Review: A Kingdom of Magic and Rain

I signed up for an ARC of A Kingdom of Magic and Rain by VI Davis for the magical princess storyline and the beautiful artwork on the cover. This book is a cozy fantasy romance. It does contain spice, so it's not for everyone. While most princess stories I read are fairy tale retellings, this book follows many of the popular tropes in the YA market without adapting a known story. The closest thing I can compare it to is The Princess Knight by Cait Jacobs, which was inspired by Legally Blonde. Both stories contain a princess protagonist trying to prove her worth after a breakup and finding love in unexpected places.


Princess Emelin is devoted to protecting her kingdom from the powerful fae, whose magic has been draining her kingdom for years. After being scorned by a former lover, she is determined to become a better mage and use her powers to restore the land. She goes to train with Lord Adrian Gray and discovers that he possesses not only the ability to unlock her magic potential, but also her heart. When she learns that he isn't quite what he appears, she wonders if she may have given away too much of herself too soon.

My favorite thing about this book is the worldbuilding. It takes place in a detailed fantasy world with a rich history of conflict between the humans and the fae. The rules of magic are explained well. Emelin's ability as a human to withstand an ancient magic that harms those with fae blood gives her a unique edge that allows her to benefit from her race as a mortal. The story also establishes common lore among YA romantasy books, such as fated mates and disguise glamor magic.

While the love story worked in places, there were times when either the romance or the conflict felt forced. Spice was used as a shortcut to rush the love story in certain places. Then Emelin suddenly began to question her feelings toward Adrian after their political arrangement, even though it had already been established that they cared for each other. There was also an unnecessary romantic rival who clearly never stood a chance against the main couple.

Overall, readers looking for a cozy romantasy with some spice will get exactly what they are expecting from A Kingdom of Magic and Rain. It incorporates many of the popular paranormal romantasy tropes, including conflict between the humans and fae, marriage of convenience, and paranormal romance. It will likely appeal to fans of The Princess Knight and Legally Blonde by offering a heroine who must find herself before she can love again.
I have always dreamed of being a writer and creating the next great fairy tale princess heroine. Princesses inspire us to be our best selves. While you're here, feel free to follow my page on Facebook, subscribe to my YouTube channel, and check out my books. I'm also on Instagram and Twitter.

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