I really enjoyed this story and especially as we got to see more of Rahul who I loved in Of Curses and Kisses. This story is a Princess (Caterina) and the frog (Rahul) retelling and it was so wonderful to see a new retelling. One of the things I loved was that we get to make up our own minds about whether there is any magic or not. Is the hair gel truly magical or does simply implying it is magical give Rahul that confidence boost to become more socially adept?

The story may seem as though it is a fluffy romance also deals with family relationships and how living up to your parents expectations can affect someone and what can happen if the parent rejects us. It also deals with friendships and how having real deep friendships make a big difference in our lives. People who we can truly be ourselves around and not have to put on a front to protect ourselves.

I enjoyed learning more about Caterina who at first seems like your typical queen bee but we learn there is more to her and she struggles just like everyone else. She has no real friends because she keeps everyone at arms length because of how her father raised her. I liked seeing her change over the story and realise she can let people in to have a more meaningful relationship.

Rahul is socially awkward often not realising that he should not have said something until it’s too late but he transforms with the hair gel and becomes more like the boys he sees around him. Charming and funny and able to understand social ques but does that make him a better person? Is he changing too much of himself to fit in and does that make him better? These are all things he learns throughout the story which was great to see.

I liked seeing Caterina and Rahul together, they were cute and brought out the best in each other. The plot twist was interesting to see too although I can’t say much without spoilers! But it will be interesting to see what happens with that in the next book. We also get to see more of Jaya and Grey which I loved seeing as I really loved their story so it was great to see them being as cute as ever. I also loved how despite Rahul not having the best relationship with his friends in this book they came through for him and helped him when he had no one else to turn to.

This was a fun, cute read and I am looking forward to seeing what the next book will be about!

I don’t know why, I just can’t seem to properly get into the world of the rich students of St. Rosetta’s Academy. Which is making me sad, very sad indeed because I LOVE Sandhya Menon’s books usually.

The concept of the book was so, so promising. Caterina seems to be your typical high school mean girl. But she’s actually very compassionate which often conflicts with her dad’s interests and her own need to be in control and safe herself from her own emotions. Rahul meanwhile is awkward and usually quiet, he loves to work with his mind. They are contrasts in every possible way, yet somehow they find to each other. First, when Caterina finally lets her walls down. And later, when both of them manage to open up more and more.

I really liked the two of them together. They complemented each other very well. Where I had my problems were Caterina and Rahul separately. Well, Rahul especially. He was really frustrating at times. The way he goes back and forth between himself and his alter ego RC was well written in that there were significant differences between them and that Rahul could transform into something completely different. But the way Rahul acted as RC, especially around his friends, was what really got me fuming. Listen, I know how it is to be the awkward friend in the group, the one not really seen or known by anyone else in the school. And I also know how it feels to finally belong. But finding your place shouldn’t come at the expense of your friends or the girl you’re in love with. Especially when she tells you how she feels.

I also would have wished to see more of Rahul’s family. I would have liked to see their reactions to the new him or Rahul standing up to them. But they were only ever mentioned in passing as not exactly accepting of Rahul is. Generally, I just don’t really find Rahul’s character development all too believable throughout the whole book.

Caterina, I could understand so much better. The conflicts outside of school are actually spoken about and thematised. They play a huge role in her life. I feel like her journey in the book was better developed, richer and actually made a lot of sense.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. It was a good book for in-between but unfortunately nothing I’ll remember for a longer period of time. I really wish I liked this more. But good news! I also feel like this was a case of „it’s not you, it’s me“ in which I just can’t seem to get into the whole world for whatever reason unknown to me.

If you know me, you know one of my favourite books is Of Curses and Kisses, so the second I saw Of Princes and Promises on NetGalley, I knew it was fate. I absolutely adored this book; it has instantly been added to my list of comfort books I know I will turn to in the future.

Set in St Rosetta Academy, I instantly fell back into this world and fell back in love with the characters. Seeing Jaya and DE and Grey brought all of that love straight back - and I took to Rahul and Catarina like a fish to water. The development of their relationship - and the relationship between Rahul and RC - was an interpretation of the Frog Prince that I never knew I needed. Seeing the 'nerdy' guy and the popular girl switch places in such a discreet way was so interesting to see.

I really loved this book and cannot recommend this series enough. If you're looking for a YA contemporary set in an elite boarding school with amazing characters and some reinterpretation of stories you already know, definitely add these to your TBR!

