*1.5 stars*



Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me this eARC in exchange for an honest review


My experience with this book was wild, I had high hopes of enjoying this book, the premise seemed good enough to be a solid 4-star read, but we ended up flat. One of my biggest, yet also somewhat irrelevant, icks with this book, was the constant use of the word "Unicorn" instead of "God". For example, the character would say: "Unicorn forbid", instead of "God forbid". Oh, and let's not ignore the part where the main character's mother used 'mental illness' as a reason to why the main character is unfit to rule the empire, and make her own decisions. The main character does not have a mental illness by the way, and is only used as an excuse to call her daughter crazy and incapable. Not exactly the best way to introduce mental illness to young readers (considering this is a YA book).
Other than things like that, and the occasional grammar error, the book, for me, still lands at a solid 1.5 stars.


Characters: Because this book is set up like a Bachelor style, we get introduced to a vast array of characters. Starting off with the main character Qloey. In the beginning you really cannot like her at all, she is not only shallow but also incredibly one-dimensional. As the story continues, you learn more of why Qloey is the way she is, and you also see her grow a little. However, she continues to stay slightly shallow, and overall the logic of her "falling in love" with several of the contestants after only meeting them for such a short amount of time- she goes on ONE date with a contestant and suddenly she is in love? That's no longer love.. it's desperation.

The contestants that we get to "know" also seem quite one-dimensional except for a select few. Since the author has tried their best to make them distinguishable, they often have a personality trait to the extreme, for example: one very cheesy and charming fellow, a super snobby and irritating one, one who is portrayed as a clown (he's literally jumping around and doing flips everywhere), an extremly kind and thoughtful 'peasant', etc. Even if you grow to like one, or few, of the contestants, it is almost impossible to LOVE them, as you don't fully get to know them.


Atmosphere and writing: The book is set in a high fantasy setting, though you do not familiarize yourself with this world. As the story only takes place in the castle (with a few scenes where they go on a day-trip somewhere outside the castle grounds, yet still nearby). The contestants come from various parts of the world, and are of various race. There are human, elven, pixies (or was it fairy? can't remember, and either way he was barely in the book) and dwarfs. We only get to know about these different races, and some superficial information, through what the main character knows, which should be taken with a grain of salt since she has lived isolated in the castle, and through the little information we get from the contestants. This leads to the point I want to make of where the writing seems very tour-guidey. An example of this is in the beginning where we have Qloey's thoughts describing the palace grounds to us, it is given in the way of a tour guide, "to the left we have the bed chambers, and to the right we get to the kitchenette" (not an actual quote from the book, but the surroundings were described in this style which was very off-putting).
I actually believe this book would fare better without the high fantasy elements. The fantastical creatures and world seems to only be there for an added part of politics to the book, yet such politics can also be achieved in a historical fiction setting. Without the high fantasy elements, the author would have more space for world-building, as the different races and their magical powers do not have to be explained, except instead of explaining races, things like class differences would still have to be built upon.


Plot: The last part of the review I want to focus on is the plot, finally. The entire book is about this Royal Matchmaking Competition, of Qloey selecting a husband and future king. Although we get teased about a mystery element of one of the contestants trying to assassinate her, unfortunately, this mystery is not much of a mystery. There IS a contestant trying to assassinate her, but as you get to the half-way mark, it is very obvious who it is, and why they are doing it. As I mentioned, it really is unfortunate, because the one part that intrigued me was the mystery part and involvement with the Centaurs, yet after that one 'scary' encounter with them, we went right back to the competition and going on dates with the contestants and to me, the intrigue was lost after that. There was one part of the book that remained somewhat interesting throughout, which was about Qloey's mother. She is a very abusive and controlling mother, who stood as a hindrance to Qloey's free will and choices both generally in life, but also in the competition, which was the focus.


Overall, I did not enjoy this book as much as I wanted, barely at all. What kept me to continue this book was to find out who Qloey would choose, would she choose a husband she wanted, or one the people (and mostly her mother) wanted? And in the end, I was left disappointed with how it turned out, as I was expecting a grander turn-around, especially with how the 'peasants' seemed ready to revolt at any time. It did however leave a good opening for a continuation in this series since there is so much more to explore in this underdeveloped world.

I picked up this book for the gorgeous cover and the premise that reminded me of 'the selection' by Kiera Cass. Alike the selection, this book was an easy and fast read. The assassination subplot and the who will she choose question kept me turning the pages.

