The summary make you think it'll be a more fast paces than it is. I liked the political intrigue and slow burn natural progression of the relationships. The romance we so good! The smuggling doesn't happen until over half way through the book. Once I came to terms that it wasn't going to happen anytime soon I really started to enjoy it. The balance between action and romance was superb! While definitely more of a princess book than a pirate one it was a good read all around.THE ENDING shook me!

If there ever was an origin story for a princess to turn vicious - this would be it. The title perfectly matches the slow descent into viciousness of Princess Charis. She's been primed to be a ruler her whole life. She has a ruthless and focused mother role model as queen and a soft-hearted and loving father as king consort. She loves both her parents and tries to blend the both of them together into the ruler she will one day become. But war plagues her shores and she cannot let her heart distract her. What she wants is not aligned with what her kingdom needs and she has to make a series of hard choices that leads her farther and farther away from her own desires.

The ending wrecked me almost as mush as Calera's ships get wrecked in this novel. And that's saying a lot because a lot of their ships get wrecked... YOU HAVE TO READ THE ENDING!!! It's so good.

It is a slow build with the plot, but I think the slow build nicely compliments the fast paced and heart breaking ending.

There are twists at the end that I didn't see coming and no one is as they appear to be. It was delightful to see Charis dance the political lines she needed to save her kingdom, but the ending was even more ruthless than I anticipated.

I've been a fan of C.J. Redwine since the Ravenspire series, but this may become my new favorite of hers.

Rise of the Vicious Princess is a YA fantasy (that could also be enjoyed by middle-graders unless the series gets racier) about Charis, a princess who is raised in her mother's shadow to be as ruthless, calculating, and cutting as her mother. This review is of an audio version, so apologies for any misspelled names or poorly remembered details.

Charis has been her mother's right hand and trained to keep her focus honed on running the kingdom and never trusting or loving anyone. Her father, the king consort, is a sweet and affectionate parent in contrast to her mother's expectations of her accomplishments. After her mother is injured severely, Charis is expected to step in her mother's shoes to fulfill the bulk of her responsibilities and is assigned a new bodyguard as a precaution. Charis and her trusted circle, which consists of her bodyguard and twin cousins, must determine which neighboring kingdom is sinking all of their ships as well as who is the traitor on the inside behind multiple assassination attempts. Her bodyguard saves Charis' life more than once and willingly trains her in a secretive fighting style, leaving Charis more and more dependent upon him.

The book is fast-paced with lots of action and has the most horrid cliffhanger. As I eagerly await the sequel, I highly recommend this book for any collection that includes YA fantasy.

I was completely immersed into the world C.J. Redwine created. Princess Charis is the type of MC I love to read. She is strong, determined, and inquisitive. Charis finds her kingdom under attack and a guard that Charis can not stand and that she thinks is ruthless is forced to protector her. They are given close accommodations. This enemies to lovers story had me swooning. With new creatures and a world lush and intriguing. I already want to dive back in and the ending has me needing the sequel like yesterday. This book has a major twist at the end that I never saw coming. A definite 5 star read!