3.75 stars
🫑

This was a cute fantasy romance version of Legally Blonde. I enjoyed reading it, mostly because I liked the queer normative world, Irish folklore, and themes of self-acceptance. Sometimes, the writing felt a little clunky, and scenes would feel unfinished. I think I might have enjoyed this more as an audiobook due to the more romantic comedy writing style and Irish names. I found the world-building and most of the side characters and relationships to be underdeveloped. Having said that, I absolutely adored the relationship between our main characters, Clia and Ronan, and loved watching their growth, both together and separately.

This is one of my favorite book covers ever and I can’t wait to add it to my shelf!

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Voyager for providing this eARC.

Thankfully, I've just received a physical, which is my preference, so I'll read and rate that instead.

I heard much praise and anticipation for this new romantasy book all over social media and, let me tell you, it definitely lives up to the hype! The pure wittiness and sassiness these characters portrayed had me eagerly turning the pages into the late hours of the night. The world-building was very clear and easy to immerse oneself in as well as presenting possible opportunities for further development. I cannot wait to see what more the author may cook up for this unique fantasy world. And the romance? Perfection! I was swooning nonstop throughout the whole book. The tension of will-they-won't-they between the main characters utterly consumed me. I also loved how the main female character was not afraid to stand up for what she believed in and built supporting relationships along her self-discovery journey. I highly recommend this read for anyone who loves a great fantasy story filled with humor, romance, and an overall fun time!

Did I read this in a day? Yes, yes I did. I had been SO anxiously awaiting this one as I have the beautiful hardcover preordered, and this did not disappoint. The FMC, Clia, was honestly such a joy with her determination and quirkiness. She was determined to get her man (well, the original one) and would do anything to accomplish that, like following him to the warrior academy (what, like it's hard?). She meets Ronan, captain of the prince's guard, and something unexpected but beautiful happens. I adored Ronan, and he was the real story stealer for me! I'd happily have one of him for myself.
There was heavy world-building and lore thrown at you in the beginning of the story, but we didn't see that fully fleshed out as the story predominantly focused on the warrior academy itself and her training, but that's ok! The chronic pain rep of our MMC and the overall queer normative rep throughout the story were done so well and very appreciated. We need more fantasy books like this,

First I wanted to say thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read this early. I was nervous at the beginning because there was a lot of information to take in. The detail of the map and the different kingdoms were unexpected but not unwelcomed. I was hesitant at the beginning but when the book started Legally Blonding I was in. I was concerned that the characters were going to be surface level due to the larger story that it is based on. But Clía was such a fun protagonist. Her being more than just a warrior or just a princess matched the vibe of "Legally Blonde" perfectly. Also, I appreciated that most characters were not flat. For example, Domhnall was more than just the asshole ex. He had his own motivations and had actually concerns regarding his home and even regarding Clía. For this debut, it makes me very excited for the future projects from Cait Jacobs.

If you enjoy a quick, easy, cozy fantasy read then I would recommend this book!
Thank you to NetGalley for the arc!

There was so much to love about this book! Part One was the slowest bit of setting up the context, but I really loved the pace of this book.

Things I loved:
The FMC! Cliá was very likable! She was very endearing considering what her parents are like. I love her determination and that her character stayed consistent throughout.
The MMC! Ronan was a great serious character to Cliá’s personality. I thought they were really fun together. Ronan himself was kind of boring. But he was such a good friend and isn’t afraid to call out Domhnall when he needs to. Though I feel like we could’ve just heard “he’s the youngest captain of the guard” once and understood he’s good at what he does but that whole point kept getting stressed over and over.

This felt like a really fun medieval legally blonde and would rate it at a 4/5 stars!

I wouldn’t mind a whole series in this universe because that’s where I think the author can expand on a lot. It was nice to know that there’s some magic/crystals but we don’t really learn about it. I would love to see a second book in this to follow more missions and adventures of Cliá and Ronan.

It's worth noting before my review that I have followed the author of this book, Cait Jacobs, on Tiktok for several years, seeking out her particular brand of quirkiness and vivid storytelling when it came to book recommendations—so when it came to her own book, I wasn't shocked to find the same, lovely thing.

