The Stolen Kingdom was an enjoyable YA fantasy read. I enjoyed the premise and for the most part the world building was nicely handled. Some aspects of the world were mentioned but never expanded on, which was a shame, but none of them majorly impacted the story. Mara is a relatable heroine and I enjoyed her interactions with Alac. The dual POV between them worked well in allowing us to see the different sides of the story. Perhaps the ending felt a little sudden, but that's a minor gripe. Otherwise this was a book I had great fun reading and I would certainly pick up future works by this author.

I was very happy to receive an e-ARC of The Stolen Kingdom by Jillian Boehme from Netgalley and MacMillan Tor/Forge in exchange for an honest review.

First off, I really enjoyed that this book was a standalone. I like series, but I think it’s refreshing to read a story that can stand on its own. The book hooked me from the first few pages. Perin Faye is a captivating world with an intriguing magic system. The ruling King stole and keeps power by controlling the magic in the land. One of our main characters Maralyth however, has a secret. She has magic and can convince plants to grow. I thought that her power was really neat. I also really enjoyed the vineyard setting and that wine making was a focal point.

Maralyth is also loyal and devoted to her family. Our other main character Alac is the kind, honorable, second son of the King, and he is wary of his father’s evil ways. I enjoyed reading from Alac’s point of view as well. He also has to deal with magic and how it impacts him.

I don’t want to give too much away but our two protagonists get swept up in a lot intrigue, involving hidden identities, power scheming plots and betrayal. Along the way they also begin to develop feelings for each other. The romance was sweet and not too steamy.

My only note would be that sometimes the plot seemed almost too fast-paced. I enjoyed the world and the characters and I sometimes found myself wishing that there was a bit more world-building and development.

I gave the book 4 out of 5 stars and would recommend it for fans of YA Fantasy. Especially if you’re looking for a fast-paced, standalone tale with lots of intrigue, plot twists, strong characters and a dash of romance.

Thank you to Netgalley and MacMillan Tor/Forge for providing me with an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed reading this book. The Stolen Kingdom by Jillian Boehme will be available on March 2, 2021.

Wow what an excellent book! I feel like so often with fantasy it's a series, these sweeping epic tales, that take multiple books to truly flesh out the whole story, but Jillian managed to create a wonderful tale full of magic and more that stands on its own. This work is a great tale of power at its heart but of family and history too.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I enjoyed this book once I started to get farther into it, but until I was maybe 35% through, it was hard to enjoy and follow. It also seemed a bit predictable, like I was kind of able to tell what was going to happen in advance. Other than that, it seemed a bit like a cliched story, but I did enjoy it. It was a fun story once you got into it, and while it didn't feel very original, it was a cute read. If you enjoy cliche books, then you will enjoy this book. 3.5/5 stars from me!

overall: 4/5
characters: 4/5
setting: 3.5/5
writing: 5/5
plot & themes: 4/5

overview:
The Stolen Kingdom is a dual POV fantasy standalone featuring Mara, the unassuming daughter of a vintner, and Alac, the prince who is second in line for the throne of Perin Faye. Mara has held the secret of her magic her entire life, something that proves she's the true heir to the throne. In a battle between stolen versus natural magic we follow these two characters stories of forbidden love, court take-over, and the struggles they both face to make the right decision for their people.

my review:
This standalone quickly became what felt like a comfort read for me! Right off the hop I loved the writing and the themes of the book. It was easy to follow along with, and the characters are quick to love in their own ways. I very much liked the concept of natural and stolen magic and how that played on the idea of good versus evil. We have Mara who seems hesitant to take the throne in such a ruthless way, but understands how she can make Perin Faye a better place and ultimately wants for the good of the kingdom, meanwhile Alac is a second heir that seems disinterested in the throne at all until events in the book unfold, making him a more complex character with conflicting emotions and feelings that felt very human ands real to me. Overall we have two characters that are struggling in an ethical way, and I found it interesting to read about those struggles. On top of all of this they've both fallen for each other which adds another layer of conflict for them- and I've always been a long standing fan of enemies to lovers!

I would have loved to see this book stretched out into a duology or even trilogy. This would have given a chance for more information on the kingdom we were reading about and the setting of this story, as well as character development! Additional time for the two characters to more naturally create chemistry would have also added so much! At times their feelings for each other felt forced, or just happened too quickly (and it also didn't feel particularly like love at first sight either) and I think that additional time would have made it seem more natural and strong.

