***Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the ebook.
The Encantos' Daughter by Melissa De La Cruz presents a unique and intriguing take on Philippine mythology, offering a blend of magic, mystery, and romance. The story follows MJ, a half-Encanto who is swiftly taken to the Siren Court after the death of her father. As MJ navigates her new world in Birigan, she balances school, trying to discover her powers, and uncover the truth behind her father’s death, all while grappling with her emerging role as a queen.
The book does an excellent job of building a fascinating world steeped in mythology (perhaps a bit too quickly at times with all the different names/court set up), and the mystery surrounding MJ's father’s death keeps the plot moving forward. MJ also forms an uneasy alliance with Sir Lucas, who she gradually begins to fall for. Their romance is filled with tension, sneaky kisses, and promises that feel shaky—especially when Lucas hides the fact that he’s promised to another. The romance adds some emotional depth, though it feels a bit inconsistent at times, especially with Lucas’s secretive actions.
However, my main issue with the book lies in the pacing and the final twist. While the mystery and the exploration of mythology were compelling, the last 10% of the book felt rushed and out of sync with the build-up. In the final chapters, the evil witch finally makes an appearance, is swiftly dealt with, and MJ acquires her powers sands saves the day. She then becomes queen, and a month later while Lucas is out of town -- MJ receives a letter about his upcoming wedding to another woman. (That’s the cliff hanger? Really? )This all happens in a span of just a few pages, which undercut the careful pacing that had been established throughout the story.
The ending, meant to be a cliffhanger, felt more like a letdown. Instead of leaving me eager for the next installment, it just felt unresolved and a little too tidy for a story that had previously built so much intrigue. It didn’t give me enough to look forward to in the sequel, which made it hard for me to stay excited for MJ’s next chapter.
In conclusion, The Encantos' Daughter had a lot of potential and an imaginative premise, but the rushed conclusion and the underwhelming cliffhanger left me disappointed. It’s an enjoyable read for those interested in mythology and fantasy, but the pacing and abrupt ending held it back from being a truly engaging story.

The Encanto's Daughter is a YA fantasy about family and identity with a mystery framework and a genuine "don't trust anyone but yourself vibe". Melissa de la Cruz has created a world that reflects her own Filipina heritage.
MJ Robertson-Rodriguez unexpectedly finds herself being hustled out of her relatively quite teenaged existence into a new role as heir to the throne in Biringan. But there are way too many questions to deal with and a lot of intrigue to unravel. And there's a handsome knight hanging around....

I enjoyed the world-building in this story. The kingdom of Biringan is beautiful and de la Cruz does a terrific job bringing the reader into a world of Filipino language, culture, mythology and (yum) food. The amount of colour that surrounds the characters is very well conveyed, and is echoed in the stunning cover art for this book and its soon-to-come sequel.

I hugely enjoyed de la Cruz' middle-grade series Never After, which has the same rich world-building. However, while this book has lots of terrific elements - court intrigue, a likeable heroine trying to find her way in a totally new environment, a romantic element - it somehow never quite gels, and the elements feel a little clunky. It felt caught between middle-grade and YA. Strong middle grade readers might really enjoy it, but I'm not sure how comfortable they would be with the romance and YA readers might find it a little simplistic. It might find a sweet spot with YA readers looking for a less complex text to tackle.

It does finish with a fabulous twist, to get us excited about the next book!
3.5 stars from me.

Diwata is the Philappino word for fairy; creatures that are closely tied to nature. Mam babarang is a witch that utilizes insects to do their evil deeds.

'The Encanto's Daughter' taught me so many interesting things about Philappino mythology, a mythos that was completely unfamiliar to me. Cruz incorporated multiple cultural references to fairies from all over the world. I hope that if this series continues or has spin-offs she will delve into those other worlds.

