Review 2.5 stars

This book sounded so great to me, but ultimately it fell flat overall.
I loved how Maralyth's magic was linked so much to plants, and I really enjoyed the instances where she used it. It was the perfect opposition to the King's dark and dangerous magic.
But... I just couldn't relate enough to the characters in the book, and it felt far too rushed for most points; it was as though it was planned to be more than just a standalone.
Anddd then there's the problematic parts.
At one point Alac describes a woman struggling to breath going up stairs and basically blames it on her being lazy? It really didn't sit right with me and felt a little too rude. I think if you know anyone who has issues with their lungs it's something that will just upset you.
So yeah, I wanted to love this but unfortunately I just couldn't.

I’m not usually a big fan of YA but I enjoyed this book. Mara is a vintners daughter who has been blessed with magic. Her mother told her to always keep it hidden but she couldn’t help herself from protecting and enhancing the grapes so that their vineyard was well known for great wine. The evil king subsidized their vineyard so takes a lions share of the wine so they live hand to mouth. Alec is the second son of the evil king and since he isn’t the heir, he is mostly ignored. He has no interest in magic or power but a great interest in making wine. Alec’s family came to power by treacherously stealing magic from the rightful ruler and killing all their heirs. Their stolen magic is black blood magic and has brought misery to the kingdom. Maya dreams of a way to help the people rise from their poverty and build a better life. Suddenly she’s kidnapped and reluctantly thrown into a plot to take over the kingdom. Alec desperately wants to avoid the taint of the black cursed magic. Alec and Maya must work together or the dark magic will destroy all. I liked the characters and the world building. Overall, this was an interesting story of good vs. evil with a little romance thrown in. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

The Stolen Kingdom was a good YA fantasy. The story was somehow both original and overdone.
There is definitely a lost royalty trope here. A trope I don’t mind and I think that the author does a good job of trying to make it original. However, a lot of this book was just YA fantasy trope after trope. I think the characters were probably the most original part of this book, especially Alac. I think my absolute favorite moments in this book took place between Alac and Tucker. It was great comic relief and I just loved those two together. I also enjoyed Mara, though she was a little more stereotypical of a YA heroine. I also didn’t really get the whole Mara Alac thing. Where did the attraction even come from?
The story was overall interesting. Again, it felt familiar like I had read something similar, but not quite the same. The pacing was good and I certainly never felt bored while I was reading. Without giving any spoilers I think the ending was one of my favorite things about this book. It wasn’t exactly what I was expecting and I liked that.
Overall this was a good read, but there wasn’t anything particularly special about this book.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with an arc copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.

The Stolen Kingdom follows Mara and Alac. Mara, a vintners daughter has magic that she doesn't really understand and only knows that she must keep it hidden. Alac is the second in line to the throne after his brother and is given a locket that is filled with magic which is supposed to protect him. When Mara is kidnapped and her magic discovered, a careful plan is put in place which is where the two of them meet.

I read this book in one sitting. I liked the magic, politics and characters and generally was curious to find out what was going to happen. It was fast-paced and whilst there were some elements which I would have liked to have been explored further, it was overall a very solid book. I'm not sure if this is a stand alone or if this will be made into a series, however I would definitely read a sequel if one was brought out!

This story felt so average to me, I wanted to love the book, but i just couldn't. The characters seemed bland, I wanted more out of the book, and I really wanted to love it, but there wasn't anything that made me love it. Even when a story is different from what I read am able to engage with it an be into it, but again, with this book it felt too short.. I rate this one 3.5

This was an average read for me. The story was engaging and I liked the characters. However, it didn’t draw me in and make me super excited though either. It wasn’t a bad book, it just felt average. I also didn’t understand the wine angle ans why it was included. It talked a lot about it the vineyard industry, but I just couldn’t make the connection as to why it was so important or how it moved the story forward.

Story was okay, characters where okay, the plot was predicable so this book is just an okay book. I did like that it was a stand alone, all to often books are stretched into a series when one book would suffice so thank you for being only one book.

We follow two characters: Alac, the prince of a stolen kingdom, and Mara, the long lost rightful heir. When a lords finds out about Mara, he forces her into a coup to take the throne. On the other, Alac was never interested in being prince and having anything to do with the corrupted magic.
Every time I sat down to read, I read a lot. It was so fast paced that many times I would read just one more chapter. Also, I really liked the magic system. It was not extremely original but it was interesting to read about. As for the characters, Maralyth was a fun character, slowly discovering her true identity, her mothers' past and her magic. Alac, apart from the love of wine, I liked that he didn't want to follow the path of his family. Their relationship was somewhat cute, but not the most amazing romance of all time. But the one who I liked the most, and wanted more of, was Tucker. His sarcasm made the book 10x better.
However, this was a very cliché book, especially with the fave "not like the other girls" trope. I predicted most of the book, which I personally hate in books. The world wasn’t developed well enough and there were unnecessary parts of the world mentioned, like the religion and the war but only mentioned briefly, where they could have developed on more important things. Also, I didn't like the romance. It was so bland and not what I expected. They had no chemistry, knew each other for a week, and the long awaited kiss at the end was meh. Speaking of the ending, I had a different vision for it, so what actually happened disappointed me.
Overall, an enjoyable read, but slightly disappointing.

