Overall, this was a fun, easy read. Just like everyone who already reviewed this book, Mulan was the first thing that came to mind when I read the summary. A female character disguised as a male, who sounded legit with her sword skills? Sounds like a fun adventure!

The plot was promising, and while I wasn't 100% disappointed, I do have a few gripes. The first one, the character building was just okay. I never truly felt connected to any of them, and I felt like relationships happened awfully fast. I mean, what is up with everyone trusting the main character (Reid) so quickly, and with SO MUCH?! Apparently she has superpowers, because everyone in the book was immediately divulging their biggest secrets. Trust issues are not a thing in this world apparently.

The second, along the same lines, everything was way too easy. All of these dangerous tasks could have been set up for intense situations that left me on the edge of my seat... instead they really fell flat. Everything felt unrealistic and lacked suspense.

With that said, I will definitely read the next book in the series. With that ending, how can I not? This story has huge potential, and I am ready for it.

Possibility of a hate-to-love romance in coming books, but this one was a little too short to really get into much. Otherwise, the story is a little predictable, but still a good read.

A promising start to a new series.

As with most of Ms. Davis’ books, this is a clean and typical YA. If you’ve read any of her other books, the writing style is the same. Simple and straight forward. Some things were quite predictable, but that might just be me.

Pros:
- A strong-willed heroine who can actually hold her own in a fight
- Mysterious Third Prince who isn’t a love interest and is actually dedicated to his job
- Smart and friendly princess who treats the heroine as an equal
- Heroine‘s father and sister love and support her
- One solid best friend who stands by the heroine through all the craziness
- Main “villains” aren’t dumbed down in order to make the heroine seem smart

Cons:
- A plot that’s rather predictable
- Heroine accomplishes supposedly difficult missions far too quickly and easily
- Generic Second Prince who catches feels for the heroine, who unfortunately does the same 🙄
- Book is too short to give characters enough time for growth and development

The ending has me excited for a potentially promising hate to love relationship aka the one of best kind. So chances are I’ll probably pick up the second book to see where this adventure goes.

An amazing start to a new series by Jennefire Anne Davis. Reid Ellington has been raised a boy all of her life. However once the Prince Gordon and Ackley arrive at her home her secret is discovered and her families future rests on her shoulder. As Reid learns to navigate this new world she's thrust into; she finds everthing she thought was true may not be. She will have to learn who she can trust as she begins to unravel the secrets of the kingdom in the hopes she can save her father and maintain the family lands.

Loved this book from the first page. I could not put it down and can't wait for book 2 and 3. I will most definetely be picking the next two books up to as soon as they come out to find out Reid's story turns out.

As with all series by Jennifer Anne Davis, I enjoyed this well-written YA fantasy. Reid is an easy character to relate to and root for. The tale begins on her eighteenth birthday, as she is biding her time until one of her sisters gives birth to a boy, so that Reid can finally be known as a Lady and stop pretending to be the Lord and heir to her father’s dukedom. Instead, two royal princes make a surprise visit to her father’s castle, discover her secret almost immediately, and insist that she join them as her father’s troops are led towards the border to prevent war. Though the princes insist upon her presence and treat her well, she is left to ponder the mystery of what they could possibly use her help with.

Reid goes through much of this tale without knowing who to fully place her trust in, which translates to the reader also not knowing which members of the royal family to trust. Not necessarily in a malicious way, but everyone has secrets, and this intrigue was one of my favorite things about this book.

Read quickly over 1.5 days, I found it difficult to put this book down, and even harder to reach the end and realize I’d have to wait until December for its sequel. Very much looking forward to continuing this trilogy.

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

thank you to netgalley for another superb arc!

i love a good "female pretending to be male" trope, and this was no exception. i enjoyed that our main character, reid, started to realize that women are so much more than what men and society thought they were back in medieval times. reid had been brought up her whole life to be a male, and i'm sure after she was forced to be a female for certain people, she missed the freedom of being a male.

i enjoyed this book very much. however, i did think that there was something missing from the plot, and it was a lot of description. everything moved so quickly. there was hardly any description of places or people, other than maybe what they wore or what their hair looked like. i'm super into description and i'm driven by characters, and i felt that that was lacking in this book.

i also wish i connected more with the characters. there were a lot of them, and some i just knew by name and never really got a full picture in my head.

however, i will say, this was a quick book to read and very enjoyable. i will for certain be reading the next one.

This book is confused.