MJ Rodriguez and her mother have been on the run the entirety of her life. She has always known that she is a Princess and next in line to rule the Sirena Court. When her father suffers an unexpected death, MJ must return to Sirena. Unfortunately, maintaining her claim to the throne will not be easy. Insurgents are rising against her, claiming she is not the true heir to the crown, at school the other students prove to be bullies and no better than her classmates back in the human realm. To make matters more complicated, she believes that her father may have been murdered and no one seems to be investigating his death.

Cruz developed a beautiful world filled with bright descriptions of the flora and fauna as well as the unique creatures within the mythology. The story is easily rated 'PG' and appropriate for pre-teens. I am excited to see where the next installment will take me.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Rated 3.5 Stars

The Encanto's Daughter was my first book by this author. While it didn't fully work for me I did enjoy and would definitely read more of this author's work. What I loved about it was the way it centered Filipino culture and mythology. I loved learning a bit of the language and their way of dress. The world was awesome as was the magic system. I loved the mystery aspect and how it was woven into the story.

What didn't really work for me was the fact that it read more like a middle grade book than a young adult. The characters came off as younger than their ages. Which leads to my next one, I liked the characters but wasn't overly fond of them. The romance was a little shaky for me. It wasn't fully developed. It was lacking something and yes I know there is a book 2 but still I expected/wanted more from it.

All in all The Encanto's Daughter was a solid read. It was an interesting story that I look forward to continuing.

Vivid details, questionable characters, and lots of tension all made me feel fully immersed in Cruz's magical world of encantos. The whole book is rife with politics and intrigue, leading to a mysterious whodunit murder. I never did figure out who the killer was. My top contenders, while indeed suspicious in different ways, were innocent... Or were they?

This book ended on a big twist—not a cliffhanger, as everything was neatly wrapped up—but a twist. While the last few pages might be an unusual place for a twist, it worked. And, more than that, it whet my appetite for more.

I will say that it was a bit of a slow start for me, the romance aspect was kind of meh, and there were a couple of “information dump” sections that were a bit confusing. But, as a whole, this was a fun and detailed book that kept me on my toes.

Seventeen-year-old MJ has been on the move with her mom, hiding out in the human world, because she’s half human, half encanto (magical being). The book opens with an intense series of actions that is sure to grab any reader’s interest: MJ is abducted and taken to the mythical Filipino world of Biringan, where her dad has been the king, until his very recent demise–was it a natural death or was he murdered? Then MJ is forced to say goodbye to her mother and be prepped for her upcoming coronation as she is the incoming queen. Full of high school social drama, a murder mystery to solve, and a good deal of suspense, this quick read is a good choice for reluctant readers and really, anyone else.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was optimistic. Especially after I read the author's note. She was excited to write a book set in the magical world of Filipino mythology. I was excited to learn more about Filipino encantos, and intrigued to see how she would weave it all together.

It was disappointing. Literally the only things impacted by the story being set in Filipino mythology were that the Fae courts were for the Filipino Encanto and descriptions of clothing.

Also, hasn't the enemies-to-lovers trope run its course yet? It just continually reminds me of "Oh, he's mean to you because he likes you." Didn't we figure out that that was a problematic narrative that led many girls to devalue themselves and accept being spoken to disrespectfully as par for the course?

Also if she's commenting on how cute she thinks he is in like, the 3rd chapter, is it really enemies to lovers? Seems a bit more like strangers to lovers imho.

Another thing that absolutely bothered me was the whiplash I got from the situation with Althea. Althea is a human who has been tricked into living in the Encanto world. She has made a life for herself as an apothecary. We are introduced to her through Nix, who basically says Althea helped her a lot when she first arrived. When Althea is accused of a crime and tried and sentenced to death, I would've expected a moment to gather our thoughts - especially because we know about the mambabarang (and so do our main characters.) But on LITERALLY THE NEXT PAGE they're talking about the Coronation Ball and flirting back and forth. If this was a few days later, maybe, but it is supposed to be happening in the carriage as they leave the trial. A trial where someone they have a personal relationship with was sentenced to death despite them knowing that she was not guilty AT ALL. I think at that point I was totally done with the 3 lead characters, because they seemed so vapid and flat.

