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Megan (@midwestreading)

Book Review: A Court This Cruel and Lovely by Stacia Stark

Updated: Jul 22

Finished all the Romantasy series that everyone on your socials has read and recommended? And now you don’t know what to read next?


Allow me to introduce you to A COURT THIS CRUEL & LOVELY (Book 1 of the “Kingdom of Lies” series) by Stacia Stark - a Romantasy series that deserves WAY more hype!


There’s more to the fairytale then meets the eye. Always has been. We know it—and so does Stark.


As someone newer to the fantasy genre, I have noticed - and loved - that the backbone of these stories (and honestly the true source of conflict in them) is usually how those in power lie to the masses to control them. Or lie to themselves to justify inequity. Or rewrite history to the point where no one knows what’s true anymore.


Stark’s work tackles this important theme — and I think she does it better than most. You get the romance here, and definitely the spice, the “stay up ‘til 2AM world you don’t want to leave as a reader” - but she also showcases some of the darker/truer aspects of the fantasy genre.


This is fictional escapism at its finest. Prisca is one of my favorite fantasy FMCs so far. She’s brave, sassy, astoundingly loyal (but in a smart way) AND she’s consistently likable across the series. IYKYK.

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