Review Detail

Well, CJ has done it again. I fell in love with CJ's writing when I stumbled upon The Shadow Queen and this book just proves it more. From the description of the book, I honestly thought this was going to be something completely different. Personally, I thought this was going to be more of a vigilante book but it was absolutely none of that. Her sneaking out at night is such a small, small portion of the book. And honestly, I'm so glad for it. The plot of this book is so much better than I would have imagined if this was more of a vigilante story. Nothing about this book was slow and when there was no plotting or assassination attempts, my attention was still captured. The ending is just plain rude because I don't have book 2 in front of me. While I did guess 2 of the 3 twists in the end, I still wasn't emotionally prepared for this to be it and have to wait for the next one.

One of my favorite aspects of this book was how the relationship between Charis and Tal worked. Charis is a princess in the middle of a war. And even if she wasn't a princess in the middle of war, her status does mean a political marriage rather than one for love. It is common for that to happen and a lot of fantasy books don't really follow this ideal. While obviously I would rather have Charis marry for love than for political reasons, her choices make sense. And then the reaction of Tal is understandable as well. Of course Tal is going to be upset but he understands her position. This is clearly not a spoiler because OBVIOUSLY Charis and Tal are going to fall in love and pleaseeeee tell me who doesn't love a good bodyguard/royalty story.

Let's talk about Charis. I LOVE HER. Honestly, with the title of Vicious Princess I was assuming she was going to be this horrendous character that I didn't enjoy because of how "vicious" she was. But let's be real, Charis is such a sweet, caring person but knows when to get that sword in her spine straight. I love this about her because she is never dislikeable. She does what she needs for her kingdom, as a good princess would, and follows what her mother teaches her. In the middle of war, she can't appear weak in front of her enemies which makes sense. But when she's in private, her real self shows and it is clear how much she cares for those around her. I loved her bravery, confidence, and compassion.

Overall, Rise of the Vicious Princess by CJ Redwine was so good, but did we expect anything less from her? I was hooked from beginning to end. The politics in this world were intriguing as Charis tried to figure out everything that was going on while trying to end the war. While I figured out two of the three ending surprises, I still wasn't ready for the book to be over and have to wait for the next one. I absolutely adored Charis and her relationships with everyone, obviously Tal. Her character was so much more than I was expecting and I am here for it. And her. Charis forever.