There’s nothing glaringly problematic with it, and the plot itself has some good ideas. Unfortunately, the execution proved terrible. In my opinion, the biggest contributing factor was the writing style: very matter-of-fact, with the rhythm of an essay but without personality, that made everything sound flat, emotionless. I felt disconnected from the protagonist the entire time; the stakes, though high, never hit me; and the poor imagery never charmed its way in my hand, creating then a bleak, dull adventure. Moreover, the narrative ditched logic about half-way through, relying on an inconsequential series of events rather than a bonding, thematic thread, eventually ending with a nonsense “cliffhanger”.

There’s not much to talk about for me because, overall, I felt like I’ve read the general idea of a story, not its final, polished draft. It wasn’t engaging, provocative, or even a nice way of passing time. I'm saddened for my disappointment because I was really looking forward to like this book, but I absolutely don't recommend this.

Thank you Netgalley for sending me and ARC in exchange of an honest review.
Since the day Reid was born, she has pretended to be a boy/man at her father’s direction. As the youngest daughter of one of the wealthiest landowners in the kingdom, the only way her father can pass on his land is to a son, so this was his solution. Unfortunately, they are now in a bit of a situation. Everyday Reid struggles with keeping her secret and when one of Marsden’s princes sees her sparring, she is forced into an agreement. In order to protect her father and family, she needs to lead her father’s troops to the border and work with the prince on a secret task. She eventually learns of the covert organization called the Knights of the Realm and finds herself right in the middle of Marsden’s secrets.
I thought that the characters in the book have a good relationship and Reid was a strong main character. I felt that Reid grew well in the book and the changes of her relations between other characters was done well too.

overall I really enjoyed the book and the ending was diffidently a great point for book two. I like the world building in this book too.

3.5 stars

Realm of Knights by Jennifer Anne Davis is the first book in the Knights of the Realm series and when I came across this one, I immediately added it to my TBR. It had everything I typically look for in a book and I’m glad I picked it up.

This book centers on Reid Ellington. Since the day Reid was born, she has pretended to be a boy/man at her father’s direction. As the youngest daughter of one of the wealthiest landowners in the kingdom, the only way her father can pass on his land is to a son, so this was his solution. Unfortunately, they are now in a bit of a situation. Everyday Reid struggles with keeping her secret and when one of Marsden’s princes sees her sparring, she is forced into an agreement. In order to protect her father and family, she needs to lead her father’s troops to the border and work with the prince on a secret task. She eventually learns of the covert organization called the Knights of the Realm and finds herself right in the middle of Marsden’s secrets.

The story revolves around the kingdom of Marsden and the fact that the current king is being threatened by his uncle who happens to be king in another country. Reid needs to navigate the truth to figure out what really is going on and she doesn’t really start to learn what she needs to know until it’s almost too late to turn back. I can’t say too much here but there are some political secrets that could make things very dangerous.

As for characters, I thought Reid was a solid MC. There were times that she did something I had to shake my head at but overall, I thought she showed solid growth throughout the story. I liked how Davis reflected the changes in Reid’s relationships with Knox and Harlan when they find out who she really is, and I appreciate her attempt to make them realize she’s still the same person.

Reid’s relationships with the princes (Ackley and Gordon) were interesting. I thought I knew who her love interest was going to be, but all the twists made my guesses completely wrong. Adding the king’s agenda to the mix was an interesting challenge for Reid and it really showed how much she doesn’t know and needs to learn.

Secondary characters were great. I mentioned Knox and Harlan before along with the princes, but we also get introduced to the princess, Idina, who has a fairly important role, both in the Realm as well as the story. I like that we got a peek into Reid’s relationship with her family too.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. With the way this one ended I will definitely be picking up book two. I can’t wait to learn more about the other kingdom and its prince. I am also looking forward to seeing how Reid gets along. If you haven’t added this one to your TBR yet, definitely consider it. The story is interesting, the characters are well developed, and there are a number of twists and turns that will keep you wondering what will happen next.

This book is full of twists and turns.Reid ,the main character in this book is a girl that dresses like a boy and is her fathers heir.She is recruited by the kings brothers as a spy and eventually a knight.There are a lot of little sub plots throughout the book.
It is a fast paced read centered around the main character.#netgalley#realmofknights#jenniferannedavis

Sometimes, YA books are complex and filled with compelling, deep characters who are just waiting to be explored. Sometimes, YA books are completely set at the surface level and filled with tropes. Even more rarely, we find a book that is somewhere in the middle. Tropes abound, but the concept is interesting enough that you can forgive them and hope that the next book bridges the gap.

Realm of Knights falls into the last category. Reid Ellington is the fifth daughter of a duke (named Duke Ellington - can we talk about how distracting that is for somebody who is musically aware??) and has been raised as a boy to keep the line of inheritance intact. She is quickly found out by an astute princely observer and is blackmailed into using her unique skills in service to the kingdom. In the meantime, a dash of romance and a fair shake of feminism are thrown into the mix.

