Okay, I tried reading this and I just... don't understand what is happening, like at all? The writing sounds quite juvenile and everything is revolving around a kiss which I'll admit is a cool concept, I just don't think it works for this book. Like 'she needs your kiss to be healed' and the way it was written, like what is even happening? Right away we are thrust into chaos without explanation and honestly I just don't care to write a full length review because I can't handle this book.

This is by far the most unique book I’ve read this year. As the title suggests, it involves a lot of kisses and kissing between royals. It’s just not in the way you would expect. Kisses in this world are a powerful weapon used by royals to defeat evil.

The main character, Princess Ivy possesses the most powerful kiss since she is a direct descendant of the great Queen Myriana. Together with her new partner Zach and her page Bromley, they set out to find and destroy an object of great evil that may bring about the destruction of their world.

What follows in the next a hundred plus pages is an adventure packed with magical action and plagued with evil creatures. Goblins, witches and wraiths, this book has them all. Ironically, despite the liberal use of kisses in this book, most of the characters don’t believe in love or romance. Those who do, (the Romantica) are considered evil and dangerous.

To be honest, I was not sure about the whole kissing thing when I began the book. I did not see how the whole story would work out. It is good to be proven wrong, because this was better than I had expected. Apart from the fantasy and action, this book also contains romance which slowly builds up to a beautiful ending without overshadowing the actual plot.

My favorite character was Zach. He is the swoon worthy kind of character male character I love in books. Ivy was my least favorite character even though her point of view was the one used in the book and everything was centered on her. Everything about her was a huge contradiction. What we are told about her and what her actions show are two different things. She is said to be powerful and well trained since she was a little girl but there is no evidence of this. I wish there were more instances in which we are shown her power instead of being told about it. For obvious reasons I can’t argue about Zach being powerful because I saw it many times. So what about his equally powerful partner? Other than that I have no legitimate complaints about this book. I recommend this to:
→ Fantasy readers
→YA readers
→YA romance readers

Thank you for approving me for this ARC. I was apart of the The FFBC blog tour for Kiss of the Royal. My blog tour stop day was 6/26/18

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My thoughts on this book:

Kiss of the Royal surprised me - At first the book’s cover and description didn’t grab me, so I passed over it. I’m so glad I ended up going back for a second glance, because it turned out to be one of my favorite 2018 reads!

Goblins and griffins and wraiths oh my! - Kiss of the Royal had a great, new magical setting, with a lot of evil creatures, new forms of magic (I.E. magical kisses), and original mythology.

A world that I wouldn’t want to live in - Ivy’s been conditioned into thinking that love doesn’t exist, only lust. She and the rest of the population are expected to procreate with specific people at specific times, in order to breed the best and strongest soldiers. Kiss of the Royal sometimes reminded me of Brave New World and The Handmaid’s Tale, two stories of society taking a frightening and disturbing turn for the worst, by controlling procreation.

Zach stole my heart - He’s not only goofy (knocking things over), and hilarious (constantly cracking jokes), he’s also incredibly passionate. He believes in true love and marriage, two things that are outlawed in his world. Even though being a romantic and preaching about it, can lead to a death sentence, Zach doesn’t hide who he is, and what he believes in. I was scared and impressed by his refusal to back down.

Digestion problems - The one issue I had with Kiss of the Royal, was the info dump that happened in the beginning of the book. Instead of a slow introduction, we’re tossed headfirst into Ivy’s world, expected to easily grasp how it works, the creatures, magic, laws, and mythology. It took about 50 pages before I really got a hang of everything and could smoothly follow along. In retrospect, 50 pages isn’t that bad for a high fantasy, and I’m glad I stuck it out, because this book was worth it.

I’m still hungry - I was devastated when I realized this was a standalone book. Even though the story wrapped up well, I can’t help but crave more Ivy and Zach, one of my favorite 2018 couples.

Magic spells, sword fights, terrifying creatures, lots of romantic swoon – this book has it all! Make sure to add it to your TBR list!

