I received The Stolen Kingdom in exchange for an honest review.

In this book you follow Prince Alec and Maralyth as they both go through an epic journey.

Prince Alec is the spare to a dark and dangerous reign. He dislikes the dark magic his family hoards and values above all else and when he is asked to watch over a locket containing this magic his adventure truly begins.

Maralyth is the daughter of a vintner and her simple spells to ripen grapes to eat quickly turns into an adventure far outside her wildest dreams.

This story become a fast paced game of cat and mouse and has a dose of forbidden romance sprinkled throughout. I really enjoyed the dark world building and both characters were extremely interesting.

The only downside to this book for me was the duel POV. Every other chapter switches and for me this was very distracting. It made it slightly harder for me to get super engrossed in their stories as every time I was really involved the entire story would change again. That was my only personal problem with this book and it’s totally just personal preference. I would absolutely recommend this book to other fans of fantasy!

Court politics, Secret identities, world building, forbidden love, this book has it all. I loved Maralyth and Alac. The writing in this book was beautiful and I didn't ever feel like the world building was too much. In other books I've read sometimes the world building can be overwhelming but in this book it was beautiful and it really painted a picture of what this world was like. This was such a well done standalone, I'm usually left wanting more from these but this book wrapped up perfectly, I defo want to read more from this author!

Really enjoyed this book and this romance. Liked that they slowly fell in love. I enjoyed that she wants some revenge but slowly fell in love. I liked that they both liked wine fields and wanted . I liked that they both had magic and both were fighting it. Great story .

This book is a YA fantasy with a hint of magic, romance and plot twists. It reminds me of Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Beauty & the Beast, and Frozen all entwined into one story.

The story is about 2 families; a vintner family whose daughter who has magic but is not allowed to show it, and a royal family whose second-born wants nothing to do with the dark magic his family wields.

It is a story of growth, trust, courage, and betrayal...with a bit of romance. The Stolen Kingdom is a stand alone book, but it left me wanting more - I was obsessed! I recommend reading this book.

So I was happy this was a standalone. The plot is basic and the characters more so. All very typical.
It was an easy read but one that is quite forgettable after.
I nearly didn't finish the book but kept going because I hate leaving things unfinished

The Stolen Kingdom definitely stole me away (Ha a terrible pun I know). I loved the story though. I thought the characters were great, the magic was great and I liked that it was a standalone fantasy. Even though I enjoy a sprawling epic fantasy I really feel like I miss a plot like this one. Engaging and wrapped in one book.

I really enjoyed Maralyth and the way she approached her problems. She was never someone that needed to be saved. In fact she probably does most of the saving in the book. She is one of those people who instead of freaking out gets very calm in a situation. Calculating her risk and consequences.

Alac is interesting. As a Prince you would expect him to be confident but he is more unsure of himself. He doesn’t exactly know what he wants but he is not exactly sure it’s magic. We find him often conflicted with his political and personal views.

I enjoyed the magic in the story as I always love magic that comes from nature. I also liked that it was simple and easy to understand. Especially for a standalone fantasy. It was absolutely perfect, I didn’t want something overly complicated. It let me enjoy the story. (which again I also love complicated magic systems but this fit for this story)

This was a great read for getting my fantasy fix and having a story that swept me up but didn’t leave me hanging in the end.

***ARC Review***

This is a solidly good book. While the premise is fairly generic, it is executed very well and is an enjoyable read.
The political intrigue hooked me from the beginning and the plot is made up of endless twists and turns that never slow down for a second. The fast paced plot had me flying through the pages and desperate to see what happened next.
I really liked the characters for the first 60% but at about that point there were drastic shifts in many of the character’s personalities for no explicable reason and many characters would randomly do things that were very OOC which was jarring and confusing. The cast could’ve also served to be significantly more diverse.
I have mixed feelings about the romance. The star-crossed lovers trope is always lots of fun but the fast-paced nature of the book took a lot away from the romance which played out through instant infatuation and a too-quick progression to love. Even so, the relationship was very sweet and I couldn’t help rooting for Alac and Mara through it all.
I was most intrigued at the beginning when the storylines were split and when they first came together. While the many plot twists certainly kept the story interesting, I felt that the original premise was the most promising and the author let the story get too far away from her, causing the book to become less enjoyable over time.
Also, the writing was dramatic to the point of constant eye-rolls, annoyance, or confusion as the style didn’t always fit with the situation. Sweetly brushing someone’s cheek and a light kiss shouldn’t involve “the heat of a thousand fires.”
Overall, I would recommend this book to fans of royalty, the star-crossed lovers trope, and those looking to get into fantasy, but to long-time fantasy readers who are sick of same-old, same-old, I would choose to pass on this one.

