The book had a good plot. It did however let me down. The beginning started off slow and then the end was very rushed. There was a lot of elements about the book I would have changed.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book is about Lena, the human female child of the Drengr (Dragon-Shifter) King, Lena must find her mate by the age of 18, or she must give up her right to rule as she cannot shift into a dragon, being female.

The story starts with Lena meeting the unmated Drengr in the country who are hoping to find their mate. She has a connection with a few of the men, and despises a few others. It is fun watching her going on dates and try to learn about all of these men. This part is a little slow and takes up quite a bit of the book as there are a lot of men she has to meet with. It then moves into the competition where we are introduced to Tristan.

This book was a quick read. It was an interesting take on Dragon shifters, but was fairly predictable. I wish that Tristan had been introduced into the book a little sooner and that there was a little less in the part of the story where Lena is getting to know all the hopeful mates. I felt like Tristan deserved to have a bigger presence in the book and for us to get to know him better. I have not read any of the other Dragonwall Series, but saw that this was a prequel. Overall, this was a fun, light read and I'd give the other books in the series a chance.

I really enjoyed that this was a twist, but still held onto the YA components we all love.

The whole vibe of soulmates, but with a “fate decides” and the dragon scales was just a brilliant way to keep that link, but mold it to fit this particular fantasy.

Lena was a great MC and I like that her roll might have been typical for the time period, she steps out as an individual. She plays the princess role as best as she can, but desires more and when she does she makes it a point to learn what she wants. Her parents are brilliant supporters and her father never gives up on teaching her how to be a Queen, even though the rules call for something else. Her mom provides that motherly feel, with some feminine strength as well. Both of her parents were like two sides to a coin. They provided their own characteristics to what was needed to make the book flow.

Tristen was just beyond perfect for a new book boyfriend. He was the typical angsts rebel we all know we love and the fact that he did not WANT love made it all just better. The fact that he tried to fight it, but when he couldn’t he still respected boundaries was fantastic to watch.

Overall I would say this is a wonderful twist on The Selection and I think I liked it more because it had more fantasy to it.

HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!! The only downside was, I wished it was longer. I wanted to read more!

-Stone.

This is a perfect read for fans of 'The Selection'

For Lena, finding a mate among the Drengr is the only way she can become the ruler of Dragonwall. The law forbids a princess who hasn't found a mate before their eighteenth year, from ruling the kingdom.
With a strong plot and twists and turns, the story takes the reader through the ups and downs of Lena's chaotic life, as she deals with possible mates, interesting denizens of the castle while discovering the enigmatic ways of fate.
Lena is a strong no-nonsense heroine, brave and mentally strong. She takes on various challenges and doesn't give up in the face of failure. She is clear about what she wants and has no qualms about giving her best.

I would really recommend this book for a light afternoon read.

I loved it! A highly enjoyable read, a bit predictable but in this genre I don't think that matters very much., and I loved the unique twist in the 'battle to become a prince/princess' theme. And of course I loved the dragons! I would love to learn more about the history between the dragons and men and also about the future of the endangered dragons, so I'm hoping for another story in the same worldbuilding!

Lena is a princess who will not inherit her throne. Despite years of training and a love for her kingdom, without a dragon consort to bind herself to, Lena will watch her family legacy pass to another. If Lena cannot find her fated mate through the courtship rituals of her kingdom, she will instead watch all the eligible dragons fight for the crown through gladiatorial combat.

Although Lena is a great character, full of mischief, this book didn't quite reach the mark for me. I think I would have preferred it as 2 books - one for the courtship rituals then a second for the gladiator ring. I felt like neither got enough attention. Most of the secondary characters were not developed enough for my taste.

I was really into this book for maybe the first half or so, and then it really took a nose dive after that. For one, you don't meet the main love interest until about halfway through the book! Some books can pull that off by really driving the suspense until that point, but it was just frustrating with this one. After that, the love connection just feels kind of stale and straightforward. There is conflict but not interesting enough to hold my attention, really. The book basically rushes through the last half to get to the HEA, which is off-putting considering how much was put into the first half. Also, there just really isn't much chemistry between the MC and the love interest.

I really enjoyed this book. I thought the writing was good and the story was absorbing enough that I wanted to keep reading until I had reached the end.
The world-building was very good although I understand the author has written books set in this world before so that meant the foundations of it had already been fleshed out.
I think that the main character was also written in a realistic way - a trickster but can uphold the ceremony of her office as a princess with aplomb and dignity when she needs to.
At times, it felt that the book was too fast paced and jumped from one major event to the next with little time for the main character to emotionally process or reel from the dashing of her hopes and dreams.
Her recovery from what would have been her life's greatest disappointment was also quite quick.
I would also have liked to know more about the role of the Spriten and their background with the male character.
His introduction into the book was quite sudden as it jumped from him being in the prologue to disappearing completely until his dramatic entrance. Perhaps some chapters from his perspective and a parallel narrative would have given the story more depth.
Overall an enjoyable and entertaining read for when you want to be distracted without expending too much mental energy.