So, I very much enjoy a fairy-tale inspired story. This one was quite loosely inspired, but I still really enjoyed it.
The premise of a Princess' kiss giving power against the darkness and monsters spawned from an evil fairytale witch is charming. There is a clever gender reversal in which the Princess has been trained from birth to despise ideas of love and marriage, because it is her responsibility to fight evil, and to eventually breed more princes and princesses of the strongest bloodlines to continue the battle.
The Prince however..... is *gasp* born from a heretical union of people who married and married for love. Shocking. Plus, PLUS! he refuses to accept a magic kiss for protection or strength that will mean nothing to him, no matter how casually everyone else seems to take it.

Ultimately, its about the power of love, not just romantic, but familial, and how powerful it can be, and the power of stories and perception.
Clever and charming.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read this book!

Well, I do love a pretty cover, and it's even better when the insides match with all that beauty. At first I was a little skeptical; I don't like books that are heavy on the romance, but this is kind of the opposite? The Royals use their Kisses for Magic only, shunning love and believing it to be the cause of their cursed land. They are desperate to stop the growing darkness in their land and save their people, but nothing is working to stop the hordes of dark creatures attacking.

Add to that Princess Ivy, heir to the greatest power they have. Ivy however isn't your usual heroine; she lacks faith in her abilities. She's headstrong, broken from a bad childhood, and exceedingly obstinate. Her flaws make her more interesting though, especially when paired up with Zach (who isn't exactly the most likable love interest ever either!)

Did you all come here for a refreshing brother/sister friendship between unrelated people? I did. I adored Brom and Ivy and every scene they had together. Without giving too much away, their scenes almost overshadow the romance. How awesome is that?

There were a few holes I feel in the world building and backstory, but I stumbled into them long after I fell in love anyway. Definitely a different take on YA fantasy, but don't let that dissaude you! Five stars.

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

I'm on the fence - I wouldn't go out of my way to recommend it but it's an ok read, relatively short for the fantasy genre, about average for YA.  Would appeal to the younger end of the YA category if I'm being honest as I did, at times, feel a bit old to be reading it.  If you're looking to dip your toe into YA fantasy then this could be for you but personally it just wasn't really for me and doesn't stand up well against the other YA fantasies out there.

I was pleasantly surprised by this one. The premise behind the story – that a kiss during battle can ignite magical powers – sounds unbelievably cheesy but the execution was very good. The world building was well thought out and the characters were well rounded and endearing. Hats off to the author for making a compelling and fun fantasy romp out of what probably should have been a bit of a mess. Thoroughly enjoyable.

Kiss of the Royal is YA fantasy romance. It was an OK book for me; I didn't love it for few reasons. I found the world building a little convoluted and lacking and the characters under-developed. I didn't see a lot of growth in Ivy or Zach and their relationship. The pacing was slow, I found myself bored and my attention wandering to other things. The whole premise of this book is built on "love conquers all" and "true love's kiss" ideas and it was done in a cheesy way, I thought. There is nothing wrong with cheesy but it wasn't my cup of tea. I like my fantasy darker and more complex. The Kiss of the Royal doesn't stand out among other YA fantasy reads in my opinion. I am glad it's a stand-alone and, at least, the story was wrapped up satisfactory.

A kiss gains an entirely new meaning in this exciting, packed with magic and action, read for fantasy fans.

Princess Ivy is a full blooded royal and because of that, has the most powerful kiss. With this kiss, she gives her 'prince' a boost of magic with the intent to help him on the battlefield. Ivy's people have been fighting the evil forces for several hundred years and the kiss of royals is their greatest weapon. Due to the loss of her 5th (or 6th?) prince, Ivy is forced to take on a new prince. This one, however, is more than she bargained for. He believes in true love, something the Royals have denied for hundreds of years. Despite her hate for his beliefs, he's her and her people's only chance to survive the biggest threat the evil side has ever brought against them.

This is a very refreshing idea—kisses with the sheer purpose to defeat an enemy. Never in love because love doesn't exist. The author manages to build masterfully on this idea, creating a believable realm with a princess worthy of cheering for. Most of the details behind this theory are well laid out, and there are so many unexpected twists and turns to the entire thing as the story continues.

Ivy is an interesting character. On the one hand, she's a grand princess who is determined to fulfill her position and save her people no matter what it takes. She's head-strong and yet, has a more insecure side which molds with the strength nicely. Her ability to listen to reason makes her very likable. On the other side, her determination not to believe everything she hears and question the values she holds dear, also makes her a princess to adore. It's a lovely balance.