I received this and as an eARC to read for free in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for giving me access.

Magic and takeovers and death - oh my!

I really enjoyed the concept of this book and wished there would be more. While it was very predictable, the overall storyline was unique and different than most ya fantasy books. The romance wasn't the main focus of the story, which I enjoyed because not every story needs it.

A story that is written in a fluid and captivating way. We are dealing with a form of magic that is not completely new but very exciting and at times, dark. I learned about grapes and wine growing in the book, which I didn't expect to find in a fantasy book, and I found it great. The landscapes and environments are beautifully described. The plot and interactions are unpredictable and incredibly exciting. There were even parts that made me cry a few tears. All in all, a book that I can recommend 100 percent.

What a unique book! It’s not common to find good standalone fantasy books, and it sucks because sometimes there’s just no time or patience to read a four or five book series. With The Stolen Kingdom we are getting a standalone fantasy, which I was very excited about!
One thing I loved from this book was the grapes/vines/wine element. I really liked that theme for this book! It was very unique and it paired very well with the setting.
Overall the story has a good pace, but there are some moments here and there where you can see the story speeding. The story developed very fast and I felt like the characters didn’t keep up regarding character development. I love my fantasy standalones, but this is the reason why there aren’t so many. I think it would have been beneficial if this was a duology or maybe a longer book!
The characters were okay. I really like Maralyth, but I didn’t love Alec - his personality was a little bland in my opinion. I also wasn’t the biggest fan of the romance. I really like a good romance to pair with fantasy books, but something was lacking. I felt like there was zero chemistry between Maralyth and Alec, and to be fair I get that the author was maybe shooting for “complicated”, but it wasn’t very well executed in my opinion. It was a bit weird how he felt such strong hate for her at some point in the book, and then after a few pages the hate evaporates quickly like nothing ever happened. The end feels like he’s okay with her after everything he lost, and that didn’t make sense to me. If you’re wondering what trope this would fit, I would say it's not a friends-to-lovers romance, nor an enemies-to-lovers relationship. They start out as friends, then become enemies and then become lovers.
Overall I enjoyed this a lot, I just wish the romance was a bit different, because I would have liked this even more!

I was intrigued by the premise of this book, but unfortunately, it ended up not being for me. The book alternates between the perspectives of our two main characters - Maralyth, the daughter of a vinter with magical powers her mother has ordered her to keep hidden, and Alac, the second son of King Selmar, who chafes at his birthright and has a horrified fascination for the dark power his father and brother command, Maralyth is kidnapped by Lord Nelgareth, who learns of her power and sees in her a chance to capture the throne. Under threat, she agrees to infiltrate the palace with him and stage a coup.

In terms of things I liked, I applaud any author bucking the trend and writing standalone YA fantasy - I'd like to see more of that! At the beginning of the book, it seemed that a major focus was going to be on the economic system of the kingdom and a potential workers revolt. I would really like to see more fantasy that doesn't center on monarchies and innate power, so was interested to see that thread of the story.

But overall, I have to say I was really disappointed in this book. The pacing was all over the place and threads that seemed like they would be the most interesting and promising to explore didn't really go anywhere. Alac was also really a challenge as a character - it's a bit difficult to work up a bunch of sympathy for a character's whose biggest problem is that it might be a bit of a challenge for him to oversee a winemaking operation. The court scheming was also pretty minimal, which is primarily what I was interested in when I picked up this book. The instant romance was also a shame - there were interesting ideas here, I just feel like none of them got developed in favor of pushing the romance.

While I didn't love this book, I did see glimmers of aspects I'd be interested in, so would consider checking out the next book of this author.

