A World Without Princes by Soman Chainani

A World Without Princes by Soman Chainani

Release Date: April 15, 2014
Illustrated by: Iacopo Bruno
Publisher: HarperCollins
Series: The School for Good and Evil, Book 2
Rated: MG/YA 12+
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
Buy: Amazon ● The Book Depository
Goodreads ● Website (Series) ● Website (Author)

Read my review of The School for Good and Evil HERE.

In the epic sequel to the New York Times bestselling novel, The School for Good and Evil, Sophie and Agatha are home, living out their Ever After. But life isn’t quite the fairy tale they expected. 

When Agatha secretly wishes she’d chosen a different happy ending, she reopens the gates to the School for Good and Evil. But the world she and Sophie once knew has changed.

Witches and princesses, warlocks and princes are no longer enemies. New bonds are forming; old bonds are being shattered. But underneath this uneasy arrangement, a war is brewing and a dangerous enemy rises. As Agatha and Sophie battle to restore peace, an unexpected threat could destroy everything, and everyone, they love—and this time, it comes from within.

I’m so glad that I decided to pick up this series this summer–both have been my best reads this year so far! After finishing The School for Good and Evil, I was desperate to start reading the second one immediately. But I thought it would be best to put it off a little bit, because too much time in one world usually makes me get tired of it, and I didn’t want to get sick of this world. So finally, after agonisingly pushing it back on the TBR pile, I’ve finally read A World Without Princes. What a fantastic follow-up! While I did enjoy the first book more, because as readers we were introduced to the world and there was that huge twist at the end, but this one DEFINITELY met my expectations.

In this book, I liked Sophie a lot better than I did in the previous book. She was absolutely awful in The School for Good and Evil, and while she still is kind of selfish and thinks mainly about herself, she’s a lot better. Agatha is still my favourite character out of the two, for sure. There are quite a lot of returning characters, as well as a few new ones–who are deliciously evil–and it all makes for a wonderful twist on the conventional fairy tales. I do love how satirical it all is at times, and the humour is very well done.

The world has changed since we left The School for Good and Evil, and so when Sophie and Agatha return to the school it’s no longer a fight between Good and Evil, but instead Girls and Boys. I couldn’t help but feel that this fits so much with the whole feminist movement and the misconception that feminists don’t need men or that they hate on men. I don’t know whether or not it was the inspiration for the story, but I couldn’t help but feel that sort of message coming through in this book.

Blast this book’s conclusion! Now I desperately need The Last Ever After in my hands–I HAVE TO KNOW HOW IT ALL ENDS. A World Without Princes was even darker than the first book, and it sucked me from the first page–I’m obsessed with this remarkable series. Soman Chainani is a marvellous storyteller and I can’t wait to find out what happens next.

▪ ▪ ▪ Thank you so much to Megan at HarperCollins International for sending me a copy for review! ▪ ▪ ▪

If you like this, try...

• City of a Thousand Dolls by Miriam Forster ● Goodreads
• Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige ● Goodreads

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