There is tons of action in this book as well as magic. Every step of the journey holds a new danger, and each of these is brought across with excitement and tension. But the main element is the developing romance between Ivy and Zach, her prince. It's not a love at first sight but a battle the entire way through. Both Ivy and Zach are intriguing to follow.

The ending wraps up all knots nicely and is satisfying, despite a maybe too easily won end battle with the evil queen. But then, the tale is fairly predictable in most respects (the reason for 4 stars instead of 5). Still, it's exactly this which makes the ending sweet and satisfying. In other words, it's the perfect read for those who want action, magic and a wonderful, tension filled romance.

I received a complimentary copy through Netgally and enjoyed it enough to want to leave my honest thoughts.

I really liked the premise of “Kiss of the Royal” and was intrigued by the idea of a world where kisses were used as some form of magic to protect or heal other people, lift curses and much more. And overall, I have to say this book definitely turned out to be a very quick and enjoyable read but it also had its flaws.

Some of the things I liked about this book were for instance the characters. They were well developed, and I really began caring for them after some time. I also liked the world building in this book and all in all, the plot was pretty interesting. But you were also able to tell that this was the author’s debut novel and I think there still is a lot of room for improvement when it comes to her writing style. But I’m sure she’ll continue improving with every book she publishes in the future and I most probably won’t have this problem anymore when reading her third or fourth book.

Another thing that bothered me was that, while the plot was interesting, it could’ve been even more interesting if some parts of the story had been a little more complex. Especially the “big battle” at the end was over way too fast which bugged me a little even though it was probably better for my heart. Furthermore, I also think the romance was incredibly predictable. From the start you know who’s going to end up with each other and how their love story would play out. Like I said, I really liked the characters, so I’d really hoped the few romantic scenes in this book would make me swoon which they just didn’t.

Ultimately, I decided to give this book three out of five stars because despite everything that bothered me, I still enjoyed reading “Kiss of the Royal” and will definitely keep an eye out for future books by this author.

A fantasy book about magical kisses? Sounds like a cliché Sleeping Beauty, right? WRONG. Okay, yes, there is some cheese to this book, but boy was it good cheese.

I went into this one expecting a light, quick-paced YA fantasy read, and that’s 100% what I got. Ivy is a Royal, which means she has a magical kiss. Okay, so at first I was very put off by the kissing aspect. I think I forgot between reading the synopsis and requesting this book for review on NetGalley that power smooching was a thing. However, after I got used to the idea, I picked the ebook back up, and I was hooked.

Ivy meets Zach, an unconventional Royal and wants to partner with him so they can be the most powerful couple in the world. Mwahaha. No, I’m kidding. Ivy just wants to save her people from the Evil Queen and her evil creatures. Honestly, Ivy and Zach’s dynamic was so entertaining. I loved it. Zach is kind of a dreamy goofball/bad boy combined. It was sad, though, that some of their romantic tension fizzled out a little towards the end of the book. But that’s how most YA romances go as they progress.

As for the plot of the story, it was fun. Various dwarves, griffins, and mythical creatures that typically aren’t depicted as evil and menacing was a cool concept. The only I problem I saw with the plot was how a certain character’s introduction and mysterious secrets were rather predictable, but even then, I couldn’t guess the major details.

All in all, if you’re looking for a book to give you a rest between all those giant fantasy sequels like Reaper at the Gates, War Storm, etc., Kiss of the Royal is probably perfect for you. It’s easy-to-swallow fantasy that has a swoon-worthy love interest and a unique, if awkward, magic system.

4/5 stars

*Note: I received a copy of this book from the publisher to review via NetGalley. This in no way affected my opinion/review.

Woohoo! Chalk up another of my cover obsession books panning out and actually being a creative and fun fantasy tale. I fell in love with the cover of Kiss of the Royal by Lindsey Duga a few months back while participating for the cover reveal for this book and just knew I was going to have to get my hands on a copy and read it. Going into this one I really had no idea what to expect but maybe that was a good thing because what I found I don’t think I could have imagined.

