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A review by triciab04
The Princess Knight by G.A. Aiken
4.0
4.5 stars
The Princess Knight had pretty much everything I like to see in a sequel, character growth, plot progression, a few twists and turns, and an extra plus with this series...loads of smartassery and humor!
We get to know Gemma much better in this one. While I missed Keeley being front and center, I still really enjoyed the spotlight on Gemma. What makes it extra great to me is that Keeley is quite frankly much easier to like right off the jump, while Gemma takes a little more time to really warm up to, but the storyline is continously strong and the more you get to know Gemma the better you like and connect with her. I was so glad to get a closer look at the War Monks in general! It was nice to see the inner workings of this other life Gemma had outside of her family. It also helped give us a fuller picture of her as an independent character. I liked Quinn too. He is honest to a fault, loyal and outgoing. It was a nice balance to Gemma's brash, distrustful, standoffish nature.
The romance element was interesting and not as predictable as many I've read before. I kinda liked that it was mostly in the background and how the frienemies unobtrusively just become more one day. Aiken did such a wonderful job laying the foundation and making that so strong that once the romance did click into place it felt comfortable and right and all the typical bells and whistles frankly weren't necessary so I didn't ever miss them. You could easily see the trust and knowledge of each other they had in every single battle and their interactions with each other, even when they were poking at one another.
Like with the first book, I absolutely loved the familial banter! It is a shining light in this series. The way they drive each other nutty but have so much love for one another is heartwarming and entertaining as all get out. I could listen to the sisters messing with each other all day long. Beatrix being the obvious exception because that girl does not play well with others. I find myself more and more curious about her motivations though. Another great thing is even the side characters are immensely intriguing. There's really no one-dimensional filler in this story. You get a good feel for the unique personalities from initial meetings and it only grows from there. It was enjoyable meeting so many new characters in this one. I look forward to seeing more of them in following books.
The ending was truly spectacular! I'm dying to see what happens next! It is going to be torture waiting for book 3.
I received an ARC of this book from Kensington Books via Netgalley and this is my honest review.
The Princess Knight had pretty much everything I like to see in a sequel, character growth, plot progression, a few twists and turns, and an extra plus with this series...loads of smartassery and humor!
We get to know Gemma much better in this one. While I missed Keeley being front and center, I still really enjoyed the spotlight on Gemma. What makes it extra great to me is that Keeley is quite frankly much easier to like right off the jump, while Gemma takes a little more time to really warm up to, but the storyline is continously strong and the more you get to know Gemma the better you like and connect with her. I was so glad to get a closer look at the War Monks in general! It was nice to see the inner workings of this other life Gemma had outside of her family. It also helped give us a fuller picture of her as an independent character. I liked Quinn too. He is honest to a fault, loyal and outgoing. It was a nice balance to Gemma's brash, distrustful, standoffish nature.
The romance element was interesting and not as predictable as many I've read before. I kinda liked that it was mostly in the background and how the frienemies unobtrusively just become more one day. Aiken did such a wonderful job laying the foundation and making that so strong that once the romance did click into place it felt comfortable and right and all the typical bells and whistles frankly weren't necessary so I didn't ever miss them. You could easily see the trust and knowledge of each other they had in every single battle and their interactions with each other, even when they were poking at one another.
Like with the first book, I absolutely loved the familial banter! It is a shining light in this series. The way they drive each other nutty but have so much love for one another is heartwarming and entertaining as all get out. I could listen to the sisters messing with each other all day long. Beatrix being the obvious exception because that girl does not play well with others. I find myself more and more curious about her motivations though. Another great thing is even the side characters are immensely intriguing. There's really no one-dimensional filler in this story. You get a good feel for the unique personalities from initial meetings and it only grows from there. It was enjoyable meeting so many new characters in this one. I look forward to seeing more of them in following books.
The ending was truly spectacular! I'm dying to see what happens next! It is going to be torture waiting for book 3.
I received an ARC of this book from Kensington Books via Netgalley and this is my honest review.