I don't know how to feel about this book, though I obviously enjoyed it (4 stars).

It is the first time I read anything with Filipino mythology and culture, it was very interesting!
It starts with such a hook - being kidnapped at school, within the first chapter.

Some of the plot was very anxiety inducing for me, but probably not for what most would expect.
MJ has a month to figure out literally everything before her coronation. She knows nobody and nothing. And the first 2 weeks, it's a never ending rushing after time, while doing school and other things. People get frustrated or mock her for not knowing much, while she doesn't actually have the time to sit and learn these useful things. So much anxiety on my end.

I enjoyed MJ's friendship with Nix. Her romance with Lucas seemed a little flat, a little fast.

I'm looking forward to book 2, The Encanto's Curse.

MJ is half Encanto and learns her father, the king of the Encantos, has died thanks to insurgents. Now she must ascend to restore order.

However, in order to ascend, she must prove her worth. When she turns 18 in a month, her coronation will occur where she must display her magical ability and remove a scepter from a wooden chest, and meanwhile she must attend an academy to learn about noble etiquette.

There is one problem, she does not have a magical ability and now has a month to figure out what it is before it’s too late.

This to me was an okay book. It was very easy to read. I feel like I was reading a book that I would’ve read when I was in middle school. Which there’s nothing wrong with that, but I think this is a little too young adult for me personally.

I definitely think I would’ve liked this more if I were younger or middle school or early high school. It was a little too much on the juvenile side for me to truly enjoy it. But I could definitely tell that this would’ve been a book I would’ve loved when I was younger. I appreciated the diversity, and the uniqueness of the book in the world. And I liked some of the side characters, I especially liked the villain because to me, even though the villain was pretty obvious from the beginning who it was, it’s still made for an interesting story because that character was Intriguing to me.

The romance was OK. It was super fast to me, not necessarily believable, but it was still kind of cute. It did cause a lot of drama, which I guess added some entertainment to the story.

I really liked Phoenix or Nix, she was a great character. She added humor and just more to the story, a lot of things she said were just hilarious and she really just added something to the story.

The writing just felt really easy to read and also sort of on the corny side.

There were quite a few things that occurred in the story too that didn’t make sense to me. First, we’re literally just thrown into the story, with the female main character I guess already knowing the history of the world she was from, and only knowing that her and her mom have been on the run for some reason. When we enter the world where her father is from, MJ says she knows all about the history of that side of her world, but yet she had no idea that there are sirens from her own court?! And that they’re real?! That confused me.

Also, they had her go to all these council meetings, as the next heir, like expecting her to know what to say or what to do when she’s never had any training on noble etiquette. I mean, that’s why she was going to school suddenly for the noble etiquette right? So why do they expect that she would know what to do with these meetings?! It just seemed really silly and pointless.

And don’t get me started on the end of the book. This should’ve just been a standalone, there was no need for this to become a duet. But I guess we’ve gotta somehow draw out the romance right?

I don’t plan on reading the next book immediately. I may read it one day eventually just to find out what happens, I guess 🤷🏼‍♀️

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this book.

The Encanto's Daughter is a book about MJ, a girl who has been on the run her whole life with her mom. When she's discovered and taken back to her ancestral home in another realm after her father dies, she must assume the crown. But darkness and questions plague her every step as she acclimates to this new world. And the most looming question of all....was her father murdered?

I enjoyed this book. It was a quick read and quite engaging. I liked the characters a lot. I liked the tension throughout as you, along with MJ, discover who you can and can't trust.

I couldn't get into this book! Just could not keep my interest in at all. I think maybe it would be a better book for a younger crowd. Again, I usually love these types of books and I did read a book by this author years ago and I really liked it. But, I do find my taste changes a bit as I grow older.

Oh my gah!!!!!!! First this author I have read almost all her books. 2nd this one is 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥. Do you enjoy vampires?! It's Filipino mythology. That was a nice change because you don't see that often. It is a little more for the youth but I loved it!

