#Review - The Dawn and the Prince by Day Leitao #YA #Fantasy

Series: Kingdom of Curses and Shadows # 3
Format: E-Galley, 348 pages
Release Date: June 18, 2021
Publisher: Sparkly Wave
Source: Publisher
Genre: Young Adult / Fantasy

Darkness has taken over her land, and Zora has to find a solution before her world and the Shadow Kingdom merge once and for all—and before Griffin is lost to her forever. 

Joined by unlikely allies and facing enemies at every turn, she journeys to a dangerous island where dark secrets are kept, and nobody gets out alive.

Griffin is in enemy territory and has to play a dangerous game if he wants to stay alive and save the people he loves, even if it might mean losing them forever.

The Dawn and the Prince is the action packed, emotional finale in the series Kingdom of Curses and Shadows. Get ready for more adventure, romance, and strange magic.

The Dawn and the Prince is the third and final installment in author Day Leitao's Kingdom of Curses and Shadows trilogy. This book picks up right where The Curse and the Prince ends. As a summary: this story focuses on four key characters: Griffin, Zora, Riadne, and Larzen. Since are now 4 main characters, the author alternate's between the characters. Griffin is separated from Zora, and he finds himself in the most dangerous position yet; in another realm. Zora, with the help of some unlikely allies, Riadne's and Larzen, searches for a way to help Griffin and the kingdom, and her quest proves just as life-threatening as Griffin’s.

Griffin and Larzen are brothers along with Kiran who is the current king. Zora is from the Dark Valley which readers will finally learn more about its origins as well as a better understanding of Riadne's people the Solana, including meeting Aelle, and Dada, who are part of a ancient race who knew magic and cursed Griffin's family. Zora spends a lot of time blaming herself for everything that's happening and that's just ridiculous because there's no way anyone in this universe is strong enough to be responsible for everything that has happened going back centuries.

Riadne and Larzen are pretty much a twisted couple. She's got secrets, he tried to exploit Zora to do his bidding, she's got a powerful ability that she can control people not named Larzen. Riadne's cousin Lucas has fallen for Tris, the real Linaria princess, but another type of curse may cause the relationship to fail. Zora carries Griffin's blade after losing her own after finding the Cup said to be able to break Griffin's curse. Griffin is fighting the Shadow King who wants to unite Gravel and the Shadow World which he can then control.

It's a good thing Zora trained so hard to become an awesome fighter since the added protections to Griffin's blade will be needed once they reach Rock Island where nothing is as it seems. There is a welcome return of Mauro who is Zora's friend after he was eliminated from the games that she won. More truths are revealed throughout the novel. Trust is difficult to come by and to save the world, Zora, Griffin, Riadne, and Larzen must work together to overcome their differences. Their travels take them through dangerous territories, where they have to fight to survive and gather information, to which they need to figure out how to use it to save everyone.

Overall: A decent wrap-up to the trilogy. The banter between Riadne and Larzen in this book is hilarious and you never know which way they are going to end up. Zora and Griffin's love for each other has grown solid, and the ending does just enough for me to give this a decent rating. 

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#Review - The Curse and the Prince by Day Leitao #YA #Fantasy

Series: Kingdom of Curses and Shadows #2
Format: Kindle, 312 pages
Release Date: January 14, 2021
Publisher: Sparkly Wave
Source: Kindle Unlimited
Genre: Young Adult / Fantasy

A troubled prince. 
A deadly curse. 
A mysterious cup.
And the power to save or doom the kingdom.  

Of course things didn’t go as planned at the Royal Games. When do things go as planned? 

Now Zora is on the run, and has to join a disgraced prince in order to retrieve a powerful magical artifact that might undo her valley’s curse. For the first time in her life, she has real hope for her people.  

Problem is, for the second time in her life, she’s falling for someone she shouldn’t. Finding a hidden object is hard enough on its own, she could do without the heart palpitations and lack of air. And she could certainly focus better without the constant memory of his lips on hers, his arms around her… Gaah! See? How can she avoid pursuers and decipher enigmatic writings when her brain has been turned to mush? Painful, hopeless mush. 

But the real trouble is that there’s more than one curse in the kingdom. And not enough objects or time to get rid of them all.  

The Curse and the Prince is the second installment in author Day Leitao's Kingdom of Curses and Shadows. This story revolves around Zora, Larzen, Griffin, and Riadne. As the story begins, Zora and Griffin, sentenced to death for treason by a jaded King Kiran, journey to find the blood cup in the hopes of breaking curses that plague Griffin and the Dark Valley. Their first stop just happens to be the Dark Valley where this story began. With Zora being the alleged champion since she jumped in front of Griffin and saved him, his hopes and future no lay within her hands.

The Dark Valley is home to shadow creatures. People in the village leave their lights on, they don't use any covers, skirts, or even tables because it creates shadows, and the creatures can be born in these shadows. (4) different types of shadows exist: Humans with gray skin, claws, and sharp teeth; 4 legged wolves that are fast and dangerous; spiders the size of an apple with sharp pincers and deadly poison; and balls which are round and small like a spider or large as a human. Zora's arrival isn't exactly a pleasant one. 

