Mallory's Reviews > Princess of Souls

I love fairy tale retellings and this one veered away from the traditional story a bit more than most but I liked that. It made this a unique story in its own rights. I haven’t read the other book set in this world, but I did think it was an interesting world. Selestra was born to be a witch but until her 18th birthday she is just her mother’s heir. They are the only magic left in the 6 isles and they are blood oathed at maturity to the king. The king who feasts on his peoples souls and lives out their potential lives making himself immoral. Selestra has spent most of her life locked in her tower not allowed much contact with anyone and only allowed the training the king wants to give her, but she has sought some of her own freedoms by sneaking out and training with a sword in secret, desperate to hold on to what freedoms she can. The king has a tournament of sorts every year, people can gamble their lives to survive death by using a prophecy from the witch and if they live two weeks they get a wish. If they live the month they take the king’s immortality from him. No one every tries beyond the wish stage. Enter Nox, the first petitioner that Selestra is to give a premonition to and nothing goes as planned. The two of them are enemies so it is the enemies to lovers trope, but they weren’t every super great enemies, more like snarky. All together this was an enjoyable book!