The Princess Knight is a mishmash of medieval times, romance, and fantasy! I went into it without preconceived notions other than, "dang that cover is gorgeous."

The good things about this book:
- Ronan
- Sword fighting lessons

The not so good things:
- Clia (whiny, privileged, irritating)
- Domhnall's villain story arc (they have to give him a ton of flaws to make him the hate-able character to justify him not wanting to marry Clia *insert eye roll*)
- Stereotypical fantasy war college
- The big bad was who I thought it was
- Magic (it was veryyyyy light on magic and I am a gal who loves learning new magic systems, so thats a no from me dawg)

I am so sad I didn't like this book but it might be your cup of tea for the exact reasons I didn't enjoy it!

ARC Review

Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for providing this ARC!

This book was okay, 3 stars overall. The writing felt clunky at times and read more like a young adult novel instead of adult like I was expecting.

I did find parts of this book quite fun and I thoroughly enjoyed the Legally Blonde retelling in this. However, the military academy feels unrealistic.

I do think someone else will like this more than me though!

I absolutely adore a Medieval retelling of anything. But this just takes the cake. It was soooo good and I loved the characters. The banter was terrific and I just ate up all the lore.

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon and Harper Voyager for providing this ARC!

Unfortunately this book was just okay. The writing was a bit clunky especially with dialogue and it was very jarring at times. It read a little more like a YA novel as it felt a bit juvenile.

The story itself is fun but I think the whole military academy section gets a tad unrealistic and nonsensical. The Legally Blonde retelling was the most entertaining part for me! I think this is a fun read but not really anything show-stopping writing wise. Maybe someone else would enjoy it more than I did.

This book was SO FUN! Exactly the vibes I expected and wanted and they were met. Clips was such an endearing character and I loved the cozy fantasy and medieval vibes of it all. Very well done and the cover is absolutely gorgeous!

Thank you for the chance to read and review!

What a lovely delight this was! An FMC who has a plan to live up to her family and kingdom’s expectations, but it doesn’t go how she plans. Clia thought she was going to marry her childhood friend and neighboring kingdom, but Domhnall rejects her! She must prove him wrong and woo him back! So she endeavors to become a warrior and prove her strength as a future leader at the Military Academy. Enter Ronan, who trains and befriends Clia and helps her see herself as the strong woman she has always been! Adventure, political intrigue, betrayal, love and happy endings ensue!

This is a great story for those who like medium stakes adventure and fun love stories based on some of our favorite romcom movies ;)

Cute and cozy, but kinda boring.

I was really, really excited to get my hands on The Princess Knight, and while it wasn't bad by any means, it lacked a certain "spark" that I was waiting for. The premise was so fun with a princess who follows a prince to a military academy to win him back, but it just didn't fully deliver. With the book title, cover, and the way the author has talked about this being "Legally Blonde but medieval," (and I LOVED Legally Blonde growing up) I was expecting it to be more quippy and campy like a rom-com, but it ended up trying to be more serious in tone, which just didn't work. The first half of the book had a more "unserious" and "fun" vibe, but as the story went on, it felt like it was trying to be something it wasn't by switching gears to be more serious.

The world-building was a bit lackluster as it was hard for me to imagine some of the descriptions in my head because they were so vague. Additionally, the plot moved at a snail's pace even though we had a few time jumps, which made certain parts a slog to get through. I appreciate that the romance was cute and nontoxic, but the main characters didn't have much individualized personality, so they seemed kind of generic.

All in all, this was a good "palate cleanser" book to break up my more intense fantasy reads. I think if The Princess Knight leaned more into the campy/satirical vibe, I would have enjoyed it a lot more because as a straight-up "romantasy," it lacks a lot of substance that I typically look for.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was a solid 3 stars for me! As we all know, The Princess Knight is a medieval-inspired fantasy romance retelling of Legally Blonde. As a certified member of the Elle Woods fan club, I knew I had to read this! I think fans of the movie will enjoy reading about Clía and her coming-of-age journey.

This books strengths were in the fleshed out political world, the fun characterizations, and the sweetly supportive romance between Clía and Ronan. Its weakness lied in how closely it mirrored the plot of Legally Blonde, to the point that some conversations and plot points felt more like a regurgitation of the film than a true unfolding of the story. My hope is that future books in the series will feel fresher because it won’t be chained down by the movie.

Overall, this was a fun and enjoyable palette cleanser and something I would recommend to readers just starting out in the genre!

*Thank you the author and NetGalley for providing a free e-arc in exchange for an honest and fair review.*

Legally Blonde but make it knights was such a fun experience to behold. It was much more lore focused than I was expecting, it has some rich world building that I feel we honestly only scratched the surface with.

While the plot loosely follows the Legally Blonde plot points there was so much more involved within it and it definitely went " off script" many times which kept the book fresh and not *just* a Legally Blonde retelling.

Overall I really liked the characters within this story, especially the two main characters and love interests in the book. I think character motivations were very clear for all of the "good guys" though I will say I struggled to connect with why the "bad guys" were choosing to do what they were doing. Their motivations didn't make much sense to me and some of the betrayal felt hollow (if not kind of expected).

