𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 & 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗴 𝗥𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴
𝗥𝗮𝗴𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗥𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀
𝗠𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗛𝗮𝗶𝗿 𝗚𝗲𝗹
𝗔𝗱𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲, 𝗦𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗖𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗼𝗻 𝗕𝗼𝘆
𝗜𝗰𝗲 𝗤𝘂𝗲𝗲𝗻

I really enjoyed the first book in this series, this companion novel however, wasn’t quite as good. I did like the magical aspect of the story. Guys uses magic hair gel to transform from a geeky, socially awkward guy into a suave, popular Prince Charming. What I didn’t like was his inner transformation. How the magic changed his actions and how/what he spoke.

Despite that, I really liked seeing how Rahul and Caterina’s character transformations were kind of juxtaposed. Caterina was the ice queen, Rahul the sweet boy, but as they got to know eachother and see sides of themselves they haven’t seen before, they almost switched personality traits.

Oh, one thing I really didn’t like and don’t understand why it was part of the novel was the twist involving one of the main characters. It just seemed to come out of nowhere and didn’t fit with the flow of the story.

I did get pretty bored towards the end, but the very ending was pretty sweet. If you like fairytale retellings, this book is worth the try.

Thank you to Simon and Schuster and NetGalley for an e-arc to read and review!

🐸 Mini Review 👑
I am seriously a huge fan of @sandhyamenonbooks and I love all of her books. Of Princes and Promises definitely didn’t disappoint. Sandhya is a genius at writing companion novels with different characters, and incorporating past characters in so well.

Caterina is back at Rosetta’s Academy trying to show that she is still Queen B, even after the whole Alaric debacle. Rahul is still the same boy who is insanely smart yet a bit socially awkward. He does have hopes that the dance he shared with Caterina during the winter formal will blossom into something magical.

When Caterina finds out that Aleric is taking his fancy model girlfriend to the upcoming gala, she has to find a date. In comes Rahul, he may not be what she is looking for, but she can fix him up.

Rahul is given a special hair gel that turns him into someone he has always wanted to be. No longer Rahul, RC is all anyone can talk about. He is popular, funny, charming, and catching Caterina’s attention. But when he starts to become something he is not and enjoying it, is when the trouble starts.

I loved both of these characters so much. This really was a perfect companion to Of Princes and Promises. I enjoyed it just as much. I gave this book ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
If you love fairytale retellings, lovable characters, and sweet romances, this is the book for you! 💚

The Rosetta Academy books are some of the best YA retellings out there. Sandhya Menon's latest, Of Princes and Promises, is no exception, as she puts her own spin on The Frog Prince. Menon excels with slow burn romance and fantasy elements in the real world. Read my full review and interview with the author for Culturess at the link below.

It was so much fun being back at Rosetta Academy again! I really enjoyed following Rahul and Caterina's story in this retelling of The Frog Prince. I liked the message and the main theme of the book. While some parts of it felt repetitive and others detracted a little from the main storyline, it was overall a great read. The ending for me felt a bit rushed or just missing *something* but it didn't lessen the enjoyment for me. It's a great sequel to it's predecessor, Of Curses and Kisses. I can't wait to see what happens next at Rosetta Academy! Thanks for the arc, Simon and Schuster!

The second book of the St. Rosetta Academy series picks up with a retelling of The Frog Prince with Catarina and Rahul. I enjoyed the first book in this series but unfortunately didn’t like this one quite as much. I did love the moments where Rahul and Caterina were completely themselves and open with each other. Those parts of the book where he was so nervous and she would let her guard down were really endearing. It was great getting to know these two characters better after having glimpses of them in the first book.

The plot felt a bit slow for me at times and I found myself wanting to spend more time with Cat and Rahul in the boarding school. Much of this book takes place in other locations and I missed the day to day classes and activities that typical seniors would participate in. I also missed the other characters at St. Rosetta since they weren’t as much of a focus in this particular story. While I hoped for a little more it was still a good read and I would certainly like to find out what happens with the next story in this series.

I thought the first book in this series (Of Curses and Kisses) was just average, but I really enjoyed this second book (Of Princes and Promises). Obviously it has a frog prince twist, but there are also some Dr. Jeky;ll and Mr. Hyde and The Picture of Dorian Gray vibes (just a little). This book can be read as a standalone, the series is all of the same setting with some of the same characters reappearing, but you don't need to know the back story. Definitely enjoyed this book and will continue reading the series.

