I loved this book! i'm not into romance stuff for the most part but this was really good!! The banter between Mara and Alac is amazing and between the fantasy aspects and well, the romance included this is a great light read ! 4 stars!!

The Stolen Kingdom follows our two main characters Mara and Alac. Mara always thought that there was more to her life then working in the kitchen and lecturing her father's workers while staying in the shadows as her mother had instructed and not think about the magic that sings in her veins.

Alac who was second in line for the throne, thought of himself as a spare heir who no one really bothered to care for.

All of that changes when Mara is kidnapped by one of her father's worker's and presented in front of a lord who threatens her family. He reveals that she is a Dallowyn by blood with a claim to the throne and power to make their kingdom prosper again.

I really enjoyed the first half the book. The characters, storyline and the court intrigue held my complete attention but by the time I reached the middle it lost some of it's charm. The character that I thought to be the antagonist was taken care of way before the rest of the storyline wrapped up.

I was really hoping to learn more about the kingdom and how it came to be, but somehow it was only vaguely explained and was never explored. I'd hoped that it would be a four star read because of the strong start but the story felt flat after the big showdown in the middle.

Overall it was a decent read and I really enjoyed it.

*Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan/ Tor-Forge for providing an arc in exchange of an honest review*

A pretty good YA romance! I have a feeling we're coming to the end of the fantasy romance trend (it happened with rom-coms, it happened with boarding schools, it happened with paranormal romances - it has to happen to YAFR sometime), but I'm glad we got this one before the trend ended!

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

This book was perfectly fine. It had a straightforward plot and a typical YA romance. It didn't do anything marvelous or outstanding, but it did its job as a standalone fantasy novel.

The main thing that irked me was the romance between our two main characters Mara and Alac. I typically lean towards slow-burns instead of the insta-love route. I didn't find their romantic relationship enjoyable to read about at all. One moment Alac will be vowing to never feel for Mara again and then on the same page, he'll be doing exactly what he said he wouldn't do. I mean, Mara and her posse literally just slaughtered your family and court so I don't know how you could have feelings for her but okay. Another thing that bothered me was the lack of training we get to see for Mara. She was a peasant girl training to become a lady and we get to see none of that?? I wish Boehme didn't gloss over it because I wanted to see her struggle. The final thing that irked me was the lack of worldbuilding-- I mean what are the limitations of Mara's magic? Is there none simply because she is a Dallowyn? What can she use her magic on? How could she use it on a stale piece of bread?

Overall this book is very easy to digest and best for younger YA readers. 2.5/5 stars

This book genuinely took me by surprise. The summary had me somewhat worried that a forbidden romance plot would be frustrating, as I find they often are, but this was not the case. On their own, Alac and Mara stand as very strong characters. However, all the other supporting characters didn’t feel memorable, which led to my forgetting who was involved in what parts of this royal coup. There were moments when the pacing of this book felt a bit off. There are other moments where the general timeline seemed a bit drawn out unnecessarily. I appreciated that the rules around magic and such weren’t too complex and part of the process of the plot was discovering how it all worked. I think this worked well for this story and allowed for it to be understood easily. Overall, I found this story really fascinating, and the plot was genuinely much more interesting in action than the summary leads you to believe!

Disclaimer: I recieved this ARC from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

Mara's levelheaded, intelligent, and loyal. Alac is perfect for Mara and I loved the romance. I wasn't interested in the parts about wine (mainly because I don't drink) but I love the fact that Alac kind of reminds me of Nasir from We Hunt the Flame. This is a fun, fast-paced book and if you're looking for something to read while waiting for Hafsah's next book I recommend picking up The Stolen Kingdom by Jillian Boehme.

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

The Stolen Kingdom was such a fun and magical book to dive into. In it, you will meet Mara and Alac. The adventure that these two go on might make you dizzy. Mostly because this entire book is filled with so much. Magic, betrayal, and so much freaking tension that it might kill you. Just know that I ate it all up and I still wanted more.

From the very first moment, there was something special about Mara and Alac. She was in love with the winery that her family owned. So in other words, she basically had my dream job because I love wine. All things wine. If my family owned a winery? Well, goodbye world - I'm in wine heaven now.

While she's living my best life, he is a prince and wants to do anything else but become King. Luckily for him, he's second in line so he doesn't have to worry about that. The only thing he does worry about, though, is the magic. He hates it. Or maybe he just hates his dad's stolen magic. Either way, magic is a no go for him.