The Encanto’s Daughters follows MJ, who is half human and half encanto, as she’s forced to leave the human realm and enter the encanto realm in order to keep her safe and for her to assume the throne. Her father was the king and since he died, he needed to be brought there in order to become queen. What follows is a mystery that she attempts to solve—threats on her life, the mystery of her father’s death and other mysterious deaths as well, and who is behind the insurgents?
I enjoyed the overall storyline but the writing felt disjointed. A chapter would cut off at a critical moment and the next chapter didn’t pick up where the previous one left off. Sometimes, it felt like crucial things were missing from the background of the story. For instance, MJ is supposed to become queen but has no real knowledge of the encanto realm and its history. She’s going to school for half days but her time at the palace isn’t filled with getting her up to speed. Instead, she’s basically left to her own devices and this occasionally leads to her making mistakes. Even though she’s the Princess, her advisors would obviously need to advise her to proper protocol and things like the dances and who is who and stuff but this doesn’t happen. This and other things like it took me out of the story too often for me to ever really get into it.

I liked the idea of this book, but it just didn't pan out for me. Though it had good bones and included a lot of Filipino myth/fable that I didn't previously know, this story just felt a bit meh for me. I loved the pieces of fantastical elements, but I really wanted more world-building than I was given. I feel like this world de la Cruz created deserved much more exploration. For my tastes, the writing style didn't quite fit the YA read I was expecting, but instead came off a bit more middle grade. I read a lot of middle grade, so this would have been fine, but it didn't fit with the age of the MC or the way the tale was structured. It felt like the story was at odds with itself a lot of the time. There was a lot to explore and develop and it didn't feel like there was much in-depth digging. A bit mystery, a bit fantasy, and a bit romance, all three of the genres seemed to get the shaft in development. I don't say this a lot, but I really think this story needed to be a few hundred pages longer to give more nuance and development to the plot. The basis of the story was good and I liked the pieces of tension and relationship development I was given, but I was just left wanting. I haven't decided whether I want to continue the series or not.

A fun romance and fantasy young adult read. This was a fun, quick read that I would recommend to younger readers.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this incredible book.

Just loved it! Knew i would. It lives up to the hype.

Highly recommend. You will thoroughly enjoy the read!

Five stars!

This is a pretty simple and fun YA fantasy. A teen girl, living a non-magical life in the US, is suddenly drawn back into her father's realm and forced to prepare for a coronation that she isn't ready for. It has all of the good things that make up an excellent YA fantasy. There is intrigue, a murder mystery, some romance, friendship and frenemies. I thought it was cute and definitely entertaining.

This is good for fans of YA fantasy, especially if you like a murder mystery added into your plot.

This book was so much fun to read!! It was full of so many nods to Filipino culture including flora and fauna, language, mythology, clothing, food, and more! As someone who is always trying to learn more about the Philippines and loves fantasy books, this book was up my alley for sure. But yet, had I gone into this knowing absolutely nothing about Filipino culture, I would’ve loved it just the same. The writing was really easy to follow and made the book fly by while I was lost in the story. I’d say it was super addicting and super fun.

The delightful tale of MJ, Sir Lucas, MJ's best friend Nix and an assortment of others, as MJ navigates her way through insurrectionists and witches to becoming Queen of Biringan.

I thoroughly enjoyed this unusual story. Unusual in that, our heroine already knows she is a Princess (half human from her mother, half Sirena from her father) destined to become Queen, because she knows her father was King. She is fully prepared to take over after her father's death but as things progress she and her friends discover her fathers death was no accident. Things move a brisk pace, with a little bog down in the middle as the action becomes slower and more meandering.

Characters are interesting and likeable, the mystery is good, the revelations not bad (but I did figure out who the baddie was pretty quickly) and the ending wraps up all the loose ends satisfactorily. With an epilogue that leaves a door cracked open for a sequel. Which I will be standing in line for.

An engaging and enjoyable fantasy novel! Filipino folklore meets royal intrigue for a fascinating and compelling story! Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review!