Loved this quaint story about a privileged girl who feels misunderstood by her peers and a boy who feels neglected by his family (although he does have a great friendship group).
Throw in an additional character who is not all as she seems and it makes for a great read.

Just wanted to say thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an ARC of this book. I wasn’t entirely sure how I’d feel about it going into it, because Menon books tend to be hit or miss for me. I somehow skipped over the first book in the series, which is unusual for me, so I missed some of the context of the book, but fortunately since they’re a series which follows a new main character with each story, it wasn’t like I was entering into the story halfway through.

Caterina was an interesting character. She came across as one of those people who appears very confident on the outside, but doesn’t always feel it in her own head. It was kind of nice to see her being so bossy and arrogant at the start of the book, only to begin to get all of these more complex layers of her character after she starts to talk to Rahul. Rahul was my favourite though. He seemed very kind and sweet, and he did some silly things but was ultimately a nice guy. I didn’t get too much of a sense of the other characters, besides one or two who play a major role in the story. Again, this could potentially be because a lot of their development comes in the first book, but they did feel a little bit meh to me.

The hair gel thing was initially a bit weird for me. I’m so used to reading Menon books which are contemporary YA novels, and this book really does read that way in everything but the inclusion of the magical hair gel. Even though I’d read the synopsis before requesting the book, it did still feel a little… out of place almost? I know there are books out there which are either magical realism or have some elements of that in there, but this didn’t really feel like that for me, possibly because there were no other magical elements to the story at all. It was one of those things that was okay, and I kind of ended up just giving it the benefit of the doubt and just moved past it, but if you are looking for something a bit more fantasy from Menon, this probably won’t go far enough down that road for you.

The plot was reasonably okay. It was a quick paced read, and there were moments of the story that I really enjoyed, but it also felt a little predictable towards the end, and maybe a little bit soap-opera-y. I think my main disappointment with the plot was that it touched upon some interesting themes- particularly the idea of celebrity and transformation, and how self-esteem can be linked to your appearance, but it just didn’t feel like it lived up to the premise there. The R.C. storyline started out very promising, and I hoped it would be a good door into some of these discussions, but then the ending to the R.C. stuff didn’t give me that satisfaction that I expected and left a lot of those big, interesting ideas only really explored at a surface level. The ending to the R.C. character stuff also felt a little sudden and rushed, which didn’t help matters, and ultimately it just felt kind of cliche. It was a quick read, so I didn’t mind as much as I would have if it was a 500 page book or something, but it didn’t quite live up to my expectations of the story going in. Which is a bit of a shame as the book was quite cute and sweet. I think, if you’re looking for a novel which is light and breezy, it might be a nice one to pick up, as it is pretty fluffy and not dark or edge of your seat tense.

I had some uncertainties going into this one, and it didn’t quite live up to my hopes. The characters were interesting and I enjoyed learning more about them, and the plot was quick, but it didn’t explore some of its themes in as much detail as I’d have liked, and the ending was very predictable, and a little too melodramatic for me.

Never in a million years did I expect to receive an email saying that I was automatically approved for this book. I'd read the first book and enjoyed it, so naturally I was very excited to get to read the sequel. And let me tell you, it didn't disappoint!

What I liked:
+ The writing. Sandhya has a very comfortable, engaging writing style that draws you in from page one. I love how comfortable her books read and how easy it is to step away and come back after a while. These books have managed to snag my attention from page one, keeping me enraptured for hours at a time.
+ The characters. I'm a huge sucker for books set in a private/high school setting. We got to know Rosetta Academy in book one, and in book 2 we learned more about the town and it's surrounding hotspots for famous people. I loved the cast of characters and I really liked seeing characters from book one feature in book two again.
+ The plot. Even though I felt it fell flat in some spaces, the plot moved at a comfortable pace. The romance between Rahul and Cat grew steadily and I thought the pacing was just perfect. I also got enough little hints about certain characters to feel unsure about them, or to think they'd be up to something.
+ The romance. Just like in book 1, the romance is between two unlikely characters, but it works do wonderfully well! I loved being able to read from both Rahul and Cat's perspectives to learn how they both stood in the relationships.

What I didn't like
- A little predictable. I was able to predict what the big reveal was at the end. A bummer, but it happens. I think it'd be totally easy to miss though and you'd be super surprised at the end.

Overall I thought it was a very good sequel, setting up for yet another copy of the series. If and when the time comes, bet on it that I'll be trying to get my hands on it!

At first I wasn't sure about this book and contemplated not finishing it, but I'm glad I didn't. At first Caterina is one of the most unlikeable main characters I've ever read; she's shallow, judgemental and expects Rahul to be who society would expect him to be. whereas I felt that Rahul was instantly likeable, he was kind, he was unique and a people-pleaser, which was his downfall. But the more I read, the more I realised how clever the storyline actually went; as Caterina became someone aware of how damaging her actions were, Rahul became his alter-ego, RC, somebody who wasn't likeable and as a result, lead to some self-destructing behaviour. However, the book was filled with character development and in a stand-alone book, that can sometimes be hard to achieve by Sandhya Menon achieved it brilliantly as Caterina and Rahul became extremely likeable characters.

As well as the focus on the characterisation of Caterina and Rahul, there was also a mystery around who Mia was and it added just that little bit of intrigue into an apparent romance book and although it mainly happened towards the second half of the book, it was still enjoyable to read and it was a twist I wasn't sure what could happen.

The only thing I wasn't a fan of in his book was the apparent 'magical hair gel' as it seemed to (from my interpretation) transform Rahul into RC looks-wise and not just personality wise, to the point he wasn't recognisable. As there were no other magical elements to the book, I think it could have potentially done without, although it was key to the plot. I maybe would have preferred a better explanation for why he was unrecognisable rather than a literal transformation.

3.5 stars

This is the second book in the Rosetta Academy by Sandhya Menon and to be honest, it can also be read as a standalone. The book follows the story of Caterina, the Ice-queen of Rosetta Academy, and a socially awkward guy Rahul.

Fresh off from her breakup with Alaric, Caterina needs a high-profile boyfriend/date to show people that her breakup hasn't affected her life or her social standing. Enter Rahul, with whom she has a tender and vulnerable moment, and decides to transform his appearance and make him, her date. We go on a journey of these two opposite characters falling in love and realization of life.

My heart went out to Rahul throughout the book. He is the son of the Chief Minister of Delhi. Due to his extreme social awkwardness and inability to mingle with people, his family uses a cousin for photo ops. He struggles hard to feel connected with his friends as well. He often ends up blurting things that tend to hurt them. Rahul has had a crush on Caterina for a long time and doesn't hesitate to agree to her scheme. Why would he, when he gets to do what he wants the most in the life? Become Caterina's boyfriend/date in public and getting rid of all his awkwardness which he feels is the root cause of all the troubles in life

Caterina's character development was the best in the whole book. She goes from a cold-hearted girl who doesn't let anyone see her vulnerable, human side to the girl who willingly opens up about her problems to people. The book is narrated in both Caterina and Rahul's PoVs and occasionally even RC's - the alter ego of Rahul under the influence of the "magic" hair gel.

A light-hearted and entertaining read.

I was so excited for this book and thankfully it lived up to my every expectation.

Catarina is such a likeable character at times and Rahul is just the perfect book boyfriend!

If you still haven't been convinced then the fact this book has a fake dating trope should seal the deal lol

A fast paced and addictive story, perfect this summer!

I was about to start Of Princes & Promises when I realized it was book 2 in a series. As I had book 1 still on my tbr, I decided to read it first and I'm so glad I did. Though both books can be read as a stand alone, it was nice to catch up with the characters from book 1 in book 2.

These books are set at an elite international boarding school, with book 1 being a retelling of Beauty and the Beast and book 2 a twist on The Frog Prince. I love how easily the author has merged the stories with the fairytales. They were both such a pleasure to read.

I wasn't a big fan of Caterina in book 1 so it was great to see her character development in the second installment, with her actually becoming quite a likable character by the end of the book. It was heartwarming to see Rahul gain confidence in himself too. If you like fairytale retellings, then definitely give these books a go!

Sandhya Menon just doesn't know how to write a bad book and I am glad for that fact. Of Princes and Promises is the second installment in the series where Menon retells old fairy tale and this time around The Frog Prince gets the spotlight. Rahul and Caterina were so cool and I loved all the vibes and nods to the old fairy tale but this spin on things made me even happier. I am just so enamored with Menon's writing that flows easily that you don't even realize how many pages you've read until you're at the end and think to yourself, "wait, what?"
Menon's books are binge-worthy and this one is no different. Highly recommend! Whether you're a fan of fairy tale retellings or not, this one will definitely make you smile!

This title is the second book in Menon's St Rosetta Academy series but can be read as a stand-alone, I did and it did not affect my enjoyment of the book at all.. I really enjoyed Menon's book. They always offer a 'safe' kind of romance without shying away from important issues that teens care about, This is a really interesting take on the "young, rich and famous" and how they might appear to us on Instagram might seem attractive but that behind that veil many have similar insecurities and vulnerabilities. I thought the commentary of how fame affects potential friendships was particularly astute. I do enjoy a good he fractured fairy tale element and this was well weaved in here, with a certain little 'magic' touch which works really well. A really enjoyable read!

