Fascinating, bewitching, full of passion, action and magic, I loved it!

At first glance Eliza seems devil-may-care and generally not very princessy, but she is smarter and more capable than some would give her credit for. She knows her way around politics and she dearly loves her family and her kingdom.

What she also loves is to dress up, sneak out of the castle and play Trice with creepy strangers in seedy bars. Because of that her worried parents hire a Dovani to be Eliza’s personal guard. Dovanis are highly skilled and fiercely loyal but also rather pricey so initially Eliza is not very enthusiastic about meeting Rayla. However it soon turns out, that she simply cannot stop thinking about her beautiful protector. As the two women start getting to know and discover each other Eliza’s life takes an unexpected turn. She will not only have to lead her kingdom, she will also need a husband.

I was enthralled by by both the plot and the beautiful writing. The story flows seamlessly and keeps you engrossed from the beginning till the end. It is written from three POV and all three characters are so lovable! Eliza - a force of nature; brave, loving and unstoppable, and Rayla - intriguing and a little mysterious, dedicated to protect Eliza at all cost. Their chemistry was amazing! But I also loved the third person - Kay - a dark and brooding prince... I am so curious how this triangle is going to play out in the next book!

Highly recommended to all romantic fantasy lovers!

TW: loss of loved ones

Thank you NetGalley and Butterdragons Publishing for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a well written and interesting first book for a series. The first book of a series usually involves a good amount of world-building, but I enjoyed the setup for this book, as I was drawn in from the very beginning. Eliza, the youngest of the royal family, escapes from the castle in order to play games while dressed as a man. Her disapproving family hires a personal guard named Rayla, a highly trained Dovani sent to protect Eliza as she is thrown into an unlikely situation and assumes her new role as Queen. Eliza is such a strong female lead and is she is very relatable, so I connected to her very easily. As much as I loved Eliza, I also enjoyed getting to read from different perspectives, as it adds so much more depth to the story. Victoria Larque did an amazing job writing this novel, as there was truly never a dull moment. I cannot wait to see what she does in book two. I highly recommend this one if you love a good fantasy book!

Thank you NetGalley and Butterdragons Publishing for this free arc in exchange for my honest review.

I do not even know where to begin, this novel was a page turner. I can say, with complete honesty, I dont believe there is another fantasy novel quite like this. I consumed almost the entire thing in one sitting, forgoing much needed sleep so that I could finish. Being new to the world of fantasy I appreciated Mrs. Larque's talent for world building. It is vast without being overly consuming. Her characters share so much chemistry they seem to leap off the page. I found myself trying to anticipate where the story was going but was pleasantly surprised with each twist. I look forward to the rest of the series!

I really enjoyed reading this book, it does what an opening to a series is suppose to do. I enjoyed being introduced to this world and the characters living in it. It had great elements of fantasy and I really enjoyed the journey. It left me excited for the next book in the series.