Book Review | And Break the Pretty Kings by Lena Jeong

Today’s review is for And Break the Pretty Kings by debut author Lena Jeong, a Korean-inspired fantasy I’d been excited to read since I saw the announcement for the book deal!

I got the chance to take part in Lena’s stream team for this book, and I’m very glad for that opportunity because I really enjoyed this story and now have two special editions in my collection.

Full review below!

About the Book

Title: And Break the Pretty Kings
Series: Sacred Bone #1
Author: Lena Jeong
Publisher: HarperTeen (US), Magpie (UK)
Release Date: June 20th 2023 (US), July 20th 2023 (UK)
Pages: 445
Source: eARC gifted by the author for being part of the street team (this in no way affects my review which is honest and unbiased)
Rating: ★★★★☆

Synopsis

A crown princess.
A monster the gods fear.
A destiny no one can outrun.

Mirae was meant to save her queendom, but the ceremony before her coronation ends in terror and death, unlocking a strange new power within her and foretelling the return of a monster even the gods fear. Amid the chaos, Mirae’s beloved older brother is taken—threatening the peninsula’s already tenuous truce.

Desperate to save her brother and defeat this ancient enemy before the queendom is beset by war, Mirae sets out on a journey with an unlikely group of companions while her unpredictable magic gives her terrifying visions of a future she must stop at any cost.

Review

And Break the Pretty Kings begins by throwing you straight into the action, with Mirae, the main character, having a last-minute training session ahead of a trial to prove she is chosen by the gods to lead her queendom. Unfortunately, she’s having to take these trials much earlier than usual as her mother has succumbed to an illness that arises from taking the position.

Things go from bad to worse during the trials, and Mirae finds herself on a mission to save a family member instead of taking her position as Queen.

There’s a lot to unpack in And Break the Pretty Kings, but family is an ongoing theme and of the utmost importance throughout the story. Mirae chooses her brothers above all else time and time again. Hongbin is the brother we get to spend the most time with, and he’s an extremely lovable character. Mirae is lovable but her most stand out character trait is how persistent and smart she is, regardless of what’s happening around her she tries to find the best way out for all.

The magic system is interesting, I’ll forever be a fan of elemental magic and there’s a lot at play in And Break the Pretty Kings, alongside some time travel (done in a very genius way) and a dragon, we always love a dragon.

Mirae ends up on a journey in this first instalment, and along the way she discovers a lot about her homeland and family’s history. We meet a couple of villainous characters, but we also find out why they are the way they are, adding depth to them.

Some parts were a lot more fast paced than others, but on the whole I enjoyed this book and I’m excited to see where the story goes next!