This was a really well done fantasy read, I enjoyed getting to know the characters and their universe. It was a beautifully done story with an interesting premise.

Wow. The ending, amazing. The whole idea, the cover, everything. Character relationships lovely. I will probably be buying the hard copy when it comes out.

The book was average for me. True YA with quite a bit of potential but it wasn’t sufficient enough in world building.
I do have to say the cover is absolutely stunning!

The plot seems very interesting and could be done amazingly, unfortunately, this book has missed the mark for me. The characters acted too odd for me and the storyline ended up being very predictable.

Overall, this is a fun story. It involves a magical world closely hidden away to human world. Romance. Betrayal.

When Camilla turns 18 years old she starts to notice some unusual things happening around her. Soon she uncovering secrets about herself and her family all while navigating her feelings for a guy she's liked for a while.

The story is cute. I found the concept better than execution. The story felt undeveloped making it hard to get a connection to any of the characters. It didn't quite live up to it's potential. However, It is still an enjoyable read and a fun world to take a trip in.

I thought this was going to be SOOO great. The cover is STUNNING! I mean did I mention how much I love the cover? I LOVED every idea that formed the basis of this novel - and I truly cannot say that about many books. There was so much outer influence that made it's presence here and I feel like if it had made it's presence known we would be in an ENTIRELY different arena. Honestly, it it had been marketed as having a Greek mythology--obvi medusa vibes -- ENTIRELY different marketing world. And this is where I feel comfortable ending. because 1) if you sent me a physical copy of this book, I would find a way to add it to pics because it's BEAUTIFUL, and 2) I think with the proper editing and marketing this book could be STUNNING and I think this, as is, is a disservice to the author, story, characters, and book.

This is written more for teens, but I actually enjoyed it. Gave me Once Upon A Time (the show) vibes. It definitely reminded me a lot of classic fairy tales. I read it through rather quickly and couldn't put it down.

I really would have liked more information on this magical kingdom and its people. The book really lacked in that department. The storyline was fun and had some great messages, like just because you're different or a "loner", doesn't mean you can't find love. Really fitting for those preteens and teens when they're first discovering who they are.

I would recommend this to anyone under 20 years old who likes adventure, fantasy, and some minor romance.

Family drama and dark magic create the perfect storm in The Girl Who Stole the Queen's Eyes by Marilize Loxton. In the small town of Crystalvale, young Camilla is noticing strange happenings around her. Apparitions of a castle, glowing eyes, and sudden control of the actions of those around her. Meanwhile, the kingdom of Escana, hidden from the world, is beginning to lose its illusion. Queen Extine's power and eyesight are fading. When she calls on a well-known sorceress for answers, they uncover a betrayal that has thrown the kingdom into chaos. With both Extine and Camilla searching for answers, they're on a collision course with each other that will inevitably end in disaster.

The plotline and world-building written here are compelling and unique. A magical kingdom hidden in plain sight, controlled by generational power, ensuring its ongoing protection, creates a full and rich history of the land. There are stories told of the family legacy, making it feel complete and well thought out. The way the town was built around the kingdom made for really high stakes when the illusion began to fall. Readers will be able to feel the fear in both the townspeople and those within the hidden kingdom.

However, there are a few things that make it fall short of being a five-star read. It feels as though the author shows their hand too quickly. Elements that could have been shocking twists are revealed right at the beginning, and it takes away from the mystery of where the plotline will lead. There are a few examples of this happening, but I won't put any because this is a spoiler-free zone.

Another thing readers may take issue with is that some of the characters are almost caricatures of stereotypes rather than being realistic. Camilla has stunning blue eyes, and she is offended when people compliment them. "I never feel like anybody sees the me behind my eyes." She's very insecure about it, but it falls flat of being an issue an 18-year-old would be quite so upset over.

That said, I still give The Girl Who Stole the Queen's Eyes three out of five stars. The story was intriguing, and the betrayals along the way created a few visceral reactions. But the fine details and characters holding the plot together didn't always make sense.

It was still an enjoyable read, and it would be perfect for young fantasy readers, especially those looking for a fantasy novel with minimal violence and cursing.