After they first met, sparks were there and started to fly (a bit). It was definitely cute and I couldn't help shipping them after this. They had a special connection and I was worried that the other shoe was going to drop and kill my ship. The shoe dropped hard but my ship was still thriving in my mind.

So much betrayal and magic kept me completely and utterly engaged with this book. I couldn't put it down (unless I had to eat or sleep). Now that it's over, I'm kind of sad. I don't know what to do with my thumbs right now.. unless twiddling seems proper? The moment that this book is published, I am going to buy it and dive back into these beautiful pages. Definitely enjoyed this book and I can't wait for Jillian to write another magical adventure!

What a lovely, fantasy read. The Stolen Kingdom is told through two points of view. Maralyth and Alac. Alac is an ignored second-in-line prince with an interest in wine and because he isn't primed to be King has lenient and open views. Maralyth is the daughter of a vinter who has one of the vineyards that supplies the kings wine. She becomes entangled in a plot to take down the king and become queen. THe plan become complicated when she meets the king's family. Will she be able to follow through with the plan, save her father, and become queen?

The descriptions of the wine were rich and flavorful. This book has some familiar aspect of fantasy but I really enjoy that paired with the originality of the setting and Vineyard. I enjoyed the different viewpoints and the play between Mara and Alac. I also loved the relationship between Alac and Tucker... in fact we needed more of Tucker. He was such a hearty character.

It was a little too neat in its ending but still a great read with its hidden identities, palace life, criminal plots, forbidden love, wine.

*received this arc through netgalley

CONTAINS SPOILERS

Maralyth is a vintner's daughter who harbours a secret - she can speak to the grapes and make them grow. Alac is the spare - second son of a king possessed by dark stolen magic. When Mara is cast against her will into a plot to take the throne, will she be able to play her part... or will a charming prince turn her head... and her heart?

Firstly I will say that I did rather enjoy reading this book. It was a real "just one more chapter" kind of read that had me staying up way too late wanting to read more. The writing was easy to read and the plot was engaging and moved at a good pace.

The repeated problem I had was that often things didn't make much sense in terms of characters reactions to things, and where it seemed our sympathies were meant to lie as readers.

Maralyth seems to acquiesce rather quickly to becoming Nelgareth's pawn - I know she was threatened, but nonetheless, she doesn't put up much of a fight.  She seems to switch rapidly between being a moral person who wants what's best for the kingdom, to suddenly having ambition for the throne and being okay with murdering three people to get there. The whole time she was at the castle, I just kept thinking - why don't you just come clean to Alac and the both of you can figure out a solution together?? He's clearly kind and reasonable, he doesn't want the throne, you don't want to murder his family, he wants to get rid of the dark magic as much as you do - just work together!! It made NO sense for her to continue to go along with the murder plot.

Nelgareth was hugely promising as a villain, but then his death seems really sudden and complete and kind of unsatisfying. He was this huge threat over Maralyth and the whole "he's a creep who wants to marry her" thing was built up and then... he was just removed from the story and all that tension and threat just... went nowhere. Why even bring the "creep who wants marriage" aspect into it at all?? It was kind of pointless.

THEN the whole tenor of the story seems to become "omg Alac is so unreasonable for being mad at Maralyth when she saved his life". Ummm - she participated in cold blood publicly MURDERING Alac's only living family - his father and brother - IN FRONT of him, and she's all like "yeah but I saved you so omg you should be grateful and stop being mad" EXCUSE ME?? If someone had your entire family murdered in front of you and then at the last minute was like "oh no, not you cos you're cute" - would you be super grateful to have been spared, or like maybe PISSED AS HELL that someone you were starting to trust just KILLED YOUR LOVED ONES?? At one point she literally says "I just apologised!" as if he should get over it. If someone killed my family, I don't think an "oopsies, sorry" would cut it for me.

Their whole relationship was unfortunately rather underdeveloped - it had great potential but it just needed more to get us invested. 

Also at the end he happy abdicates the throne and everyone's celebrating her queenhood - IN THE SAME ROOM WITH THE PRESERVED DEAD BODIES OF THE PEOPLE SHE HAD MURDERED - like, this seems incredibly poor taste?? And Alac is there with the dead bodies of his father and brother, and he seems to have no emotions about it other than being sorry he interrupted Mara saying sorry to his DEAD FATHER, like wtf??

I don't mind morally grey characters - but they still need to behave consistently with their own character... and like actual human beings.

As I reflect on it, I feel like this was an intermediate draft of a story with really great potential - in my opinion it just really needed more development and editing to get to the great story it could be.

