Title: The Cup and the Prince
Author: Day Leitao
Publisher: Sparkly Wave

Review to be posted to retail sites such as Amazon and Barnes and Noble upon publication date on October 15, 2020 and Goodreads on September 27, 2020.

This eARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Zora grew up secluded in the Dark Valley where any manmade shadow can come to life and hurt the people living there. After her boyfriend betrays her trust, she takes his place in the Royal Games in order to win the Blood Cup and help her people. While in the city, she is not only competing in the Royal Games but in a game of wits with the two princes and their older brother, the king. Zora does not know who to trust in the city and trusting the wrong person is likely to get her killed either in the games or out.

I am just going to get this out of the way: I wanted to like this book so much more, but sadly I did not. The concept was so interesting: A part of the kingdom that shadow monsters would appear out of any manmade shadow – yes please! However, it was not explored in this novel and instead we got a sad imitation of Throne of Glass with a competition amongst different people across the kingdom that was honestly extremely boring. I almost had to reread the first competition because it was so simple and dull, I could not believe that was it and they only marginally improved after that.

The other issue I had in this novel were the characters. Zora was pitched as this strong heroine that had grown up in the Dark Valley fighting monsters and helping her people but as the novel progressed that girl quickly disappeared. She instead was a young girl with very little confidence in herself who had to resort to cheating to succeed at anything and cried at just about everything. There were moments where the girl from the beginning who charged at the shadow wolves to save her students would shine through but it was rare. I also could not get a handle on the princes’ and the king’s characters. The author tried to create so much intrigue around them so that you had no idea what their intentions were that I grew tired and gave up caring about them. I found the character Alegra to be interesting but just when I was starting to figure her out, she does something at the end that does not fit with her character and left me frustrated.

The writing in this novel was also a problem. There were so many misspellings and sentences that did not make sense it was a chore to read at times. It was also very direct story telling which made it fast pace but without the extra descriptions it’s hard to feel like part of that world. The writing felt very young and would use phrases that felt out of place for the novel. And don’t even get me started on the unnecessary animal killings in this novel.

This story has such promise for me but unfortunately it just did not hit the mark. The writing was not a type I enjoy reading, the characters did not become who I hoped they would be, and the plot did not pan out to be interesting for me.

I’ll be honest that this was an unexpected and pleasant read for me. The synopsis wasn’t the strongest type of description since the YA novels are flooded with similar plots, but the characters and their development through the story was what captivated me. Their dialogue and world building definitely saved me from putting the book down.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher, Sparkly Wave, for giving me this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

*3.5 stars rounded up*
Can I just say I love this cover? I would be lying saying I didn't request it since I saw that first.
The Cup and the Prince is a fascinating idea for a book from the world to the character's relationships. While I did enjoy most the story, it did feel a bit like a generic YA story. It's a fun quick read with a new twist!

Plot:
The story starts out pretty exciting with Zora literally drugging her boyfriend to take his place after finding he was cheating on her. The women empowerment themes in the book were great! She then travels to the main Gravel Kingdom after leaving her home for the first time. As Zora takes part in these challenges she also meets the three royal brothers. Her relationship with each of them is interesting but her biggest connection is with Griffin the youngest. The end of the story had a bit too much of a plot twist for me compared to what could have been hinted before. It is a very good but obvious first book. I am excited to see what happens in the next one!

Characters:
Zora is brave, independent, and fun. Her background stays quite strong which I love as many characters can lose that as they go on in a story. The other characters aren't quite as developed throughout the story. Even though we have multiple chances with Griffin's POV we don't see anything about the plot twist at the end other than some obscure references that could have been anything. With the other brothers, we don't really see their motivations. Loretta was very fun though, she seemed to only want a guy at first but by the end became focused on her friendship with Zora.

World Building:
The initial Dark Valley is absolutely fascinating and I really hope we can see more of that as we go on. The rest of the world is pretty fleshed out and fun but pretty simple. The idea of monsters that can spawn like in Minecraft had me really curious about the book initially and I wanted to learn more.

Overall this book is fascinating and fun even if a bit like the average YA first novel. I feel that this book is starting to take it's stride by the end and I'm excited to see what happens!