The Princess Knight takes the bones of a familiar story—a girl, perceived to be weak, and superficial, and, well, blonde, scorned by the man she thought she'd marry, going off to learn the skills to be worthy of his love, all while finding new love and her true path along the way—and gives it a fantasy twist. The book focuses on Clia, a princess who has been raised for as long as she could remember to marry Domhnall, a prince from a neighboring kingdom, for political alliance purposes. They're friends, anyway—so she's hardly expecting it when he says that, with war looming, he needs a stronger bride, and that's just not her. Needless to say, she follows him to the prestige warrior academy, where she finds her own inner strength, and a kinship—and more—with the Captain of the Prince's Guard, Ronan.

There was so much I adored about this book—the way the story found its footing and beats in a fantasy world, making it both familiar and fresh was so lovely. The cast of characters were also utterly charming—steeped in interesting personalities and back stories I could have spent even more time on.

I do think the book has a few bumps in the road—sometimes not knowing if it wants to be a true, epic fantasy novel steeped in lore and magic and war, or the lighter rom-com homage it was billed as, and there are moments where I think that could have been blended a little better.

But overall, Cait Jacobs' debut is full of rich potential and a clear passion for stories and characters that break the box.

The "Legally Blonde but make it a fantasy" basis of this book reads loud and clear - especially if you're a fan of the musical. Because of that, each story beat follows the source material closely enough to be predictable but still fairly entertaining, if not just a bit too on-the-nose at times.

Clía was a likeable enough protagonist, and while her personality shined in her sewing passions and the way she incorporated fashion into her deadly warrior training, I wish we had seen a little more from her character-wise.

Ronan was a standout, with much more in-depth backstory and hidden strengths built into his character and revealed throughout.

The rest of the cast rounded out some dynamics nicely. While I felt the fierce female friendship dynamics from the source material weren't coming off as strongly as I'd hoped, they were still very much present. A cute side romance and a Not-As-Big-Of-A-Jerk-As-You-Could-Have-Been award going out to our Warner Huntington-equivalent character definitely were positives I enjoyed.

There is subtle normalized queerness throughout this entire main cast - nonbinary, demi, and bi/pan rep is all present and very welcome. Our MMC also serves as a wonderful rep for disability and chronic pain.

After getting past the steep learning curve of heavy information spilled at the start of this book explaining the universe's history and lore, I expected all of the names and places we learned about to play a bigger role, but the story was mainly contained to Clía's training and studies.

Lastly, while the romance was a believable medium-burn, the book does take place over the course of several months, creating some pacing issues. The reluctance and fear preventing the happily-ever-after from happening until the very end felt a bit contrived, and the love story could have benefitted from building some more natural chemistry and conversation first.

Overall, an enjoyable read despite my above qualms. Anyone who enjoys the inspiration and a fantasy romance will at least smirk at the way full lines from the movie/musical were able to be snuck in word-for-word in a context that made sense. I know I did.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Princess Knight is about Clía a Princess of Álainndore, who is supposed to be getting engaged to Prince Domhnall but he has other ideas. This leads Clía to start studying to become a knight to win back Domnhall, but Clía doesn’t the first thing about fighting and combat, Clía is from a life of partys and fashion. Here comes in Ronan, Captain of the Guard to help teach Clía who to fight and to be her friend when things start to get hard.

This definitely feels like legally blonde meets a knights tale as a New Adult book. I found this book is a fun and easy read. I couldn’t put this book down once I started it, I mean I stayed up all night to finish this book and didn’t go to sleep till almost 11am because I just needed to know what was going to happen with Clía and Ronan. Very very minimal spice, it was very vague which I found fit the writing of the book so I found it really sweet. I found this whole book really sweet honestly, and I LOVED how queer this book is! I did not realize this was a queer-normative book when I picked it up but I am so glad it is.

✨✨✨Thank you Net-Galley and HarperCollinsPublishers for the advanced reader copy ✨✨✨

I have to start this review off with a nod to the cover art because it is amazing and definitely drew me in!

Our main character Princess Clía follows Prince Domnhall to an elite school for warriors, Caisleán Cósta, to prove her worth after he backs out of an all but sure engagement with some unkind words. There, with the Domnhall’s Captain of the Guard Ronan at her side, she discovers that the threats to her kingdom are bigger than she knew and that the only person she should feel inclined to prove her worth to is herself. Previously marketed as a Legally Blonde retelling, the influences of the iconic movie are evident, including an amazing Bend and Snap derivative.

