Sandhya Menon's Of Princes and Promises is, thus far, the most disappointing book of 2021. It's been about a week since I finished it and I'm still mad. Because the truth is, this book had everything going for it. Of Princes and Promises didn't have to be a massive disappointment. It could have been one of the best books I'd read all year.

And I'm just left wondering why? Why did this book have to fail so horribly when it was set up to be so wonderful?

I don't think there's anything more frustrating to me than watching a book that has so much potential destroy itself utterly in the last few chapters.

A quick spoiler alert, I can't adequately explain the problems with this book without them. Sorry.

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Caterina LaValle makes her second appearance in Menon's St. Rosetta's Academy series, but this time as the lead character. This was a, quite frankly, brilliant choice on Menon's part in my opinion. Caterina was somewhat of a villain in the first novel, and in essence, is the perfect character to lead in a The Princess and the Frog retelling.

Fresh from having broken up with her boyfriend for cheating on her, Caterina remains a quasi-princess of the school but is certainly in need of something to refresh her reputation. Truthfully, recruiting someone to assist her in holding on to her shiny reputation is not exactly a far cry from retrieving her golden ball for her. So, for these reasons, it does genuinely seem that Menon had the perfect setup for this novel.

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In fact, it gets even better when we're introduced to Rahul who is quite possibly the most adorable character I've read in a while. Despite being so socially awkward that his family has hidden him away for being too embarrassing in public, Rahul is unerringly genuine and kind. Though his understanding of social situations is deeply lacking, the boy has an incredibly authentic drive to do better in the most honest manner possible.

He's even got an ulterior motive for going along with Caterina's scheme, leading him to a rather intriguing hair gel that grants him the powers to collect himself in social situations. And it matches perfectly with the fable we know, for Rahul wants both to be near Caterina but also learn how to improve himself.

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Quite honestly, Rahul's character arc as a whole is entirely the basis for why Menon struck gold with the set-up she gave us for this novel. There was a massive amount of potential hidden in the depths of Caterina and Rahul as characters. And to her credit, Menon does really begin the story this way. For the first half of the novel, you do genuinely believe that the novel will follow a path of detailed character development that drives the story as a whole.

I found myself thoroughly engaged in the narrative between these two characters, so much so that I was able to ignore any mild complaint I had about the writing and rather ridiculous pacing of the story. Despite hating the pointless and out-of-place time jumps, they seemed minuscule next to what I thought the plot would be.

In truth, I was anticipating a masterpiece about losing yourself to addiction, seeing the pain you can cause someone else, and finally getting to a place of acceptance. And, if I'm being honest, we did get a sense of this. But the problem really lies in the fact that it was kind of surface level and took a backseat to the most pointless and story-damaging villains I have ever had the misfortune to come across in my entire life.

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So, the way Menon sets up her Frog to Prince transition is through this magical-esque hair gel that basically transforms Rahul into a 'princely' version of himself. When he attends the first party with Caterina--to prevent anyone from seeing her taken down after her breakup--Rahul becomes RC, a suave and impressive mysterious man everyone wants to know. Naturally, this is something Caterina is thrilled by and Rahul becomes enthralled with.

This plot alone opens up a world of opportunity to explore ideas of what it means to reinvent yourself. But, even better, it offers up an expansive opportunity to delve deeply into the concept of addiction. There's this visceral quality to feeling as though you cannot function without a substance driving Rahul's character arc. What first began as a way to help Caterina save face in a difficult situation quickly becomes something Rahul cannot let go of.

As a result of his reinvention, thanks largely due to the hair gel, Rahul becomes despairingly addicted to the substance. And it changes him.

What's even more stark about this is the fact that everyone around him recognizes this. And though Rahul sees these changes as good, going so far as to believe the gel is allowing him to "unlock...his truest potential" and leads him to feel invincible, everyone else sees something far more sinister. His friends grow increasingly concerned about him. Feeling they are being unsupportive, he pushes them away. More and more, Rahul begins to feel as though his entire existence requires this hair gel.

Then the girl for whom he made all the changes to begin with slowly realizes the damage she has done.