In the end I would recommend this novel to anyone that loves a good fantasy based enemies to lovers story! Especially to anyone that favours stand alone novels. Thank you to Netgalley and Tor Teen for allowing me to read and give an honest review on this book!
Review will be posted to my instagram page on 02/27/21

Thanks to NetGalley I was able to get an arc for this beautiful fantasy standalone. I love a good and fun standalone. I always feel that hey are hidden gems in the fantasy genre, since most books are a part of a series.
I really enjoyed my time with this book and I will dived this review in pros and cons.

Pros
- The writing style is very engaging and makes you want to continue reading. It’s very open and easy to read. It tells the story in a very fast pace and without a lot of details.
- The story itself is not complicated which I first though it would be, because it’s about corruption and setting up a take over from the crown. Even though there is a lot of scheming and plotting, the story itself is not that complicated and actually a little predictable. The predictable element of the story personally didn’t bother me, since it was just a very fun and enjoyable read.
- The book has a great concept and the story and characters have a great potential, which I felt was not completely reached in this book. I will talk more about that in my cons. But overall I really enjoyed the concept and idea of this book.
- The characters are not that amazing, but they do give a lot of humour to this book and their conversations and banter is really fun to read. I also like how strong and independent Maralyth (the female main characters) is. She is a great role model for teens. Loving, strong, put family first and has a mind of her own.
Cons
- Because there is not a lot of details in this book, I miss the dept in not only the world, but also in the story and character development. The story is very fast paced which is a good thing, but this also means that the story develops very fast. I would have preferred if it was a little slower at some points to allow more dept and development. Because the lack of it, which is also understanding since there is a lot of story to cover in just 320 pages, the book is not memorable. I really enjoyed reading it and it’s definitely a cute read between more heaver books or series, but it is not a book that will stay with me forever or a book that I would like to pick up again. I would have loved it a lot more if there was taken more time to give everything more dept and maybe also more pages. I rather have a log standalone of more then 400 or 500 pages and have an amazing which I would want to pick up again. Then a smaller book which feels like it good have been amazing if it had just more details and dept.

I really enjoyed reading this book and I am also really happy that I was able to read. I highly recommend this book if you link sort fantasy standalones. You can easily read this in one sitting! I actually did this, because the writing style is so compelling it keeps you going.

THE STOLEN KINGDOM by Jillian Boehme is a rich fantasy with dual point of view and a strong magic system used uniquely as a plot device. Characters do suffer from insta-love and attraction and felt hollow and rushed. As this was a primary influence for the plot in the last half of the book, it made the last half less enjoyable for me. While the general premise of the magic and plot was very cool and interesting it felt rushed and unexplored. The history and world building is a strength of Boehme and clearly where she excels.

The Pros: I think the magic system was really neat. In The Stolen Kingdom, genuine magic gives life, and was given to the true royal line by The Holy God. Magic that is stolen and used by those outside the royal line brings death and destruction. This was so cool! I’ve never read magic with this kind of historical significance, and it was very consistent throughout the book.
I thought the fantasy world-building was also really well developed. The history, the various royal lines, all of that was well-developed and detailed. There were some pacing problems and characters could have been more fully realized. Overall, an entertaining read that drags in parts.

Overall this was a cute story. Some of the pros were I really liked the basics of the story and the magic “system” that was set up in it. I also really enjoyed the dual perspectives. It helped round out the story more.
One of the cons for me was that it could have actually been filled out a little more. It is not a huge book and some of the character development and storylines could have been more detailed. Parts of the book seemed rushed.

Overall like I said it was a cute story and I enjoyed it.

In the realm of Perin Faye only the king is allowed to perform magic. Therefore, Maralyth/Mara has no other option but to hide her magic from her family for her whole life. She allows herself to give in only to help with taking care of her father’s vineyard. Her secret is not safe, and one day she's forced to face the truth. She has magic because she is one of the last descendants of Dallowyn’s royal family who were gifted with magic by the Holy Gods. She has a rightful claim to the throne and this is a chance to save her family and her realm by taking part in a coup to kill the royal family of Thungraves, who stole the magic from the last king Dallowyn. However, when she meets the young Alac Thungraves she questions her role in the plan.