However, I found the protagonist Qloey and her love interests to be underdeveloped. I had a hard time distinguishing between the dozen suitor characters and Qloey's character felt two dimensional. For these reasons, I wasn't quite invested in the romantic element of the story.

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

Publication date: January 4, 2023

The Royal Matchmaking Competition: Princess Qloey is the first in a brand new YA series by Zoiy G Galloay. This has been compared to The Selection series which I haven’t read yet but is on my list. When I saw this as an opportunity on NetGalley, I jumped at the chance to be the first to read it!

Unfortunately this one just didn’t hit the mark for me. I am typically a YA/NA series reader and this is definitely on the younger side of YA. Once I understood that, I gave it a fair chance knowing that it was meant for a younger audience.

For the most part the story itself is okay. The premise great, a crown Princess in search of her husband who would be future Emperor. There were ALOT of characters and stories to keep track of. Everything was a bit rushed and lacked true character development. Most of the main characters are quite a bit annoying BUT putting the younger audience lens could see how this series could be popular.

Where I really lost interest is towards the end when there was a focus on mental illness. The author used the mental illness storyline as a crutch for Qloeys mother to declare her unfit to make her own decisions in a future husband. It was very casual and unbelievable. If the author was going to focus on mental illness in teens, she could have used her platform to support and engage in real conversation and this just wasn’t it.

This is a hard no from me, I’m giving it 2 stars as I do think some of the younger audiences may like the story and premise but I won’t be picking up the series in the future.

#NetGalley #royalmatchmakingcompetition
#firstreviewof2023

Nice premise overall, I found the beginning a bit slow. There were a lot of characters and it was just a lot packed in, that I found myself a bit confused and going back or forth.

In this story we follow Qloey, the Crown Princess of Velazia. She has to choose between twelve eligible suitors so one of them can become King and her husband, however there is a big twist; one of the twelve suitors is out for the Crown Princess' head. Qloey came across as a very unlikeable MC and the assassination plot didn’t really seem connected to the story at all

Ahh, this was such an easy to read, YA book. The writing style was beautiful, catered wonderfully to the audience. It made us all fall in and out of love with each of the suitors. The only negative I would say, I kept getting all of the suitors confused, and would forget who was who, and which plot related to whom.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this E-Book,

I regularly post reviews on Instagram and TikTok at @blondebooknook

The beginning of this book is slow, there are a lot of characters and it gets confusing but once the story picks up is a nice read.
As if I was watching a Bachelor episode, I was entertained and I´m waiting for the second installment.
If you are into this genre of books with an MC and a lot of suitors this book is for you!
Overall this was a nice read.

Thank you to the author and netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I'm giving 3 stars. Mostly because I feel this book is meant for a younger audience. Or at least that's how it reads. I could not get into this story or plot because it all felt rushed and the characters don't stand out.

The FMC, Qloey, isn't very likeable. And I don't personally think she had a lot of character growth by the end of the story. And the guys in the story seem to blur together and you forget where each is from or even their names. The plot seems to disappear from main point and it just gets hard to finish. Not a series I'd feel like finishing.

Reading the blurb for this one I was excited, the idea was fantastic and there were some hilarious comments like Unicorn forbid, that one had me laughing, I just wish I could say it was all that good.

The best part of this book for me is the beautiful writing style, a true storyteller's voice comes through in the written word and you get swept away into this fantasy world, also can we talk about those maps, they're absolutely beautiful.

The biggest issue I had was our MC Princess Qloey, I realize this is a fantasy book, and that she's a sheltered princess but she just came across as so materialistic, and so much more interested in how people looked and what they thought of her that in actually getting to know any of them.

That brings me to the second issue I had, there were just too many suitors, trying to keep track of who they were, where they were from, their titles, and what gifts they'd given her (the only thing that seemed to make Qloey happy) which challenges they had done well in, it was overall just too much.

I wanted to love this book, and I realize it's a Young Adult book but it just reads as young and superficial which is something I don't find entertaining.

Now I'm not saying this is a bad book, it's not, there were some very enjoyable moments but there were also moments that were for me just not enjoyable.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this E-Book, I have voluntarily read and reviewed it and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Royal Matchmaking Competition as the name suggests is exactly that, it's a competition for princess Qloey to choose her future husband and future emperor. The RMC is held to basically make allies with neighboring regions and to choose a partner who is most influential and will help solidify the empire. The empire is stratified and dwarves as well as peasants are looked down upon whereas elves and other royals are held in high prestige. It is all sense of duty for her until she starts falling in love and starts seeing problems that are not only limited to the RMC but also extended to the rest of the empire.