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I honestly thought this story was the makings of a great take on the 'getting addicted to something that makes you popular and helps the popular girl fall in love with you' trope. First of all, Caterina wasn't getting tricked, thank the skies. She always knew who Rahul was. In fact, she was directly involved in getting him access to the hair gel that would change his entire persona. And at first, both she and Rahul see it as a good thing.

The way Menon allows the effects of the gel to slowly seep into Rahul's character is impressive. It's especially brilliant when seen through Caterina's eyes, "knowing in her heart that Rahul Chopra was becoming more and more self-hating with every day that passed, with every event that he went to as RC. And it was all her fault."

Seeing the sheer guilt she feels at having been the one to do this to him is almost tangible in how easily we are able to feel it with her. And you genuinely feel that this is going to be the big epic moment in the story. Everything is leading up to the dichotomy of how she changed him and realizing deep down that she already loved and appreciated him for who he'd been before.

And damn, can we just talk about how she left him? Let's forget for a moment that this entire portion of the novel was deeply diminished by an incredibly stupid and pointless villain and just think about that line. Cause I have some words for it.

Now, admittedly, Caterina is unquestionably the catalyst that sent Rahul diving into the deep end of his addiction. He never would have gotten his hands on the gel without her and that is an indisputable fact. But I think there's something to be said for the fact that there is something deeply damaging about having to watch someone refuse to leave behind their addiction.

And she's right, in a way, that it does make her selfish to leave him. But I think it's important to recognize that it's not good to damage ourselves watching someone we care about destroy themselves. Certainly, the commentary could have been better. Caterina had every opportunity to reach out to his friends to get him support. I understand this is more of a fluffy-themed book, but you've got themes of addiction here. The directions Menon could have taken with this novel are endless.

And I am so disappointed in her for not doing so.

But, as if missing out on an opportunity to have a substantially brilliant commentary on addiction and love wasn't bad enough...Mia exists.

Honestly, that is the worst and most unforgivable thing about this book.

It's fully because of Mia that this book dropped from a 4-star read to a 2-star for me. Her entire existence is the worst thing about this novel, from the nonsensical miscommunication-fueled plotline she embodied to her idiotic villain speech. I could rant for hours and never fully illustrate the level of hatred I have for how much she ruined an otherwise genuinely good--if not great--novel.

She's almost single-handedly the entire reason I feel like Menon failed so wholly on Rahul and Caterina's character arcs. Cause Menon just had to have some unimaginably moronic villain appear literally out of nowhere to...spearhead a miscommunication campaign. Menon really likes her miscommunications for no reason, doesn't she?

I cannot stress this enough: if the conflict in your novel only exists because of dumb miscommunications, your conflict has some serious problems.

What's most frustrating about this piece is the fact that Menon already had the perfect conflict. It didn't actually have serious problems. Rather, she decided to create massive flaws in a book that was otherwise fantastic. What the hell did Mia add to this story?

I'll tell you what she added. Absolutely nothing.

I hate Mia. I hate everything about her. She was completely pointless and served only as a way to detract from what was otherwise an incredibly promising plot and story. WHY, why does she exist?

What this all boils down to, in the end, is that Menon simply tried to do too much with a story that already had an excellent plot and conflict. She chose to forgo genuine character development in order to have this pointless side plot villain and it fully destroyed her novel.

Mia was nonsense of epic proportions, taking readers away from the true and most important conflict of the novel; that of self-perception of worth and human connection.

I don't even know how to get into the ridiculousness of the boyfriend. As if the only reason someone could sell Rahul a 'be your best self' concoction that is bad, actually, is because they were trying to help their girlfriend destroy the person who got the life she wished she'd had. There's just so much wrong with the entire Mia subplot.

But, frankly, the worst thing it does is take generously away from what could have been a truly amazing story.

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As far as I'm concerned, Of Princes and Promises is in desperate need of a rewrite. Menon needed someone to sit her down and tell her where the real story was. She needed someone to tell her how dumb it was to include Mia's character at all. I cannot stress enough how crucially bad the decision to have this villain was. There is no need for the second conflict and it does little more than detract from the best parts of the book.