The girl who stole the queen's eyes is a really fun read. It takes place in the present, but it also has a medieval vibe. This book is about family and revenge but also about forbidden love. The writing style was smooth, and the story read easily, which made it a enjoyable read. Nothing overly stood out to me, which is why I left my rating at 3 stars.

Synopsis:
All her life Camilla heard people complimenting her eyes. It’s all she was for them, a girl with beautiful eyes. No one cared to learn more about her. She was kind of a loner in the school who spent her time drawing. One of the little friends she had was a boy she was falling for. After her 18th birthday, weird things start to happen in her city. People go missing, the major castle suddenly appears on the lake, a weird group of teenagers join her school and have a strange interest in her. Besides all of these Camilla gains a strange power of manipulating people. One word and people do whatever she asks them to.
On the other side of the barrier, Extine the Queen of Escana with the power of her eyes hides her kingdom from the rest of the world. The power she has is inherited by each heir when they turn their 18th birthday, and the previous rulers lose their sight forever. Extine was prepared to give away her powers to her oldest daughter, however, the day she starts to lose her it’s not her daughter that inherited her powers. Her mission is now to find a person who stole her eyes.

Book Review:
Before I started reading this book I didn’t know what to expect. I was surprised by how the story and the characters were introduced. It was a very high paced book, which you can easily complete in a matter of a few hours. I like how the author showed the difference between the people and traditions in two places separated by magic. I don’t think I had any favorite character in the story, all the characters were playing on my nerves but it’s only because the author has shown their true faces in the early stages of the book instead of only showing them in a good light. You could easily see it in each character: Camilla was very naive, Queen Extine was greedy and cruel, Camilla’s mother was lying to her daughter all her life, Extine’s husband was too weak to stop her from cruelty and manipulation, etc. I could write a whole list for you. It was a part of the book I really liked. I like to see the truth of the characters without excusing their selfish actions.
Overall the story was very original, I really like the motive of the magic hidden in the eyes, and the consequences of being a ruler. In comparison to other fantasy books I read lately, this one was very fresh and new. It has few tropes that are popular but they were executed very well. I would like to thank NetGalley, Marilize Loxton and GenZ Publishing for providing me with a copy of this book!

Slow moving, poorly written, not for me. The magic seemed nonsensical I wish there was some character development before more people got introduced

Interesting read. It was original,. The plot line was interesting. I would of liked a little more action, but overall it was a nice read.

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

Thank you to NetGalley for this digital ARC.

I found The Girl Who Stole the Queen’s Eyes to have a very unique theme overall, unlike anything I’ve read before. However, it is lacking tension, plot twists, character development, and just an overall “keep me on the edge of my seat” affect. I did not find myself dying to know what happened next, which is the main thing I look for in a book.

Could have been amazing, but ended up disapointing...

All her life, Camilla feels like all everyone ever notices are her eyes. But on the day of her eighteenth birthday, everything changes. She discovers that she's able to compell people in a way. And then, she sees a castle on the lake, people disappear and others show up out of nowhere. Meanwhile, Estine, Queen of Escara, discovers that her firstborn isn't the heir to the throne and, as she loses her power, will do anything to get back what was stolen.

I had great hopes for this book given the premise. It sounded really unique and interesting and the basic idea of the story really was. As for the rest... I admit that I was really disappointed by this book. From the very first chapter, Camilla was really cliché and - quite franckly - annoying. The "not like other girls" trope was way too obvious and I really didn't like it. She also kept stammering every time she spoke and it was really upsetting... As for the boy...well cliché too, popular guy who notices the weird, quirky girl... And what was even more confusing was that I couldn't understand Camilla's behavior toward him because she kept pushing him away even though she liked him. But apart from that, I felt like all the characters lacked depth. They didn't really have any personality, the mother acted weird and obvious from the start and I couldn't understand how Camilla didn't figure everything out right away given how obvious everything was. As for the Queen... she was inconstant and even more confusing than all the other characters. The ending was way too easy and improbable and it was another disappointment. Apart from that, it's a quick read but I didn't really like the author's writing either which felt childish at times and just awkward.

In my opinion, this wasn't a good book and I would unfirtunately not recommend it.

"They didn't have to know, not before she had put things right."

I wanted to give this book allll the stars, but the ending just fell flat for me. I enjoyed everything else. The plot was unique and exciting, but the ending did live up to the characters for me.