I've seen this mentioned in a few other reviews and I have to agree, this reads more like a Young Adult novel than an Adult novel. There's no spice whatsoever (even though there's some great tension between the two MCs).

Overall this was a very feel good story that focused a ton on personal growth and friendship which I greatly appreciated in this time in my life.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the copy of this ARC.

The Princess Knight is a light-hearted romantic fantasy in a Celtic-inspired world.

Clia is a princess and the only child of her parents, who put high hopes and lots of pressure on her to be the "perfect daughter". When a prince of another kingdom breaks his betrothal with her, everyone treats it as a sign of Clia being "inadequate". To prove her worth, she decides to follow him to a military academy and win back his respect. But instead she catches the eye of her ex-fiance's guard captain, Ronan... There's also a looming war over the island and it might arrive faster than the current rulers expect.

I loved the casual representation here: Clia is autistic-coded, however most people underestimate and dismiss her not because of her autism, but because they believe in stereotypes that she's too pretty to be smart. Clia is in fact very clever and always has a plan, however her perfectionism causes her a lot of anxiety. She's also bisexual and it's mentioned she was in the past in love with a queen of another country (there are 5 countries on this island).

Ronan has chronic joint pain he struggles with, and like many people with invisible disability, he tries to hide and dismiss it and power through it, because he doesn't want the illness to define him or block him from advancing his career.

Overall the tone of the novel was fairly light-hearted despite serious subjects. Murphy, the cute-but-deadly animal sidekick was surely stealing the show. The romance was very sweet and wholesome. I would recommend this book for readers of adult fantasy with light-hearted tone and sweet & wholesome romance, it's also suitable for YA readers.

My only complaint is it was hard to get around all the names of the kingdoms and side characters, but once the story settled, it flowed.

I received an ARC from Netgalley & Harper Voyager for the purpose of leaving a honest review.

I don’t think this book is for me

If you’re a big fan of stories inspired by other stories and romantasy, I think you’ll love this.

Unfortunately for me, it just didn’t hit right. I also found the beginning to be information overload. Some information that was randomly thrown at you wasn’t used till much later in the story if at all and by the time I got to the parts that needed me to have this background knowledge, I had to flip back to the beginning to figure it out. I think this book was really ambitious and wanted to accomplish a lot so it ended up losing plot points in the bigger picture.

I love love Legally Blonde and I really enjoyed seeing the way the author took parts of the movie and twisted/changed it to be fit her story. The characters were well fleshed and the writing was nice, simple but had its own style.

I really wanted to love this and I’m very interested in picking up more books by this author. Pretty solid for a debut!

This was a decent time, but I struggled with some of it. A lot of things were super unrealistic — like how Clía was easily taking down people who had been warriors for most of their life with only a few months of training. Multiple things like that just felt too convenient and took me out of the story.

Also there was minimal world building for this being a fantasy story, it was more just info dumping but never exploring the lore deeper than at a surface level. And the reasons for a lot of elements — like why Clía’s and Domnhall’s marriage would be beneficial for their kingdoms, the villain’s motivation, and other things — were just not explained. This may have benefited from being longer or having multiple books so that those things could be fleshed out. Otherwise it was pretty fun, kept me entertained, and the romance was fine.

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon, and Harper Voyager for the ARC!

As a lover of both romantic comedies and fantasy, The Princess Knight has quickly become one of my new favorites. Elements of both genre blend really well here, action-packed while fun and feminine at heart. Beautiful character development in a queer-normative world with disability representation that made me, a cane user with chronic pain due to fibromyalgia, feel so seen and understood.

The Princess Knight is a Legally Blonde x medieval times crossover. Worldbuilding was minimal, and if you've seen Legally Blonde you can pretty much guess the big reveals. This was fun and the plot of the book sounded so intriguing, but upon finishing the book I was left wishing for a little better execution. Thanks Netgalley for the e-ARC!

Summary:
The Princess Knight (otherwise known as Medievally Blonde) follows Princess Clía as she sets out to prove herself in a ruthless knight training academy after her royal engagement takes a shocking turn. However, Clía is woefully underprepared for the academy’s demands, and unexpectedly bonds with her ex-betrothed’s captain of the guard, Captain Ronan. With Clía and Ronan growing closer and war brewing on the horizon, they must choose between the future they imagined and the reality they must face of love, loss, and loyalty.

Review ⚔️🧝🏻‍♀️💎
I was really excited to read this when I first heard of it! I have been following the author Cait Jacobs for years now (originally for her Grishaverse content) and was so excited when she announced her debut. And let me be clear, this was entertaining and a wonderful concept that blending the medieval era with Celtic folklore and, of course, the beloved classic Legally Blonde.

