Sam (1)

Revenge and evil-queen-vibes sink into an unexpected game, where everyone plays their own strategy while unknowingly taking the role of someone else's pawn.

Medea should have been queen but lost her place when the prince chose the other girl instead. Now, she's out for revenge, but before she can take it, the craziest thing happens, and she wakes up to find herself in her rival's body. While she quickly regains her footing and has all intentions to continue with her initial goal, her new and show more different perspective of the situation reveals a much more complicated scheme. What started as a simple plan to destroy one person has warped into a battle to save the entire kingdom.

I went into this hoping for a darker, cliche story, which would offer a bit of fun...my expectations weren't high. But this gives quite a bit more and promises to lead into an exciting series of intrigue and many hidden agendas. The beginning shows Medea in a terrible light as a vengeful young woman, who embodies the villain. It made her very hard to like or connect with, especially when juxtaposed with the angelic rival. During the first pages, I did wonder if I'd made a bad grab. Also, not much time is spent sinking into the situation or world, leaving a bit of confusion especially since Medea's hate seems very unfounded. But this ill-balanced beginning does end up setting off the tale better than first appears.

While this starts with an overly cliche atmosphere, the twists and turns flip everything on its head to create an original and grabbing read. There is a lot of room for character growth, and even in this first volume, that arc comes across well. To say that there's quite a bit going on is an understatement, and that guarantees quick pacing throughout. With all of the webbed intentions, this could quickly grow confusing but flashbacks root the background and keep things from flying out of control. Normally, I'm not a huge fan of such back-and-forth, but it works well because the reader gets hit with a truckload of information in this first volume. While it seems to border on confusing at times, it manages not to go too far, but instead, sets the base for so much more to come during the upcoming volumes.

The art style fits the story. The color tones match the atmosphere and subtly portray each 'queen' in a way, which supports how the reader is supposed to see them at that moment. The visual changes match the plot and balance well with the text.

I am looking forward to the next volume, especially since this beginning has laid such an intricate base. There are more than a few questions as to the intent and goals of several characters, and it will be exciting to see where this all might lead.
I received a DRC, am giving 4.5 stars and rounding up. show less

Get ready for royal tension, intrigue and action because this novel is packed with all three.

Lady Psyche is beginning to realize who the villain truly is and is in more danger than she realized. Since she's actually Lady Medea inside (body switch), she might be able to ward off, at least, direct physical attacks, but Psyche's weak body makes it almost impossible. Luckily, Lady Medea (who is Psyche inside) is also realizing the real culprit. Both are just at the beginning of discovering the show more various evil plans and weaves surrounding them, and both are discovering secrets about themselves. Still, they are in terrible danger and will have to discover much more if they want to survive.

This is a wonderfully illustrated read with action and emotion coming across in every scene. The characters hold quite a bit of depth, which makes it easy to sink into each one. This isn't a light story but lets the danger seep into every situation like a dark, looming shadow. The villains are scheming and will do anything to achieve their hidden goals. Psyche and Medea, on the other hand, are still unaware, which makes them huge targets. It creates tension on every page, drives the tale forward, and holds action scenes which grab. There are also darker sides to some personalities, which adds triggers surrounding abuse and more.

Like the first book in this series, the tale constantly flips between current time and flashbacks. This was very confusing, especially in the first half of the read, and I found myself rereading several section. Everything flowed much better in the second half, which made it easy to sink into the story...and not put it down until the last page. Some of the flashbacks are noted as to the time, but others simply happen without notice. This is, sometimes, also noticeable by a change in the color tones, but not always. So, like book one, this still doesn't work for me.

Otherwise, this is a very grabbing read. The plot levels are intriguing and the characters carry the heart and problems to make the read one to get lost in and enjoy. If only it flowed a little bit better on the timeline end. Still, I'm looking forward to seeing where the next chapters head because I'm rooting for both ladies to figure things out and put those villains in their place. show less