One of the themes that I hope is explored more is the role of women in the world of Marsden and its cousin country, Axian. Accepting your role in society and pushing the boundaries have to be deeply important to Reid and I'd love to see this explored more in the future.

I found myself caring about Reid, but only at a high level. She was a somewhat flat affect, and never seemed to explore what it means that she has had to bend her entire life to represent something she is not. The idea of exploring her identity and how being raised as a boy might have impacted that identity is very serious and is almost entirely unexplored. Maybe this will be there in book 2 (there is clearly a book 2, even perhaps a book 3 in mind here).

The romantic interest was even more of a flat affect. As a reader, I often find myself wanting to understand attraction, even if I find the person neutral or even unattractive. If I can see why the person attracted is attracted, I'm in for the ride either way. For a half a second at the beginning of the book, it felt like we might be in a love triangle. This is resolved by the author several times over the course of the book by her literally saying, with no context, that one option is a friend and the other is attractive. No reasons are cited, I'm not led there at all - we just have to take it because the author (not even really Reid) says so.

Ultimately, I'm quasi-neutral on this book. I'd read the second one if it is readily available to me, but is this one I'll dash out and pre-order the second book? Nope. Quick, easy read but there is so much more that could be done here and I hope that will be the goal if the next installment.

**My thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.**

I enjoyed following Reid on her adventures throughout the story. The book was full of suspense, plot twists, and adventure. Reid is the main character in the book, having grown up her whole life acting, dress, being a man in every possible way she gets sent on an adventure that requires her to step out of her comfort zone and actually portray herself as a woman which she has never done and is not comfortable with. In her time of living women are to be seen not heard. They must be escorted at all times and do other "boring" things. She is outspoken and never had to follow these rules in society. She meets two princes who change her world by bringing her on these quests and you never quit know who to trust or who is really helping who. She meets a secret society of a realm of knights who want her a part of their team since she can play both male and female roles which could help them infiltrate things. However, things are never as they seem and she quickly starts to realize it is getting harder to determine what is the truth and what someone wants you to think or know just to get their way. I want to thank Netgalley for the chance to read this book before it hits the shelves. I enjoyed this book so much I read it in a day. I couldn't not put it down. I look forward to following Reid on her journey especially after that cliffhanger ending!

I'm a fan of the gender swapping trope, so I enjoyed the parts where Reid, the MC, dealt with the social injustices she suffered as a woman. The plot itself, while a bit confusing due to it's complexity, was also intriguing.

This book had a lot of potential, between its plot and characters and all, but it really could've been executed better. Some of the writing felt a bit off - it didn't flow properly at times. Worse than that, Reid was more of a pawn than an active participant. She needed to be coerced into taking on her role, and every action she took was the result of others' cunning plots. I could feel her being pushed around the chess board, but she's pretty naive and just follows orders. I blame her upbringing. Even though she's been raised as a man, she's never been out among society, and is completely out of her depths when she's taken to court and faces all the political maneuvering. She's unprepared, and doesn't even know she is.

I also think all the fuss everyone makes about her ability to use swords in a man's world was overdone. Even if she is a good fighter, she's nowhere near ready for the tasks she was given. You'd think they would've trained her a bit. Plus, even though her neighbors and friends grew up thinking her a man, I don't see how she can pass as one the rest of the time. Especially since she's hardly an ugly woman.

Ok. I had a lot of issues with this book, but ignoring those, this book ended on a sort of cliffhanger, with a lot of unanswered mysteries. I'd be interested in reading the next book, if only to satisfy my curiosity on those points.

I received a copy in exchange for an honest review.

A super-interesting plot with heaps of potential, which was unfortunately suppressed by mediocre execution, cut-out characters, and semi-odd pacing.

Due to legal and social issues preventing women from inheriting land and titles in the kingdom of Marsden, Reid has spent her entire life pretending to be a man. I had high expectations for her, but unfortunately she became an unrealistic Mary-Sue of sorts. She becomes a spy, uncovers (and stops) an assassination attempt, goes on a super-secret mission, etc, and everybody is so impressed with her. She’s boyish when her hair is up, but when it’s down everybody can’t stop staring. You know those movies where the nerdy girl takes off her glasses and suddenly the coolest guy in her school falls in love with her at first sight? That’s what this reminded me of. And while she’s supposed to be exceptionally skilled and smart, she often proves herself to be naive and whiney. The male characters suffer the same fate: set up to be tough and complex, we see nothing that actually portrays them that way.