This modern-day retelling of Princess and the Frog was cute! It's a YA contemporary fantasy set at a boarding school, following normal teenagers, with a bit of magic sprinkled in - just like the first book, Of Curses and Kisses.

We have Caterina who has a classic mean girl reputation. She's spoiled, a little selfish and she cares about what people think of her a little too much. I didn't like her at all in the first book but it was so cool and amazing to see her here, to watch her grow. She definitely grew on me in this book and I like her a lot after reading it.
Then there is Rahul who is sweet, has social anxiety, and has a cinnamon roll nerd vibe. And he's had a crush on Caterina for a long time. Then, Caterina needs a date for a gala because her ex is going with a date and she wants to show him that she's over him, happy and content. So there's an element of fake dating, which I always love to see! Before the gala, Rahul finds a mysterious hair gel which turns him into what he most desires to be. He thinks it's a brilliant plan but well... things are bound to get a little messy.
.
The romance is so cute and the dynamic between them is unlike anything I've read before. The pacing is well done and the writing beautiful - which is always the case for Sandhya Menon. What I love most about the book is the character development of both our main characters and the message of being good enough and worthy of love just the way that we are. It's such an important lesson to learn and it was beautiful to see it here. I absolutely loved this book, even more than the first one, and I recommend it to anyone who wants to read a sweet romance with complex, messy, loveable characters, and a beautiful message behind it all.

Of Princes and Promises is a very interesting retelling of The prince frog.
It has a bit of magic that I honestly didn't expect.

We met Caterina and Rahul in the previous book of this series, we knew that she is a rich heiress who enjoys her social life and everything that this world of appearances represents, or so we thought.

In this story we meet again with a Caterina that although it seems that the breakup with her ex-boyfriend Alaric could not care less, when she learns that he will attend with a famous model to one of the big social events that the two usually attend, Caterina is determined to let Alaric and the rest of society know that their breakup has not affected her and that she has turned over a move on. It is then that she decides to make a proposal to Rahul to be his companion in that famous dance, of course before she’s planning to transform and turn him into a person totally different from what he is.

Rahul has been in love with Caterina since that dance last winter when he decided to ask her to dance when he saw how sad she was after breaking with Alaric, and does not think twice to accept Caterina's proposal.

But Rahul's change doesn't just start with the exterior, his new personality will quickly take over him to the point that Caterina begins to have serious doubts and regrets about being the one to bring it all about.

I love that Caterina is not the girl we all think we know and that it is precisely Rahul who with the closeness they are having, is discovering her to us, and at the same time we would see how this Frog would become a Prince RC.

There is much I could say but I risk falling into spoilers, if I have not already, just say that the story is full of friendship, complicity, love and a little magic, I wasn’t expected the latter, specifically in the way it occurs.

Thank you so much to the author, Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing and Netgalley for the ARC provided in exchange of my honest review.

Until the next one :)

This second Rosetta Academy novel follows Caterina, the "mean girl" for the first book. It starts in the aftermath of the Winter Dance. Caterina and Alaric have broken up, and Rahul really likes Caterina after they shared a dance. When Alaric tells Caterina he is taking a model to a gala, Caterina thinks she can transform Rahul from socially awkward to the cool kid everyone wants to hang out with.

This frog prince retelling will keep you captivated until the very end.

Each of the books in the Rosetta Academy series takes place at an elite boarding school and offer a twist on fairy tales — Of Curses and Kisses is a loose retelling of Beauty and the Beast. But to be honest, Of Princes and Promises reads less like the Frog Prince and more like Pygmalion/My Fair Lady.

I came to Of Princes and Promises without having read Of Curses and Kisses. I worried that this would put me at a disadvantage, but the book stands well on its own. Would some of the other characters and side information meant more to me had I read the first book first? Yes. But I didn’t feel lost.

Caterina starts out the novel feeling very one-note. She is that popular girl who gets whatever she wants no matter how she gets it. As the novel progresses, she becomes a more nuanced, likeable character that you want to end up happy.

It takes less time to get to know Rahul. He’s more straightforward and a bit bland. It’s interesting to watch his development from Rahul to RC to someone in between. He’s not particularly dynamic but enjoyable nonetheless.

