Thank you to Net Galley and Penguin Young Readers!
4.5 out of 5 stars/Dual pov with 1st person

Authors Debut Novel! I love it and her writing style. Romantic Fantasy YA

Two dead princesses must find "true love's kiss" to bring them back to life. Amala was murdered the night of her wedding. Kha'dasia was on a quest to fulfill her brother's dying last wish when she dies.
Both girls wake up together in a cursed forest. They are in between life and death but they are offered a second chance but only if they can find true love's kiss. The wrong kiss will kill you, so be careful.
The princesses must find a way to work together or they will both meet their ends. Maybe true love is closer than they think. Will they be able to figure it out or will they both die?

Great book, I wish it was longer. I would love to have seen more scenes with these characters.

I was so glad to receive an ARC for this book! The plot where one kiss can kill them and one will save them is so intriguing and definitely makes the reader want more. However, this story wasn't really my cup of tea.

Amala is finally getting married to the man of her dreams after spending her whole life compliant and quiet. That is until she gets murdered on her wedding night, leaving her with no happily ever after with her prince. Kha'dasia, other the other hand, is known for being too rough and aggressive. She is on a journey to fufill her dead brother's dying wish, but she dies before finishing. Both girls wake up in a whole new world and are given another chance at living if they find true love's kiss. However, one kiss will save them while the other kill them. Throughout their journey, the girls grow closer together and face multiple challenges that make them both realize how strong they are.. together.

LOVED✦ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹
• All the obstacles that Amala and Kha'dasia gothrough that brought them together was so endearing. It really strengthened their relationship and made them both realize how much they underestimated the other. They bonded, vented, and had great character arcs that made the book more enjoyable.
• Enemies to lovers is one of my favorite tropes and the way it was carried out through this book was smooth and practical. Both girls misjudged each other, which set them off on the wrong foot, but while they were forced to stay together they recognized how much they had in common.
NOT QUITE LOVED✦ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹
• The timing throughout the girls' travels felt very off. The pacing of how long night and day didn't quite add up. In the beginning, the author makes it seems as if they have very little time to find true love but during most of the book they're lollygagging and barely getting anywhere.
• The ending felt very rushed. So much (I would say too muchh) happens all at once when they return to the real world and it makes it very difficult to understand a person's motive for doing certain actions.

If you're looking for a cheesy and cliche romantasy book to read I'd definitely recommend this one!Thank you so much Netgalley and Penguin Young Readers Group for accepting my request for an ARC in exchange for a honest review!

➷₊✧˚★★★꒱

Is there any other word that really compares to WOW in exemplifying that rare sort of amazement that only certain artistic works manage to draw out?

I reckon not and Deadly Ever After was WOW.

DNF'd at 31%. I couldn't connect with the characters. The writing was also quite confusing.
Thank you, PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group | G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers and Netgalley for the ARC

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Young Readers Group for the advanced reader copy.

*Deadly Ever After* has a smart premise with diverse characters and picks up quickly, making it appropriate for its target audience. Johnson deserves credit for handling the difficult topic of child abuse gracefully and explaining Amala's character development thoughtfully. The steady pacing makes it a quick read. Unfortunately, I had to DNF this at 55% because I couldn't bring myself to care what happened to the characters. The sunshine versus grumpy personality trope didn't work for me, and the predictable storyline didn't help. The insta-love bothered me the most; the smiles and touches felt rushed when the characters barely knew each other.

Character-wise, Amala starts off very naive and annoying, while Kha'DasIa is too tough and equally irritating. I had to push myself to get past these traits. You also have to pay careful attention to chapter openings, or you'll get confused—the writing for each girl has similar tones despite being very different characters. The world-building was lacking, and some plot elements felt like afterthoughts. The magical items the girls encountered seemed only to be added to repeatedly teach the same lesson to the girls, and turning one character into a monster felt disconnected from the original plot. The prose felt weak for a YA audience. While the diverse cast and sensitive handling of serious topics showed promise for me, the execution fell short for me.

This book is pure magic. The way it offers teenagers a space to confront their trauma, where they are forced to take the time to come to terms with themselves and their place in the world, deeply touched me. It allows both princesses to be soft, to be angry, and to be hurt. It is so unapologetic in healing and the discovery of your place in the world. I loved it so much.

I thought Amaya and Kha’dasia were both fine main characters. I just didn’t vibe with the writing nor the setting of this book. I felt the author was trying to hard to be like Kalynn Bayron and she fell short of that goal.

Deadly Ever After is a beautifully dark and refreshing twist on the fairytales we grew up with but this one centers grief, love, and finding yourself when the world has already written your ending. Brittany Johnson delivers a story that’s both magical and emotionally heavy, and I devoured every page.