This was such a lovely read, I didn’t expect to be so invested in this story. The plot is told from two different perspectives, Mara and Alac. In the beginning, I was a bit underwhelmed by the general pacing, and I didn’t have any clue where these two plot lines were going. But then I slowly started to see where these two characters were going and from the right point when Alac and Mara meets, I couldn’t put the book down.

These two characters are quite the opposite - Alac doesn’t want to be king or become the heir to the throne and he is scared as much as every one of his father's magic. Mara on the other end realises that she actually wants to become a queen and loves her magic, as she knows it can be used to do good for the realm.

I loved that she wasn’t for any moment unsure of her personal skills and capacity, but she kind of embraced the situation and be on board with it, like “you know what, I actually want to be a queen”. They both share love for wine and a strong interest in vinery and vineyard. I found it quite original, I personally never encountered this theme in another YA. However, for some reason, I kind of expected it to be like a turning point in the end, or I thought wine would play a big part in the story development but it didn’t.

I still enjoyed this story very much regardless of the wine bit. The romance was a slow development, it played a big part in the story but without taking the spotlight away from all the events around the coup. Other countries in this world and an imminent war among them are mentioned, so you get an idea this world is so much bigger and complex than what it is. It had still the right amount of details and sufficient world description for a stand-alone to not overload the reader. On the other hand, it makes me curious to read the writer’s future projects and to find out if they will be in the same world.

The fact that this was a stand-alone is a plus, I prefer stand-alone. The story was an easy read overall, with a fast pace, and it’s superbly written so it keeps you guessing until the end. It’s an easy read, with a cute fairy-tale-like romance, and a well-rounded ending of the story.

The Stolen Kingdom is simply irresistible. It is an enjoyable standalone fantasy novel.

My Rating: 3.5 Stars

This story was dark at times and equally riveting. I found myself flipping through each page faster to see how the story would end. While many book-series take two or three books to cover the story ( sometimes fail to achieve it), this book could encompass the whole story in 57 chapters. If you're looking for a standalone fantasy to get lost into, then do not hesitate to pick this book. I could see myself re-reading this book someday.

Thanks to the author, Macmillan-Tor Teen, and NetGalley for this eARC.

Disclaimer: I received this ARC from @netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Pub date 2 March 2021

Have you ever read a book that just rubbed you the wrong way from the start? That was Stolen Kingdom for me. Little details like how the main character calls her father Poppa and how everyone kept saying “cruce” and “holy god” bothered me and I could tell from the beginning that this was going to be tough to get through. Initially I was going to rate this 3 stars but the more I think about it the more I realize there was very little substance to this story and ultimately feel that 2.5 stars is a more accurate reflection of how I felt about this book.
Our story begins with Maralyth, the ostensible heroine of our tale and a pretty boring character. She hates being stuck in the kitchen doing all the cooking for her family and the workers for her father’s vineyard. But she has a secret - MAGIC. Then we meet Alac, the spare to his father’s, the king’s, heir. He wants to be a vintner and do all the wine related things but he can’t because he’s the son of the king so he just drinks a lot of wine and complains.
Naturally the two meet and fall in love immediately. Like THE SECOND THEIR EYES MEET. It’s very dramatic. Then they spend a lot of time pretending like they don’t care for each other because it’s ridiculous since they’ve only just met (and dear reader, it is ridiculous). Before this ridiculousness happens though, Maralyth is kidnapped and becomes embroiled in a plot to overthrow the monarchy. I don’t want to spoil anything but I’m sure you can imagine how things play out (yes, it is that predictable). Ultimately I felt like the writing was repetitive and juvenile. The actual story had elements of originality and I liked the concept of stolen magic but the execution of the whole thing just didn’t ring my bells. I know this is supposed to be young adult fiction but there was zero nuance and it seemed like I was reading a children’s book aimed at 10-11 year olds. The relationships were not believable and the characters all fell flat. I don’t think I’d recommend this book unless you are a middle schooler who hasn’t yet graduated to true YA fiction and needs a quick, easy read that won’t take up too much space in your head after you’re done.

I received this copy of The Stolen Kingdom from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Maralyth has always had a deeper connection with mother earth than most. A gentle touch, or warm thoughts was enough to coax her family's vineyard to life during a dry spell. Her mother shared the same talent, and had warned Mara when she was young, to keep it a secret... Until now, it has been. When the lord's of Perin Faye find out her truth, a plan to change the hands of power is put into motion, and the kingdom is held at the mercy of it's success.