Thank you again to the publisher for allowing me to review this book!

Peace out! - Mal

I read this story in one sitting and it was amazing! Magic mystery and romance, this book had it all. It is so well written that you actually feel you are there. The perfect bit of escapism.

2.5/5
After reading the synopsis for The Cup and the Prince, I was intrigued by the premise and prepared to dive right into reading. We follow the main character Zora, as she enters into the royal games under the guise of her village's chosen champion and attempts to win the legendary Blood Cup. Alliances are drawn and loyalties are tested as Zora progresses through the competition, securing her spot, while at the same time making herself dangerous enemies.

Now despite the initial aspects that seemed appealing, the story ultimately failed to live up to any of the expectations it set for itself. There was such an issue with pacing throughout the entirety of the book, that it felt like the whole thing was set on fast forward. That, and there lacked any real depth to the events that were occurring. This can be traced all the way back to the world building itself which was incredibly lackluster and seemingly incomplete. The main event of the plot was supposed to be the competition, but even that fell short as it was overshadowed by unnecessary plot segways. Zora, who is portrayed from the start as this confident and skilled individual, lacked both of those things. This failed to line up with her wins from each stage of the competition and show how she was able to continue at all. The characters themselves, felt to me extremely one-dimensional and not given enough background. Unfortunate that this missed so much of what it was trying to convey. I'm not sure as to whether I will be continuing this series or not. Stay tuned.

This was quite the intrigue and adventure book. Take a girl scorned and throw her in a new place she has no idea anything about and we watch her grow.
I enjoyed the competitiveness of our heroine and the fact that she was pretty naive. What I didn't enjoy was the romance or everyone is in a giant love rectangle and let's go with it.
I wish the love interest wasnt so obvious and that we didn't have to go through this whole rectangle of a romance the whole way.
Good fantasy afternoon read.

This was a solid start to the Kingdom and Curses and Shadows series, however I am slightly underwhelmed.

The Cup and the Prince was marketed as Throne of Glass meets Minecraft, and I can definitely see the similarities. The Minecraft references made me chuckle and it was pretty fun to pick out all the references.

The story was extremely fast-paced and this kept me reading. I am a sucker for tournament-based tropes and will read anything with said trope. However, at the beginning of the novel, we are thrust straight into the action without any explanation. This was a bit jarring as there was a lack of world-building and no background information.

In terms of the plot, it was fun but nothing really stood out. Zora had to compete in a tournament to win the Blood Cup, along the way, she had to overcome some obstacles. It was pretty linear with a couple of twists and slightly predictable. The ending was a welcome surprise though, since I did not see that coming!

I wasn’t really connected to any of the characters because the story was so fast-paced and plot-driven. We did not get the time to learn about their personalities and motivations. Everything was pretty surface-level, from the relationships to the plot. I’m hoping the sequel will dive deeper into that.

I really liked the feminist themes throughout the novel. Zora was determined to not let any man undermine her and I loved her ambition to succeed. She was a likable protagonist and I hope to learn more about her in the sequel.

Overall, this was a solid read. I recommend if you enjoy tournament-based plot lines or if you’re looking for a fun, fast-paced book.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this copy of the book. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Quick read. Kind of reminded me of Hunger Games in a way. I feel like it was way too fast paced, but maybe that’s just me.

I was really excited to read this book and was definitely not disappointed. I felt like this was a hunger games meets fantasy, and my only complaint was that the world building wasn't all that great, but the plot was very intriguing! The book follows Zora, a girl from the dark valley who takes her cheating boyfriend's spot in the competition fro the blood cup. Zora is a strong MC with lots of history, and should definitely not be underestimated.

This was such a fun, enjoyable read. It was really exciting, and kept me wanting more. I just loved it! I immediately fell in love with the characters.

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

The Cup and the Prince follows Zora who tricks her way into the Royal Games with the intention of proving her ex-boyfriend and those around her that she is capable of not only surviving the games but winning them. But there is more to her new life then just winning the games, there are various interested parties wanting to utilise Zora for their own gain and no one for her to trust.