The book is not very brilliant or unique in concept but was fun to read. If you have read The Selection series, you might enjoy this one too. This book is not just about romance but also about social justice, privileges and further realistic perspective. There is immense character development, but the book's ending might not feel satisfactory to everyone yet was realistic in it's approach.

I received this book from Net Galley in exchange for honest and true opinion.

The blurb made this book sound like The Selection, which I loved. I found jumping straight into the competition to be a bit off putting as I didn’t have a good understanding of the main character but was expected to be on her side. I also found it quite hard to track all the male characters and their heritages. Towards the end I was a bit concerned that she would choose multiple suitors, it just felt weird and like a whole different type of book. I really struggled with this book. It just didn’t engage me like I was hoping.

First of all thank you to the publisher, the author and NetGalley for allowing to read this in advance.
This gave me some The Selection vibes because of the contest, which is great because I love The Selection. I loved the protagonist, how she pushed to follow her ideals even if it meant to go against what her parents wanted. She annoyed me a little bit towards the end with all her feelings and the ending of her contest wasn't what I was expecting but I liked it more as I kept reading.
As for the culprit, I was really surprised. I usually guess right in this kind of "mysteries" but this time I didn't. But it made so much sense.
I can say I read this almost in a day. Started yesterday at work and spent today reading all the rest. It was so good I couldn't stop. It's my last year of the read and I can say my reading year ended in a good way.
Can't wait for Prince Zadkiel's book. This was a solid 4 stars for me!

Everyone knows that those heavy classics are not really my thing. I might be able to appreciate the wonderful literary sentences, but I can't with the slow plots, the indirect conversations and the amount of nothingness when it comes to emotions and pain. I like lighter books. Books with romance. And yet, I do like those books with a touch of politics. So, when I came across this book on Netgalley I knew it was absolutely perfect. I was really happy I was granted an arc.

This book is exactly what you can expect the book to be. It's pretty light hearted. We have a princess on the brink of marrying and twelve men are competing for her hand. Quite soon we discover that, like with almost every (fictional) royal marriage, most of the candidates have only been invited to be polite. And of course we know that our princess is gonna fall in love with one of the candidates she's not allowed to love.

Although the biggest part of the book is about competitions, dates, romantic rendez-vous and not so romantic encounters, there is this little bit of politics making the book just that little bit more exciting. I personally would have loved to see the participants dealing with the security issues and assassination attempts a little more actively, but I did enjoy how even during the dates the princess and her men constantly showed their true colors and the history of the land.

It's because of the characters that the mythology and land feel rich. That we know there's a lot of history and bad blood. And that we know that things are not gonna change overnight. It's also because of the characters that we see princess Qloe grow into the wonderful empress she could be in the future. During the story she's learning about her qualities, her loyalties and standing up for the things she believes in.

I'm really curious to read the next book in the series and to see what adventures are waiting for us in that one!

I really wanted to like this book. The premise reminded me of Kiera Cass' The Selection, which I loved. I was really excited for this as it switched up that idea with different fantasy races being included, as well as the FMC being the one who is doing the choosing. However, this one really fell flat for me. Our heroine, Qloey, was difficult and a bit unlikeable at times. I don't mind an unlikeable MC, I think sometimes those books are the most interesting. But in this case, it just didn't work. Qloey is incredibly naïve. I can give her a pass on that as she did grow up sheltered in a palace, but where I stopped being forgiving is how she didn't exhibit a lot of growth. Throughout the story she learns more about her people and herself, but she also consistently falls back on her naïve ways- in particular when it comes to the boys in the RMC. When presented with pretty large flaws of some of the boys, she keeps falling back on "Well they're very charming" or "they really seem to like me'. I would have rather seen her grow as the story moved on, and not flip flop so much. Speaking of the boys, there are a lot of them. 12 to be exact. I felt like this was too many. It was so hard to keep track of them, how they related to each other, and who they were. Of course there were a few who stood out in good ways and bad, but the rest seemed to get lost in the shuffle. I felt like several of them were only around to act as plot devices, and I think there may have been more effective ways to deliver the plot. I think if the number of contestants was less, it would have been more effective, as readers would know them and would grow attachments to them. As for the plot, I liked the idea of the plot, sheltered princess holds a competition to find her prince, and her world gets turned upside down when the contestants challenge her worldview. Leading to her ultimately finding herself and becoming a bad ass. The problem for me was that this didn't deliver on the promise of the premise of the plot. Qloey found herself in a way, but I would have loved to see her develop into a total bad ass leader, and I think she could have. I think in part it fell short because of the number of characters involved, if it were trimmed down there wouldn't be as much for readers to keep track of. Overall, things felt rushed and underdeveloped from the story itself to the world building. I know the book is slated to release soon, but I really think that some more time spent developing the plot and the world could make this book a solid 5 star read. It might also do well split into two books. Perhaps book 1 cold cover until the first elimination, and the second could cover after it. I really do love the bones of the book, but I think some more editing could make it so much better.