Author Sandhya Menon’s writing style is comfortable and engaging. And although some of the finer plot points and the overall outcome were predictable, I found myself not caring at all. Now that I’ve finished Of Princes and Promises, I’m going to go back and read it’s predecessor. I look forward to more books in this series.

Sandhya keeps you hooked right from the beggining to a certain plot twist, she accompanies her readers in a magical journey of romance, of betrayal, of love that wins, of a ending that we all need in these difficult times. Fast paced, perfect descriptions, something that you will definitely not see coming, it's all here.
Where are my fellow Psychology enthusiasts? I specifically recommend this to all you guys.
GO! read this.
Now to go in details, without any spoilers- in covid times we all need things that make us happy and not killing of our lovely fictional characters, therefore of Princes and promises is a MUST read because it gives us that happy ending, that smile on our face and heart that all of us need in these difficult times.
It has all the magical elements and though it is a fairy tale re-telling but with it has the written depiction of human psychology so amazingly narrated by the author, that even though it is a fiction, with amazing plot twist, somewhere you all will find yourselves in the book.

*ARC provided via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. The thoughts are entirely my own and in no way biased.*

Trigger Warnings : Kidnapping, Manipulation, Social Anxiety

Of Princes and Promises is a retelling of The Frog and The Prince, and checks all boxes for a great retelling. The story follows Caterina LaValle, who we have seen in the first book in the series – Of Curses & Kisses, and her journey after being cheated on by her long time boyfriend, Alaric. Caterina is a socialite and is used to attending high profile parties, galas, and events all the time with her hot boyfriend on her arm. Now with no boyfriend to attend these events with, she ropes in Rahul Chopra, a fellow classmate at St. Rosetta’s, to attend these places with her instead. The only catch is that Rahul isn’t exactly “arm candy” material and so, she gives him a complete makeover to make him fit to be seen with her. Rahul, who has been in love with Caterina for months, agrees to her conditions only to spend more time with her. But, as time passes, they both realize that this arrangement isn’t working for them, and problems arise.

What I like best about this book is that it’s such a quick and breezy read. I read this in between work, whenever I was able to take a break, and it was so quick I didn’t even realize when I finished reading it. Even having read it in small pockets of time, 10-15 minutes in one sitting at max, it did not take away from my experience, nor did it ever leave me confused when I started reading again. The writing is simple and flows very nicely, with dual POV from both Rahul & Caterina. Despite changing POVs multiple times even in the same chapter, it somehow worked for this story.

Not gonna lie, I definitely favour Rahul of the two in the story. I related with him very easily right from the word go. His issues about his own image and his personality and worth resonated with me in many ways. He’s the nerd, the boy who is always ignored, who is unwanted, and he struggles very hard to see his worth throughout the story. He’s always trying to be enough for Caterina, changing himself in so many ways just to fit in with her. His insecurities are very deep seated and Caterina’s proposal does not help matters. But, towards the end of the story, he does question these things, and realizes that who he is is enough and he shouldn’t be changing himself for anyone.

Caterina was a great female protagonist. She was “Queen Cat” of school, always the ice princess surrounded by her minions, who no one wants to mess with. Despite her picture perfect facade on the outside, she had a lot of struggles going on that she kept quiet about. I liked how she grew throughout the story. Moving on from Alaric after the break up and realizing that she liked Rahul for who he was were the key highlights in her character arc and they were done pretty well.

What I wanted to see more of was both their relationships with their family. Both Rahul & Caterina have a ton of issues with their parents and they weren’t really resolved at the end even though they existed from the start. It would have been nice to see that happen. Another thing that I didn’t like was how the conflict was created. With the plot the way it was, it would’ve been very easy to create conflict without involving an outsider, which is the path this story took. It was very desi soap opera-esque, so I did love it because let’s face it, desis feed off melodrama. But yes, this was definitely not how I was expecting the conflict would happen, so it disappointed me just a little.

Overall, Of Princes and Promises was an extremely fun read and I am so excited for the next book in the series! ❤

This book was super cute and a lot of fun! I really enjoyed Caterina and that's probably why I liked this story so much. In the previous book of this series, she was a villain-like character, but in 'Of Princes and Promises' we got to see a different side of her. She felt human and relatable, and I couldn't help but root for her happily ever after! There were a few things in the plot that made me pause.. but honestly, this was a fairy tale retelling so I didn't even hate it. If you're a fan of Sandhya Menon's writing then definitely pick this book up!

