Book Review: The Princess Knight by Cait Jacobs

INTRO           

The term Book Tok, nowadays, usually garners eye rolls and upset comments. The subculture on Tik Tok is oversaturated with cliché romantasies, problematic tropes, and adults crushing on children (primarily Draco Malfoy). But it wasn’t always this way. Back in 2020, Book Tok was a thriving community where readers could gush about their favorite books and share unique recommendations. One of the founding members was Cait Jacobs— the now author of The Princess Knight.

ABOUT (from Harper Collins website)

Domhnall and Clía are an ideal match—or so everyone says. Heirs to neighboring kingdoms, they are an alliance the gods will smile on. Until Domhnall ruins everything by refusing to propose.

Determined to salvage the situation, Clía follows Domhnall to Caisleán Cósta, the prestigious military academy he’s attending. Sure, the castle has a brutal reputation. But how hard can dueling really be?

Warrior Ronan promised himself he’d never lose his focus. He fought and sacrificed for his place at Caisleán Cósta, and he has no time for blonde princesses who waltz into arenas like they’re attending a ball. Even if she and her otter-like pet are…well, cute.

He doesn’t want to be intrigued by Clía. But her hunger to prove herself is something he understands. He tells himself there’s no harm training her. Even if his heart does race around her. Even if Domhnall is his best friend.

But love is a battlefield—and unfortunately for them all, a very real war is looming on the horizon. One that will put their skills–and their hearts–to the ultimate test.

THOUGHTS

            I admittedly don’t gravitate towards fantasy books, but I’ve been following The Princess Knight for years, so I had to give it a try. I’m sure to fantasy-regulars, the book is a cakewalk. However, I had a hard time remembering names, places, and the politics of the world. If it wasn’t for the Legally Blonde inspiration, I probably wouldn’t have followed it as well.

            Jacobs is very open about the fact that their book is a fantasy version of Legally Blonde. It’s almost beat for beat true to the original story while still adding its unique flare. I’m a big fan of Legally Blonde so I had fun trying to identify which character was supposed to be who. If readers are daunted by the high fantasy setting, I would say have no fear if you’ve seen Legally Blonde.

            The diversity of the characters was a much-needed refresher. The romance/romantasy genre is flooded with heteronormative stories but Jacobs ran in the opposite direction. The main characters are disabled (Ronan has chronic pain and Clia is autistic), the world is queernormative, and as Jacobs states, everyone is gay until proven straight. The reader wasn’t hit over the head with this information; instead, it was integrated into the story without any question.

            As someone who also doesn’t normally read books over 350 pages, I was pleasantly surprised with the pacing of The Princess Knight. At no point did I feel like I was slogging through the plot to get to the climax. Rather I felt myself hanging on to every word because everything was important to the overall story.

            Jacobs clearly knows the romantasy genre better than anyone. In the front of the book, they give us a pronunciation guide for the kingdoms and royalty. And if that’s not enough, their website has a pronunciation guide for literally every name in the novel. They provide content warnings, disclaimers, and a beautiful map to make sure the reader is taken care of. While I don’t have many books in my personal library to compare this treatment to, Jacobs clearly went above and beyond.

            My only gripe with the plot was how predictable the plot twists were. Close to the end of the book, there was a betrayal. I don’t know how I knew, but the moment this character appeared on the page (about ten pages into the book), I just knew they’d turn out to be a traitor. I wish I wrote down my prediction for concrete proof because I predicted it from the beginning.

            All this being said, I thoroughly enjoyed The Princess Knight. It lived up to all my expectations and further. I’m glad it was my introduction to fantasy because now the bar is quite high. I hope Jacobs is proud of their work— it’s a story I won’t forget any time soon.

Lorraine Durbin ’26 is a creative writing major at Susquehanna University with a specialization in creative non-fiction