable. She keeps claiming to want to be treated like a princess and given real responsibility, yet she spends all her time complaining and playing juvenile pranks on everyone around her. I wish other characters had been more developed, instead of sacrificing character for plot.

I was fortunate to receive an eARC of "For The Crown," and I absolutely loved every minute of this story. The world building and character development was wonderful to me. It was a bit predictable, but I didn't mind it. I'm looking forward to book two when it releases!

Before I begin my review for For the Crown: Dragonwall Royals book 1 by Melissa Mitchell, I would personally like to thank the author and Netgalley the opportunity to read this ARC and I have reviewed it honestly.


The Selection meets Throne of Glass and the Inheritance Cycle, in this exciting first instalment of the Dragonwall Royals series. Lena, a mischievous and independent Princess, finds herself being courted by 27 hopefuls as her 18th nameday approaches. As Lena struggles to find her fated mate, gladiator style tournaments are fought, politics are pursued and a love triangle is formed. For the Crown is an enticing, invigorating, heart-pounding and spine tingling YA fantasy.

For the Crown features, but is not limited to, the following themes:
○ YA fantasy
○ YA romance
○ Royals
○ Mates
○ Gladiator tournaments
○ Love triangle
○ Dragon shifters

My overall rating for For the Crown is...

5 stars!

The combination of Throne of Glass, the Selection and the Inheritance Cycle was extremely exciting and made for an easy, eccentric, enticing and exotic read. I love reading about royals, especially princesses and Queens with their independence, beauty and big hearts, and Princess Lena was no exception. For the Crown was perfect, I couldn't recommend it more!

“I’ll tell you a joke, Mother, a wonderful joke.” Lena’s face flushed. “That I cannot rule because I am a woman - that I cannot step into my birthright because of my sex? That is a joke. The funniest joke in all the world.”

CW: Violence; War; Death; Beating of a child

Summary: As decreed by the Dragonwall Charter, in order for Princess Lena to rule she must find her mate before she turns 18, or surrender the crown. In the weeks leading up to her 18th birthday, the King summons all of the eligible Drengr (half-men, half-dragon shapeshifters) to Stonewall to meet with Princess Lena before her Selection date. However, when Selection day ends in disaster, Lena must face her fate, and wrestle with what it means to be the Princess of the Drengr Monarchy, and decide who she truly wants to be.

Review: I was pleasantly surprised by this book, and impressed by the originality of the world-building. Lena was mischievous and independent, and I truly loved her close relationship with her parents, who trusted and believed in her. There always seems to be a Big Dark Family Secret in YA novels, and I enjoyed that instead, this family was close-knit and loving. They were leaders who seemed to upload the crown with wisdom, compassion, and grace, which I found refreshing. Overall I really enjoyed this book and found myself staying up until early in the morning to finish it.

That said, I will say that the plot was predictable, and there were several times I wished that Mitchell just got to the point. I also found the pace to be needlessly slow in several spots and thought the book lost a lot of its tension in the lead up to the second half when the male lead was introduced. While I did love the detailed descriptions of the gowns Lena wore, I found that descriptions in other sections of the book were lacking, and I had a hard time picturing a lot of the characters.

Overall, I think this book is worth reading if you’re looking for a quick YA novel that’s a little different, is filled with dragons, magic, and sword-fighting, and that has a strong female protagonist.

You should read this book if you like: YA; Fantasy; Dragons; Romance; Magic; Strong female protagonist; Drama; Royalty

Similar: The Selection; Eragon; Fable

I received this book from NetGalley as an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

While fairly predictable, still a very enjoyable read. Lena is a very likable character, as is most of the guys. It was refreshing to see her as a human in a world full of extraordinary people without her having some sort of super secret powers.

First half: ★★★★★
Second half: ★★★

After reading a good portion of this book, I thought for sure this was going to be a new favorite book. It was everything I could have hoped for and I was hooked from the very beginning. This book delivered its own version of The Selection but with Dragons and better. I loved it so much and our main character was also fun to follow as she was known for being a trickster.

However, for some reason I found myself enjoying less the rest of the story. There were a few things with the writing that made me pause and that took me out of the story at times. I think now that I've finished it, the thing that bothered me the most was the romance with Tristan. It felt underwhelming and I expected more after really liking the flirtation that our main character had with Daryn. Obviously, this couldn't last forever as he was looking for his mate and Lena wasn't her. I didn't mind that since we knew from the beginning it was only temporary. However after that, I was expecting to love her interactions with Tristan even more but unfortunately, it was just okay.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and I would be interested in reading the sequel even though I didn't love this book completely. I'm sad not to add it to my favorites shelf but I guess until you've read the last page, you never know.

(Thank you for letting me read and review an ARC via Netgalley)

Mischief, romance, and facing your fears..
Twenty seven Drengr are summoned in the hope that one will become Lena’s mate. In order for her to become Queen she must find her mate or the potential mates will battle to become the crowned Prince. None of the 27 turn out to be her mate. But then another Drengr enters the tournament.
Lena was fun but also very frustrating. Her many emotions irritated me. But I couldn’t stop reading. I realized Lena was very real. She’s only 18 and I had to remember what I was like at that age.
The one thing I didn’t like about the book was that Tristan didn’t enter the picture until about half way through. I liked him but it would have been nice to see him in the book earlier.
I would still recommend this book and will probably read any books that might follow.