I really could not get into this book and DNF'd at 60% because it just felt like the story was very stalled and it was also written in a way that made me feel like it was supposed to be funny? But It just came across as like slapstick which I'm not a fan of. I liked the concept of the story though! The narrator also could have been the problem because I felt like they were saying everything in a comedic way?

Absolutely loved the audiobook! The narrator brought out the intricacies and subtleties of Phera and her dynamics with the other characters. I would love to see more of the world and learn how the society came into being.

I'll be honest, I picked up this book because I loved the cover and saw it was queet, knowing nothing about the plot... and I loved it!

The premise of this book is Phera, the Duchess of Kokora, goes to the neighboring kingdom of Ryene to participate in the marriage games, a Bachelor-like event to win the Prince's hand. Except, Phera has no interest in the prince and is trying to win the heart of one of the other contestants! Add in some magic, the court politics of Bridgerton, and plenty of shenanigans!

This book is really funny. I was not expecting to laugh as much as I did. The book was made even more hilarious by the wonderful audiobook narration by Lady Danbury herself, Adjoa Andoh! She embodied all of the characters so well. While there is a lot of humor, there is also grief, heartbreak, romance, fighting, etc. Her voice kept me consistently engaged with and emotionally invested in the story.

Another strength of this story is the world-building. There is a ton of depth to this story! While one could argue the premise alone makes it Romantasy, the book read like epic fantasy. And there is no info dumping! At times, the marriage games play second fiddle to other aspects of the plot. This didn't bother me at all. Prabala is able to consistently "show, not tell", which keeps the pacing of the book fast and furious from start to finish. I really loved the magic system. While it is not explained in detail, it's easy enough to understand. There is also a ton of history and court politicking. And, the world is queer normative! I love that, while Phera and Rochelle had a forbidden romance, it wasn't because they are gay. The world-building was unique, interesting, but not overwhelming.

Phera is a character is excellent. She's mischievous, intelligent, hot-headed, and deeply compassionate. She's the person who will do what needs to be done, no matter the cost. Rochelle mirrors Phera's intelligence and compassion, but her inability to be confrontational and her level head cause tension in the relationship. Ultimately, I felt more drawn to Phera than Rochelle. Rochelle's stance on pacisivism felt steeped in privilege from a relatively stable upbringing and high social class. Classism is discussed at length in the book, as those without magic lack the power and privilege of the magic wielders. Overall, I felt this was done well, but hope it is pushed a little more in other books.

The ending of this book was such a cliffhanger! I can't wait for book 2. Highly recommend to Romantasy and Fantasy readers!

I was at first worried that a lesbian romantic plot written by a man could be an issue but it was handled with care and I really enjoyed it! The characters felt real and their dialogue was great. Even though she made many questionable decisions, I rooted for Phera and really liked the complicated villains and heroes.

The narration by the magnificent Adjoa Andoh was amazing, she added so much heart to the characters and her voices were great! I hope she narrates more stories!

3.7/5 ⭐️ This was a witty, fun time of a sapphic lesbian romance with a love triangle to complicate things! The audiobook was a delight because the narrator did a good job with the voices! With that being said the FMC whines a lot and was very naive and insufferable around her love! It was annoying! But overall, it was a good read and enjoyed it for the most part!

I will give this book another chance in the future when I can read a physical or digital copy because the plot still sounds great. I could not enjoyably make it through the audiobook. The narrator wasn’t bad but I could not make the voice fit my perceptions of the characters at all. It felt like one person giving a very exaggerated performance that made character switches very jarring. Over the top? Too posh? I’m not sure how to describe it.

Duchess Phera Mdana is in it to win it and I don’t mean the games that she signed up for but the love of her life and ex-fiancée Lady Rocelle Virae who is also competing for the hand of Prince Dominic. The one that got away in the past but of whom she can’t stop thinking about. There is mischiefs, vengeance, pretty cool magic system, past political tensions that come back and lots and lots of queerness between Phera & Rocelle.

I really enjoyed listening to the audiobook and I wish I had the physical copy as there were many moments that I wanted to tab and didn’t have the chance to.

This book would appeal to fantasy readers who like love triangles, political intrigue, religious and philosophical discourse, and debate.

There were a few engaging scenes where readers saw magic in action, but the bulk of the book consisted of romantic interludes, court intrigue and dialogue about classicism, industrialization, and impending war.

The book started with an established sapphic romance—but Rochelle’s parents have denied Phera’s suit. Phera enters the marriage games, competing for the prince’s hand only as an opportunity to impress Rochelle’s parents and win her back. The ending was intense but kind of a cliffhanger, so I didn’t feel much resolution. It is the first book in a planned series but the ending was a little abrupt.