I have to say I enjoy reading fantasy stand-alones. I loved the fact that this story takes place in a world of magic. The element of magic always seems to intrigue me and I enjoyed that aspect of the book. The characters were like able with the exception of the main character Mara. I extremely disliked her. I thought she was a brat and an opportunist. She grew up poor and when she discovered some sort of power she felt entitled to everything. Besides that I enjoy reading about wine. And while reading this book I enjoyed a big glass of red wine. Thank you Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to receive an ARC of The Stole Kingdom.

This book has a lot of stuff going on! I have to admit I was sucked in by the cover but I also really enjoyed the story itself! I loved the characters and both were very well done. The book is well paced and flows nicely. For all the stuff that is going on in the story the author did a great job of fitting it all in without it feeling crammed. I loved the world building and magic system. Overall this is a great standalone fantasy! Definitely recommend.

The Stolen Kingdom is a YA standalone fantasy novel with an intriguing magic system rooting in the land and kingdom and passed down. This book is rather fast-paced with a plot surrounding the overthrow of a ruler. The romance is between a prince and a commoner with hidden magic. Both characters are cute and I enjoyed the wisps of romance between them. There is plenty of banter and intrigue, however, the book was maybe a bit short to get everything brought together and all aspects fully realized. Ultimately, this is a fun book that can be read by all YA ages.

The Stolen Kingdom is a standalone (as in not part of a series) young adult / teens fantasy book that is filled with magic, mystery and of course royalty.

Overall the book was a straightforward read with a few good surprises, but I didn’t fall in love with the characters and plot, so it was a 3-star read for me. The Stolen Kingdom geared towards teens or a younger YA audience and I’d recommend it to teens looking for a YA fantasy.

Thanks #NetGalley for the book in exchange for an honest review.

On the surface, this seems like an interesting YA fantasy. A kingdom under the oppressive rule of a magical tyrant? A seemingly normal girl with secret magic? A spare with dreams beyond the throne? Sign me up. But The Stolen Kingdom fell quite short for me. I mainly just felt "eh" about every emotional moment and action sequence.

The world-building was incredibly underdeveloped, and most of the supporting characters lacked the depth that was needed of them. This book might have benefitted from being a duology. We would be able to sit with Mara and Alac for longer and explore Perin Faye to get that attachment to it. As it's written, I didn't care about their romance and I didn't particularly care who ended up on the throne. I was mainly focused on the lack of explanation for certain aspects of the story - the most irking to me being Mara's magic. Can she do literally anything with it? Is it all forms of healing? She went from someone who could ripen a grape to someone who could heal an entire country with little to no explanation of how that magic developed.

It's hard to write a fantasy standalone novel. This one gets the job done, but not with the most success.

Maralyth has a secret from her family. When someone finds out about it her life is changed. The other MC is a prince Alac, who wants to have nothing to do with politics and magic. This book was enjoyable, but predictale. The characters lacked depth, but the book was fun enough to keep my interest.

The Stolen Kingdom
Author: Jillian Boehme
Genre: YA Fantasy
Rating: ⭐️ / 5
Reviewed: Maya

[Trigger Warning: death of a parent, kidnapping. Further triggers should be found through other reviews as I did not read far enough to have a full list]

- PLEASE BE AWARE THAT I DID NOT FINISH THIS BOOK -
I was interested to read this book because of the pretty cover and intriguing synopsis, but I read about 25% of the book before I decided to put it down. The writing was sophisticated, however there was nothing which hooked me and made me want to keep reading to learn more about the storyline. The world-building just wasn’t there, which made it hard for me to follow along with the storyline and the characters. Additionally, I was overwhelmed by the amount of information dumps, particularly with the names of all the family and kingdom history. The storyline always felt very generic - kingdom is stolen, the protagonist is the secret heir to the throne, falls in love with the enemy, saves the day, everybody lives happily ever after. I have read other reviews that have talked about how “women are constantly objectified and put down, by the female MC, male MC and multiple other people in the book” and this quote was attached “She accepted my offered arm, and I escorted her up the steps, marveling at the way she started breathing hard when we were about halfway up. True, she was a bit on the plump side, but I guessed the real reason was that she sat and did nothing all day.” I’m sorry I had to pass this novel as it had potential, however (and most importantly) the objectification and ‘putting-down’ of certain characters needs to be addressed and changed.

Huge thanks to Netgalley, Macmillan-Tor/Forge and of course Jillian Boehme for providing me with a free e-ARC in exchange for my honest review. The publishing date is set for the 2nd of March, 2021.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Actual review closer to 3.5 stars. This moved at a good place but I feel like a lot of the world and characters were kind of underdeveloped which takes away from the reading experience for me.