4.5 stars: Give me two MC’s, a kingdom with a dark history, secrets, betrayals, stolen magic, wine, & a slow burn? Yup sounds like a YA fantasy romance novel I need in my life. This book was great! I enjoyed the writing style - Jillian Boehme has a way of painting pictures and emotions with words that makes this such a beautiful book! I love books that are told from multiple POV, and it was super easy to follow along while which MC was narrating. They were both likable in their own ways! I like how the ending somewhat wrapped things up but also allowed the reader some leeway with leaving a few things up to our imaginations!
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Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC! This review is honest & freely given.

The Stolen Kingdom
Jillian Boehme
YA Fantasy
4⭐️

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I enjoyed this book far more than I thought I would. Despite being a bit weary of royal YA fantasy stories, this captured me from the very beginning and never let go. It has a little bit of the best things about YA, without falling into tropes: magic, good vs evil, best friends, uprisings, journeys, and a romance you can root for.

This book is completely appropriate for middle grade and older.

While I am more of a series type of reader, I do appreciate a fantasy standalone every now and then, especially if it was well-written - and The Stolen Kingdom hit that mark. Everything was nicely done, but there were obviously some aspects to it that I found lacking and craved for more. It was just a pretty okay book for me in general - nothing really new and exciting to introduce in the YA fantasy space, but it did have the common pieces there.

This is a fantasy story featuring the "long lost royal" and "rightfully reclaiming the throne" tropes, and focuses on Maralyth as a daughter of a winemaker, and Alac, the second son of the reigning evil king. Everything was pretty straight-forward and almost one-note, and definitely very predictable. There wasn't really anything new to the way these tropes were handled, but the story progression was a bit interesting enough that I managed to get through the book. I almost DNF-ed this book because of it, but there were redeeming events that happened towards the end of the book that salvaged the story for me. Both Mara and Alac were well-written characters, but I didn't have any attachment towards them. They were just too cookie-cutter cut characters, and I do feel like most of their personalities were bordering superficial.

The magic system was also just okay for me. I appreciated the effort of the author really expounding the history and basis of both the magic systems introduced, but I do have to note that what the magic actually does was not fleshed out. I was never able to get much on how the magic exactly works aside from what the characters were doing, and it felt like there was something so much more than what was shown.

Is it a great book? No.
Is it a bad book? Also no.
While I pretty much enjoyed it over-all, it didn't exactly match my own personal tastes, but I do believe that it may cater to other readers better.

I sometimes have a hard time getting to fantasy. After I saw this book being compared to Red Queen I knew I needed to read it. It didn't feel rushed or open-ended plots after the end of this standalone fantasy.

Synopsis: For a hundred years, the once-prosperous kingdom of Perin Faye has suffered under the rule of the greedy and power-hungry Thungrave kings. Maralyth Graylaern, a vintner's daughter, has no idea her hidden magical power is proof of a secret bloodline and claim to the throne. Alac Thungrave, the king’s second son, has always been uncomfortable with his position as the spare heir—and the dark, stolen magic that comes with ruling.

When Maralyth becomes embroiled in a plot to murder the royal family and seize the throne, a cat-and-mouse chase ensues in an adventure of dark magic, court intrigue, and forbidden love.

This book felt reminiscent of other dystopian stories of kingdoms in peril with royal families in danger. I liked the things about this book that set it apart: the setting, the characters and their motivations, and the end result of all the court intrigue. It felt similar enough some other stories to feel familiar, but unique enough that you will be kept guessing on what will happen to the main characters.

This was a real gem of a book to be honest. I don't tend to find that standalone fantasies work that well as usually it takes more than one book to really set the scene and fully explore the world and magic systems in place so I found myself quite intrigued by this one.

I was very pleasantly surprised (which is always nice) to find that despite its short length that this story packed quite a punch and gave me quite a lot more than I was expecting.

Set in the Kingdom of Perin Faye we meet Maralyth Graylaern, daughter of a winemaker who just so happens to have a special kind of magic. Maralyth uses her magic on the vines to encourage the ripening of the grapes for the wine but has to do so in secret after her mother caught her as a child and told her that she mustn't use it, that magic is dangerous.

