I love all things romantic competition, and while I did like the finale to this series, I didn’t love it.

The main character themselves had immature tendencies that borderlines on bratty, but they were also a young princess. I think younger audiences wouldn’t mind her behavior or dialogue as much. For the story being about finding their soulmate, I didn’t feel like I was experiencing falling in love with any of the contestants. It felt more like I was being told a lot more than I was feeling immersed into the emotional aspect. I also don’t think the characters did a lot of development even though the plot was written well and would lend to it.

I didn’t like that the aspect of the main character having to wear glasses is described as a “flaw” despite how everyone reacted to it. It was vanity and if anything that was the true “flaw” because there’s nothing “scandalous” about needing to wear glasses. Also another side character had a stutter and instead of just stating such, the author proceeded to write it into the dialogue, and I didn’t understand the purpose of displaying a speech impediment if it wasn’t to further some point.

The plot was good, if predictable, I did enjoy the linear progression. It helped that the pacing was well-thought out. I do think the author preferred to write about the princess’ adventures instead of dating and being interested in the competition, and while I can appreciate a side plot, where I came for the competition but stayed for the side story, it was difficult to remember as I read that this was first and foremost a competition to determine the supreme king of the five cities. At least that is what I was expecting.

There was nothing that said this is a boring or uninteresting story, and I did enjoy reading it, but I was just expecting more.

So I will admit that I wasn't as crazy about this installment as the others. I'm still giving it 4 stars because I really enjoy how easy these are to read and I love a good Bachelor trope with hints of magic, but the final selection is what made this go downhill for me. I have lots of thoughts, but all of them spoilers. Just know that I'm not the forgive & forget type.

I will say - I didn't know this would be the last installment of the RMC and I absolutely loved the newspaper clippings at the end. It was a nice way to wrap things up without me questioning, "Well? What happened next?" That being said, I'm still bummed there won't be another. I've really been enjoying my time with these.

I loved this book , it was fun and addictive and i loved the presence of the gryphons! I finish it in a couple of days and I totally recommend it!

*Thank you to Netgalley and the author for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review*

The final installment of the Royal Matchmaking Competition, The Flight of the Gryphons, finishes Princess Zoyechka's story. Picking up where the last book left off, Zoya along with a number of her bachelors have been captured and Prince Roman is revealed to be a traitor. This book proceeds to develop Zoya more as a character and I enjoyed watching her mature. However, I had some serious issues with this book that impacted my rating. Before I get into those, I want to highlight what I liked about the book.
As I already mentioned, the character development of Zoya was probably my favorite part of the book. Although she still made some stupid decisions, you can really tell that she has grown and matured throughout the two books. I also really enjoyed the added POVs in this book. While the book was mainly told from Zoya’s POV, other characters such as Roman, Scott, and Zoya’s father received their own chapters. This added to the depth of the story and helped the plot develop more naturally. Lastly, I loved that some of the contestants were mentioned in the epilogue. A lot of times with books like these, the characters who are not chosen are completely forgotten about and we never learn what happened to them. Several of the bachelors make either an appearance or are mentioned in the flashforward and I really appreciate that. Now on to what I did not like.
My biggest issue with this book was the ending. I did not read the other books in the series, so I am unfamiliar with the author’s writing style, and I do not know how she ended her other books. I do know that I really really hated this ending. I don’t want to spoil anything so I’m going to keep this short. Basically, I knew exactly where the ending was going and even though I knew how it was going to end, I still hated it. The ending was rushed, there was no buildup, and then there was the actual decision that was just so completely wrong. Okay, I better stop before I spoil anything.
In short, the book was okay, but the ending really ruined the whole story for me.

I really loved this book! It is the fifth book in the series and it was just as good as the beginning of the series. I would highly recommend this book!

I rated this book 3 stars because I was expecting more about this book. Don't get me wrong. The storyline is impecable, the characters are great but maybe this book wasn't for me.