The Princess Knight is an empowering fantasy adventure featuring a fierce heroine who challenges tradition with sword in hand. Cait Jacobs crafts a world where loyalty, courage, and identity clash in exhilarating battles both physical and emotional. Ideal for readers who love Tamora Pierce or Sarah J. Maas, this debut (or new series?) is bold, fast-paced, and full of heart.

DNF at 35%
I follow Cait online on several platforms and felt that this book would be 110% for me. While I was enjoying the action, I felt confused in regard to the creatures we were being introduced to and why the characters ended up in the same military academy. I thought this would be more than the stereotypical girl gets rejected and then decides to show him just how wrong he was to do so. I had really high hopes and felt the pacing was off, especially during the action scenes.

o I was reading it, I was enjoying it, I was having fun and suddenly I was a bit bored (?) I don't know how to explain it, but I felt like the story started to dragg and it was repeating itself a little bit, so I stopped reading it for a few days and then came back and although i didn't fell as bored as before, I was just skimming through the text to get to the end of the book, it felt worng because i really wanted to looooooooove this books but i just ... liked it
I really enjoyed the characters dynamics and the knight's academy, very fun, love my knight's era but myabe because there wasn't any worldbuilding, i didn't really care about the war, i guess i thought i was going to read a fun, light, legally blonde inspired fantasy, so i really wasn't expecting it to be so heavy on the political aspect

I went into this book completely blind and I am so glad I did. The imagery and descriptive words made picturing everything so easy. The writing and storyline flowed smoothly. It had the perfect mix of romance and action. I really loved the pronunciations in the beginning. And a non-binary person who actually is mentioned and not just a throw away character?? We love to see it!! A bit of enemies to lovers, definitely slow burn, with some fantasy aspects. I really enjoyed this book and would absolutely recommend it to anyone who likes romance books with some war and fighting tied in!

This was exactly the type of book its supposed to be. It had enjoyable characters, a plot that was entertaining and amazing banter and tension. Clía was so incredibly relatable from the start, trying to meet expectations everyone set for her and having to find herself while creating a new future despite what everyone believes her capable of. She reminds me of heroines like Ella Enchanted, Cinderella for ever after. And Ronan is so charming the epitome of a true knight and it's adorable to see him fall for clía while unlearning all his self sacrificing tendencies, and living up to his full potential. The while story was enjoyable and had a satisfying ending. Perfect for anyone who loves a 90 rom-com and a bit for fantasy.

2.75/5 stars 💕

This book is a fresh new take that I was very excited to read! What initially grabbed my attention was the gorgeous cover, the "Legally Blonde" inspo, and the Irish/Gaelic (?) mythology and folklore aspect.

I would say it possibly over-delivered on its Legally Blonde promise, to the point where it became a little predictable and thus a little disengaging for me. Because parallels were so easily drawn between characters in the movie, I was less surprised with the plot than I had hoped. Once it completes it’s run with Legally Blonde, about 60% of the way in, the rest of the book felt a bit untethered due to its reliance on the referential plot, making it a bit difficult to stay onboard with the chemistry between the two characters and engaged with the stakes of the rest of the book.

With that being said, I think fans of Legally Blonde and a fantasy will enjoy it, and it’s a well written picture of both chronic pain and neurodivergence.

Legally Blonde is a great romcom and while the premise of this book was similar, there were still many differences. The book isn’t much of a comedy; it’s actually quite serious and about battles and politics. I didn’t really get that impression from the marketing. Something else I struggled with is the concept of a fashionable princess deciding to go to a military academy and after a few weeks of training is suddenly amazing enough to kill seasoned warriors. In the movie, Elle was still very smart so working towards being a lawyer worked. This is a totally different situation and made it more unbelievable.