In this Kingdom the only person who can use magic is the King himself and there is a lot of history when it comes to how the royal family came to have the magic in the first place. The Kings ancestors basically usurped the throne and stole the magic many years ago from the Dallowyns and since then the Kingdom has been at the mercy of the royal family who have grown greedy and hungry for more power.

One day a Dallowyn supporter who has witnessed Maralyth using her magic decides to put her on the throne and the whole story is basically about the coup to overthrow the monarchy and restore the magic and the throne to it's rightful owner.

I absolutely loved the main character's, they are really likeable. There is not really any romance so to speak but there is a forbidden friendship/love between Maralyth and the second son of the King, Prince Alac. I would have liked to see that developed more but given the shortness of the story I think that the author did a good enough job with their relationship and it was enjoyable to read about and see it unfold even though I can't say that I really connected or felt that much about whether they ended up together or not.

There was nothing about this book that made it really stand out from other's in this genre but despite that it works well as a standalone, has an enjoyable plot and is definitely the type of book you want to read in one sitting.

The plot is well wrapped up and doesn't leave you with any unanswered questions. I would recommend to anyone who enjoys YA and stories about magic.

I received this ARC in return for and honest review by the publisher through Netgalley.

Here we have our typical adversary to lovers troupe. The characters were likeable. The plot was interesting and kept me turning the page. Overall I found it captivating but predictable. The author threw in a slight twist but I could see this ending coming. I enjoyed the plot, the world building was minimal and focused soley from the perspective of our two main characters.

We have a female lead kidnapped and forced into a role to overthrow the royal family. Of course she starts to get the feels for one of the princes. I enjoyed the book and would recommend it to others, it didn't disappoint.

I really really enjoyed The Stolen Kingdom. Featuring dual views it changes and switches between the two POVs incredibly smoothly. While this book was predictable it wasn't in an annoying way, more so in a comforting way, you knew what to expect but you were still interested in what to come.

An incredibly fun read, it has unique aspects that causes it to stand out against other YA novels - I do love the wine theme and how heavy of a play wine has in this book -- the ending was... interesting? Kind of odd and a little bit underwhelming.

First, I will say that I love that this book is a standalone, I really think there should be more fantasy standalones out there. Some stories just don't need to go on forever. And this book is one of them (in a good way). While there wasn't more time to really explore the world, the story did feel complete. It was solidly a standalone with an enjoyable story, likable characters, and an intriguing magic system.

Moving on, I will go on and break this book down by my five categories for fantasies. Overall, this was an enjoyable read, but not a new favorite, unfortunately.

Writing: Not much to complain about with the writing. It was solid, but not the most engaging. Depending on what the author does next, I could see myself giving her another try. (Although, now is as good a time as any to point out that this book wasn't particularly diverse on any front.)

Plot: The plot follows two POV characters. The daughter of a wine-maker who doesn't know her mother was from an old royal line and the second prince of the current rulers. First, the focus on wine and wine-making was super cool and that honestly was one of my favorite aspects of this book. In general, though, I didn't love the main plot. The trope isn't my favorite and it really wasn't executed in any new and exciting way. I was entertained enough as the girl is kidnapped and pretty much forced to try and take back her throne, but it did leave me wanting. Like I said at the beginning, though, it was enjoyable. It held my attention and up until the last chapters, I wasn't sure how this story would end.

Characters: I liked Mara and Alac on the surface. They were decent characters, but not much stood out about them. I did like Mara's magic, but I will say more about that in a minute. Their romance was a bit hard to get fully on board with, too. So, surface-level = good. Deeper levels = meh. Could take them or leave them.

Magic: Okay, so the magic probably was my favorite aspect of this book. It wasn't spectacular by any means, but I did enjoy Mara's use of her powers. The way she ripened grapes, for example. It was just a cute way to use her magic, even if things got more serious down the line.

World-building: So, I think with this book being a fairly short, fast-paced standalone, the world suffered a little bit. It was hard to ground myself in the world and the history, even though they seemed interesting on the surface. I think if the author had made this story a little longer and really worked on bringing the world to life, then this book would have easily been better than just okay for me.

Overall, an enjoyable and easy read, particularly since it's a standalone, but not much to write home about.