The sweet romance at the core of OF PRINCES AND PROMISES is blemished by miscommunication as conflict and an unnecessary side character who serves no purpose other than to be a plot device.

The book opens from Caterina and Rahul's POVs; Caterina needs a date to bring to her social events so as not to appear like she is struggling after her break-up. Rahul, meanwhile, is socially inept but head over heels in love with Caterina, and will just about do anything for her. Caterina agrees to take him as her partner so long as he allows her to make him up and teach him better social etiquette, and Rahul goes along with it, certain this might lead to different places for their relationship. Honestly? I found Rahul's assertion that this would mean a relationship upgrade to be a little... weird and obsessive. However, I was determined to read the book open-minded.

For the most part, OF PRINCES AND PROMISES does as promises: a sweet romance between an ice cold character who learns to thaw her heart for those she trusts, and a guy who doesn't actually need to change to impress her. I found it most difficult to reconcile its innocent premise with, however, the major issues I had with the ending of this book, which is why the rating is so tepid.

There's an unnecessary villain character who is there seemingly only to create tension and needless communication issues between the two romantic leads. Mia Mazzanti is introduced as a diplomat's daughter and quickly inserts herself into Caterina's circle of friends. It's pretty obvious from the get-go, especially given how overly friendly and generous she is with her time and advice, that Mia has ulterior motives for appealing to Caterina. It comes to a head at the end where she goes on a typical villain monologue rant after revealing her dastardly eeeeevil plan. It doesn't even seem to have a good resolution. What was the point of it all? Of her as a character?

Unfortunately this just makes blatant that Mia is merely a plot device to force Caterina and Rahul to undergo some form of conflict before the end washes it all away like hair wax. If the conflict could be resolved by having the two characters just talk to each other... it's not a very good conflict, and it's a shame that there's reliance on this trope to engineer tension when there's a perfectly good conflict already.

Because there is a perfectly good conflict. Rahul develops a self-loathing for his true awkward, socially inept personality when he uses a magic hair gel and transforms into "RC", and Caterina begins to recognise that he is changing himself inwardly to please her, something that she knows she has inadvertently caused. The story dabbles in addressing this from both their perspectives, but eventually sweeps it aside in favour of the Mia business. Such wasted potential to tell an interesting story about compromising yourself to be, or be with, someone else.

The writing was a struggle as well. I found the in-your-face, rote-detail, overly-descriptive dialogue tags and exceedingly morally conscious POV thought processes frustrating to read. There's no nuance or subtlety to the conflict or character relationships. It can all be read between the lines without it being anvil-dropped in the text, I promise you. In the end I started to skim some of the longer paragraphs and read only the dialogue, and it made for a better experience.

Unfortunately this was less enjoyable in every respect than its predecessor, but anyone who doesn't read too deeply into OF PRINCES AND PROMISES will come away satisfied. If you can ignore the the middling execution, then what you have is a fluffy romance with a happily ever after.

WILL I READ ON? Yes. I'm on the Menon train for life.

Received an Advanced Reader’s Copy from the publisher, Hodder & Stoughton, via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

Of Princes and Promises is the second book in the St. Rosetta’s Academy, but can still be read as a stand-alone. I really love that Sandhya Menon is sticking to the theme with retelling but exploring within that and making some risky choices with her characters.

I loved that Caterina LaValle was true to the personality that we had originally seen her as and SM doesn’t shy away from that to make the reader feel comfortable. I loved learning what I liked about Caterina and even what I didn’t like and understanding her anyway with every step she took forward.

Rahul Chopra was a strange reflection of Caterina. It’s hard to explain how without giving too much away, but I loved seeing the interesting similarities between them. I actually really thought that seeing a protagonist of a book struggling in all the ways that isn’t typical for someone who’s the romantic interest of a book does was definitely bold. It’s not often an author makes their hero imperfect in the way SM did, so that’s definitely a point up for me on that.

Both the protagonists were flawed and learning along the way who they wanted to be. But that’s actually not my favourite part. My favourite part is what I’ve actually felt in every SM book I’ve read so far: warmth. There’s this unmissable warmth in all of her books that make even some of the things I may not have liked so much with the book overlook-able (if that’s a word?).