Menon, unquestionably, had the perfect conflict. She had the perfect opportunity for character development. She should never have strayed away from it, not for a second. Mia should not exist. The guy who got them the hair gel should have merely been a guy who sold the magic hair gel. Even he did not need to be a villain greater than the representation of the beauty industry itself and society's expectations of attractiveness. This should have been only a story about Rahul and Caterina learning to love themselves and, through that, each other.

And in the end, I can't even bring myself to focus on the numerous tiny things about this book that just irked me, like the random dig Menon makes at how periods make women emotional or how Rahul's friends weren't even really that great toward him. Cause everything pales in comparison to the ginormous missed opportunity in Rahul and Caterina's development and stories.

I mean, Menon built up these characters to have a connection of epic proportions, ready to fall apart all due to one's ability to feel confidence and self-love. This would have been an amazing story. So, why the hell does it take a backseat to stupid as hell side plot with monumentally dumb villain???

Ugh, I'm SO disappointed.

An even better follow-up to Of Curses and Kisses! I was so thrilled to get second book from this author set in this world that fixed the things I didn't enjoy about the first one. The writing is funny and engaging, while the story is well-paced. Caterina and Rahul are more likeable than Jaya and Grey, so that helped pull me through.

This was a great continuation to Menon's St. Rosetta's Academy Series. It was enjoyable to see all of the returning characters from the beginning of the series and especially nice to see the side characters from the first book given a chance to take center stage. The novel does a nice job with the frog prince retelling and while the plot doesn't tread any new ground and reveals might be predictable, you want to keep reading because the main characters are two people you really root for. Looking forward to the next installment in the series.

Thank you to #NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing for allowing me the opportunity to read a digital ARC of Of Princes and Promises (St. Rosetta's Academy, 2) by Sandhya Menon. This YA novel will be released in June 2021. All opinions are my own.

Following her public breakup with Alaric, Caterina LaValle is determined to prove that she is still the queen of Rosetta Academy. As the social season begins to hype up, she comes up with a plan to prove she has moved on. Rahul Chopra has been in love with Caterina for years and knows that they shared something during their dance at winter formal, so when Caterina presents him with a proposal to be her date at social events, he jumps at the chance. Caterina gives him a complete makeover that includes etiquette lessons and a mysterious and magical hair gel that appears to have the power to not only change his appearance but boost his confidence in social situations. Transformed into RC, the two hit the social scene and cause quite a splash. Caterina quickly realizes that she's falling for Rahul and notices that he seems to be losing himself in RC. Rahul begins to feel that he's only his true self when he's RC and that there is no way Caterina could ever like him as himself. As his two personalities blur, things get more and more complicated.

Of Princes and Promises is a fun, fresh take on The Princess and the Frog. I really enjoyed how dynamic the characters were and the amount of character development and change that occurs. In the first book in the series, I found Caterina to be kind of flat and one-dimensional, but this book proves she's anything but that. I love the messages about believing in and being true to yourself and that appearances aren't as important as what is on the inside. Both Rahul and Caterina learned that you shouldn't and don't need to change who your are to be loved and/or fit in. I also very much appreciate the world-building and description of Rosetta with it's quaint, cute, and punny shops. My one complaint is about the use of the F-word in the last few chapters of the book. I was completely captivated by the story and invested in the characters and then Rahul dropped the F-bomb, not once but twice in a row. It completely jolted me out of the story as it, for me, just didn't mesh with his character. Then a few pages later Caterina also uses it and it again jolted me for the same reason. It felt like it was used just to be used and didn't really connect with the characters or seem like something they would say. Overall, though, I enjoyed the book and look forward to seeing a third in the series.

Really good as per her usual. She is a captivating romance writer. I also like the vividness of place and clothing descriptions. She builds an entertaining world with sympathetic variations on stock characters.

So fair warning, I didn't realize this was a second book! But the great part is, it didn't make a difference. Menon did just enough of covering important things that happened in the last book that you can totally keep up with what is going on. On that note, this was a really cute story. I loved that I honestly had no idea what was going to happen throughout it. The chapters go back and forth between Caterina and Rahul. Caterina is a popular socialite who recently went through a break-up, then had a moment with Rahul (in the last book). Rahul is a sweet, awkward, "nerd" who is enamored by Caterina. When Caterina propositions him to help her make her ex jealous, they both get way more than they bargained for. The pace was fast enough that I never got bored. I thought this book would be a teem rom-com, and it is, but it also becomes a bit of a mini-thriller. I enjoyed the ride, and now I want to go back and read the first, and soon the third books!
If you're into the idea of gossip girl, but in a less austentatious setting, better friends, and much more cuteness and happiness, I'd recommend this book!

