ARC Review: The Dawn and the Prince by Day Leitao

About the Book:

Title: The Dawn and the Prince

Author: Day Leitao

Series: Kingdom of Curses and Shadows #3

Publication Date: June 18, 2021

Publisher: Sparkly Wave

Synopsis: 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 secretes are kept, from where nobody gets out alive.

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

The Dawn and the Prince is the action packed, emotional finale to the series Kingdom of Curses and Shadows. Get ready for adventure, romance, creepy magic, and girls kicking ass.

LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon

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My Review:

The third book in the Kingdom of Curses and Shadows, The Dawn and the Prince is a wild, adventurous ride filled with danger, tons of action, and many moving parts. The story picks up where The Curse and the Prince left off. Griffin is separated from Zora, and he finds himself in the most dangerous position yet. Zora, with the help of some unlikely allies, searches for a way to help Griffin and the kingdom, and her quest proves just as life-threatening as Griffin’s.

The story is told from multiple perspectives, which works well in this story. A lot is going on, and reading things from different points of view offers a clarity that you probably wouldn’t get with only one perspective. Since different characters’ paths are going in different directions, the varied points of view give a well-rounded view of what’s happening with each of them at the same time, and their experiences are all dangerous and intriguing!

Not all warriors yielded swords.

The major characters in the story continue to grow and change. Zora, Griffin, Riadne, and Larzen have all been through so much, and they continue to face insurmountable obstacles. I like how they’ve all become more confident in themselves and each other. They all show such bravery throughout the story and prove that there are many different ways to show one’s strength and heroism. Each character is well-developed and layered, and I enjoyed their individual and collective stories.

In the last book, the focus was on trust, and it continues to be a focus in this book. Zora has tentative allies, whom she doesn’t fully trust, and her allies don’t trust each other. Griffin is on his own with no one to trust. This all makes for some tense situations. However, another focus of the story is on hope – the hope of reuniting, the hope of a better future, the hope of finding keys to the past, the hope of survival, and the hope of a better future. Each character goes through extreme internal and external conflicts, and they cling to hope to see them through. I like that, even in the darkest moments, the main characters never give up on themselves or each other. However, they don’t rely solely on hope. These characters take action!

Hope. Hope was part of the fuel that kept her fire, and she had to keep it burning.

There is no shortage of excitement and suspense in this story! It is so intense, and there are moments when I wasn’t sure who would make it out alive. Zora, Griffin, Riadne, and Larzen face shadow creatures, villainous enemies, curses, and other deadly threats, and there is never a dull moment!

Another strength of the story is the immersive setting. The world-building in this series is fantastic and takes the reader on an amazing journey. Each place in the characters’ journey is unique to the others and is described in a way that is easy to visualize. Leitao created a vivid and original world that I found fascinating. I couldn’t wait to see what happened in each new place the characters went to and was excited when they returned to some of the places they traveled to in past books.

As this is the third book in the series, I would recommend reading the first two. It is not a standalone. It is a great series for readers who like YA fantasy with tons of action, well-developed characters, and two love stories! I’m so thankful to NetGalley and Day Leitao for a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

Rating:

Favorite Lines:

Storms are just clouds. The wind soon carries them away.

What was pointless hope but a lie, a false promise?

How could she have told herself she hoped that one day things would be different when she did nothing to change anything? That was the problem with abstract, distant hope, hope without a plan, without action.