This story jumped right into action in the first chapter, with MJ trying to escape capture by insurgents from the fairy realm. Since she has been living in the human world, we are able to experience the wonder of Biringan through MJ's eyes. She only has a matter of weeks to prepare for her coronation, so I enjoyed watching MJ transition from being a normal high school student to the leader of an island nation. This book has a sense of mystery to it, as MJ suspects that her father was actually murdered. It kept me wondering who MJ could and couldn't trust. There's also a bit of romance weaved in, although it's less than I thought there might be. The Encanto's Daughter is the first book in a duology, so I thought it did a good job resolving the issues presented in this book, while leaving a bit of a cliffhanger in the Epilogue to build anticipation for the next book. I enjoyed reading this book and look forward to the story continuing.

Thank you to Penguin Teen and BookishFirst for the free ARC copy of The Encanto's Daughter! All opinions expressed in my review are completely my own. ( )

Based on the premise, this book sounded very exciting and unique to me. The potential for the promised world building made me want to read this gorgeous book. However, this book just fell flat for me and here's why:

1) I was expecting a young adult book based on the point of view character's age, but as I was reading I mistakenly thought I was reading middle grade

2) The plot was everywhere and no where simultaneously; it started off as a fantasy thriller, then moved to a royal school story, then romance, then a murder mystery, and felt more of a surface tale in which the magical system aspects were assumed and events happened conveniently

3) I felt the romance was not authentic and too insta-love with no chemistry

4) MJ needed to find her talent to become queen, but never did anything to try to find it and when the last seconds were ticking away, she just happened to find her talent just in time

5) The murder mystery didn't have enough red herrings/false leads

6) The characters lacked depth and all felt like cardboard cutouts, giving me nothing about them to care about and cheer them on

Overall, middle grade readers who enjoy fantasy may like this book. The ending leaves a small cliff hanger telling me there will be a sequel and makes me curious what feature book two will focus on--the romance, the mystery? ( )

This book was frustrating because it doesn’t seem to know what it is; it starts with a thriller vibe then gives us a school tale briefly before pivoting to a murder mystery. There’s also a romance happening; it’s not convincing though. Normally I love de la Cruz’s work but I didn’t enjoy this, except for this bit near the end where I laughed out loud at how absurd events became.

Many thanks to Penguin Random House who sent me an ARC to review. ( )

Although the cover isn't one I am drawn to, I love latin reads and I am in a YA competition at work for the library and this book had to go on my list. There are so many princesses in my family and even queens so this book is on brand. Imagine actually being a princess and hesitating claiming your rightful place. My prima steph whose real name is Reina would never. She would def be ready to take her place then boss everyone round like the Capricorn she is lol.

This story also reminds me a bit of Zues and Hercules cept the girly latina version since she is half human and the counsel is like look you are no god so scram. Then just like hercules she must decide if she can have both love and the crown since some knight and shining armor egnites her fancy as she is trying to save Beringan. Will she choose the crown or love? Of course I am rooting for her to have both and make her knight a king ( )

I received an ARC of this book for free from the publisher for promotional purposes.

I was so excited to read this because it is based on Filipino mythology. I’m Filipino and this is the first book I’ve seen that draws from Filipino mythology. It did not disappoint.

The incorporation of Filipino mythology and culture were wonderfully done. There’s no denying the Filipino influence. There are even mentions of various Filipino foods (like pancit and empanadas) and Filipino clothes (like Barong Tagalog and Maria Clara dresses). I just loved seeing all the Filipino representation! I’m so glad Melissa de la Cruz decided to use her heritage as inspiration.

I loved the supporting characters. MJ’s friend Nix was super cool and such a great friend to her. MJ’s love interest, Sir Lucas, was very dashing. It’s no surprise she fell for him.

As for the story, I found it to be exciting and intriguing. There’s mystery, adventure, politics, magic, and of course some romance. I was never bored and I couldn’t wait to see how it all ended. It definitely kept me guessing until the end.

Overall, I really enjoyed this one and am curious to see what’s to come in the sequel (this is the first in a duet). If you’re a fan of Melissa de la Cruz’s books, you’ll like this one! ( )