Did not finish. Couldn't get into the story and the character. Just means this book wasn't for me, might be a perfect fit for someone else.

Book received for free through NetGalley

I liked the idea of this book but after starting and stopping only got 8% through. The published date has already past so I wanted to submit a review for what I listened to so far. Written and read well; just not my cup of tea.

I absolutely loved this. The story was great and I love the lgbt rep. I’ll be checking out this author again.

One of best thing about this audiobook is the NARRATOR. I have been the biggest fan of Adjoa Andoh and her voice was perfect as Phera.
The way she encapsulate the character and her expression is what makes this story so much interesting.
As for the plot : The Duchess of Kokora Phera has entered the marriage games of neighboring kingdom Ryene. However, her intention is not to marry the prince and gain immeasurable power, but to win back the love of her life, Rocelle. Though this may seem simple, Phera runs into numerous problems including stopping a bloodthirsty duel, fending off a vicious fellow contestant, and grappling with the fact that her beloved may love another. Will she ever find her happily ever after?

The plot is hilarious and Adjoa simply reflects that humour through her narration. I was reading and listening it together which was so fun.

The Duchess of Kokora was like reading a fantasy version of The Bachelor. What this realm calls The Rounds is a way to determine the best match for the prince of Ryene, with lots of fanfare, scheming and romance.

However, Phera has entered The Rounds to win back the heart of fellow contestant Rocelle. She doesn’t know that Rocelle is in love with the prince, creating a love triangle between the three.

Listening to the audiobook of The Duchess of Kokora, I thought this ended on a cliffhanger. I grabbed the physical copy off my TBR shelves and realized there was a whole other chapter at the end that the audiobook didn’t have. And that wrapped it up much better - no cliffhanger!

Thank you to @nprabala @prbythebook for the physical copy and @netgalley for the audiobook copy of The Duchess of Kokora!

Thank you NetGalley and Grand Press for the ARC

A interesting fantasy novel with deadly trials and sapphic love. I found the story and characters fascinating, but never got invested in the story. It was fun, but I wasn't really compelled to continued. That said I liked the drama and I really enjoyed the romance!

This book was moderately enjoyable; however, it had more of a young adult vibe than I anticipated, and the storyline felt somewhat disjointed. I thought the concept of the magic system was intriguing, but it wasn't executed in a way that I found particularly impressive. Regarding the LGBTQ+ relationship, I found it lacking, and I also struggled to understand the prince's role in the story, as he seemed somewhat extraneous. The twist at the end felt unnecessary and didn't quite align with the narrative. Overall, I wasn't a major fan of this novel, despite having high expectations.

Thank you to the Author Nikhil Prabala for writing this novel and sharing it with us.

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.