If you like YA fantasy with a shy, soft-hearted protagonist, family reunion trope, and heroic sacrifice trope, then this book is for you.

I’m not really a fan of protagonists who are shy and who rely on others so much that’s why it took me 2 months to finish reading this book. This book isn’t for me. I love the storyline of how a hidden kingdom is ruled by a Queen who has the power to control other people with her eyes.

I think the story has great potential but I just hated Camilla so much. I hate how she’s so meek and how she let’s people walk all over her. I hated that when she discovered her abilities she still allowed other people (aka her aunt and advisors) to decide what is best for her and her kingdom.

I love sad endings, I really do. It’s my favorite kind of ending. But this is just ridiculous. They separated just because other people told her to. Until the end, she’s still just a doormat. I don’t see any character development throughout the whole story.

“Only because of you.”

I absoluteeeely aaaaabsolutely hated. HATED. This line. It’s a stereotypical I’m-stupid-and-meek-can’t-stand-up-for-herself-kind-of-girl-so-I-need-you-to-be-my-strength character. YOU ONLY HAVE TO CONCENTRATE, LITTLE GIRL. YOU WERE ABLE TO LIVE YOUR LIFE WITHOUT DEPENDING ON SOME BOY WHO DIDN’T GIVE A SHIT ABOUT YOU BEFORE, DON’T START NOW.

This was only redeemed for me by the sacrifice Pearl made for Remy. It was heart-warming and unexpected. It was kinda cool of her to do that for her niece.

Remy. I don’t know what to say about Remy. I loved her character from the start. I love how ruthless and ambitious she was. She was theinky character who didn’t annoy me. Sadly, her ending was anticlimactic aaaaaand stereotypical (again) for me. Just because she got her eyesight back she’s suddenly good and thankful for everything? Nope. I don’t believe that for a second. Marilize did her dirty on this ending.

All in all, this is not a book for me but I will rate it 2.8🌟 because I like Remy.

I have never been more irritated by a teenager not listening to their parent. But also, what kind of parent KNOWS that their child is going to come into a lot of power at 18 and just, doesn't tell them? Especially when it was obviously going to cause a lot of problems.

I really enjoyed this book, it was a nice "light" fantasy, I'm sure there's a word for it. It was nice to read a fantasy where I didn't have to learn a whole new world. I found it easy to get immersed into the story and grow attached to the characters.

That ending though, uh uh, not for me, give me my happy ending thank you.

*Thank you to the publisher for this eARC.

The premise of this book really had me interested - A young girl who finds out that she's able to control people through her eyes, a power which the queen hold, and a power of which the queen feels slipping away from her. But I felt that this book didn't really hit the spot for me.

While it was enjoyable and easy to read, I felt that the world-building was a bit underdeveloped and the characters weren't that interesting to me. I would've liked to see a bit more exploration into the Queen and her backstory and/or relationship with the kingdom and even her close counsel.

Seeing as though the Queen was the antagonist in the novel, I would have liked to see her be a bit more cunning or ruthless when it comes to ruling her kingdom while she feels her powers slipping away. This could've also paved the way for that exploration of her rule over the kingdom.

Overall this book wasn't for me.

☆☆,5 /5

Lorsque j’ai lu le résumé de ce roman, je dois dire que j’ai tout de suite été intrigué par ce pouvoir qui réside dans les yeux des membres de la famille royale et qui commence à disparaître à l’apparition d’héritiers suivants.
J’ai apprécié cette lecture qui m’a emmené au sein d’une histoire de magie, d’amour interdit et de vengeance, bien que j’aie quelques points négatifs qui viennent entacher mon ressenti.
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Camille
« Vous avez de si beaux yeux », c'est tout ce que l'on dit à Camilla. Elle a l'impression que personne ne remarque la vraie elle, derrière son regard. Après son dix-huitième anniversaire, Camilla semble, d’ailleurs, être la seule à avoir remarqué quelque chose. Il y a un château sur le lac, il y a des étrangers en ville, et Camilla a soudainement un contrôle involontaire et inconnu sur les gens quand ils la regardent dans les yeux. La mère de Camilla semble en savoir plus qu'elle ne le dit, mais ne veut rien dire à sa fille.