I received an arc from NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I enjoyed this book! It had equal amounts of action and romance. It was just the right length even though it took me a long time to finish. The beginning kind of dragged on and I couldn’t get into it. But once I got into it, I couldn’t put the book down!

The characters were great. I loved Lena’s spirit. It was a great example of how women don’t need men to be happy, but if you find the right one then life can get even better. She was fairly relatable and interesting. I loved how the king and queen were both nice people and not condescending. I feel like most books have one of the parents being a little mean or too overprotective. Tristen was great too! He was an amazing love interest and I liked how he respected her decisions.

I really enjoyed the aspect of drengyr in this book! It was cool to see how dragon/human beings interact with others. They didn’t really think they were better than everyone else.

This book was very good! I would recommend this to fantasy and romance lovers. Also to people who like The Selection.

First, I want to start with the things that I liked about this book, the things this books does really well. The whole feel of the book overall is done pretty well. The writing style feels very classic-y, like I was reading a time-piece novel. This compliments the pacing of the book: how events and characters are brought up, how we might follow our main character at full detail trough her breakfast, but at the same time, we might fastforward two weeks. It works in the way it stylizes the novel's tone.

Moreover, another thing I liked about the story was the fact that dragons were in it. I actually loved the whole concept (even though I have some after-thoughts about the age thing). I can't lie, I love dragons and dragon-fiction in general. I wasn't expecting it so it was even better. That was great. Plus, I was entertained more or less all troughout.

However, there are some things that quite didn't seem all-well rounded for me. The same thing I said before about the pace of events, when one applies that to the plot and how it unravels, it stops working on the book's favour. The plot feels a bit clunky. The first eighteen chapters don't have that much to do with the rest. The actual actual story doesn't start until then, when the right character is introduced. I was sort of thrown off by that. At first I might have thought it was because of the synopsis being weird about that (the original Goodreads blurb), but the author says on the acknowledgments that the novel intended to be named after that character, so I don't think that's it. I just feel like the structure of the main storyline isn't as cohesive as it could be. One could argue that the story is about Lena's journey to the crown (and believe me, I get and appreciate what Lena's arc was intenteded to do, her overcoming fate) but it didn't go full on on that either. If it was about the romance, the romance came in late. What I'm trying to say is: standing at the end where I'm standing, knowing what I know, some parts of the book feel out of place, some characters fullfil not that much of a purpuse.

[ (spoiler) Also, regarding this, I understood why Lena wasn't ready to see if Tristan was her mate but still it seemed so obvious to the reader, so that part was a bit unnecesarilly dragged on. So, futhermore, the whole part about the invasion had to chime in to raise the stakes, and even if it's not completely out of place in the route the novel was taking there at that specific moment, it applies to what I was saying in the previous paragraph. (spoiler)]

On top of this, sort of regarding to the weird romance delay, I felt like some characters could've been more developed.

In conclusion, I recommend this. It's worth the while, but it's better to read it during a large period of time not thinking that hard about it, so it doesn't seem as mismatched within itself.

For The Crown

For The Crown by Melissa Mitchell

Wow! I’m gonna stay I really did not like this book when I first started it, but oh my god by the time I got to the last 3 chapters I was dying for more information!!! I so hope she has more book with this series!! I want povs on raff, Darby, and Ivrir!!!! I can’t wait to see what happens to everyone!!!

4 stars

#netgalley #forthecrown

This was my first book by this author, It was ok. I would give this book a 3 star rating! It was a pretty easy read!

Yessss this is just what I wanted it to be - The Selection with dragons. It's a little backwards from The Selection because Lena has to hope that she'll match with one of the suitors or she'll lose her crown, but still, it's The Selection with dragons. And it's lovely.

I found Lena a likable character - I thought her actions and feelings were pretty spot on with a girl about to turn 18. She's fiery one minute and then the next she's like "Is this love? Is this it? Let this be it." I remember feeling that way as a teenager - thinking every boy I liked had the potential to be "the one." (They weren't.)

I also liked the same men she did - Daryn, Ivrir, and Tristan. Even though it was clear she could only end up with one guy, I liked that there were other good men in the mix. It's nice that she found lasting friendships through this ordeal too.