Okay no. Has the author ever been around actual teenagers? I’m 20 so I feel qualified to say that everything about this book was cringe and had that Riverdale kinda vibe. I’d read WHEN DIMPLE MET RISHI last year and it seems like since publishing that book Sandhya Menon has continue to just write superfluous teenaged characters who lack any and all substance. Hard no.

*I received an e-arc from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

Of Princes and Promises is the second book in the Rosetta Academy series. Sandhya Menon is an auto-buy author for me, and I love her books so much. She always manages to bring a smile to my face. This installment did not disappoint!

Caterina wants to show that she's still the creme de la creme of Rosetta Academy after the big breakup with her boyfriend Alaric. She hopes to take back her "crown" and her status. Rahul believes that the dance he shared with Caterina at the winter formal means something, and he's convinced that she feels that way too. He's a little uncertain of how he could fit into her world, but he's adored her for so long. His hope is that they'll find a way to be together.

When Caterina finds out that Alaric is taking a supermodel to the upcoming gala, she knows she must find the perfect date to accompany her. The thought of taking another one of the fake boys from the school doesn't appeal to her however. She decides to take Rahul, who is sweet and often oblivious. Caterina takes him to her personal assistant at a small local boutique. There he is transformed into who he dreams of being, by a mysterious pot of hair gel.

When Rahul tries the hair gel, he is turns into the handsome, charming, and cultured RC. He and Caterina hit the social scene and cause quite a stir. Rahul and Caterina discover that the transformation comes with a price however, as the line between Rahul and RC begins to blur. The question is, will Rahul give up everything to become RC, or will he come back to the ones he loves?

I liked watching the character development of Caterina and Rahul throughout the book. I really loved the message that it's okay to be true to yourself and who you are. Definitely pick this one up ASAP! A fun and fresh new take on the Princess and the Frog that you're sure to enjoy.

A huge thank you to NetGalley, Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, and of course Sandhya Menon for providing me with an eARC of this book. I am leaving a review voluntarily, all opinions are my own.

I'm definitely enjoying this series. I finally read the first one when I realized we were approaching the release date for this and I enjoyed it and was thrilled to hop into this one. I liked it even better than the first. I love series like this that are all connected in some way, these characters having been introduced in the first book.

I can't wait to see where this series goes and how the next book comes out!

The second book in the series of Rosetta school was fun and had just the right amount of fantasy to it. It was lovely to see Grey and Jaya make a cameo. Rahul and Caterina were a fun couple to root for.

Caterina and Rahul’s story was everything I wanted it to be. Even though (at first) they seemed completely different with nothing in common, they were able to complement and bring out the best in each other.

It was painful to watch, yet I totally understood Rahul and RC’s struggle. I wish there had been time for a resolution with Rahul’s family, but the book ended perfectly nevertheless.

I love these characters and this series so much, and I can’t wait to read DE’s story in the future!

I could go on and on about how much I love this book, but I don’t want to give anything away!! If you like boarding schools, romance, a little bit of magic, friendship, and loose fairytale retellings, then you need to read this book!

I struggled with this second installment of St. Rosetta's Academy. While it was definitely nice to see old friends again, and Catarina is worthy female protagonist, I had some issues with the subplot of Mia. It just felt like an extra piece that didn't need to be included. The RC of it all could've been enough. Menon was already using miscommunication as the main form of conflict, and it could've easily happened without Mia's character. Same with Catarina's growth-- her reunion with her friends would've been enough. I also found the way Catarina and Rahul spoke to each other a bit too... ornamental? Teens don't speak like that. I received my education at a relatively fancy private school, and I promise teens don't speak like that. It became increasingly difficult to ignore as the book progressed. Despite that, it was a refreshing change to see the tale of the Frog Prince given a fresh spin. I also enjoyed that Catarina wasn't tricked or manipulated to make the plotline fit the Frog Prince mold. She was part of the problem, and part of the solution, and I really appreciated that. The setup for DE's story also seems promising. A recommended read if you really enjoyed Of Curses and Kisses, but not something I felt stood well on its own.

A very unique offering from this author, but still in her usual fun writing style with great characters. Lots of great lines and a very creative story.