The kingdom, Perin Faye has suffered under a King who possesses stolen magic. Stolen magic that happens to belong to Maralyth's ancestors. The beginning of the book introduces Maralyth living on her father's vinyard and through her power wills the grapes to sweeten and ripen. Her power is discovered by a man who wishes to place the rightful heir on the throne. Lord Nelgareth was a jerk, that is all I wish to say about him. I liked Maralyth's character, she was kind, well spoken, intelligent and for someone so powerful was not consumed by it.
The introduction to Prince Alac was more interesting that Maralyth's. Alac's opening chapter details the dark magic that surrounds his family. - this is what drew me in.

There wasn't much action and when there was it was brief. A little underwhelming for a plot to take over the throne. However, the world had magic, the right amount of politics and a forbidden romance! I also liked that this book was a standalone like To Kill A Kingdom and Sorcery of Thorns.

The romance was quite slow and typical for a YA. But I believe that Alac's behaviour to Mara after (redacted - spoiler) wasn't written well.

At times the book was slow, but it was easy to read and well written. I enjoyed Boehme's writing style and I'm tempted to read other books by this author. Overall, I liked it.

Many years ago, Perin Faye was a prosperous kingdom under the magical Dallowyn family. Then the Thungraves stole their magic and ensnared the kingdom for themselves. While the kingdom has certainly been in decline, young Maralyth, a vintner's daughter, has kept her strange magic hidden. When her abilities are discovered, she's thrust into a treasonous plot to overthrow the Thungraves. Alac, the second prince, fears his father's dark magic. Surely, he doesn't deserve to die, too?

I've been on a real fantasy kick lately, and was intrigued with the idea of a magical coup and what would obviously become a star-crossed romance. All in all, I liked the novel--3 stars.

While the book is dual-narrated by Maralyth and Alac, the most interesting part of the novel is easily Mara's character arc. Her growth over the course of the story has the power to really sell this novel, especially given that this appears to be a standalone. Quickly paced, with a gently fleshed out world, The Stolen Kingdom is a fairy tale in the making.

However, I would be remiss to mention that the major con of this book was the instalove. While I have the propensity for star-crossed lovers, I don't think it really worked here. I would've rather preferred that the focus remain mostly on Maralyth's dynamic growth and the upcoming coup rather than her relationship with Alac. Because, frankly, it lacked chemistry and just didn't really feel that organic to me.

Lastly, I happened to be reading this at the same time I was reading Ashley Poston's Among the Beasts & Briars, and I think that if you liked that book, you will likely enjoy this one. While the major plot differs greatly between the two novels, aspects such as hidden magic and strong female leads will appeal to readers.

This was an absolutely beautiful book. Our heroine, Maralyth is so easy to connect to, that I was rooting for her from page one. The politics and the magic system were done so well; I loved every tidbit of knowledge given. There is a touch of insta-love (or insta-attraction) which is not a favorite of mine, but it worked well for the story and I liked how Maralyth and Alec developed together.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for provided a free arc in exchange for an honest review!

Give me all the standalone fantasy please! The Stolen Kingdom is built on a really interesting premise of stolen magic and its effects on those who wield it. I really liked the way it tackled dismantling power and legacy and coming into one's own. I liked that Mara was a protagonist who was willing to learn and grow throughout the book and who didn't rush into her power lightly. And I loved the description of Mara's magic, especially in comparison with Alac's. I wish the romance in the book was a little more swoon-worthy myself, but I am also okay with the outcome.
Despite liking that this book is a standalone, I wish there was a more developed backstory about the history of the world and how the magic was stolen. We heard the same story so many times and each time I kept hoping there was a reason for the repetition, that we'd learn something new, but there was never anything. I would've loved a big reveal or just a chapter set in the past so we could have seen the story for ourselves instead of being told it so many times.

**Review will be published Feb. 23rd**

NEEDED MORE.

This book caused me to learn something about my bookish self.

I am picky when it comes to standalone fantasies.

Why? Because I think it’s hard to give everything a fantasy book needs laid out to make it feel whole by the time it ends. A fantasy needs strong world-building, an explanation of magic systems and more. I thought this was missing a lot of that plus a lack of character depth (with main and side characters).

The Stolen Kingdom started off pretty strong. The premise wasn’t wholly unique, but it seemed to have a flair I could get behind. I liked Maralyth as a main character. She was strong-willed and may have had to go with things she didn’t approve of, yet made the right decisions when it came down to it. I saw her in her role by the end.