Princess Ivy is our heroine in Kiss of the Royal, she’s a feisty and fierce Royal who has been battling the forces of darkness all of her life. The Royals believe that emotion needs to be left behind to fight the centuries long curse and Ivy has been raised with these beliefs. In order to fight in battle each Royal is paired with a partner in which they can share a kiss to ignite their magic while in battle. (Hey don’t laugh, Cassandra Clare’s Shadowhunters tattoo themselves so why not a kiss?)

Unfortunately for Ivy she has just lost her fifth battle partner and with the forces of darkness only multiplying daily there’s not really another match to equal the power of Ivy’s magic in her kingdom. But just as Ivy is looking for a new partner help comes in from a neighboring kingdom that includes Prince Zach. Now Zach was raised by his non-Royal mother and new to the Royal forces but he’s just as fierce as Ivy in battle so the two pair up. The only problem for Ivy, Zach does not believe in Royal magic and refuses to kiss Ivy, you see Zach is a Romantica and believes kisses should mean so much more.

I will be the first to admit the whole idea behind this story really may sound rather cheesy but so did those glittery vampires and look how popular they became. Lindsey Duga did an amazing job with the world and character building within the story so that I was sucked right in and really began to see the curses unfolding and the monsters the characters were battling. You could also feel the relationship grow between Ivy and Zach with each turn of the page. The only thing really keeping me from rating a full five stars is that it did have a bit of a slow burn to it and I’m a rather impatient person but in the end I’d give this one 4.5 stars. But by all means don’t take my word on this one and pick up a copy and try this wonderful young adult fantasy for yourself.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

ok, I hate to give negative feedback, but i just cannot go and be positive about this one. The healing kisses, i read that word so many times in the first few chapters, it got very anoying. I could not juste keep on reading, i tought it was absurd and i could not relate in any way to the characters or the story

This was so friggin’ cute!! The perfect summer weekend read. I love me a good classic fairytale, but was a little worried this would fall prey to the trope trap. Even though there are aspects of this that are a little predictable, the fantastic world building, fun cast of characters, and great story overshadowed everything else. In a good way!

When I first started reading, I was immediately intrigued by structure of this society and that’s really what kept me going in the beginning. In this world, kisses are the trigger for magic and only those with royal blood can practice it. If a prince or princess think of a spell before touching their lips to the skin of another royal, they can do almost anything—heal wounds, increase speed, add protection, etc. Is the idea of this a little odd?? Ummm yeah. I mean, royals are just running around kissing each other all over the place. But it somehow completely worked???? In the context of the story, it didn’t feel awkward to me at all and I was actually really fascinated by the repercussions of all this magic kissing. I mean, when you have to kiss people all the time on a regular basis, you can’t afford to have feelings. Love isn’t something that exists in this world with marriage and courtship being ancient “heretic” ideas. People choose their partners for battle purposes, only considering those who would bring the most power. Logic rules above all else.

And I really enjoyed Ivy’s character! Despite the fantastical world she lived in, I found her completely relatable. She’s smart and strong with a great need to protect her people, a quality that I admired. And her familial relationship with Bromley was so cute!! I’m so happy that Ivy’s discovery of friendship was just as central to the plot as her discovery of love because friendships in YA are the beeeeeeeest! Of course, I also loved Zach the romantic and watching his blossoming relationship with Ivy was so cute. It was really nice seeing a guy as the sensitive one for a change.

Plus, I was completely surprised by the ending????? I was not expecting that twist at all and I loved it!!

FINAL WORD
An adorably light, fun summer read that was completely engrossing! In a world full of book series, it was so nice reading a great standalone YA romance for a change. Two thumbs up!!

Great read, well written with a great plot and characters. I loved the twists and turns. I can't wait to read more, I hope this turns into a series. I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book from Netgalley.

This. Was. SHOCKINGLY. GOOD.

A short story, if you will. Once upon a time, I grabbed Kiss of the Royal from NetGalley because the description sounded interesting. Then I started reading and I laughed and scoffed. People making out on battlefields in order to be powerful? What dafuq? Confusion settled in for a moment as well. How can there be this many goddamn princes and princess? Then, between 2% and 25% I hummed and hawed over whether I liked it or not. In the end, magic happened and I got sucked in and I finished over half of it in one day. The End.