I wanted to like this, but unfortunately I didn't really enjoy it.

I was honestly just bored by Qloey going back and forth on all the pros and cons of 12 guys. Which is kind of on me given the book description, but, I don't know, I guess I was expecting a little more plot to balance things out. And I guess I was expecting something more like the Selection series where things got quickly whittled down to a love triangle, but there wasn't that much narrowing down and a lot of the guys blended together, which wasn't great given that that made up 90% of the plot.

Not for me, but if you really like the back and forth that comes with love triangles, you might like this.

Content: clean

Thanks to the Publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.
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This book started slow for me, with the FMC being silly, selfish, naive and shallow. But, I gave it a chance since I wanted to give her a chance to redeem herself. She did redeem herself, she became more of her own person, made decisions for herself, but I didn't like the ending because she retreated to her previous behavior in the beginning
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THINGS I LIKED
1. I loved the drawings of the characters
2. I loved how the author named Queendoms for places led by Queens
3. Although the characters were much, it was very easy to know the characters
4. For a while, I liked her naivety because in genres like this, the FMCs already know everything, but Qloey was just learning about it.
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THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE
1. It was too short and it felt rushed
2. Her indecisiveness in the ending
3. I didn't see the improvements in their country, I was looking forward to it.
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This book was okay for me, but you might like it better than I did. There's a second book in this series from Qloey's son's POV, not sure if I'd read it.

Really enjoyed this! Made me love four of the bachelors and believed in her struggle to choose but then the ending was just sooo abrupt and I'm shookkkkkk! I really enjoyed the world building and such amazing bachelor characters! I can't believe who she ended up marrying! I'm super bummed because it was so sad she didn't end up with either of my top guys.

How I would sum up this book through comparing:
RMC--> The selection-->The bachelor
But hey, even the Hunger Games was based on the Japanese book Battle Royal, I don't mind a good copy. And if we are going off writing style and cuteness, this one is totally a win. Because boy, this was cute up the wazoo, with the added aspect of magic. I do get the vibes that the 13 year olds who read this become the 18 year olds reading reverse harem smut...but it was still cute!

I do have to say that I flew through this so quickly due to the writing that the amount of characters did get a little dizzying. And the villain was a bit of a no too but other than that? CUTE CUTE CUTE! There was even some worthy banter...

Thank you for the arc, net galley!

*ARC was provided by NetGalley for an honest review*

Do you like The Selection? Are you looking for something with a similar vibe but more fantasy?

Well, do I have the book for you! Surprisingly, or not so surprisingly, I felt the selection was ok. But reading Royal Matchmaking Competition made me feel lightly like I was reading the selection again, only with better looking men and less page-turner vibes.

I truly tried to get into this novel. However, at the end of the day, it couldn't hold my interest. The main character was annoying. Annoying in the sense that she cared heavily about vain materialistic things. When introduced to the men, her eyes were drawn to the ones who looked attractive or offered her items of high monetary value (aka ooo sparkles!), rather than those who valued wisdom and offered her books (Yes, she turned down books, the shame right?).

That being said, I could definitely see this being of interest to very young "I don't wanna read" readers. And hey, if it gets them reading, then that's a good thing.

I was really excited to read this story as it's my first book from this author and I enjoyed the blurb of the story. I wish I could say that this was a 5-star read for me, but unfortunately it wasn't. I tried to like this story. I tried to give it time for the characters to stop acting so immature, judgmental and snobbish. There was a lot of repetitiveness when it came to the opulence of the palace, everyone's social status, and the commoner. Given that the commoner was the only character that I enjoyed in this series. I liked Kipp and maybe it was because his character came off as having more sense than those who actually paid for their education and learning. I didn't like Qloey or any other character, especially her mother and father. All I can say is that as much as I had hope to love this book and series, I have to say that this story just isn't the one for me. I truly dislike rating a story 2 stars but there truly was very little that I liked about this story.