This book had a lot of promise between the light hearted and nostalgic inspiration, the representation of chronic pain in our main male character, and the queer normative world. While the aforementioned were all done well, all together the book unfortunately fell a bit short for me. Clocking in at 400 pages there were definitely scenes that could’ve been cut or repurposed. The characters and their relationships all felt a bit underdeveloped and more ‘tell vs show’ to me and because of it the (predictable) plot twists that hinged on character actions lacked emotional impact.

All that said, the biggest miss for me was the added in elements of Irish folklore. Instead of just nod, which might’ve been fine, they felt like they were supposed to be a large point (the names, the places, the opening glossary of countries and the gods they derived from) but it never made sense to me why. Instead of creating an ephemeral and magical setting lush with the imagery and whimsy Irish folklore tales (or those stories derived from them) normally deliver, their place in this book just felt like they were there to make it ‘fantasy’ but could’ve been swapped for anything else.

This is a cute tale of personal growth loosely based on Legally Blonde. I can definitely see the parallels. I enjoyed all the characters and representation and enjoyed the main character coming into herself. Some of the twists I saw coming but some I did not! I would classify this as a YA so don't expect any explicit spice.

Have you ever watched a really campy 80’s fantasy movie that for some reason beyond your comprehension has a cult following? And no matter how hard you try you can’t get immersed in the lore because you instead find yourself unintentionally scrolling your phone at least every 3 minutes? But you still know what’s going on because it’s relevant enough in pop culture that you know the basic storyline?

That was this book for me.

For this being marketed (or formerly marketed?) as Medieval Legally Blonde, I don’t think the references hit that hard, personally. I did like that Luke Wilson’s dupe, Ronan, was her ex’s friend rather than some upper classman. It also did something for me that Warner’s dupe was more redeemable as well.

Frankly, I can’t tell if I hated it or just didn’t like it, maybe somewhere in between. You might enjoy this if you liked: “The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels” or the reboot of “Willow” that Disney+ has since removed from their servers.

I really really wanted to like this book. I mean just look at that cover art 🥹. But alas a good book does not a cover make.

This was originally marketed as a fantasy take on legally blonde and I really didn’t see that to me. It read more like a YA version of fourth wing. And I think that’s the reason why I gave it such a low rating because I kept comparing everything to that. And I know it’s not fair for me to do that but my brain does what my brain does.

The first half of the book seemed to be more focused on being a Legally Blonde retelling than anything else, and the story suffered for it. The plot and character dynamics didn't flow naturally, because the story had to hit every single note from LB. By the time the story diverges to a unique plot, it relies on a reader's investment in the characters and their relationships that I just didn't feel.

The shallow motivations were my biggest frustration through this book. The story starts with Clía's sense of duty to marry Domhnall for the good of her country—but why this would actually be good for her country is never explained beyond vague references to appearances of power and respect and parental pressure. She repeatedly expressed a desire to take care of her people, but what that means beyond vague platitudes is never discussed. Then we have a military conflict with almost no motivation for the opposition except vague framing of them as invaders and warlords in search of magical religious relics. The plot takes some twists and turns, but those twists rely on character decisions that are never really explained at all.

This was a generally fun read, and there were some moments I was sucked in—but the story felt like it was going through the motions, and I felt like I was doing the same reading it.

Tropes:
LGBTQ+ representation
Legally Blonde retelling
Medieval times
Battle training scenes


I absolutely adored Princess Clia. Everything about her was amazing from start to end. There was never a dull moment with her plus her relationship with Ronan? Amazing.

A fantasy with both queer and neurodivergent representation as well as a character with chronic pain? Yes, please! This has been a highly anticipated read of mine ever since Cait started teasing the idea of it on TikTok a few years ago and it really delivered!

I always love seeing a FMC grow into herself and this story was no exception. Clia having her Elle Woods moment of "oh, they aren't taking me seriously? Then I'll give them something to take seriously" where she evolves from a courtly princess to a warrior in her own right was such a fun ride. Tired of being treated like she's nothing but pretty dresses and too gentle to be a threat, Clia finds a way to prove that she deserves her spot at Caislean Costa. Who needs Domhnall anyway when you can be your own source of strength? Enter Ronan, Domhnall's close friend and bodyguard who finds himself enamored by the lovely and determined Clia despite his better judgements. I loved Ronan's determination to push on to be his best and related all too well to his habit of ignoring his chronic pain until it was too late (I think all of us chronically ill/disabled readers can relate to this). Ronan trains Clia in combat and their skills continue to be tested as they push through their military academy training while finding themselves knee-deep in politics and subterfuge. I thought the romance between them was really cute and the romance itself felt well-paced and realistic for the timeline of events