The book is a short fast paced read, with interesting characters who are unreliable and playing their own games. As the book is a short read, it does lack world building and context around the Royal Games, it moves very fast which means that there is little time to process stuff before another thing is already happening. The Royal Games themselves happen quickly and were quite disappointing, for someone who was meant to be under a disadvantage compared to her fellow competitors, Zora did get through the games fairly easy and the games themselves were not as bad as I expected them to be.

The characters were interesting and though they were not likable it was nice to read about characters with their own purposes and I liked the unstable atmosphere in the Kingdom with backstabbing characters. However, I did not like the dialogue in the book, it made the characters seem younger and less mature than they were - some of these characters were in high positions and yet it did not seem like they were. The book is told through the perspective of Zora and Prince Griffin, I did think that having him as a narrator was kind of a spoiler and made things easy to guess, without his narrative there would have been more mystery to the book and it would have been less predictable. I expected the book to be a light fun read and it was but, I was still disappointed because I expected more political intrigue, Zora having to fight for her place in the game more and the villain to be stronger. The villain was revealed early on which was annoying and how they caused all the issues was predictable and easy to see, the clues were very obvious which made the reveal predictable.

I also expected more around the Blood Cup, I would say there is a mystery around it but it was barely mentioned so I did not care for it. I am assuming it is more important in the next book but I still would have liked to know more about it and what its uses are and there is a scene at the start of the book where the cup is first mentioned and that is never referred to again which I thought was weird.

2/5

The stunning cover pulled me in but sadly I wasn't a huge fan of this book...
The fact that it starts with the main character being pressured for sex was my first clue that this wasn't my kind of book. The second clue was how the main character dealt with it, her "payback" was very forced and rushed just to get the story going. The last clue in the first chapter that showed me that I probably wouldn't like this book is that the main character's sword is named "butterfly". There might be a good reason for it later on but I certainly didn't want to keep reading to find out.

I think some people might enjoy this book but for me, I couldn't feel a connection to any of the characters. It also felt like a copycat storyline that I'd come across before but that had been written better in other books.
I'm not saying it's a bad book, it just isn't the type of story and characters that I enjoy reading about but that definitely doesn't mean no-one else will.

This book is out 15th of October in case you want to see if you'll like it more than I did.

Set in a world where contestants from different regions compete in the Royal Games, the story follows Zora who joins the contest just for petty revenge. But things are not as simple as they seem and danger lurks in the shadows, often from unexpected sources. How can a girl from a dark corner of the kingdom ever hope to win?

I loved the pacing. The plot is brilliant and there is no way I could have expected the plot twists. The princely brothers and their dynamic hasn't been dealt with in detail yet, and I expect it may play a huge role in the next book but it is clear even now, that it is not pleasant and all three have their own machinations behind the scenes.

What I liked the most about the book was that each character was different, it wasn't easy to understand their motivations (just like in real life!) and the author doesn't go too much into detail, just the way it should be.
I recommend this for readers who like strong protagonists who take split second decisions, are brave and gallant and spirited. Because that is exactly what Zora is.

It was a fast paced read, because of that the romance felt rushed and underdeveloped. i liked it overall but it was just so fast that the story was hard to get into, or better said i couldn't relate with the characters. I felt like i was being chased to finish this book. Also teh whole advertising it as minecraft meets YA ws on point the valley of darkness or whatever they called it was on point. Solid read probably wouldn't reread

I gave this novel a chance and I have to say that I’m a bit disappointed. The idea is there, but the execution was a miss. I wish the characters had more depth to them. I wish there was more about the Dark Valley and the creatures that appear. The book made it seem like an after thought. I feel that there was a missed opportunity in the world building in this book.

I don't want to be cruel, so I will keep this short. There is a lot to improve, from the language (who uses "inferiority complex" in a medieval setting), to word building and mostly characters. I felt I was listening to someone telling me a story, as they remembered it, not reading a book. I've never thought I will miss paragraphs of description of forest, rooms and people. Through all this I felt the characters were in fhe middle of nothing, I had no idea what/who is around them.
All characters were unlikeable and unrealistic (what are the chances of this one random girl get the attention of all 3 princes??)
Everything felt rushed and chaotic, I really wish I liked this and being the ARC I somehow hope the final edition will be strongly improved.