Honestly, the entire story is completely predictable, but that doesn't mean I didn't like it. It's just a warning - if you don't like predictability, this one isn't for you. It also moves a bit too fast. I kind of wish the author had taken more time with each event and let us get to know the characters more (even the side suitors who didn't make it very far). I just really enjoyed this world and story and didn't want to feel rushed through it.

Overall, a story that's right up my alley. Solid 4 star book and I'll definitely read the next one.

Good world building and strong, believable characters, this book has real potential. I really enjoyed it to begin with, especially the lore around dragons. However, the plot felt like it never really got properly going. Just a personal opinion, but I felt the story wasn't as good as it could have been!

Nevertheless, I did enjoy it. Overall, a good light read for lovers of uncomplicated fantasy.

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately I can't rate this book highly. It is not well written, full of plot holes, with a lot of telling rather than showing. The main character is immature and silly, and her character growth is again more told than really shown in her actions. Somehow people are "in love" after a few minimal interactions. The whole "you complete me" mates trope is saccharine. I'm sorry I can't really say anything positive about this book.

I received a free e-ARC of this book from NetGallery.
I really liked this book! It is like The Selection meets dragons and life mates, which anytime anyone mentions dragons and mates I absolutely adore! I think the author did a great job of presenting the story that she wanted. The author created the world to have humans, men who can change into dragons, and the mates (there are other supernatural creatures but they are not as relevant to the story). The author made it so only men can change into dragons and that their mates will be females that are their riders. The author has the main character, Princess Lena, acknowledge the misogyny and emphasize that it is unfair. I would have liked for the character to have been more active in combating gender inequalities.
I love the slow burn romance! At first, there are a couple of dragons that you think could be the love interest, but then it turns out that it is the newcomer. I liked how the relationship started as friends and developed into something more. In the book for dragons to know if someone is their mate/Rider, she needs to touch his scales and their minds will meld together. I enjoyed that the love interest did not pressure her into touching his scales even though he knew she was his mate for weeks. And once she did touch the scales they were officially a couple and it was adorable.
The descriptions of Princess Lena’s outfits were amazing! I want this to be adapted to the screen just so I could see the outfits in real life! The author did a spectacular job of describing clothing and especially made it grand enough for royalty.
This book got a rating of 4 out of 5 stars because of a couple of reasons. One reason is that I wish the writing had adult scenes, the way this book was described to me I thought that there would have been more adult scenes. The only adult scenes in this book are violence, which was done well but I think the story would not have been harmed if there were some bedroom scenes. As of right now, I think this book is acceptable for high school and up, where some middle schoolers could be able to read this with parent approval. I think I just want more bedroom scenes because many of the stories that have similar trends and plot lines use the bedroom scenes to be unique and show how they are different. Another factor is that the prologue gives away a lot of the plot and the reader already knows how the story is going to end. Sometimes it is nice to know the ending, but in the case of this story, the mystery would have been better. Also, this book started off slow and then ended fast, where I wish more of the book could have had a faster pace.

This was an excellent book. There have been many books I have read where the prince searches for his princess, but this is the first with the opposite. It was nice reading a strong female character. I would welcome another in this series, for I wonder what is next for Lena. #forthecrown #netgalley

This book seemed like a mash-up of several of my favorites. The first half reminded me of the Selection, and then the second half was the competition from Throne of Glass with a few switch-ups. That being said, it didn't feel like a repeat of other books. Despite its similarities to other books, I still really enjoyed this.

My main problem with this was out main character, Lena. She was supposed to be 18, but she really acted like a 13 year old for the first half of the book. I felt like she really matured throughout the book, but she really irritated me in the beginning. Her complaints about the succession were completely logical, but the way she went about issuing them was ridiculous. (her pranks weren't even that good or entertaining)

Another one of my issues with this was the romance. Our main character seemed a bit flighty, her affections ran a bit quick. Both of her relationships were super insta-lovey, and it had been apparent since the beginning that her and Daryn weren't endgame. I did like her and Tristan together, and I felt like it was a good way for the book to end.

When I picked up this book, I hadn't realized that it was a prequel to a series, so I wasn't familiar with the world at all. Regardless, I feel like I understood this pretty well, and this read like a standalone. I enjoyed this book, and may pick up the rest of the series.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book has everything you want in a fantasy- royalty, dragons, misadventure, romance. It's an entertaining read with wonderful world building. The characters are well developed and engaging. This book will appeal to young adults and mature readers. Its a recommended read. Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to review

The cover truly won me over. The story is not something I typically read. The was a perfect fantasy ride. Dragons and crowns and love. I truly enjoyed this and will be reading more of the dragons all series