Book: A Stolen Kiss (Stolen Royals #1) by Kelsey Keating

 ★★★½ /★★★★★

Before she could protest, he leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers in a gentle caress. As he pulled away, he whispered here release. "Maria, I set you free."

What made me read A Stolen Kiss:
1. The cover. Who wouldn't fall for a cover like this? Really?
2. I always ALWAYS love fairy tales (and retelling)!
3. The reviews are mostly positive.
4. Magic.

It's the first book of the Stolen Royals series by Kelsey Keating and I had high expectations when I first started reading it. It's lighthearted and magical and it somehow reminded me of the series Once Upon A Time where they also retell the stories of fairy tales. The premise was good and it started out right but as the story continued, I found it quite juvenile and the pacing slow. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it and the characters were lovely but sometimes they were shallow and I didn't get enough emotion from them. That, being said, it was still a fun read filled with magic, likeable characters and an exciting adventure where they meet magical creatures and new friends. And the plot twists, oh, the plot twists!

It tells the story of Maria, Princess of Ophea, who was cursed by a sorceress named Gilda when she was young. Her curse: she turns into a swan by sun down (or so she says) and it somehow forbids her on saying yes to the proposal of her betrothed Prince Humphrey. Seeing it's a problem because Maria must marry Humphrey, Sarah, a lady's maid to Maria, suggests they seek help from Derric, her brother, who knows something about magic. Derric tells them that the only way to remove the curse is to find the sorceress who casted it and make her undo the curse. And so begin the lies, the friendship, the feelings and their adventure to find Gilda so Maria can marry Humphrey though they don't really love each other.

Stories with magic always appeal to me because I enjoy reading about spells, curses, flying carpets, invisible cloaks, enchanted forests, magical creatures and of course sorcerer/sorceress. Because how exciting are those?! Anyway, this book will entertain you if you love fairy tales like me.

"I can't be king. I can't rule for you. You can't keep hiding from your responsibilities. You're strong enough to be the queen of Ophea without any help."

"Then don't be king. Come back and just be mine." she hated how desperate she sounded, but she couldn't let him go.

*I received a copy of this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.