The book also is heavily influenced by Irish folklore. I personally wasn’t familiar with the folklore and unfortunately I think that made it more difficult to read. The names constantly confused me and without a map I was totally lost in some areas. I saw some reviews saying this book was a slow burn and it really isn’t. I think the romance moved a bit too fast for me and lacked depth/chemistry. The ending was good and I liked the parallels to Legally Blonde; it just wasn’t my favorite.

thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review!

i was destined to enjoy this from the moment i heard the words ‘medieval’ and ‘legally blonde’ in the same sentence. this was such a fun read! while it was a bit insta-lovey for my tastes, it was an easily enjoyable story and you could definitely tell that it took inspo from the movie. i think the world building was put on the back burner a bit in favor of sticking to the movie’s template, but i loved all of our main characters and the romance was so sweet (definitely leans more YA than adult). this ended up at about 3.75 stars for me - a great debut for sure!

I enjoyed the story so much. I love this new retelling of legally blonde. I appreciate how the scenes are similar to legally blonde but unique in their own way. It does not feel company and pasted at all. The characters are so fun.

4/5
Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for an ARC. All opinions are my own.

I love stories about women with swords! I love when everybody is gay!

This book was very fun to read. I think the pacing was really good and there was a great balance between plot and romance. I liked the worldbuilding, but I wish there was more of it. I feel like if I learned a little more about the various kingdoms it would be easier to understand and be invested in the political machinations going on. But by far my favorite aspects were the queernormative world and the chronic pain representation. I really loved how Ronan’s struggle with chronic pain was handled. It’s something I’ve struggled with for years and I could really relate to his experiences.

I’m grateful to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book to review!
I really enjoyed this story from beginning to end - there’s a good balance of sass and seriousness. I appreciated the growth of the characters throughout the story and how things progressed. It’s a great fantasy standalone and without really any “magic” it’s easily accessible for people new to the genre or someone looking for a quick read.
I will say, as someone totally unfamiliar with the language the names were based on, a full “glossary” of how to pronounce everything would have been really helpful. Having the names of the kingdoms at the front of the book is helpful but not quite enough, especially for the words that are “made up” and therefore not able to be searched for.

A bit of a slow start with a lot of names that could benefit from a more extensive glossary/pronunciation guide. At some point, I stopped caring if l was pronouncing everything right. The ARC also didn't have the map I'm sure will be in the final version, so there was a lot of "theatre of the mind" on my part while reading.

Regardless, I really enjoyed this book. If you've ever wondered what it might be like for Elle Woods to exist in a Medieval/Fantasy type realm. To instead of get a law degree, go to a military academy and learn to fight? Then this is your book!

As far as debut novels go,Cait wrote a wonderful story and I look forward to seeing what she may come up with next.

This was absolutely a 5 star read! i loved all of the main and supporting characters! i 100% get every single influence and nod to the legally blonde story lines! i think it was a phenomenal read. no notes!

👑⚔️𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓟𝓻𝓲𝓷𝓬𝓮𝓼𝓼 𝓚𝓷𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓽 𝓐𝓡𝓒 𝓡𝓮𝓿𝓲𝓮𝔀⚔️👑

💕I placed The Princess Knight on my anticipated releases list for 2025 as soon as I learned that it would have a Legally Blonde element. I loved that it had little nods to Legally Blonde while having a totally unique storyline that stood on its own well!

👑The story follows Clía, a princess who expected to be engaged to childhood friend Prince Domnall. When he decides that he needs a stronger fiancée in the face of conflict in the kingdoms, Clía is left with no choice but to prove him wrong. She follows him to the realm’s top military academy to train with other nobles and elite warriors. Here, she meets warrior Ronan, who is currently serving as Domnall’s captain and is also here to train. He doesn’t have time for a princess who has never held a sword in her life…but he can’t seem to stay away from her. As the stakes get higher and tensions rise in the realm, Ronan realizes that his heart is at stake just as much as his life.

⚔️Jacobs did a fabulous job developing both Clía and Ronan. They both had their own unique motivations for being at the academy. I also loved the addition of side characters such as Sárait, a palace tailor who follows Clía to the academy. There was also a solid foundation of mythology and lore established within the realm, and this lore took an active role in the story.