This was an amazing book. I am absolutely astounded by Jillian Boehme's gift of story telling. The Stolen Kingdom has all the potential to become the next big thing. I fell in love with the characters, the plot, and the setting. The plot was very easy to follow, and overall the characters were very likable. This book does have an ending, but there is potential for a sequel down the line if the author so chooses.

The only reason I didn't give this book 5 stars was because of the constant POV change. It is a great writing technique to keep the reader in suspense, but after awhile I found it tiring. As the story started to really gain momentum, I would get confused as to who the chapter was about because it is all written in first person with little indication as to who was speaking. (The chapters were labeled, but I got caught up in the story so many times, I'd forget to look who it was.)

The Stolen Kingdom comes out on March 02, 2021. I highly recommend this book to any and all readers who love Kings, Queens, and all those in between.

This was a pretty good fantasy novel. I’m a big fan of fantasy, so this was right up my alley! I can’t wait to read more from this author!

*I received an Arc of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

Magic happens when the lives of a second-born prince and the daughter of a vintner collide because of a plot to steal the throne…

Alac Thurngrave, second son to the King, has struggled with his father’s rule ever since he was a child. His older brother is no better. Just as power hungry as his father, he cannot wait to take over, even if he must unseat his father to do so. The Thurngraves kings are the only ones in the kingdom to have magic, and it is a dark and terrible power that passes from father to son. With preparations being made to pass the throne down, Alac comes one step closer to being forced to wield it- Something he wants to avoid at all costs.

Maralyth Graylaern is the daughter of a Vintner. Her father’s grapes have flourished under her magic for years, but she must keep her power a secret for fear of discovery. Chafing against gender stereotypes, Mara makes plans to help the farmers around her survive the selfish orders of the king, but when her powers are discovered she is kidnapped and forced to become part of a plot to overthrow the Thurngraves and restore the true heir to the throne.

When I picked this book up from netgalley I was sure it was going to be fun. What I didn’t realize was how much! I love the twisted magical lore and I enjoyed the slow burn romance. The book is split between the two main character’s perspectives and, while it was annoying the first few times, I was anticipating the switch to get more from each character. I also loved that this was a standalone novel.

It was interesting watching both characters come into their own but remain who they were at the core. The worldbuilding felt reminiscent of the one in the film Timeline (Starring a yummy young Gerard Butler).

All in all I really enjoyed this novel and I gave it 3.5 stars!

Stolen Kingdom is a beautiful and engaging story of a tyrannical king whose ancestors stole both crown and power and a girl who will stop at nothing to free her kingdom. The story centers around magic, or rather the fight between magic that was stolen, that has become perverted and dark, and natural magic, that comes from within and is pure.

Maralyth was such an intriguing character with so many complex layers. Her evolution throughout the series was perhaps my favorite thing about it. From the shy daughter of a vineyard owner to the long-lost queen of Perin Faye. I relished reading her deep connection with the soil and earth and how the magic seemed to be an extension of herself, blooming from within.

Alac- as the second son to the king he was considered a spare and nothing more His disdain for the negative effects of magic on his father and brother is such an essential component to the overall story. This refusal to settle for a future ruled by magic spurred him to seek a better way to rule.

As the story escalates, secrets from the past are revealed and poor Mara soon finds herself as a pawn in the destruction of the royal family. But as her feelings for Alac develop, her heart and head become torn. Its very PG- less lovey-dovey and more action. The role of romance was very small and was more to compliment than a major steering factor towards the overall plot. The reversal of roles was a delicious irony as we have a female, fighting for her rightful crown, to be Queen

While Jillian Boehme is a great writer, I found Stolen Kingdom to be extremely descriptive, which for world-building purposes may not seem so bad, but from a plot and character perspective, I felt a lot of the secondary characters could be developed further. Also, the ending felt very rushed and somewhat unexpected.

This was a great standalone novel and very reminiscent of the Shadows Between Us. It's a great read for those interested in YA with a light romance, who enjoy good triumphing over evil and neat and tidy endings.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher MacMillan for providing me with an arc.