It has been a while since I've read a fantasy standalone and The Stolen Kingdom was a super fun, quick, and thoroughly enjoyable read. At just under 350 pages, this book was fast-paced and engaging with lovely characters and world-building. I loved the vibe of this story- it felt like traditional fantasy with a nice new twist. The world's magic, given to the Dalowyn family by the Gods centuries ago, was stolen by the Thungrave's who then took over the kingdom and have ruled ever since, as the magic turned dark and the country failed around them. This story is told from two perspectives. First, by Maralyth, a vintner's daughter, who has a secret, and illegal, magical ability, and by the "spare" Thungrave prince, Alac, who wants nothing to do with his family's dark magic or politics. The double perspective worked remarkably well in conveying the plot and building tension. The characters were likable and the relationship between Mara and Alac developed nicely. This was definitely not insta-lovey, which I appreciated, but at the same time, I would have liked to have experienced a deeper attraction and connection between them. While this book had a solid plot, characters, and world-building, because it was a fairly short book with a big story, I felt myself wanting more. It could be because I am used to fantasy series where there is more time to delve in, but everything in this book worked so well and was so intriguing that I kept wishing there was time for more detail and room to deeply explore the character's journeys and relationships. That being said, this was a wonderful standalone that had all of the elements it needed to create an awesome and entertaining story.

The Stolen Kingdom intrigued me from the moment I read the excerpt, but, of course, a new author is always an unknown quantity and I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect. While it took me a little while to get into the story (likely due to Life Stuff and not a fault of the novel) once it grabbed me, it grabbed hard. I liked Maralyth, the main character, from the outset, but it was Alec, the bookish and kind younger son of the king, who I found myself really identifying with.

Maralyth is a vintner’s daughter who is kidnapped and informed that she is the rightful ruler of the kingdom she has lived in all her life – a kingdom ruled by cruel Thrungrave kings after the throne was stolen from her ancestors. The root of their power is magic that was stolen from the rightful rulers. She is then forced – by threat against her father – to go along with a plan for a coup. She does, however, start to think that perhaps she could do better as Queen than the horrible Thungraves.

Alec is the “spare” in the heir-and-a-spare equation for the King, and he knows the truth of his father’s power, that the stolen magic turns good men bad, and Alec wants no part of it. He is searching for a way to free his family from the curse so that, perhaps, his brother could turn out to be a good king instead of an awful one.

The two start out on separate but converging paths, both wanting to save their beloved kingdom.

The story is engaging, and where there is no real villain other than circumstances, you find yourself rooting alternately for Maralyth and then Alec and then, eventually, both of them together. The romance is there, but it takes a back seat for both characters as they are far more concerned with ensuring the survival of their kingdom, no matter who ends up on the throne, and neither of them are entirely right about how to go about doing that.

This book had a very similar feel to me to The Goblin Emperor, and if you loved that book, you’ll love The Stolen Kingdom. I thoroughly enjoyed this read and am looking forward to more from this author.

For 100 years the kingdom of Perin Faye has suffered under the rule of a cruel king. The once prosperous nation suffers under the weight of stolen magic and greed. Maralyth Graylaern is a vintner’s daughter, but she harbors a magical secret. Alac Thungrave is the king’s second son, the spare, but he’s always been uncomfortable with his father’s dark magic. When Maralyth is drawn into a plot to overthrow the king, a dangerous cat and mouse game ensues.



If you’ve read other reviews for The Stolen Kingdom, I’m going to echo a similar sentiment. I loved the magic system in this book. So much that I wanted more. There’s a light side and a dark side, and I wanted more of how they’d interact.



Both of our MCs, Mara and Alac, are so sweet. They have clear lines of what’s right and wrong, yet somehow it gets blurred. I loved learning about them and their motivations.



I think my favorite thing about this was the wine plot line. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book involving winemaking. It was a refreshing trade to delve into. Also...I just love wine.



If you’re looking for a YA regency story, I definitely recommend The Stolen Kingdom. It’s got lovable characters, a familiar trope with a fresh spin, dark magic, and forbidden love. All the things! It has all the things!


Thank you to Tor Teen and Netgalley for my review copy.

I love that this is a standalone book. I love the clean romance between the MCs, the family love, mystery, dark magic, and the conspiracy to claim the throne. It was well written and very descriptive that I enjoyed reading it until the end. Narrated in dual POVs, this book has been straightforward and entertaining.

Maralyth is vintner's daughter who performs magic which is forbidden in the kingdom. Little did she realized that her magic was passed onto her from the secret bloodline. Prince Alac, the king’s second son, was kind, charming, and friendly. He has always been displeased with the idea that one day he might inherit the crown and the stolen magic that comes with it.

I wish there was more back story with regards to the religion and how the first Dallowyn king received his magic. There are interesting revelations regarding the secret bloodline and I will not go further into details because I want you guys to find out! 😊

I would surely check out the other works of the author and would recommend this book to you.

I’m grateful to the author, the publisher, and Netgalley for allowing me to read and give my honest review of this book.