The writing is pretty choppy at times, which annoyed me more than I could convey in words.

“Reid removed her cape.
She hated when people called her Ellington.
It reminded her of her father.
A few of the men standing around slapped her back as she climbed over the fence.
Since everyone knew her as the duke’s male heir, they expected certain things from her.
Like knowing how to fight so she could lead Ellington’s soldiers if needed.”

There is also a whole bunch of things “going through her”:

“An ominous feeling spread within her.”
“Fear shot through her.”
“Relief flooded through Reid.“
“A tingly sensation brushed along Reid’s spine.”

The pacing is quite detrimental to the story, as well. Readers have no clue how much time has passed, and everything goes so quickly. At one point a character asks something, and shortly after Reid refers to that interaction as something that happened weeks ago. It’s extremely fast-paced, which generally isn’t something I’d ever have an issue with, but this application reminds me of something I’d read on Wattpad, not a published novel.

Despite the fact that I didn't love the first instalment, this trilogy is something I wouldn't mind continuing just so I could find out what happens to Reid. I’d also really love to stick around to see how the author grows in her craft— I just know there's potential for something absolutely amazing here.

And just because it’d be basically criminal of me to finish this review without talking about that cover: it’s GORGEOUS. Have you ever seen something so pretty?

I received a free copy of this book in an exchange for an honest review.

This book really struck me as a more complex Mulan. This book represents the fight for equality, and the moral struggles of blindly following society.

This book really hit home for me as I have also experienced the feeling of not belonging anywhere, and that drove my connection to this main character! I absolutely can not wait for the next book, and you can bet I'll be keeping tabs on that!

The main character of this book, Reid, is a strong willed and opinionated woman living within an oppressed kingdom disguised as a Lord. In order to secure her families land and position Reid was pronounced a male at birth, and groomed to behave as a man. Within this kingdom land may only be passed to other male family members as women are not granted those rights. Women are expected to dress as a stereotypical lady and be subservient to men.
On this fast wild ride Reids world is shattered as her secret is exposed to royalty, and if she wishes to save her family and their land she'll be expected to follow the crown blindly. Only time will tell the fate of her families lives as she struggles to prove her worth.

Reid has spent her whole life pretending to be a man so she can inherit her father’s estate, but when a chance encounter threatens to expose her lie, she is forced to risk everything.

In the kingdom of Marsden, women are subservient to men and land can only pass from father to son. So when Reid Ellington is born, the fifth daughter to one of the wealthiest landholders in the kingdom, it’s announced that Reid is a boy.

Eighteen years later, Reid struggles to conceal the fact she’s actually a young woman. Every day, her secret becomes harder to keep. When one of Marsden’s princes sees her sparring with a sword, she is forced to accept his offer and lead her father’s soldiers to the border. Along the way, she discovers a covert organization within the army known as the Knights of the Realm. If Reid wants to save her family from being arrested for treason and robbed of their inheritance, she will have to join the Knights and become a weapon for the crown.

To protect her family, Reid must fight like a man. To do that, she’ll need the courage of a woman.- Goodreads

Jumping right into this. Reid was a horrible character that only knew how to fight but did nothing else to deserve to become part of the Knights of the Realm. I would like to also add that she only became Knights of the Realm because SHE WAS A WOMAN and can be used as a spy. If she was a man they would have ate her alive and disregarded her bones for the dogs. 

The author takes this book to focus more on that fact that in Reid's kindgom, women are second class citizens and should know their place. There is less focus on actually developing Reid's personality, internal conflict and morals. The author constantly brings up in words not actions that Reid is a woman and the frustrating part of this is the fact that Reid is outspoken (because she has played the role of a man) and this is going to be looked at how progressive she is when in actuality Reid does nothing but get caught, pass out and get upset she can't have what see wants, when she really doesn't know what she wants. 

I know this is an extreme rant but I didn't enjoy the book as it didn't provide the intensity, adventure, betrayals or even a good enough romance (completely forced, came out of no where, didn't fit or make sense in the book/felt like an after thought).

The thing about this book is that I know there are readers that will enjoy this and that is fine. I just didn't like it. 

I wanted so much more from this. I wanted Reid to become brutal, use the fact that she was playing two roles to reach crazy heights but she didn't deliver. How I finished the book not sure because that ending.... -_-

1 Pickle

#RealmOfKnights #NetGalley

publisher description: Reid has spent her whole life pretending to be a man so she can inherit her father’s estate, but when a chance encounter threatens to expose her lie, she is forced to risk everything.
In the kingdom of Marsden, women are subservient to men and land can only pass from father to son. So when Reid Ellington is born, the fifth daughter to one of the wealthiest landholders in the kingdom, it’s announced that Reid is a boy.