Thank you to Netgalley for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I've been a fan of this author's previous works for just about a year now, and so, when I heard of this novel and the fairytale adaptation it was, I was intrigued. In this contemporary retelling and twist on The Frog Prince, Caterina is the queen of St. Rosetta's Academy who is determined to continue her reign after being dumped when her boyfriend Alaric cheated on her. Then, there's the adorkable Rahul who's harbored a crush on Caterina ever since they shared a dance at the school winter formal months ago when she was the most heartbroken. When Caterina finds out Alaric is taking some supermodel to a big gala, she needs a ringer on her harm. She enlists the clueless Rahul to be her fake date, and she'll even dress him up to go with her. She uses a mysterious and magical hair gel that alters the wearer into whatever his heart desires, which for Rahul was RC who's a charming and debonair guy. However, transformation comes with a price and the line between his two personas blur together as RC gains popularity in town. Told in dual perspectives. it's such a cute and fun YA romance novel. It's definitely a quick read that's so enjoyable and hard to put down.

This second book in the St. Rosetta's Academy series follows Catarina and Rahul in a modern retelling of The Frog Prince. Like the first book in the series, Of Curses and Kisses, a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, this is a modern day fairy tale. I always enjoy a good boarding school novel, and this book really works in that trope, along with a touch of magic. Catarina, the not-so-nice self-proclaimed "queen" of St. Rosetta's is back, attempting to reclaim her throne by getting back at her ex-boyfriend. Sweet and "adorkable" Rahul, madly in love with Catarina, finds a pot of hair gel that transforms him into smooth and charming RC, whose social status is on par with Catarina's. Rahul has to decide who he really wants to be: RC or Rahul? Catarina, too, has to decide who it is that she finds herself falling in love with.

Book 2 in the series takes us back to Rosetta Academy shortly after the first book ends. This story focuses on Caterina and Rahul in a modern day retelling of the Frog Prince. I found Caterina and Rahul to be very authentic characters. Their personalities and insecurities will be relatable to teen readers. I feel the final scene in this book hints at a third book in the series. I hope I am right!

I think there was a lot of promise here but I had a really hard time getting into this book. I feel like this book is for a younger audience (tween age) and the characters needed a little more development. However, I think my students (middle schoolers) would really enjoy this book. The world was cute and it was a quick read. I can see this being a hit for middle-grade and younger YA readers.

I am unable to read this book as it is not able to be downloaded on my e-reader. Can you please make this available because, though I appreciate it being sent to me, I am unable to see what it's all about!

I found myself truly enjoying this book! Caterina as a main character was much more interesting than I had expected, given her personality in book 1. She's not exactly "likable" but she's understandable, and that's very important.

Rahul is a beautiful sweet boy, but I hated RC, and this book definitely felt at a times like a love triangle, but it was done really well and I was so invested in the relationship! What would I have liked more of? The supporting cast. I really missed Jaya and Grey and the rest of their friend group, and DEFINITELY missed Isha, whom I was hoping to see more of! This book felt much less present at Rosetta than Of Curses and Kisses, which obviously makes sense but I definitely missed the strong boarding school vibes of the first book.

The overall mystery / magical element was *chefs-kiss* though.

Overall, big fan of this book, can't wait to read the rest of the series!

Sandhya Menon scores gold again with her St. Rosetta school stories with the unlikely pairing of one of the school’s snootiest and wealthiest young women, and an ugly duckling of a fellow who has pined after her from afar, and gets the amazing chance to connect with her at a dance where she was dumped by another. To keep her attention and her growing affection, why wouldn’t Rahul continue to use the magical hair lotion that seemingly transforms him into the teen equivalent of an International Man of Mystery, even if Caterina starts missing the real Rahul?

Very cute, but to me seemed kind of superficial - kind of like what my high school experience was. But I think the author is talented, so would recommend this to all teens who love romance!