Extine
Extine est la reine d'Escana, un royaume qu'elle cache du monde avec le pouvoir dans ses yeux. Mais lorsque le premier-né de la famille royale devient majeur, le trône et le pouvoir ne lui appartiennent plus. Le problème est qu'aucun de ses enfants n'est encore majeur lorsque la reine commence à sentir ses pouvoirs diminuer. Le royaume risquant d'être révélé aux yeux du monde, la reine doit se tourner vers la magie noire pour récupérer ses yeux volés -son pouvoir, quel qu'en soit le prix.
¤
Ce roman avait énormément de potentiel pour moi. On parlait de royaume caché, de pouvoirs volés, d’enfant qui n’aurait pas dû naître, d’amour interdit… Vraiment les premières pages commençaient bien et j’étais ravie de plonger dans cette histoire qui semblait intéressante.
Puis finalement, lorsque les autres personnages sont arrivés, lorsque l’intrigue s’est mise en place, tout s’est essoufflé. J’ai trouvé qu’on allait parfois trop vite, qu’on avait pas assez d’informations sur le contexte dans lequel l’histoire se déroulait. C’était déstabilisant, mais je ne cache pas que ma curiosité était encore présente.
Après, au niveau des personnages, ils ne m’ont pas plu plus que cela, Leur personnalité ne m’a pas touché et je trouve que le texte finissait par se concentrer plus sur les interactions entre tous les personnages, leurs relations au détriment de l’intrigue.
Vraiment, l’univers est top ! Il est bien construit et on a envie de visiter ce mystérieux royaume. Les descriptions sont visuelles et on imagine très bien les différents paysages et bâtiments. Il y a de la magie, des secrets… Mais pour moi, ce côté-ci n’a pas été assez exploité et c’est dommage, à mon avis.

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ENGLISH REVIEW:

When I read the blurb of this book, I must say that I was immediately intrigued by this power which resides in the eyes of the members of the royal family and which begins to disappear with the appearance of following heirs.
I enjoyed reading it. This book took me into a story of magic, forbidden love and revenge, but I did have a few negatives that taint my thoughts about it.
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Camilla
“What beautiful eyes you have,” is all anyone ever says to Camilla. She feels like no one actually notices the real her. After her eighteenth birthday, Camilla seems to be the only one actually noticing anything at all. There’s a castle on the lake, there are some strangers in town, and Camilla suddenly has an unintentional and unfamiliar control over people when they look into her eyes. Camilla’s mother seems to know more than she leads on but doesn’t want to tell Camilla anything.

Extina
Extine is the Queen of Escana, a kingdom which she hides from the world with the power in her eyes. But when the first-born of the royal family becomes of age, the throne -and the power- is no longer hers. The problem is neither of her children are of age just yet when the queen begins to feel her powers slipping. With the kingdom at risk from being revealed to the world, the queen must turn to dark magic to reclaim her stolen eyes, no matter the cost.
¤
This novel had a lot of potential for me. We were talking about hidden kingdoms, stolen powers, unborn child, forbidden love… Really the first pages started well and I was delighted to dive into this story which seemed interesting.
Then finally, when the other characters arrived, when the plot fell into place, everything ran out of steam. I found that sometimes we went too fast, that we didn't have enough information about the context in which the story was set. It was unsettling, but I don't hide that my curiosity was still there.
After, at the level of the characters, they did not please me more than that, Their personality did not touch me and I find that the text ended up focusing more on the interactions between all the characters, their relations to the detriment of the plot.
Really, the universe is great! It is well built and we want to visit this mysterious kingdom. The descriptions are visual and we can easily imagine the different landscapes and buildings. There is magic, there are secrets ... But for me, this side has not been exploited enough, in my opinion.

I think The Girl Who Stole the Queen's Eyes is a wholly unique story. What a great premise! You have a queen who has these all powerful eyes which she loses once her eldest child turns 18. The only problem is that her daughter is not the eldest child, and the queen's sister had a child no one knew about. It's a unique and interesting story. However, I had some problems with the way it was executed. First of all the dialogue. All the characters sounded the same, and I know a lot of these characters are related, but every single one of them is a stammerer? That just grated on me after a while. Most of the characters are pretty one dimensional, and Extine had the potential to be such a great villain, but constantly fell short in that area. I wanted to love this book, but I really didn't.