Right off the bat, I loved how this book explores identity, trauma, and love through two girls who were always told they were too much or not enough. The chemistry between Amala and Kha’dasia builds slowly and beautifully, and the emotional depth in their individual arcs hit me hard. The world building is rich without being overwhelming, and the writing feels almost poetic at times. My only small critique is that I wished we got a bit more development around the gods and their motives it would've added another layer to the stakes. But honestly, that’s just me being greedy because I didn’t want the story to end.

This is a must-read for anyone craving sapphic romance wrapped in a dark fairytale with sharp edges and soft hearts. It's emotional, thought-provoking, and full of heart Brittany Johnson is absolutely one to watch. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the early copy!

Hey, hey, my favorites 😁💚
#annieethebookiee is back with another book review!

Let me just say, this one pulled me in with its twisted fairytale vibes and didn’t let go until the last page. Brittany Johnson gave us a suspenseful ride through secrets, survival, and some seriously dark turns. I won’t spoil anything, but just know that this isn’t your typical happily ever after.

What I loved most? The pacing was strong and the main character had grit, which kept me invested. There were moments where I thought I had it all figured out, only to be completely wrong. That unpredictability gave it an edge I appreciated.

It’s a quick, gritty read with enough twists to keep thriller lovers satisfied and just enough character development to make you care.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

4.25 stars ☆
⤿ spoiler-free review
thank you to net galley for this GORGEOUS arc!!

ೃ⁀➷“That isnt true, as everyone is entitled to their anger. You have reasons to be angry. So be angry.”

characters: Omg half this cast I adore, and half this cast I despise. Amala and Kha'dasia are so sweet together, I love how they both grow with each other, and learn that what they believe are their weaknesses could be their strengths. I feel like talking about the other characters might be spoilers - but just know, the Black representation in this was so wonderful!

plot: Amala has spent her whole life trying to be the perfect princess: delicate, quiet, obedient. But when she’s murdered on the night of her wedding, her story is cut short before it begins. Kha’dasia has been told her whole life that she is too rough, too loud, too much. She’s no ordinary princess but a ruthless warrior on a quest to fulfill her late brother’s dying wish. Except she dies before reaching her destination. When both girls wake up in a cursed forest, the gods offer them a second chance at life—if they can find true love’s kiss. But there’s a catch, the gods warn. While the right kiss will save you, the wrong kiss will kill you.

pacing: This book was so perfectly paced. I feel like not too slow but slow enough where I was really understanding each moment, but fast enough where I binged this in two days - half half!

✧.* A sapphic fairytale reminicent book with lots of yearning, Black rep, and a happy ending!

Deadly Ever After follows Amala and Kha’dasia, two princesses who find themselves in a cursed forest and offered a second chance at life. Amala has spent her life being quiet and obedient and is about to free herself from her father by marrying Vincent, her true love, when she’s murdered. While Kha’dasia is the opposite—she’s loud and rough and on a mission fulfill her late brother’s dying wish. If they can make it through the forest alive and kiss their true love at the end, they’ll be free, but if they kiss the wrong person, they’ll die.

This was such a lovely debut!! This reads like a fairytale and has a beautiful message of empowering girls and I thoroughly enjoyed the narrative and discussions brought up. The world building was great for such a short book. It was so easy to fly through although it was predictable. But it had lovely prose and atmosphere. I really loved the gods realm and the quest they went on. Especially with the twist to true love’s kiss. It was a really unique and exciting take on fairytales!

I love a good dual-pov book especially when it’s a romance. Seeing them both fall for each other was so sweet. Amala and Kha’dasia have such a wholesome romance that starts off rocky and is so satisfying to watch them fall. I loved their ending. Both girls go through such good growth through the novel and I loved seeing where they started to where they ended. It felt very realistic and relatable and definitely inspiring for younger readers. I think is this such a good fairytale romantasy for teens!

If you love sapphic fantasy romances I’d definitely recommend checking this one out.

Thank you to Penguin Teen CA and Netgalley for the arc!

This was a lovely, whimsical read!

First and foremost, I loved the fairytale vibes of this book—those we were really well done, as the story felt both nostalgic and original to what the author was trying to do.

I thought the writing was really easy to read, which was great. It lends itself well to the fairytale vibes, in my opinion.

The characters were enjoyable to follow. I thought it was great how different Amala and Kha’dasia were—their differences really came across well on the page. And seeing their potential love story unfold on the page was really lovely.

I liked the world too, and how whimsical (but also at times dangerous) it was!

And last but not least, the rep—Black sapphics! I loved it!

I would absolutely recommend this book (particularly for younger YA readers)!

Thank you so much to Penguin and NetGalley for allowing me to read the digital ARC!