*withholding review until a month out as per guidelines emailed to me* I will come back to post my review in May. But, I don't want my rating percentage to go down so this placeholder will be here until I can edit.

Back to St. Rosetta’s Academy we go! Of Princes and Promises is the fun followup to Of Curses and Kisses, and introduces us to Caterina LaValle and Rahul Chopra as they become entangled in a Frog Prince situation complete with magical hair gel, a Bugatti, a scheming new girl, and questions of authenticity. It’s a great dual POV romance set at a beautiful Aspen boarding school, and while I didn’t LOVE it as much as OCAK, it was still a fun read!

At the end of OCAK, Caterina LaValle, basically an Italian princess raised by a single dad, was heartbroken to find that her long-time boyfriend Alaric was cheating on her with Daphne Elizabeth. At the end of the book, at the fancy dance, she finds solace in the arms of nerdy, blunt Rahul Chopra, who immediately realizes she’s the girl of his dreams. One problem: he’s hardly the prince Caterina deserves. When Alaric announces he’s bringing an Australian model to the Hindman event, Caterina panics and announces she’s bringing a hot date as well. Well, she looks around, and all she can find is Rahul, who becomes her pet project to teach him etiquette. Throw in a good tux and some fancy hair gel, and Rahul becomes RC, a sauve, handsome stranger who looks great on Caterina’s arm. But as the facade progresses, Rahul starts to lose himself in RC, Caterina wants to bring back more of Rahul, and Rahul’s friends are growing more concerned about who he has become, and if he can get out again.

I liked both Caterina and Rahul as characters because they are so different but both feel overwhelmed by the reality of their worlds at times and struggle to be the people they know they are in regards to expectations of others. Revisiting St. Rosetta’s was fun, and I loved seeing Caterina and Rahul interacting in Ms. Rivard’s AP Psych class. The balance between the POVs was interesting—though it switched FAST sometimes, rather than in large chunks or scenes. I realized I’m not THAT familiar with the Frog Prince fairy tale, so I didn’t have HUGE expectations for this plot, other than a HEA, which you know we got, so yay!

I really love what Menon is doing in this series–it’s a fun place to be, the fairy tales make it feel familiar but the diverse cast adds some freshness, and I can’t wait to read book 3!

How can you not love the Rosetta Academy kids? I was really excited when book 2 was announced and I wasn't disappointed. Following Menyon's as always brilliant writing, it was easy to get submerged into the lives of Rahul and Caterina. I knew there was more to Katarina and book one, and I am very glad to have been proven right.

Sandhya's stories always are so cute and funny, this sequel was not the exemption. I love this group of friends, want more about them.

I love the mix between modern highschool with fairytales this is an interesting version of the prince frog, very glamorous. This time is the turn of Rahul. He likes Caterina, the Highschool Queen, but (at least at first sight) he don't look like the Prince Caterina wants.

I love Rahul; he sees the world in his own way, has his group of good and loyal friends and doesn't need anything more...until Caterina.

Caterina's development is nice, she had the idea of always need to look perfect and be in control, but she will learn a few things about friendship, romance, and about what is really important.

Together they will have fun and learn not only from the other, but also about themselves too.

I feel some things could develop more, but overall is a great story, cute romance, funny characters, and can't wait for read the next story.

This book was received as an ARC from Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing - Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

Sandhya Menon does it again with a modern take on a classic tale. I loved the concept of of Princes and Promises and the entire time I was reading the book, I could not help but to think Steve Urkel vs. Stefan Urkell. The "adorkable" Rahul Chopra uses his love for Caterina after she finds out that her ex-boyfriend is taking a supermodel to prom and she uses Rahul as her muse and turns him into RC in being her perfect date but as most fairy tales end, it is what's inside that counts and Rahul had RC in him all along. This is the perfect story for self-discovery of what truly matters in life and that is just be who you are. I know our teen book club will go crazy for this and I can't wait to hear all of the discussions from this book.

We will consider adding this title to our YA collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

I received this book from #NetGalley for an honest review

I must say I really enjoyed this one. I'm not sure if I normally would have gotten it so I happy I got a chance to try it. Beautiful story.