This will be posted on my blog: https://jessicareadsit.wordpress.com and my Bookstagram on the pub date 2nd March 2021.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan/Tor-Forge for a digital arc in exchange for an honest review. The Stolen Kingdom was such a pleasant surprise for me. The first 25% of the book was a bit slow and it took me a while to truly get into the story to the point that I thought this was going to be a DNF for me. After that first quarter, this book pulled me in and I had such a hard time putting it down and I am glad I stuck with it.

The magic system and world were very interesting and unique. My one complaint is that I wish we had a bit more information about the magic system but I think it was purposely left that way to help the plot along. The main characters, Mara and Alac are extremely likable. It is refreshing to read a fantasy book with royals who truly want the good for their kingdom. Although their relationship is a bit intsa love/ insta connection, it was not in your face or cringey.

If you are looking for a mature romance fantasy book then this is not the book for you. The story and romance are very sweet with action here and there. The romance does not overpower the plot of the book but it serves to drive the the story arc.

There were a few things that were mentioned in the book that I wish were explained more but overall I thought this was a fantastic YA fantasy book. The plot moves along quickly, the characters are likable and I liked that for a standalone, the story was not rushed.

Rating: 4/5 stars.

"I'd fallen for her from the moment she'd first stepped out of a carriage in the courtyard, and I didn't feel capable of unfailing. Every word poised on my tongue felt like it would lumber forth with a clumsiness that would let the world know that this girl unraveled me."

The Stolen Kingdom is a remarkable approach to YA Fantasy and a stand alone.
Two royal blooded lines hold magic.

One given freely, pure and good.... one stolen, dark and wicked.
Maralyth Graylaern has always known she hold a power unlike anyone else as she brings life the the nature around her family's vineyard. Until one day she is kidnapped and held against her will to take hold of her blood right... to be queen of Perin Faye.

Alac Thungrave, second son to the crown, hates the dark magic that consumes his father and refuses to accept it. Until he meets a beautiful woman in court visiting for his brother's wedding, and realizes she may be the key to saving his family... and his future.


Jillian Bohme has a unique writing style that is fun for all.

Read if you like:
-sweet romance
-"clean" regency romance
-a twist of magic and the fight of good vs. evil.
-a curse so dark and lonely
-the midnight bargain

What was missing:
I found the story very easy which was nice, but I think I just missed a bit of a PUNCH. ACTION!.
The ending had potential but it sped through the climax rather quickly and by the end I just felt it left the pacing a bit off.
I could have tapped 20 pages and still known exactly what was going on... heavy inner dialogue.

Rating:
story:⭐️⭐️⭐️
romance: sweet regency feeling romance
steam: got me about as excited as looking at my 7th grade picture
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Song: I wouldn't Mind by He is We

"The Stolen Kingdom" by Jillian Boehme was definitely a slow burn for me. Honestly, it took for me almost half of the book to start to really engage with story. I do not necessarily think this will be the case for all readers by any means, but for some like me it will.

Boehme is very vivid in her descriptions and brings this world to life. I enjoyed that the story is told from two different perspectives. Maralyth is a vintner's daughter and as it turns out-surprise- she is a direct descendent to the throne. The other perspective is from Alac, who is the 2nd son to the king; otherwise, known as the "spare heir."

While the book did get interesting later on, I feel like overall there were plot holes for me. Some things could have been spent less time on and others could have been expanded on. This could just be a preference of mine. I do think Boehme is a great writer; this particular story was just not my cup of tea.

I received an ARC of "The Stolen Kingdom" by Jillian Boehme from NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge in exchange for an honest review.

I plan to show this off on my TikTok account (cityveinlights) but overall, I enjoyed it. This isn't the BEST thing I've ever read, but I'm a sucker for the whole "I must kill you" enemies to lovers trope. Like I am a full-on sucker for it. I think that's why I liked this one. It did have it's flaws (plot was a bit lacking in places and the characters needed more fleshing out, for some reason their whole personalities felt lacking) but overall, a solid 3 star read.

This was a nice and easy read that played out like a Disney film in my head.

I didn’t feel as connected to Maralyth as I did to Alac until it got to towards the end of the book but I feel like that’s just a personal thing (I enjoy reading make POVs). I especially liked Alac and Tucker’s friendship as the dialogue they had between each other was amusing to read.

A light, middle grade read with soft fantasy that was pleasant to read in a short time.