Review Wednesday: The Princess Trials by Cordelia Castel

Title: The Princess Trials (The Princess Trials #1)

Author: Cordelia Castel
1st Date of Publication: May 2, 2020

ISBN:  9798642502532
# of Pages: 202

Genre: Young Adult Dystopian Society

Age Rating: 13+

Buy it on Amazon

Book Description:
Thirty young women. A handsome prince. A battle to the death.

Water is scarce. Deserts have taken over the land. Nuclear war has devastated humanity. Humans live in walled super cities to keep out the irradiated. The land that was formerly known as America is divided into kingdoms ruled by royal elites.

Born into the lowest Echelon of the Kingdom of Phangloria, sixteen-year-old Zea Calico faces a life of hunger, thirst, and toil. The only way out of this drudgery is revolution, and Zea is desperate to help the cause.

When the palace calls for candidates to compete to marry Prince Kevon, Zea joins the Princess Trials to search the palace for weaknesses.

The trials should be a fairytale of sumptuous meals, ballgowns, and romance, but one misplaced word causes Zea to attract the Prince's attention. When Zea uncovers the man beneath Prince Kevon's public facade, she is at risk of falling in love and losing sight of her mission.

But the televised beauty pageant turns deadly, and Zea must fight for survival.

Setting: Phangloria
Point of View: 1st person- Zea Calico

Goodreads Rating: 3.43

My Rating: 3.25

Part of the Book that Caught My Attention: Both

View on the Cover: This must be America still because she has red hair, but she's beautiful.
View on Title: After the trilogy has ended, it makes sense that the novellas that could follow would show how happy the start of America and Maxon's lives are together.

Pros:

• The concept of the novel/series is really interesting. It is basically a twist of The Selection and The Hunger Games. I thought the execution of this was done well enough.
• The characters in the novel were an interesting mix and was a perfect mix of The Hunger Games and The Selection
• Zea Calico reminds me more of a Katniss Everdeen as she is a rebel heart but her motivations are similar to America Singer. Zea is a bit on the naive side and is fueled by both anger and a desire for change.
• Ryce Wintergreen reminds me very much of Gale Hawthorne. He's a born leader and encourages Zea to fight for what she believes in. He does come off to be a little manipulative, and I wish there was more characterization on him.
• Prince Kevon doesn't remind me too much of the characters from The Hunger Games and The Selection. The closest association would be Prince Maxon simply because he seems to be taking this whole Princess Trials thing seriously as he tries to find his wife and future queen. I am looking forward to more of his characterization in the upcoming books.
• The cliff hanger makes me want to keep reading on despite some of the struggles of staying with the book in the middle of it.

Cons:

• This book felt a little bit difficult to stay focused on. It got lost mid-way through and struggled to get back into the story.
• Some of the plot was a little bit all over the place so it was sometimes hard to keep track of what is going on.

Critics' Reviews:

“This book was fast paced and I couldn’t put it down. I loved the story. I think the characters are well written and there is a good balance to the writing. I was really looking forward to reading the book and it did not disappoint." —Amazon Review

Cordelia K. Castel's Website:

http://www.cordeliakcastel.com

 

Other Recommendations:
The Jewel by Amy Ewing

The Selection by Kiera Cass
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins