The Encanto's Daughter - by Melissa de la Cruz

I really have to stop giving Melissa De La Cruz a chance. She is simply not the author for me. I appreciate that others might enjoy her writing but so far with every try, I've been left less than impressed. The Encanto's Daughter is set up like a YA, but reads definitely more middle grade. It starts off as a high paced fantasy but quickly turns into a magical academy book with a dash of solving a murder mystery. There were quite a few things that I didn't like. There is no character depth or connection. Everything is flat and surface level. We don't see MJ mourning her father or her previous life, she barely worries about her mother, and spends most of her time dealing with school drama. Everything in the plot happens to our main character, MJ, at exactly the right time in order to move it along with almost zero effort on her part. The romance is severely lacking and just seems to be happening with again zero effort. I did like that this is a book based on Filipino mythology and that we get to explore some of that diversity, but I wish it had been executed to be enjoyable.

I was so excited to receive an Advance Review Copy of this book. There were many things to love about this book, but in my opinion the best thing is its characters. I really connected with all of them, even the side characters (although MJ's development as she evolves into the princess role was the coolest). The fantasy elements are also really good--witches and magic and amazing world building. The writing is really descriptive, which makes a huge difference when you're trying to envision what's going on in the plot. I enjoyed the romance and mystery as well, as well as the influence of political events. It was very interesting to see how this book tied together so many different ideas into one good plot. I'm so excited to read the sequel, and more of Melissa de la Cruz's books! And by the way, this book would make a great movie--just saying.