After all, she cheated her way into the Royal Games by taking the place of her former ex who has a very long memory. It is said that a cursed son with be the undoing of the Kingdom. Will that be Griffin? What's worse for Griffin is that there is also a magical contract that says only the winner of the Games can find the Blood Cup. As Zora and Griffin search for the cup, Larzen and Riadne remain behind and face their own obstacles. 

We are also introduced to a new character in Tris who has been caged in a mountain by Riadne's brother Lukas who you will eventually meet in this story. Riadne has what you might call siren capabilities. Her voice sways people into doing her bidding. Except for Kiran who seems to be immune. For that matter. Larzen doesn't allow himself to get caught up in her web and seems to put Riadne's plans of getting rid of all three brothers on hold. We learn some of the history and legends behind the curse on Zora's beloved Dark Valley and Griffin's curse.  

One of the more twisted aspects of this story is that Larzen goes from the evil creep who wanted to use Zora to do his bidding, to almost a hero of a sort. Tris and Lukas are introduced and really don't play a very large part in the story. I think there should have been more story in Dark Valley, but there's no crying in reviewing. Especially when there's a cliffhanger ending that seems to be a good and bad thing for Zora and the world itself.  Zora is still sassy and a powerful heroine who can fight without a man doing the fighting for her. 

I mean, yes, she's had years training with a sword in order to survive, so why do people take her for granted? She's small and female. Zora, Griffin, Larzen, and Riadne all go through so much throughout the novel, and it’s interesting to see their characters grow and change.

Note to readers: You can thank Day for putting a much needed summary in the back of the book. 

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#Review - The Cup and The Prince by Day Leitao #YALit #Fantasy

Series: Kingdom of Curses & Shadows # 1
Format: Hardcover, 256 pages
Release Date: 256 pages
Publisher: Sparkly Wave
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Genre: Young Adult / Fantasy

One prince wants her out.
Another wants her as a pawn.
Someone wants her dead.

Zora wants to win the cup and tell them all to screw themselves.

Yes, 17-year-old Zora cheated her way into the Royal Games, but it was for a very good reason. Her ex-boyfriend thought she couldn't attain glory on her own. Just because she was a girl. And he was the real cheater. So she took his place.

Now she's competing for the legendary Blood Cup, representing the Dark Valley. It's her chance to prove her worth and bring glory for her people. If she wins, of course.

But winning is far from easy. The younger prince thinks she's a fragile damsel who doesn't belong in the competition. Determined to eliminate her at all costs, he's stacking the challenges against her. Zora hates him, hates him, hates him, and will do anything to prove him wrong.

The older prince is helping her, but the cost is getting Zora entangled in dangerous flirting games. Flirting, the last thing she wanted.

And then there's someone trying to kill her.

"Fail to measure your competition, and you'll soon be measuring your failures." 

 

The Cup and The Prince is the first installment in author Day Leitao's Kingdom of Curses and Shadows. 17-year old Zora Sunborn lives in a place called Dark Valley where dark magic created strange creatures. People in her village always have lights on, they don't use any covers, skirts, or even tables because it creates shadows, and the creatures can be born in these shadows. Zora teaches self-defense techniques to younger students to protect themselves against the shadowy creatures that come in (4) different types: Humans with gray skin, claws, and sharp teeth; 4 legged wolves that are fast and dangerous; spiders the size of an apple with sharp pincers and deadly poison; and balls which are round and small like a spider or large as a human. They can literally explode like a bomb. 

Dark Valley is a literal prison, a punishment for their descendants who created the shadow creatures from dark magic. After Zora’s boyfriend Seth cheats on her and demeans her worth for being a girl, she decides to pay him back by stealing his invitation, ring, and golden rod which gives her entry into a champion’s only royal games. It's a competition that is held every 3 years, but this year’s competition will be a bit different. With Zora being the only female champion in history, the stakes get even higher when Prince Griffin decides the winner will get the Blood Cup. The Blood Cup demands a sacrifice. 

To win the competition, you must also kill a Lion and wade through all the politics that comes with the competition including finding a possible partner for the future. Zora is underestimated from the start because she’s short and a female. Zora's competition comes in the form of Prince Griffin who really wants to win the cup as readers will soon discover. There’s an assassin who apparently wants her dead, and Prince Larzen who she is forced to strike a bargain with after he uncovers her lies. She becomes immersed in court politics and later catches the eye of King Kiran, who, of course, wants something from her.

To win the competition, she must fight her way through a series of challenges, as well as the machinations of two princes, a King, and a third party with an agenda. There are many shady characters in this story. I honestly did not know who the good ones were and who the bad ones until the ending when Zora discovers that for herself. There’s another character who readers should pay close attention to. Her name is Alegra and she may be the most important character outside of Zora herself. In fact, the cliffhanger ending taunts you of things to come and what danger she brings to everyone, including Zora.

This will be a quick turn around since the sequel, The Curse and the Prince, comes out in January.

 

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