Book Review: A Court This Cruel & Lovely (Kingdom of Lies, Book One) by Stacia Stark

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Book: A Court This Cruel & Lovely (Kingdom of Lies Book One) by Stacia Stark

Genre: Fantasy Romance, Romantasy

Publisher: Bingeable Books LLC

This is a spoiler-free review. It does contain a short summary and mentions the characters’ relationship dynamics for context. 

I debated for about a week whether I was going to review this book at all. I ultimately decided that authentic reviews are integral to this project, even if that means giving time and space to a book that I didn’t find to be captivating or memorable. I think reviewing books honestly and explaining what didn’t work can be beneficial to critical readers and aspiring writers.

Upon reflection, A Court This Cruel and Lovely taught me a few things about reading and reviewing that I think are worth noting:

First, reviewing platforms and social media should not be the single determining factor when curating a TBR list. A book could have 60,000 reviews on Goodreads with a 4-star average, and it could still fall flat for you. The opposite is true as well. A book with a 2-star average could end up being a 5-star read for you. The point is that reviews are something to keep in the back of your mind if you are looking to read critically or you’re trying to become a better writer, but that’s about it. If the premise of a book is interesting to you, you should read that book regardless of what is popular or not. 

Second, when you read a lot of the same genre, your standards become really high within that specific genre. This is where I’m at with fantasy, so I find myself noticing a lot more in terms of mechanics than I ever did. It now takes a lot to grab my attention in a book. On the flip side, if a person has never read fantasy before, they might not be as in tune with the elements that are vital to the genre. Without being hyperfocused on those details, it may be a lot of fun to read a magical story even if it is lacking technically in some way. So with that said, my review below is a critical approach to the first book in The Kingdom of Lies series, and not a review that reflects reading for pure entertainment.

Last, the timing of when you decide to read a book matters. I read A Court This Cruel & Lovely after reading two absolute hits in the Romantasy category. It already was going to be tough to live up to those books. Had I read this after coming off of reading a nonfiction book about squirrels or some really depressing literary fiction novel, I might have felt differently about this. I suppose we’ll never know, but I can say that I am going to be more intentional about my reading lineup in the future. So, let’s get into the review.

Summary:

A Court This Cruel & Lovely is the first book in the fantasy romance series, Kingdom of Lies, by Stacia Stark. The story takes place in a world where citizens give up their magic to the gods in infancy. After a person has survived 25 years, the gods return the individual’s abilities back to them during a gifting ceremony. The caveat is that if someone is found to have hoarded their magic from the gods during the 25-year period, they are taken by the King’s Assessor for punishment. 

The main female character, Priscia, and her two friends have been caught keeping their magic hidden from the gods. Priscia escapes the assessor while her friends are taken to the palace. While in hiding, she sets out on a journey to attempt to rescue her friends. Along the way, she meets a group of mercenaries, including the brooding, main male character, Lorian. Priscia and the mercenaries find that they need something from each other to survive, and they become unlikely allies in their journey to the palace.

World-Building and Plot:

I had extremely high hopes for this book. Kingdom of Lies is rated incredibly high for a Romantasy series on the reviewing platforms, and the author has a fairly large reader fanbase. This book also came to me as a special edition from Fabled Co, so I figured the story was well-vetted to warrant a book box special edition. 

So, what exactly went wrong here? 

It took me about 40% into this book to even begin to get invested, and that was short-lived. I finished the book, and I ultimately decided I would not be moving forward with the collection. To be fair, all of the ingredients of a great fantasy series are present here, they just weren’t put together in a way that made me want to devour this story. 

The genre of fantasy hinges on world-building. Stark tells us we are in a fantasy world, but doesn’t really ever develop it. So we’re told to transport to this mythical place, but given no vehicle to get there. She tosses us the keys, but where the heck is the car? I cannot speculate whether the world is further developed in the other books in the series; however, I think it is really important for the reader to buy into the immersive experience early on so they actually want to read the next book. Yes, there was a cliffhanger, but if readers don’t develop enough of a connection to the characters and story in book one, they don’t tend to care what happens next regardless of how big the cliffhanger is. 

In terms of plot, I felt like everything was happening and nothing was happening at the same time. The pacing felt off to me. There were long stretches of repetition and a few random, quick curveballs sprinkled in. There was an imbalance of surprising twists versus substantial conflict happening in the plot, and I found it to be a very erratic approach to moving things forward. 

Characters and Romantic Tropes:

I’m pretty forgiving when it comes to Romantasy on the whole. If a book has both good world-building and romance, then that is excellent. However, even if you have one of those two things done right, I’ll probably be satisfied. This is where the series lost me, because I didn’t find either element to be well-executed. 

The relationship between Priscia and Lorian is lacking depth and vulnerability without any context as to why that might be the case. These two have a physical relationship, but the connection is non-existent. There is no real romantic tension–there is just lots of contempt. The romance continuously goes from zero to sixty, and it feels abrupt and unfulfilling. I don’t even think I would consider this book to have an enemies-to-lovers trope, because where is the love? 

We need some backstory to understand why Lorian acts the way he does around Priscia, but we didn’t get it, so he just comes off as insufferable. Not to mention Lorian blows right past that murky line of being “morally gray”, and he just comes across as toxic and possessive. Readers need to see some indication that a lead character has the potential to become vulnerable and give us a satisfying arc, or they will lose interest quickly. 

Priscia as a female main character was unremarkable. Main characters need to be polarizing. I know that is a bold statement, but if you don’t have moments where you both love and loathe the main character in a book, then that character is not written with enough internal and external conflict to have an epic arc. I give Priscia credit for playing savior to her friends, but in my opinion the stakes weren’t high enough for her to be memorable. A lot of the things she accomplishes are either through luck or lineage without a lot of creative problem-solving. 

One thing I did like about A Court This Cruel & Lovely were the mercenaries and the found family trope. It was somewhat reminiscent of Snow White hanging out with her friends in the woods for half of the book. That was a nice, nostalgic feeling. Unfortunately, Stark never expands much on the mercenaries, and the reader doesn’t get the chance to really connect to these supporting characters enough to care long-term. I think there was a lot of potential here to create an unforgettable cast, but it wasn’t well-realized.

Overview:

Overall, I would give A Court This Cruel & Lovely a 2-star rating. As I mentioned, there was a lot of promise in the concept of this story, but also missed opportunity in the way it was completed. It is rare for me to discontinue a series after one book; however, I just don’t see myself reading any further. With that said, this series received a lot of praise on reviewing platforms, and if you do have the time to read it, you may find that you have an entirely different take on it. This is also a book fantasy writers may want to read to better understand why certain writing styles or techniques work or don’t work within the genre.

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