Thank you NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

So it's a no for me.

Day Leitao's YA fantasy novel tells the story of Zora, a young warrior who steals her ex-boyfriend's place in the Blood Cup after he cheats on her. However, once she arrives at the palace, she also realizes that not only does Zora have to win the competition but she has to deal with two princes - one who wants her out of the games, and the other who wants her as a pawn for his own schemes.

So the premise of this book was super interesting. I liked the idea of the shadow creatures and the history behind the Blood Cup. I also REALLY like the idea of a scorn woman who takes revenge on her lover. And from the way Seth is painted, he really deserves it.

However, everything else just fell flat. There's a lot of emphasis on Griffin not wanting Zora to participate in the Royal Games, but all I got from it was that he didn't want her competing because she's a girl?? Legit, this is one of the main characters that I'm supposed to root for, but his whole motive was just wack.

I also didn't really enjoy any of the characters and found them to be very childish, especially their dialogue. I was thrown off whenever they talked because I felt that the diction didn't fit a fantasy world. However, I do think that younger readers may enjoy that type of dialogue.

Overall, I think The Cup and the Prince has a strong premise. However, I don't think that the world was explored enough, such as the expanding on the shadow creatures and the reasons for why the Blood Cup is such a coveted prize for everyone. The story focuses solely on the characters and their personal struggles, which I didn't care for.

I received this ARC From Sparkly Wave publisher via netgalley with thanks, in return for an unbiased review.

"Zora had always wanted to be a hero"

Guys, its not often that i say this...but i had to FORCE myself to finish this book.

Let's jump straight into my iteration of the plot before we continue with the review:

"Nothing is more dangerous that a woman scorned.
Growing up in the Dark Valley, Zora knew to never trust in the shadows because you may yet meet your death.
But shadows are more than that, the most dangerous are the shadows which lurk within the hearts of mankind.
When the night which should have been a monumental affair in her 17 years turns out to be a nightmare;
Zora is stripped of confidence and full of righteous anger, she takes her sword escapes Dark Valley at twilight to join the one and only...ROYAL GAMES.
While she knew she will face many trials... she never counted on the two princes and one king who throw her life into a world beyond imagination.
...especially one with hair the softness of silk and eye which spell danger. Both alluring but deadly."

Ugh. Guys, i made that sound pretty good right? Wrong.

Let's do a few disclaimers first before anyone thinks me a hater. I didn't like this book. Me, as in my person. So i'm gonna be real and unbiased here. I do not hate the author nor do i thrive on crucifying novels.

Okay, lets move on.

Character personality...was there any?
Romance progression....um...yea i guess? When did they ACTUALLY have that 'aha' love moment i cannot tell you because its a mystery to me.
World building? interesting! doors of opportunities there.
Action? *groans* mostly pathetic.

This novel scores a solid 1.5- 2 stars/5 stars (leaning more towards 1.5 stars)

I know, I know, you're all thinking, if she hated it, why not give it a zero?

Let me explain. This book had so much potential to be something AMAZING. Unfortunately, it was a woefully missed opportunity. The main character is hardly likeable, she's naive and petty as heck and literally gets angry and cries at EVERYTHING. I did NOT connect with her in the least and it became real boring, real fast. Did i mention she cried at everything? yea. she does that. She made it into my 'irritating protagonist' shelf.

Now I don't mind tears but if someone painted me in a...um...interesting you-know-what manner, rather than cry I'd rip it all up and throw it in their face. What does our protagonist do instead? talks about deep world issues relating the portrayal of women and the difference in men, even though they were exaggerated and sexualised too. But noooooo, it's not like hers so we cry. Not do something about it like... set the place on fire...*coughs* sorry. For OH&S please don't set places on fire.

Blood Cup...WHAT THE HECK IS IT? I STILL DON'T KNOW! WHY DOES EVERYONE WANT IT? So, I thought, surely at some point I'll have a super cool mythological retelling that the gods created a mystical cup blah, blah...yeaaaa, I never got that. I STILL don't know why it's a reward, why Griffin wants it and how it can change lives.