The synopsis was interesting but I also wanted to listen to this book because it’s narrated by the talented Bridgerton actress Adjoa Andoh. There were a lot of characters, dramatized with different accents and voices, but unfortunately some were annoying/whiny.

Overall, this was a solid story, but love triangles are not my favorite trope, and I didn’t connect enough with the characters and their goals to love it.

Thanks to PRbytheBook and NetGalley for the ARC.

I was NOT prepared for the ending.......and I certainly hope the next one is ready soon because I am SHOCKED!

In the essence of not spoiling the ending for anyone, I will share how we got there. This book is full of witty banter, political intrigue, and The Witcher worthy magic-infused fight scenes. The pace was nice and steady with interesting twists thrown in here and there to keep me on my toes. The characters are dynamic and multi-faceted. I found the overarching theme to be incredibly relevant to the political climate of today, and the undercurrent of romantic longing was relatable and added another layer to the plot. I have already recommended this book to a friend, and will be first in line when the sequel comes out!

And trust me, you want to listen to the audiobook. The narration was absolute perfection!

Thank you Nikhil Prabala and your team for allowing me to listen to your book for my honest review. This book was really good. I loved the wittiness of the characters. The storyline was great and the ending was really good.

Action, Igbtqia rep with no issues in the world with being so. It's treated naturally which was a big plus. I was delighted by The normalcy of it. Lots of action. Lots of intriguing elements to the story such as the magic and the warrior/ nobility type story. With a hint of spice for those that like it but not so much so that for people like me who really aren't into it feels like that's what the whole book was built on. My only spoiler is Dad. It is a continuation of a book or better yet series and I guess I didn't read that. Or maybe they didn't include it in the synopsis on netgalley, but I jumped on it for many reasons number one being the narrator and I can't remember her name without getting out of this review and go and look. But it's The duchess from bridgerton and her voice is fantastic and she should do many, many more audiobooks. As a matter of fact she might and I'll be checking that out because she is very animated. She does the voices very well and of course she has the accent. Bravo to the narrator and to the author. I don't want to give away too many spoilers because some people basically rewrite the book in the reviews and it's pointless to read it after it even without the spoilers. It's just a great book. Read it

Not gonna lie, I picked this up almost entirely because the narrator was Adjoa Andoh, and the promise of sword lesbians didn't hurt one bit. I was not disappointed in that she delivered PERFECTLY on one of my favorite fantasy heroines in a long time who had me cackling with her powerful sass from the very first sentence. The narration also did justice to some serious world-building, wide cast of very personable characters, talking through SO MANY FEELINGS, and the development of some of the best non-romantic relationships that are really the beating heart of this story. What I wasn't expecting was to feel a deep investment in the central sapphic pairing to NOT end up together, because MAN, they had a toxic relationship. Think Kristen Stewart and her girlfriend from The Happiest Season. I am convinced that the real villain in this was actually Rocelle who was THAT flaky bisexual, gaslighting and patronizing and playing her lovers against each other, that gives all other bisexuals and polyams a bad name. Given there weren't other ones to balance this one out, I'm gonna ding the author for this borderline biphobic choice. I'd be madder about this if the narrative didn't deliver on so many other fronts like Phera's badassery and self-reflection, Dominic and Phera's beautiful platonic relationship (despite Rocelle), Phera's whole found family (Hespin and Lloran), etc. Rocelle, Bachelor meets Hunger Games, and physics-defying hot air balloon sex notwithstanding, I am SO IN on this series now and cannot recommend it enough.

Phera, the Duchess of Kokora, has entered the marriage games of neighboring kingdom, Ryene. She doesn't want to marry the king; that is not her intention. Instead, she hopes to win back the heart of her true love, Rocelle.

It won't be easy. Along the way, Phera will encounter numerous road blocks, to include stopping a duel between brothers, fending off a fellow contestant with a vicious streak, and finding that her love may be in love with someone else.

The tone of this book is humorous and quite reminded me of My Lady Jane, another YA book with a fantastical setting and features. It's a solid debut with an engaging plot, world building, and details about kingdoms and culture. I found the idea of marriage games to be fresh and unique; however, I did wish that they were more front and center in the plot instead of relegated to the background..

Phera is passionate and witty, but is flawed and makes mistakes. And though she isn't meant to be the villain, her true love, Rocelle does give off villain vibes. Phera describes her a so pure and so good but she seems quite catty in reality, relishing that two people are fighting over her affections, acting as though there is nothing she can do about it. It makes the reader struggle to connect to Phera's single mindedness of winning her heart. In fact, Phera's relationship with Dominic, who is also trying to win the heart of the person her loves, is so much more lovely. They are honest with each other. And while he struggles with his violent nature, he is strong and honorable.