Eighteen years later, Reid struggles to conceal the fact she’s actually a young woman. Every day, her secret becomes harder to keep. When one of Marsden’s princes sees her sparring with a sword, she is forced to accept his offer and lead her father’s soldiers to the border. Along the way, she discovers a covert organization within the army known as the Knights of the Realm. If Reid wants to save her family from being arrested for treason and robbed of their inheritance, she will have to join the Knights and become a weapon for the crown.

To protect her family, Reid must fight like a man. To do that, she’ll need the courage of a woman.

I love this author and with that said I had high exceptions for this book. But I am pleased to let you know Davis did not disappoint!! This novel is so phenomenal that I have read it more than twice already! I love Reid's character and how smart and adaptive she is to any situation she is in. The plot has a lot of twists and turns and the ending was.... Wow! I can't even put it into words without a spoiler, but lets just say I read and re read it and I have a lot of theories. I CANNOT wait for the next book!! So GOOD!!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Reign Publishing for an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review. The ideas and thoughts are my own.

I was excited to read this book based on the synopsis, and I enjoyed it, but it was by no means the greatest novel I’ve read. The first quarter of this book was a bit hard to get into. It felt like it focused too much on sexism issues, and not enough on the story. Don’t get me wrong, it’s good to see issues like this addressed in novels. That’s what makes them relatable. However, I felt like it did more talking about sexism than showing the sexism our main character Reid faced.

Once you get past the first quarter of the novel, things start to get interesting. It seems everybody in the royal family has a different scheme going on and multiple people are vying for control. The reader is unsure of whom Reid should trust, and that makes it intriguing. There is a dash of romance thrown in which mixed things up a bit and added to the story.

However, there were a few scenes where I felt more description was needed. Near the beginning of the story, it didn’t feel like the world was described well enough. By this I mean physical description. It felt like it told the reader what things were instead of using adjectives to show what they were. This made it difficult to imagine in my head what the character’s surroundings looked like.

There were also one or two scenes where I was confused about timing. It wasn’t very clear how much time had passed. This threw me off a bit, but eventually it became clear as I read on further.

Despite these issues, the ending to this novel was brilliant. You are left reaching for a book two. If political schemes or strong female characters are of an interest to somebody, I would probably recommend this novel to them.

First and foremost, thank you to NetGalley and Reign Publishing for providing me with the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

When I first read the description, I immediately thought, hmm, is this a Mulan retelling of sorts? And to be honest, there was a Mulan vibe throughout when it came to our heroine Lord/Lady Reid Ellington. She's intelligent and brave and I wanted to be her.

I'm only just realizing as I write my review that there wasn't any magic, at least not that I can recall. And yet, it felt so magical. I am sure it had to do with the medieval-like setting in which the plot unfolds.

There were so many twists and turns in the story, it seemed like a neverending mystery. Even now, having finished the first book, I think I have an idea of what direction the plot is going in, and yet at the same time, I cannot wait for the second book so I can find out. Davis has created an interesting world -- the Kingdom of Marsden -- that is heavily sexist, and I'm sure readers will find that Axian is just as interesting a place. I've seen some reviews that complain about the sexism, however, I found that it's simply part of the society Reid lives in, despite it not being fair in the least. Frankly, this aspect of the story made me feel an abundance of emotions: anger, disappointment, resentment to name a few; all feelings that Reid shares, as well. At the end of the day, it worked for me as a reader.

While the faults weren't enough for me to warrant this story anything less than 4.5/5 stars, I understand other readers who may be bummed that the story wasn't longer or that the plot was a bit slow in the beginning. Seeing that this was the first book, I personally was alright with it since it was finding its footing and providing some background information for the books to follow. I hope to see Reid continuing to develop as a fighter and figure out her identity. I also hope readers get more insight into the Knights since we didn't learn much about them either---what's their history, for example?

All in all, this was an exciting read and stopped at one heck of a cliffhanger! Hopefully, we won't have to wait too long to find out what happens next.

Realm of Knights tells the story of Reid, a girls who has spent her life pretending to be a boy to protect her families estate. When the realm needs her father’s soldiers, she is expected to lead them and protect her country. Little does she know that the royal family has some different plans for her….

Yes, it sounds a bit like Mulan, and yes it’s great. I think that Davis has done a great job in creating this world and the plot. The only major flaw in this book was the pace. Everything happened so fast. This could easily have been a 5 star book if the author had taken a bit more time too built the world and characters.
Realm of Knights is to be the first book in a YA fantasy trilogy, and the ending makes that I want to read the next book right away!

4 stars.