And sun Goddess, ma'am, you appeared in one scene and then...WE HAD NO EXPLANATION ABOUT WHAT THAT MEANT IN THE FIRST PLACE. *exhales*

When i was reading this, i felt my age, all my 25 years and i was like, bruh, I'm too old for this kind of irritating thought processing and naïveté...perhaps a 12-14 year old could enjoy this more. And like, no shade on this...but so many sexual idioms were included in this novel, like at nearly every page of the book. It's a young adult book so, technically, its okay...but at every moment? like it got to be such a cliche with things being said like "i don't think she'd like to come..." and the other person replying with, "i thought girls like to come *winky face*." ha...ha...ha... hilarious...
Think of that but every few sentences *eye roll*.

THE INCONSISTENCIES!!!!!! OH. MY. GOSH! Zora is advertised as having held her sword her whole life, fighting monsters and being a 'badass' or something like that. You'd think, man, if i hold a sword since i was a baby, like 2 years old (yes...2) then my arms would have muscles on their muscle...but what does our protagonist suffer from?...weak...arms...? get help.

Someone save me and explain how this can be.

Our home potato boy, princey Griffin, has been fighting his whole life, strongest man in the realm and yet his hands are described as smooth and soft *squeals...gag* Again...how? Also Our little Miss is a potion master but she never thought to conjure a truth potion to you know, give it to the person she suspects wanted to kill her? It never crossed her mind. What did she do? Cry. Get shot by an arrow? what to do? kiss of course. And like, what's his deal with his brothers, why are they like that with each other? We don't know because its never explained!

The Royal games...honestly, pathetic. I blame The Hunger Games and First Year for my expectations. They actually made the games in those book something that made my heart pound. The royal games in this book...ugh. Sucked. Like...guys...I can't even.

I'm sad to say that i could probably keep going with this rant but i probably already lost half of you now.

This book has the potential to be great, so author, i genuinely wish you the best for your follow up novel but PLEASE keep the little nuances in mind and give your characters depth so we can like them.

I can't say I recommend this in good faith, but please do read it and make your own judgement. I'm unsure whether i want to delve into the follow up book but i might to see if this gets slightly...better.

Stay awesome my lovelies!
-Emmeline The Book Herald

A FANTASTIC read that left the rest of my recent TBR in the dust. Highly recommended! If you're looking for a fast-paced, lovely read, then this is it!

I’ve received an e-arc of this book via netgalley


Spoiler free review

-Synopsis-
Two things drew me into this book; The cover (which is absolutely stunning) and the author. This is my second book i’ve read by Day Leitao Star Spark being the first (which I also left a review for) I loved star spark a lot and the cup and the prince did not disappoint! I think that the cup and the prince is a unique book (in a goof way of course). This book has a lot of potential and I can’t wait for the next installment to this series.

-Plot-
The plot of The cup and the prince is a very understandable and unexpected one. The cup and the prince follows our main character Zora, who finds herself in a championship competing for the blood cup a cup that can make potions etc. And yes there is magic! The pace of this book is quite fast and a steady read. I loved all the plot twists and the thirst in this book. PLOT: 4.5/5

-Writing-
I definitely liked the writing in The cup and the prince. The very first sentence had me hooked and very interested. The whole book stayed like that. The cup and the prince is written at a fast pace so this is a good book for getting out of slumps or a quick read. Moments in this book were very descriptive and I liked that. The cup and the prince was very captivating and exceptionally written. WRITING: 4/5

-Characters-
I love Zora as a character so much. She really is an inspiring main character. Zora is an independent, strong, fighting character. Some other characters where hard “understand” mainly with their motives which made me suspicious of them. Most characters had a personality and backstory which was nice. CHARACTERS: 4/5


-Conclusion-
Do I think you should read The cup and the prince? Yesss! I think you should give it a try and see what’s it’s about. I’ll be recommending this book to most people I know! I really enjoyed this book a lot. Again, Can’t wait for the next book! OVERALL: 4/5

Reviewed 9/17/2020
Review can be found on goodreads