There was so much potential for this book. I loved the concept of exploring Celtic folklore but the magic system & mythology fell flat for me. The world-building didn’t come across as fully fleshed out. The major conflict felt superficial. I would’ve loved a more in-depth explanation of the politics and various religions that influenced the rising tensions between kingdoms. Which brings up another issue: there was sooo much “tell” and not enough “show.” We read the Clía felt nervous because of xyz, but how was that shown?? Did she feel butterflies in her stomach did her hands tremble did she experience anxiety? The love between Clía and Ronan similarly felt superficial, with the show vs. tell contributing to a lack of chemistry between the characters. It was obvious they cared for each other but only because the author told us they did. Ronan confessing his love came out of nowhere. In all, the characters lacked depth and made it hard for me to relate or even care about them. Additionally, every conflict seemed to be magically resolved with little to no explanation?? Why did everything seem to work out for them? Clía just happens to stumble on a magic gem from a religion that is barely touched on in the book and they don’t question it.

Finally, when I think Legally Blonde, I think rom-com. This was definitely a fantasy that reads more YA than adult, falling flat of a developed romance while failing to be a comedy. This book was just not as funny as I expected it to be. However it was still entertaining to read and I enjoyed picking out which plot lines were inspired from the movie! There is so much queer, disability, and chronic illness rep in this story and it was beautifully done. The cover art is also just gorgeous and I’m so happy that the author has accomplished a longtime dream.

⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 stars

⚔️Thank you to NetGalley & Avon and Harper Voyager for the ARC!! All opinions are my own. ⚔️

Goodreads Review published on Sunday, June 8 (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7621422016)
Instagram Review posted Sunday, June 8 (https://www.instagram.com/p/DKqKxuvSqd1/?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==)

This being a Legally Blonde retelling feels like a crime they didn’t call the book Medievally Blonde or something similar. It’s very…YA. Which there is nothing wrong with YA( I still reread Six of Crows, Percy Jackson, Hunger Games etc) I felt being inspired by the movie this book would have more depth. Legally Blonde makes statements on judging people based on what they look like, and that’s their privilege is, this being really touch on that. The Celtic setting was neat, and the LGBT rep, but I didn’t connect with the characters.

Just a little underwhelmed, but wasn’t a bad read. It just didn’t necessarily stand out.

What a book! Medieval anything has always been a favorite of mine and as a retired theater kid I was very excited for a medieval legally blonde-esque story. Cait Jacobs didn't disappoint. I found the world building easy to follow but also well established. Extremely early on in the story I found I genuinely cared for all the characters and wanted to see how their stories would unfold, which is often not the case so early in a book.

I really loved that Domhnall had reasons for what he did. While he was certainly far from perfect when it came to handling his problems, he wasn't written off as a self absorbed Warner Huntington. Every character was flawed, but these flaws didn't make them irredeemable.

The romance was also really refreshing. It wasn't insta-love, both characters had their own dreams and goals and weren't willing to throw it away for newfound attraction, but when both Ronan and Clía did realize the full scope of their feelings, it had been earned. I also really liked how relationships, both platonic, familial, and romantic, were handled. I think it's because I cared about every character that I really enjoyed seeing the relationships form and develop between them.

I thought the irish folklore was well done and that the author really gave attention to its roots while incorporating it in a fantastic way. The ending felt really quick, I have many more questions and things I'd like to see (especially regarding Clía's parents), so I hope that the author plans on continuing with this world and turning it into a series (I'm not sure if that is the plan).

Again, such an entertaining story, and a fantastic debut!

This book was Originally marketed as kind of like legally blonde and the book was originally called medieval blonde, but I honestly don’t think it’s that similar to legally blonde. Don’t get me wrong. It’s a good book. I’m rating it so far a four out of five stars because it’s so good however, it’s like a missing just one little tiny thing and I don’t wanna say five out of five yet but this is such a long read. This book is longer than I thought it was going to be, but I am reading it quickly, like I am going through it. I am devouring this book. The plot twist? Insane I had to put the book down at 12 AM to go to sleep Anyways, read it. It’s so good. This is the best way that I can write my review without spoiling anything.

Formally titled <i>Medievally Blonde</i> this borrows from Legally Blonde, while still giving us a fully original plot. It is a blast to see the similar scenes but never felt too heavily borrowed.

I will say this that this is a lot more dense and lore-rich than I was expecting, which is NOT a bad thing, just different. It isn’t quite as cutesy and fun as its marketing would suggest and as long as you go in with the right expectations I think this is a great read!

What’s to love…
- rich in Irish folklore and mythology
- political intrigue
- Grade A banter
- he’s down so bad for her
- academic setting
- queer normative world and bisexual MCs
- SLOW BURN
- Military Academia setting
- Chronic pain rep (MMC)

What’s not to love…
- I really enjoyed the romance for its sweetness but it did lack a bit of chemistry/tension
- its only a standalone! I want a second book (marriage of convenience please!)

This was a fantastic debut and I’m really excited to see what’s to come from this author!


🌶️- Only 1-2 fade to black scenes. This is classified as adult but would be a great read for an advanced 12+ reader as well.

I was excited to receive this ARC because the premise sounded so cool but this book was just not for me. I think if I were still a teen I wound have enjoyed it but the pacing was a little slow and I didn’t feel like the main characters had good chemistry. While not horrible written for a debut novel, I feel like we were just being told about people and surroundings instead of feel immersed in them. I hope this book finds an audience that will appreciate it .