For real though, this was a fantastic fantasy standalone with a surprisingly deeper meaning to it. While the beginning felt like it was being a bit satirical with soldiers using a kiss as the unlocking of magic with such seriousness and the heretics of the world being those who believe in the power of true love's kiss, it evolved into something far more serious and heartfelt. The theme of love and magic is very prevalent, and I think it was handled marvellously. No cheese factor at all, which I found to be impressive. The story itself is the perfect pace and surprisingly twisted. And well plotted. There were little details mentioned in passing in the beginning that became important later on.

The world building really was quite spectacular. From where I sit, the magic system is really quite air-tight. There are legends and myth that feed into the history of the world and drive characters forward. The magical creatures, while a bit cliche, were well-done. As I mentioned above, there was a bit of confusion with the titles of prince and princess, and I think that could have been handled a bit better. To help you out, dear reader, to be a prince or princess doesn't mean you're actually royal. Rather it's a rank in the military. To be king or queen means you've been moved to the council.

I adore the characters in this novel, in particular Zach. He's such a lovely handsome goof. Ivy, on the other hand, took some work to like. Really, it wasn't until Zach came in and their dynamic was put on display that I liked Ivy. She was rather ... annoying and full of herself in the beginning. There's a scene where she interrupts a group of soldiers training, and the way she went about it had me going, "Oh, you're one of THOSE people!" But the chemistry between her and Zach let Ivy stand on her own and shine. A lot of the plot revolves around her wanting to kiss Zach so they can be all powerful together, and him refusing. And let me tell you, with the inevitable romance that develops, I was practically yelling at my Kindle, "NOW KISS!" Fair warning ahead, it's a slow-slow burn that gave me so many feels.

My only complaint, because few books are really ever 100% perfect, is the lack of diversity. Unless I blinked and missed a key description, it was a whole bunch of white people across four separate kingdoms. Fantasy is trying, but it looks like we're still taking baby steps. That, and I wanted a little bit more from the ending.

5/5

Review can also be found on *Milky Way of Books*

In the world of monsters, darkness and one wicked Dark Queen, the kingdoms have gathered together, fighting the Darkness! Their weapons?

Kisses!

That's right! The Princes and Princesses of this world fight the evil monsters, which may also come from mythology, with Kisses of power, health, stealth even Kisses of enchantment. But these are not Kisses of love.

Princess Ivy is the best of her Legion but she loses too many partners to the monsters they have to fight. When she decides to pair with Prince Zach of another Kingdom, they will travel through enchanted, cursed forests and discover the true mystery behind the Wicked Dark Queen.

I enjoyed the premise! As a person raised with Disney and "true-love-wins", I enjoyed this book, where the Kisses were not part of feelings and procreation was done in the name of Lust. Those who believe in romance are also considered heretics.

There are many surprises here and while the book feels stretched between the beginning and the real action, I enjoyed the banter, the fighting scenes and the ending!

The kiss of a princess can be a powerful tool against the forces of evil. A magic that I have never read about is weaved into this book and I could not be more impressed.
Think romance of enemies to lovers but more subtle than that. A princess who will do anything to win and a prince who doesn't want her help. Together they will argue their way to victory. You will laugh, roll your eyes, and ultimately fall for these two unlikely allies.

I was intrigued by the concept of this book, a magical world in which Kisses with capital Ks have almost limitless power, but after finishing the book, I'm not just not convinced. The story itself is kind of cute, sort of like a fairytale with its princes and princesses and witches and dragons.

That said, I didn't feel like the overall story was particularly unique and it took quite awhile for me to care about what was happening. More than anything, I just felt burned out by reading the word Kiss eighteen times on each page. I'm in a bit of a reading slump as it is, which didn't help.

I think this is partially a case of me not really being in the mood for this sort of fluffy fantasy, so I'm rounding my rating of 2.5 stars up to 3. It's an interesting concept, for sure, and the ending was cute. It just wasn't for me.

The concept was intriguing at first, but overall it fell a little flat for me and I ended up kind of bored. The characters and world building weren’t anything special. This book is a fine way to pass the time, but to me it doesn’t stand out among the hundreds of other fantasy/royal YA books in any way. There’s nothing wrong with the writing or the story, and I’m sure it will be some people’s favorite book. For me it was very average, middle of the road. Good, but not great. And not very memorable. Which is fine. Makes a good beach read if you’re looking for fantasy that’s not too heavy.