The Promised Prince (Desolation, #2) by Kortney Keisel
Series: Desolation #2
Published by Amazon.com Services LLC on January 12, 2021
Genres: Dystopian, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 476

I received this book for free from Author in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Source: Author
Goodreads

He's promised to another. She's promised to forget him.

Eighteen-year-old Renna Degray is hopeful about love and her future after a chance encounter with a handsome stranger. Until she discovers who the mysterious man is—the Prince of Albion, betrothed to Renna’s stepsister. Now Renna must try to keep her feelings for the prince in check. But he's not making it easy. The prince is charming, funny, and impossible not to fall for.
Trev has no room for mistakes. He must marry the princess of New Hope and secure the marriage alliance along with his future as king. The safety of his kingdom depends on it. Duty and honor never bothered Trev before, but love has a way of changing everything.
In this post-Desolation world, the Council of Essentials controls everything, including the prince. Is love more than a negotiation?
Is love essential?

My Review

The first two books of the year have been from new authors for me. I hadn’t heard of Kortney Keisel before I cam across her book in a Facebook group I am in, but that is understandable because The Promised Prince is her debut novel. I did receive The Promised Prince for free for review, however, all thoughts are completely my own and not influenced in anyway.

I am not a typical romance reader, matter of fact I tend to stay away from this genre but there were two things that caught my attention in regards to this book. The first being the cover. It is absolutely gorgeous! It definitely draws your attention asking to be picked up. The second thing was this was also categorised as a dystopia novel and I absolutely love dystopian novels. It is one of my favourite genres. So with those two things in mind I couldn’t resist diving into the book.

This book not only has some swoon worth romance but it is also funny, mysterious and absolutely breathtaking. I finished this book in one day as I absolutely couldn’t get enough.

The Promised Prince takes place in a post-desolation North America. It is broken up into 7 kingdoms. These kingdoms are ruled by a King and Queen but there is a twist. These Kingdoms are democracies. The Kings/Queens are elected to their positions and serve 30 year terms.

In addition there is a council of Essentials, which is comprised of the rulers. This council meets once a year to discuss and decide what is essential for the population. Although something might be essential for the ruling class but it could be unessential for the farmers and such. There is a true divided between the rich and poor and it is not only talked about but it can be felt throughout the book.

Then there was the palace. It was enormous, with exquisite architecture that practically screamed unessential. Towers and gables jutted out of the roof across the entire building. The exterior was covered in balconies and windows of all sizes, facing every direction. Three grand stone staircases led up to the palace entrance, a massive archway surrounding two ornately carved wooden doors.”

The idea of the post desolation North America couples with the Council of Essentials and a combination, monarchy/democracy is truly interesting and I think could be expanded on in other books. I certainly would love to learn more about the different kingdoms and this world in general.

The characters in The Promised Prince are where the strength lies in this story. They are well developed, relatable, and easy to get to know and to get behind.

First up we have Renna, our main female lead. I absolutely adored her. She has been thrust into a very different situation than she ever thought she would be in but she remains her true self. She is funny, adventurous and down to earth. She is also hopeful, kind and sweet.

Next up we have Trev, our main male lead. Even though he is from the ruling class I felt like he was still very down to earth. Trev is the Prince of one of the Kingdoms and he is up for election to become the next king of Albion. There have been plans made for him and he has a duty to his people. He has this constant internal battle that felt so real. He is funny, honourable, caring and kind (most of the time.) He simply was trying to find his way.

Seran, Renna’s step sister and the princess of New Hope. She is intended to marry Trev. While she is planning on upholding her duty you can tell she would like to choose her on path. She is the perfect model of a princess, prim and proper, with a great presence but behind this there is so much more.

Drake, the head of Trev’s guard and his best friend. He was a great character. He really tried to help Trev not only to find his way or his path but to be a better person, to help him be elected king and he stood by him even though he didn’t always agree with what Trev was doing at the time. This made it easy to imagine a true and genuine friendship between the two.

Now we have to talk about the romance aspect of this book because that is a huge part of the plot.

Like I said I’m not a huge romance fan. I like some here and there but overall I tend to feel that romances in books, unless its a series that they are too quick, to instantaneous to be real. However, I am pleasantly surprised that is not how I felt after reading The Promised Prince. While yes the romance was quick it didn’t feel forced or instantaneous. It felt real. There was a friendship and a depth to their relationship unlike I have seen before. I think this is why it seemed so real to me. The hilarious jokes and the friendly banter between Renna and Trev took their relationship to a whole new level.

I’ve seen enough of you to know that you radiate happiness.

Of course, there is a love triangle because Trev and Seran have a planned arranged marriage, one that would benefit both of their kingdoms.

The twists and turns at the end of the book had me on the edge of my seat.

The Promised Prince was an amazing read. The consistency of the pacing throughout the book had me constantly wanting to turn the pages. The dystopian world had intrigue depth, but yet felt real at the same time. The characters draw you in even more. This book is definitely worth the read.

But the only way to find out the answers to this question will be for you to grab this book and dig in.

Will donor and duty win or will love prevail?