I really enjoyed this story and felt like it was a nice breath of fresh air. With bi4bi representation and queer side characters, chronic illness representation that actually impacts the character and how they make many of their decisions (I've read too many books with chronic pain not represented in a true and accurate light that does it justice), and Irish folklore inspiration, this book was a strong and unique debut! I always appreciate own voices representation, especially in fantasy, and can't wait to see how Cait evolves as an author!

This book is just what I needed!! It does the princess x knight trope so beautifully while still maintaining great wit. The book is considered an “adult fiction” but I would say it borders into the YA category. There is great LGBTQ+ rep which is a plus. While this is set in a medieval setting do not go into this thinking it will stay true to the era or to the Celtic mythology. I would say it takes inspiration from the medieval period and Celtic mythology.
It was a solid debut and although it was not my favorite, due to the relationship feeling a bit flat, it was not horrible. It gave me comedic relief, romance, and the medieval vibes I came looking for.

If anyone is looking for more Princess x Knight romances, THIS IS THE ONE!!! I recently saw a tik tok being like "ugh, I wish we had more Princess x Knight fantasy books." You literally had to drag me out of that comments section because I recommended this book so many times.

Now for the actual review:

This was a very fun story, a YA medieval reimagining of Legally Blonde. It's also rife with betrayal and deceit. Clía follows her ex-betrothed to a military school for knights to prove her worth. In the process she becomes a badass knight and makes lots of tough decisions for her kingdom. She meets a knight who she hopelessly gravitates to, and oh, did I mention he's also her ex-betrothed's best friend??

I loved that the MMC had so much ambition. Many times we see in fantasy that these characters are already established and have some kind of power, but Ronan has to put in the WORK during this book. Poor guy cannot catch a break.

A moment for the otter. Murphy, my love, my heart, my joy. Thank you for being you.

Sparkly rock yay!

The latest ARC I received from NetGalley was The Princess Knight by Cait Jacobs. This book has a generic-sounding title, which made me expect something along the lines of the overdone warrior princess trope. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it actually had a feminine protagonist who wasn't much of a fighter. The book is actually a stealth medieval retelling of Legally Blonde, particularly the Broadway version. Being a huge fan of the musical, I had a lot of fun catching the many references to it peppered throughout the book. For marketing purposes, I do wish the title made it more obvious that this is a retelling because I think that would help widen its reader appeal. I'm not sure exactly what it should be called to do that, though. Royally Blonde? Legally Knighted? Legally Princess?

Princess Clia is in an arranged marriage with Prince Domhnall to forge an alliance between their kingdoms. She is blindsided when Domhnall unexpectedly breaks off the engagement for someone who would be a more "serious" leader. In a valiant attempt to prove she has what it takes to lead, Clia follows Domhnall to a prestigious military academy where she trains in the art of warfare on her own terms, fancy dresses and all. During her attendance, she grows closer to Ronan, one of Domhnall's knights, who feels awful about how his friend snubbed her. He helps her with her training and looks out for her during the trials and tribulations she faces at the school.

This book is so similar to Legally Blonde that fans of the movie or play can easily predict everything that happens in it, which might be a drawback for readers who enjoy plot twists. Some scenes felt like they were taken directly from the stage show. Every character has an equivalent in this book, which makes it easy to know what to expect from them. One of my favorite characters was Niamh, the "Vivienne" equivalent. As Domhnall's new fiancée, she sees Clia as a threat at first, but later comes to respect her as a peer and realizes that Domhnall may not have been as great as she initially thought. Clia has a handmaiden who takes on the same role as Paulette whom I liked as well.

Since this is a war story, there is quite a bit of action and violence in it, especially toward the end, which is not ideal for fans of the traditionally safe narrative of Legally Blonde. The war element gives it some semblance to Mulan, but without the crossdressing. In fact, Clia is a refreshingly feminine character who finds ways to use her femininity to her advantage in battle. This makes The Princess Knight stand apart from the myriad of other stories about tough-as-nails battling princesses from the last few decades. In a refreshing throwback to older feminist media, Clia must work hard and leave her comfort zone to become a great leader rather than being naturally gifted.