Overall, the book hits on important themes for YA novels like intimacy, right and wrong, and honesty, which is refreshing without being overbearing. The narration by Bridgerton's Adjoa Andoh is revelatory.

The narration was nice to listen to. However, I found it hard to focus on the actual story. Used it more for background noise.

This one was hard to get into. The romance was there. I wasn't really connected to the characters to feel that romance, though. Because of this, it was hard to root for anyone.

This was such a fun one! As one reviewer mentioned “came for the lesbians, stayed for the plot”. All the characters were complex enough and interesting and intriguing. The humor throughout the book was also wonderful. Great debut!

Phera, the Duchess of Kokora, is joining part of the marriage games to the neighboring kingdom called Ryene. She's not there for the reason you think she'd be there for. While many women are trying to win Prince Dominic's heart, Phera is there to win back Lady Rochelle's heart. Lady Rochelle was Phera's ex-fiancee, but she is currently a contestant in Prince Dominic's marriage games.

Phera and Rochelle's love relationship has always been a secret and when Phera is reunited with Rochelle, Phera needs to mend their relationship all while hiding her intentions to the rest of the kingdom. She also needs to pretend and convince others that she is serious about winning Prince Dominic's heart.

What is really going on between Phera, Rochelle, and Prince Dominic? Will there be a happily ever after between Phera and Rochelle? What happens with Prince Dominic?

I'm not the biggest fan of the fantasy genre, but after seeing this book's cover, I had to read it! This book did not disappoint and this book is super action packed! I was always curious as to what was going to happen and in the back of my mind, I was thinking about what the ending could possibly be. I tend to stay away from fantasy because I know I'll get confused with the fantasy world, but Nikhil did an amazing job writing this book where it was not a

The Duchess of Kokora was an anticipated read for me because of the Sapphic rep as well as the political intrigue. Overall, I think that this book has a great premise, but was ultimately lacking for me in some key areas. This book had many pacing problems. I was constantly feeling like nothing and then everything was happening. The characters were also lacking feeling. Despite all the high emotion scenes, I never felt truly attached or invested in the characters. The political intrigue was not as well developed as I would have liked. I always felt like the explanation was lacking and there were no larger motives to drive the story. I do agree with the other reviews that said this felt like a book two of a series. I also wish that the line between young adult and adult fantasy would have been more clear. The audiobook was well produced but I didn't feel that Adjoa Andoh was suited for this role. Her more mature voice did not fit with the young characters. It was also sometimes hard to differentiate between the characters while in conversations. Thank you to Grand Press and NetGalley for this advanced listeners copy!

I had trouble getting through this. The audiobook version was great it was the story that just didnt do it for me.

“Your Honor. In my defense, the gentleman bears a remarkable resemblance to a horse’s ass. When I struck him with that riding crop, why, I was merely thinking to spur him out of everyone’s way!
The Duchess of Kokora, Phera Ylir Mdana, stood tall behind the defense table, widening her eyes in a picture of bewildered innocence as the gallery behind her roared with laughter. "

"If you snore, I will not hesitate to kick you." - Phera to Prince Dominic
(Love their friendship - and banter)

Phera is quite the character. She's sassy, brave, hilarious and tenacious. A protagonist you can't help but root for.
This was a random read for me and the cover art is what primarily drew me in. It is stunning, exudes a strong female character aura (has don't- mess-with-me-I-have-magical-talons vibe) and would make a nice tattoo IMO. I seldom read fantasy nowadays but now and then it serves as a good pallet cleanser. They say that this is a must read for fans of The Selection and Bridgerton series. I haven't watched both so I really didn't know what to expect. I will be totally honest that I didn't have the best experience with the audio narration. The narrator tries too hard to get into character but I often find the change in tone abrupt and distracting, and all the whispering and screeching is driving me NUTS!!! 🤣 Not being a Negative Nancy but I was really hoping I also have the digital copy so I can easily follow along and to better understand what she's saying at times. I hate having to pause and rewind certain parts. 😐
Though I'm still interested in reading the second installment, I'd opt for a digital copy next time.

Tropes:
✔️Sapphic fantasy
✔️Fake dating
✔️courting, friendship and rivalry
✔️Courtly intrigue
✔️Political scheming
✔️Magic duels
✔️Elemental magic
✔️Women in power
✔️Royal competition
✔️For fans of The Selection series

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you to NetGalley and PR BY THE BOOK AUDIOBOOKS! 🖤

3.5✨

The Duchess of Kokora is so much fun to listening to, all due to Nikhil Prabala, a cast member of the popular Netflix series, BRIDGERTON. The story is great, but you have to pay attention because there is a lot going on. It’s long, but oh, so worth the read! I hope there will be more books by this author! ✍️