Alac was a love interest I enjoyed. He wanted to change his kingdom for the better and was open to listening and working with his perceived enemies to do so. I wish there would have been more to Alac and Maralyth’s romance sub-plot. It was charming watching them together and I wanted to see the banter and tender pages.

It was an enjoyable story for a standalone. Even when I think it was missing deeper aspects, it delivered likable characters and a nifty, yet simple, magic system to follow. It would be an enjoyable read for younger YA audiences too.

Overall audience notes:
- Young adult fantasy
- Language: little to none
- Romance: kisses
- Violence: physical, poison, loss of loved ones, murder

“The Stolen Kingdom” was a really interesting read due to its play on the enemies-to-lovers trope and the entire magic system the author developed: I found it fascinating that the magic was “stolen” to seize the throne. However, I would only consider this a three star read due to the lack of world building, fast pace, and romance. I wanted to learn more about the magic system and kingdom, but we’re only restricted to about three settings in the novel since “The Stolen Kingdom” is a stand-alone after all. That also connects to the fast pace: I definitely thought it was too convenient that Maralyth and Alac kept meeting out of coincidence. That being said, this novel definitely does have instalove. I really disliked how each character kept “holding their breath” whenever the other came into the room, and how they fell in love in less than a week. I felt that there was really no connection between the two love interests because there was so much emphasis on physical appearance rather than them getting to know each other. Nonetheless, I definitely recommend ”The Stolen Kingdom” for the side characters and intriguing backstories!

Alright this is definitely a comfort book for those who love YA and love Fantasy. This standalone novel is a light read. There's a little bit of everything in this novel. Jillian Boehme focuses more on the plot and structural components than most high fantasy or romance novels do. The major events are evenly dispersed throughout, and the scenes are skillfully written. The various types of tensions and storytelling in this short standalone were well written and the world-building was decent. i wish more time was spent world building but, hey this is a 300-page standalone so it can't have all of my fantasy wishlist in it.

The Stolen Kingdom is written dual perspective through Alac and Mara. Alac has a great character arc. He goes from knowing himself as the aloof spare to the throne, to losing himself when Mara and his paths cross, to finding himself once more by the end of the novel. Mara’s persona is not super unique in a fantasy novel. She is strong and sure of herself, but also insecure at times and defensive. I have found a lot of fantasy novels have this type of female character in it. She is selfless and wants to do whats right for everyone else, but rarely thinks of herself.. There is a few side characters, Tucker and Hestar, that I wish we got to see more of. Tucker was funny, sarcastic, and charismatic, but only evolve enough to have his only role as the guard to Alac and similarly Hester, Mara's half brother also seemed to have only existed to help her.

The diversity was severely lacking in this story. The side characters felt a little 2-D and I wish more time was spent going through the characters various decision making, instead of seemingly out of nowhere changes in character direction. Maybe another 100 pages would have better fulfilled this wish But overall, if you are looking for a light and fun read, but don't want to commit to a series, I would recommend The Stolen Kingdom! I'll definitely be reading it again, probably on a rainy day with a glass of wine.

A story with a lot of potential to it! I was conflicted on if the fact that it was a stand alone was a pro or con. On the one hand, I don’t have to wait for the whole series! On the other hand, I felt the character development and plot execution might have needed another book to really get into it. But regardless, I enjoyed it!

The book blurb seemed really interesting to me and I liked that it was a stand-alone fantasy, which is rare these days, but I felt the world building suffered because of it.

While Mara is smart and I thought the stolen magic aspect was interesting, I just felt like there wasn’t enough of the story.. I do think there were enjoyable parts to the book and I this is a good book for younger YA readers though.

So my thoughts on the book is that it was definitely enjoyable at times, but I would have liked to know more of this world.

I enjoyed this delightful cat-and-mouse tale and would recommend it for those who can't get enough teen fantasy to satisfy them! This was a wonderful debut, and I loved the world she created and enjoyed the dialogue between the characters. This book left me wanting more!

I would probably give this book 3 out of 5 stars. I really struggled to get through and finish it and that may be because it isn’t my typical style of book but also because I struggled to bond with the main characters. It isn’t a bad book and I read it in about two days - it was a nice change from a rom com.

The book jumped straight into the use of magic and the drama without fully explaining the world we were now immersed in or the context behind the magic / kingdom. The start of the book is also very much like Danielle Steel’s ‘fairytale’ - including the vineyard, the daughter of a widow and the fact she took over her mother’s ‘duties’ ! A little too similar...