This is a classy ya fantasy but with a feminist twist. It has many ya as well as classy fantasy tropes and characteristics. I didn’t like that our FMC does everything right is like she cannot make a mistake. Other than that if you a damsel in distress that save herself sounds interesting to you. Give it a try

This book is a 3.5, but I've rounded up for the site.

This book gave me the feelings that reading did as a teenager. I was taken away from my world into one that's interesting, but not overly complicated. It is not a perfect read, but that's one of the things that I enjoyed. A book doesn't have to be technically perfect to be a good time and this book is a great example.

This is a different fairytale retelling. Elodie never dreamed of being a princess, but when she becomes the princess, she quickly starts to dream of having a great life where she can help her people. As she enters the ritual to become an Aurean princess, she realizes things aren't what they seem. In this instance, she needs to save herself to have a future and to save the world. It's an interesting tale about how sometimes you have to save yourself.

Thank you Netgalley.

I am sad to say that I didn't enjoy this one as much as I did her Cloak of Night series.

Her writing style is different than what I've read in other books so it's hard to really get into her books. I felt bored and uninterested about a quarter way but pushed until I finished it. I wish I could get that time back. 😭

Evelyn Skye is such an underrated fantasy author. I love her writing and this story was absolutely amazing.

I enjoyed this story from start to finish. A story that shined the relationship of sisterhood and also the common not told in a positive light of a step mother. I found this so refreshing. I also liked that romance this story was not but a story of the unexpected and survival against all odds.

This was such an interesting read! I found myself so engrossed in the story, the characters had such incredible arcs, and I can't wait to follow this author's journey!

Wow tropey YA.. it's not anything new. I was hoping for a bit more. The writing seemed very much like a screenplay, so it will probably translate well. But once again animal death and no trigger warning.. I can't do animal death. But I did really like the main character here, and I am looking forward to when it comes to screen.

This was very uncomfortable to read. Elodie, our main character, seemed coded to be stereotypically autistic. She felt written by someone who is definitely not neurotypical and did not consult with any sensitivity readers.

Outside of the icky feeling I get reading the MC, this is a pretty generic YA. Please just read something else.

I requested this for the beautiful cover months and months ago before coming to the conclusion that I cannot trust a book by its cover. Should I make a dating analogy? No?

I won't go into it too much, but know this. I should've trusted my friends A Mac and Marquise. They clearly know me better than I know myself. Or our tastes are similar.

YA fantasy. Dragons. Boring leads. Where have we read that recently? To all of the people stunned by Fourth Wing, I'm glad you enjoyed it. I'm not here to shit on your favorite book. But was it revolutionary? No. Is this revolutionary? Certainly not. But if you're into tropes and guessing every step the main character takes, this is for you. It is not for me. My NetGalley backlog is literally haunting me at this point, so if you see me slogging through some similar books soon, no you didn't.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher.

Elodie was such a great character to root for! I liked seeing a sort of flipping of normal fantasy tropes that have always been accepted. Beautiful storytelling and fantastic worldbuilding.

I really wanted to love Damsel and potentially even have a love/hate relationship with it. I love the twists added to the traditional fairytale tropes, I love the message the author is trying to get across here about sisterhood, and I think that the body horror-esque scenes were done very well. However, the ending really soured the rest of the story for me and left me wondering why that was the choice made. I do think it is a fun YA book with a generally good message but why the ending? I can’t say too much without spoiling the story.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for an ARC, all views are my own.
This was a great story. I liked the relationship between the sisters, Elodie and Floria. It was so strong throughout the story. You can tell their love and loyalty runs deep. This story was also very fast-paced and thrilling. Dragons! I love all the fantasy elements in this. I felt like I was always waiting to see what would happen next.
The only downside was at times it was hard to follow. It runs through many points of view which you need to understand what is actually going on, but with everything else happening, at times I struggled.
Overall, a gripping story.

This book is a YA Fantasy and at times felt juvenile, it did win me over in the end though. I rooted for Elodie and Floria to make it out and end the circle of sacrifice. The stepmother trope is a little tired and I found it to be irksome, I also found it hard to believe that a father who lost the love of his life would then sacrifice the daughter who wore her face, but apparently thousands of family’s in the story were willing to do just that. I loved lots about the story; Elodie’s curious nature, her ability to keep her wits about her, and her devotion to family. I loved the women coming together and being the force for change. I’m glad in the end Elodie ended up with the family that truly deserved her. I hope the show will expand on the premise of the book and be the epic fantasy the book is the bones for.

Dragons yes. Evil Dragons hell yes. I love my dragons and this book has a juicy one. This is a fun classic fairytale retelling that gives sleeping Beauty vibes without the damsel in distress. This book was super fun and a quick read. I love Elodie and her sister as super cute. I also loved the citizen of Aurelia and the (nod to the og fairytale) for actually acknowledging the dilemma of the kingdom. I also loved the flash back and how elodie saved herself while not being too over the top girl power and indpendent. Elodie’s dad does try to make ammends and shows us that it is okay to accept help and be afraid.

I absolutely loved this book. It sucked me in right away and kept me intrigued the entire time. Elodie is betrothed to Henry, the Prince of Aurea, and will do whatever it takes to provide a better life for the people of her home. The marriage will provide much-needed food and wealth for her homeland. So when the wedding day comes, and things take a turn for the worse, Elodie will have to save herself along with both kingdoms. And there are dragons!! I can't wait to see the Netflix adaptation of this book. Thank you, NetGalley, for the eARC. 5 stars.

I made it about 15% before I had to DNF this felt like it should have been a middle-grade novel but it wasn't a particuarly good one....there was some struggles with the world building and characterization. Maybe I need to give it another try down the road but it won't be anytime soon.

Another typical YA book. Nothing new to discover, every trope squeezed in, just simple characters and zero world building.

3.5/5 Stars

Overall I thought this was a pretty good YA book. There was some good world-building, it was fast paced, and had somewhat of a fairytale feel to it. I have recently found out that this will be getting adapted on Netflix, and I will definitely check it out once it does! I think it is the type of book that might adapt better on the screen.

Did not finish. Writing too all over the place and didn't hold my interest at all. Hope the movie is better.