This story is a play on the story of Cinderella but instead of Cinderella, prince.charming ends up with one of the step sisters. I thought the premise of this book was cute and had some potential but there were some major issues. There were too many characters. It was hard to follow the story because there were so many subplots going on. I realize the author is setting up for multiple books but it made this one feel messy. The romance also felt underdeveloped throughout as well and maybe they were better as friends than lovers. We also didn't get any resolve with Daphne (the Cinderella character) running off with a married man. I'm not sure if that is going to be in an upcoming book or if that is just a plot hole. Overall it was a cute theme and had some sweet moments but the writing struggled a bit throughout.

The kingdom of Laandia is a fictional country ruled by descendents of Vikings, situated between the United States and Canada. This is book two, focusing on Prince Gunnar and the owner of a local dog shelter, Stella Laz. While preparations are underway for the wedding of Prince Odin and Lady Camille, Gunnar ends up involved in a vaguely Cinderella-esque story...where Prince Charming falls for the wicked stepsister.

There is an enormous cast of characters for this book that can sometimes be hard to follow (Stella has a sister named Sophie but also a half-brother named Spencer and a stepsister named Daphne, for example). This is also incredibly slow burn, and Stella is extremely afraid of anything Gunnar makes her feel except for anger. It's a quickish read though, if not a bit confusing at times. It's a bit unclear if this is an alternate timeline - for example, Camille's father figure is a French Lord, which hasn't existed since the 1700s. Overall, worth a read if you want a cute royal story.

Enjoyed this! I felt it was a slow burn and then suddenly it was over! I wanted more :) a few typos in the page w10 range, but overall I enjoyed the writing style and the story!

A retelling of a familiar fairy tale. Gunnar is the youngest son of the king of Laandia. He has to attend a royal wedding and his only requirements are that his date can't take attention away from the bride/groom and his dates needs to know that this is one-time thing. He goes with the Sea Queen except that her wicked stepsister, Stella says it's bad idea. They spend more time together and become friends and maybe something more...

Love the easter eggs in this book. Love how the original characters are twisted and flopped how the step-sister is the main character. The dialogue is fun and sparkling. A fun read!

Thanks to the publisher for the arc.

The characters in this story were well developed and fun to read. The story was a great enemies to lovers story with the fun twisted fairy tale spin.

I received an advance copy in exchange for my review, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. I really wanted to like this but I just could not get into it. I wasn't connecting with the characters. The massive amount of details, especially about how characters were connected really made me confused on why they were being described when most of it wasn't even important to the plot. I did enjoy the characters dialogue when it was present most of it was funny. It just felt like it was a really hard time getting to the point. Maybe it's my fault for assuming this was going to be fast pace.

What a fun twist on a classic story! It’s so nice and such a breath of fresh air to see a modern day retelling. I absolutely cannot wait to share my thoughts on this more. I apologize to due an unexpected health issue and health stay I’ve fallen a bit behind on reviews, but I’m slowly catching up and reading such great content like this really is the best medicine, I look forward to sharing much more soon.