👑You Will Love This Book If You Love👑
💕New Adult Romantasy
💕Strong FMC
💕Warrior MMC
💕Forbidden Romance
💕Military Academy
💕Found Family
💕Chronic Pain Rep
💕Slow Burn
💕Dual POV

**I received an advanced copy of The Princess Knight - all opinions are my own**

You know when you start a book and you think “Oh I’m going to like this one” just a few pages in? This was my experience with The Princess Knight.

Clía has just had her engagement broken off, because war is on the horizon and the prince does not find that she can be the warrior he needs. Well,
that just won’t do for the princess and she finds herself at the same military academy in order to win him back. But then she meets Ronan, the prince’s guard, who begins to help her train and become a better fighter.

This book is compared to Legally Blonde, but I’d say it’s more of a baby between Legally Blonde and Mulan. Clía has all the essence of Elle Woods, her determination and good nature, but if you’re worried about a copy and paste you do not need to be. This story goes in directions I wasn’t always anticipating and I loved every second. (You may want to watch both LB and Mulan movies if once you’re done, though.)

The writing is vivid, I was trying to fancast in my head as I was reading. It’s a perfect mix of romance and plot, the two really hold each other’s hand throughout the story instead of one overtaking the other. But the romance is so sweet. Ronan has his own story and struggles, adding so much depth to his character and choices. And sex positivity! We love sex positivity.

The only things that made me go hmmm were - the magic in the sword. I was a little confused and it felt a little undeveloped. At times I felt like maybe this was setting up to be the first book in a series before the end wrapped up. I would also love more Murphy! Not just for cute animals, but because I think he’d add a lot to certain aspects of the story.

Unfortunately I could only get about 25% into this before I had to dnf… it read TOO MUCH like a YA (and not even like upper YA) that it prevented me from getting invested in the stories or the characters

Princess energy? Check. Sword-swinging chaos? Also check. Clía said girlboss, gatekeep, get revenge and honestly? I was living.

This book felt like someone handed a medieval Barbie a sword and said, “Go off, bestie.” And she DID. Clía gets dumped by her crusty fiancé and instead of crying into her royal pillow, she enrolls in an elite military academy where everyone fully expects her to fail. But plot twist: she slays. Literally and figuratively.

Clía is the kind of heroine who will stab you and make sure her hair looks good while doing it. I love that she stayed true to her soft, feminine vibe while also being a menace with a blade. You want a princess who can kill with kindness and a longsword? She’s your girl.

Also... enter Ronan. The emotionally constipated, morally upstanding guard who did NOT sign up for this. Their interactions were pure grumpy-sunshine gold. Not super spicy, but it gave just enough romantic tension for me to yell "KISS ALREADY" at my Kindle.

Now, was the world-building a little confusing? Yeah. Did I occasionally mix up the kingdoms like I was drunk at a Renaissance Faire? Also yeah. But I was too invested in Clía proving everyone wrong to care.

Bonus points for the thoughtful rep of mental health, chronic pain, and neurodivergent characters all handled with care and honesty. We love to see it.

What a fun read!! A perfect blend of sweet rom com and light fantasy.

Will be recommending to friends who like either genre and want to try branching out into the other!

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Voyager for the arc. I’m sadly DNF-ing The Princess Knight. I tried to feel invested in the story but felt like it was too slow. I didn’t care about the characters and felt annoyed by Clia. I wish I could have seen Clia’s journey of her first week training but just got a time jump. I just think the story wasn’t intriguing enough for me to keep reading. I thought it was such a cool concept though. And who knows maybe in the future I’ll feel like picking it back up.

I didn't realise just how much I wanted a mediaeval, slightly fantasy retelling of Legally Blonde until I heard about this book. Unfortunately I do think that gave me expectations that were a bit too high, and I wasn't as captivated by this book as I wanted to be.

Although there were some really fun scenes, the beginning was slow and it was taking a bit too long to get to the good stuff. The characters were pretty engaging, but overall there was just something missing for me. It was plenty entertaining though so I'd recommend people at least give it a try!

Thank you to the publisher for sending a copy to be reviewed