The Princess Knight is an uplifting and clever retelling of Legally Blonde, transporting the beloved story to a medieval setting with a refreshingly feminine protagonist. Cait Jacobs' writing is engaging and fun, with nods to the original musical that fans will appreciate. While the story follows the same beats as the original, the addition of a war storyline adds a new layer of depth and action. Clia's journey from pampered princess to capable leader is inspiring, and her femininity is portrayed as a strength rather than a weakness. Overall, this book is a great fit for fans of fairy tale retellings, strong female protagonists, and a dash of humor and romance. If you're looking for a fun and lighthearted read with a medieval twist, The Princess Knight is definitely worth checking out.

Would you believe this book is another evil attempt at getting me to believe in love and other things again

The Princess Knight was a pretty fun journey overall, though I did struggle getting into it in the beginning. Things were happening, but I felt quite disconnected to everything. It got a lot better as we move onto Clia studying in Casilean Costa, though, as I think the plot picked up more there. I was surprised to see it categorised as an adult book, since it read very much like upper YA to me.

The world and characters in this book are pretty unique, all things considered, and a breath of fresh air compared to a lot of fantasy romances that have been published in the last couple years, with a queernormative world, disability rep and a female main character that isn’t afraid to be feminine, whilst still being a badass (it is so very unfortunate that this archetype is so hard to find in romantasy books these days). I enjoyed Ronan as the mmc, but he was overshadowed by Clia. I loved her a lot, lmao — from her character development to her journey to prove herself to MURPHY — she really did steal the show for me.

I hear about the comparisons of this book to Legally Blonde a lot, but I can’t comment much since I haven’t watched it hahaha… (I will.. one day…). But this was a fun book regardless!

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Voyager for the ARC! All thoughts are my own :D

This read as more of a YA which is totally fine! I just didn’t love it as much as I had hoped. The pacing felt off to me ( I was bored for a good 30%) and every conflict that arises is dealt with too quickly. That being said, Clia was a very strong FMC and I adored her. I loved seeing her transform into her stronger more confident self. Her and Ronans connection felt strong and worthy. All of the side characters were unique and bonded well which made it worth the read for me.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an arc of this book for my honest review!

I followed this books journey for a super long time, and I can't believe I was lucky enough to get an ARC of it! Even more so, I can't believe I enjoyed it as much as I did. It's a rare thing, I think, to anticipate something so much and have it meet expectation. I'm so happy to say this book did just that.

Braiding the tales of the dumb blonde, aloof princess, and military corruption was no small feat, but Cait Jacobs wove a story with enormous heart. It was fun, flirty, and mysterious.

Clía, the princess, is complex and dynamic. I loved that she never settled to be just one thing. She is girly and strong. She is a fighter and a lover. She's stylish and fierce. She takes for herself and gives for others. Without giving anything away, her growth throughout the story felt very natural and well paced. She was a fully fleshed out character, and I can't wait for a wider audience to get this book in their hands so fan art and social medias can gush over her. (I also just read that she's meant to be autistic/autistic coded, and now I'm questioning myself with how relatable I found her...anyway)

Speaking of audiences, I think they're going to lose their minds over Ronan. Tragic backstory, smart, caring, hot? Oh, they're not going to be able to get enough of him. I really loved how present he was in the story given that his relationship with other characters could have made him a bit meek due to power imbalances. But he held his ground through it all! He was a great character, and I felt like he was very consistent even throughout his development.

The supporting characters were sassy, fun, and emotion provoking to say the least. They really kept me second guessing what I thought I knew about the story and the other characters. However, I do wish there was a little more initial description for some of the characters we didn't get a POV for. For example, there is a non-binary character that uses they/them pronouns. Great! Setting this book in a queernormative world is cool! But I had a very hard time visually imaging the character because of that, and I also had to reread their introduction a few times because I wasn't sure if 'they' referred to a group or not. And I got used to it quickly, but it did kind of throw me off a bit. My heteronormative brain definitely had to reread a few things to follow the queernormative world, but I liked the representation, and I'm really happy for queer readers to have these characters/relationships.

I thought the elements of fantasy, medieval elements, and romance were balanced really well. This was a really great story, and I thought it was well written. I definitely plan on grabbing a physical copy of The Princess Knight when it hits shelves, and I really can't wait for people to fall in love with this book!