The Princess Games | Book Review

My Rating: 2.5/5 Stars

Title: The Princess Games (The Princess Trials, #2)

Author: Cordelia K Castel

Format: eBook (Kindle Unlimited)

Pages: 516

Categories: Young Adult, Dystopian, Romance

The stakes are higher and the competition more brutal in round two of the Princess Trials. Zea’s relationship with Prince Kevon intensifies, and she must choose between the prince and the rebel who holds her heart. 

When her enemies uncover a secret that drives a rift between Zea and Prince Kevon, she’s not only battling for survival but facing execution. 

Perfect for fans of The Hunger Games and The Selection, this exciting tale of courage, intrigue, and betrayal will have you turning pages. 

• We get to see a bit more of Zea and Kevon’s feelings growing for one another and we get confirmation that Ryce is a jerk. Honestly, I’m glad there was some drama between Zea and Kevon because we know something between them…their relationship just needs more chemistry.
• Glad we got to see what the Ambassador Pascale of the Amstraad Republic wanted from Zea because I was starting to not really care. But they just kept showing up in convenient moments so it was good to finally learn something about their schemes. I also liked the few twists that occurred in the story.
• I liked it when Zea needed to save her family because finally we see her being a badass for something meaningful.

• I read this book hoping for more romance or see some chemistry between Zea and Kevon and it’s just mild. With what Zea is going through in this princess trials, you’d think there would be something more explosive between them but it’s fairly sweet.
• Also…what is the point of these princess trials? Kevon barely has dates with any of the girls. They have all these very trials, a lot of them deadly – but Kevon has no personality. He’s nice and a good guy, but what do we really know about him? I think maybe the story just lacks depth because I feel the same about Zea ~ I want more from her and finally got it when her mom was about to die.
• I skimmed a few parts because we know they are after Zea, but at some point I just didn’t care. Like why does the Queen hate her so much? Just because she isn’t Noble? Queen Damascena is working so hard to keep Zea there yet she wants to kill her also? It didn’t work for me, it was exhausting.
• I think it was weak for Ryce to be her crush in book one, we barely see or hear from him, then in this book he’s awful and not what she thought he was – but he’s barely in this one too! 🤦🏻‍♀️

I’m going to read the next book because I’m almost done with the series but so far. Usually I wouldn’t bother reading the next book if I found the previous books problematic, but I want to see what happens with Zea and Kevon. I think there are a lot of good ideas in this series – it just needs focus and so much more chemistry between Zea and Kevon. My favorite part was when Zea showed mettle especially when she was trying to save her family, that’s when I felt like she finally had something to fight for. We shall see if the next book can redeem this series in my eyes. Will we get more out of Zea and Kevon? I hope so.

📚 ~ Yolanda