The writing was even-paced and comfortable and SM remains true to her characters. The plot was clean but lovely. I did struggle with the idea of a certain plot thread because well, we’ve come ahead in times BUT I was exceptionally glad that SM evened it out again later.

Four stars. A gentle, light-hearted but meaningful read about friendship and love with a dash of magic. Happy reading lovelies and be safe!

The most anticipated book of the year for me, the book was so great.
Catarina was one of the character I wanted to read about because she is shown as rude and mean person. But in this book you get to know more about her.
And Rahul, my favorite of all time. The story was written so well. And I really enjoyed this book.

This companion novel to Of Curses and Kisses is a really sweet romance, focusing on IT girl Caterina as she falls for the awkward Rahul. Rahul thinks he needs to change to fit into Cat's world (and does, with the help of a little magic!) but begins to realise that being yourself is always better.

There wasn't much in the way of drama in the book - everything was resolved fairly quickly and easily, with much of it actually happening off the page. Its a good, fluffy read for when you are after a guaranteed HEA without any angst, and I would happily read it again when I'm feeling down!

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Of Princes and Promises is much better than the previous book. And maybe because the storyline for me is far too relatable.

From the start, I knew I would like to Rahul. His awkwardness and shy personality reminded me of how I used to be in high school and how much I wished that I would fit in with people. I always wished that I could be more confident and that's why, reading Rahul's struggles, I relate to them on a deeper level. Caterina was someone who I would be intimidated by if I was still in high school, so reading from her perspective was not that easy, but I did enjoy it. And she definitely grew on me as I read on, and by the end of the book, I started loving her too.

I would have liked if there were more instances of Rahul struggling to accept his identity, but overall, I did enjoy this and loved the romance, which was pretty cute. If you're looking to pick up an easy read, then I definitely recommend this.

I received this as an ARC on NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review

Actual rate: 3

Good:
- Fun setting
- I loved seeing characters I knew again
- Nice representation of social anxiety

Bad:
- a little random, and very easy to predict the storyline
- characters felt a little flat, especially Rahul sadly
- Side plots felt irrelevant

This book was a cute boarding school "Princess and the Frog" retelling with a little spice of magic. I loved seeing how Caterina loved Rahul for himself, not his fake version, and how she was sensitive to his social anxiety, although she was pretty mean a lot of other times. The settings were well described and fun, I LOVE a boarding school, especially elite ones. Guilty pleasure. I also liked the representation of many cultures, which is really important to show. Sadly, the "secret sister" was a side plot that felt very tacked on and not needed.

Fun, cute and magical.

I would recommend this book to young teens, lovers of fluffy meet-cute, and people looking for an easy and fun read.

Overall: 3/5

5 stars!

This was an amazing second instalment in the St Rosetta's Academy series! This can definitely be read as a standalone - the mentions to the first book the series "Of Curses and Kisses" don't spoil it - but I definitely recommend reading it in order to get the full immersive experience.

This time we follow Caterina LeValle and Rahul Chopra as they try to navigate the events that happened before the winter break. When Caterina discovers that her cheating ex-boyfriend Alaric is taking a super model as his date to the next big gala, she has to find a date to. And who better than a polished version of Rahul?

Of Princes and Promises was everything I was expecting and more. There's fake dating, there's character development, there's communication, there's twists - it has everything!

Caterina and Rahul are incredibly fleshed out characters and you'll have no choice but to fall in love with them. The story is also really well paced and reads very quickly.

Once you pick up the book you won't want to put it down until it's all finished.

I really love Sandhya Menon's books, most of them have been 5 star reads to me. I don't know it was the time I read this or what but this one just fell a little flat for me. I still had an amazing time reading it and loved being back with familiar characters. I love the setting of the St. Rosetta novels, the idea of a boarding school for the rich and famous is really intriguing to me and I think provides the perfect backdrop for some retold/fairytale-inspired novels.
It was really interesting being able to have a closer look into the lives of two side characters, Caterina and Rahul, from book one and see their romance blossom after the events of the end of book 1. I liked watching them both find themself and work out what they really wanted from life with the help of each other.
I do think the pacing of this book was a little off, it was a bit shorter than the first installment and I really noticed that as I was reading, I just wanted a bit more from the plot overall, I wanted to see more of them getting to know one another and really feeling the romance, as it did feel a little rushed towards the end.
Overall I enjoyed this book and can't wait for the next book in this series, I definitely think I will give this one a re-read when I am more in the mood for a light, fluffy contemporary and that might impact my rating in the future.
3 out of 5 stars.