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Genre: Fantasy Fairy Tale Retelling | Age: Young Adult (13+) | Buy: Amazon | ⭐ See star rating

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Lehua always believed that people despised her, so when Ikaika, the king of Hilo, helps her escape her forest prison, she doesn’t believe that he could possibly like her for who she really is.

Personal Review:

I was really hoping to love this book, especially since the author has written so many of this type of story. But, sadly, it wasn’t as….captivating?…as I was hoping for.

I LOVED the Hawaiian culture and the descriptions of the landscape. Those were the main reasons I picked up the book in the first place. Hawaiian words are so beautiful and the nature that was a huge part of the book was very cool. I also liked how Lehua’s powers involved not controlling the plants, but speaking to them and asking them for help. That was a sweet element.

However, the characters were a little simple and some of the book was extremely repetitive. Lehua’s internal dialogue was starting to get really annoying, and her transformation moment was weird and unconvincing. I also am not a fan of shape-shifting, and that was an important aspect of the book. The romance moved a little fast as well. I didn’t completely believe how quickly Ikaika fell in love with Lehua and Lehua’s back-and-forth about Ikaika was so exasperating I really just wanted her to run away so I wouldn’t have to read her thoughts about him anymore.

The Rapunzel undertones were cute and I enjoyed that, as well as the message of speaking love instead of hate to yourself. So, as a light, quick, cute palette-cleanser it was okay, and I might read one once in a while. But it’s not something I would recommend for depth of character and plot.

Happy reading!

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