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Connie Glynn

Autor(a) de Undercover Princess

9 Works 362 Membros 13 Críticas

About the Author

Includes the name: Connie Glynn

Séries

Obras por Connie Glynn

Undercover Princess (2017) 200 exemplares
Princess in Practice (2018) 69 exemplares
The Lost Princess (2019) 40 exemplares
Princess at Heart (2021) 34 exemplares
Princess Ever After (2022) 15 exemplares

Etiquetado

Conhecimento Comum

Sexo
female

Membros

Críticas

I got to page 180 out of 435.
I had to stop, this is a fun book, but it is dragging on. Some descriptions don't make sense. The character randomly finds a secret passage because the plot told her to, because normal people do not just move furniture.
It is a middle grade book with 13 year-olds, yet we continue to get scenes of the girls being very affectionate and possessive of each other. I'm pretty sure they're lesbians but haven't figured it out yet, maybe in the sequels, but it just seemed like a little much for how young the girls are.
I enjoy princess stories but this is just dragging on, I just don't feel like continuing.
… (mais)
 
Assinalado
HeartofGold900 | 8 outras críticas | Dec 3, 2022 |
{Third of 5 (eventually) of the Rosewood Chronicles; YA, school stories, adventure, fantasy}(2019)

Portman, princess, Partizan. The next instalment of Lottie, Ellie and Jamie's adventures.

This one sees the trio, together with some of their friends from Rosewood Hall, going to its sister school in Japan for the summer to improve Lottie's grades - but could it be a Leviathan trap? Especially when they discover evidence of Leviathan in their new surroundings.

I like this series; a school story with friendships and just a frisson of magic.

‘Secret treasure and pink demons!’ Lola whispered in the near silent library. ‘I think I love this school.’


The cast list becomes even more multinational; apart from the existing students and the new Japanese characters, there's a Middle Eastern girl in the background. And there are a few more same sex relationships. As well as maturing emotionally the characters are visibly growing up - as teenagers will (the girls are now 15). I like the fact that Ollie, Lottie's best friend from home, also has a role to play in this book too. I'm looking forward to the next book because - right at the end - there is mention of a character of interest.

(October 2021)
3.5-4 stars
… (mais)
 
Assinalado
libraian | Dec 13, 2021 |
{Second of 3 of Rosewood Chronicles; children's, adventure, friendship, boarding school} (2018)

Continuing shortly after the end of the first book, Lottie continues as Portman to stand in for the Maravish princess Eleanor Wolfson, starting with the celebration of the 'princess's' fifteenth birthday just before they return for another school year at exclusive Rosewood Hall.

Here she was now, about to tell him the truth. Would that be another mistake? The truth could expose him to the very dangers she’d been trying to protect him from.
‘I came back to explain myself,’ Lottie said calmly, ‘even though this is probably a terrible idea.’
‘It is,’ Jamie said from the doorway. Lottie scowled at him before turning back to Ollie. He was spooning his third sugar into his tea, his eyes trained on her. Watching, waiting.
Lottie cleared her throat nervously. ‘Ollie, before I explain, I need you to promise two things.’
Ollie’s eyebrows furrowed. ‘OK …’ He sounded less than convinced.
‘I need you to promise that you will never, ever tell anyone what I’m about to say.’ Ollie’s glance darted over towards Ellie and Jamie, who were trying their best to stay inconspicuous and failing terribly. He opened his mouth to speak, but Lottie cut him off. ‘And I need you to promise that you will under no circumstances try to get involved in any way.’
‘Well, that’s no fun,’ Ollie said, laughing in Jamie’s direction as if he expected him to join in. Jamie didn’t even crack a smile, but Ollie did get a small chuckle from Ellie.
‘I’m serious, Ollie. You have to promise me.’
He rolled his eyes. ‘Fine, I promise I won’t … do either of those things.’
‘I found a job,’ Lottie said. They were the first words that came to her.
‘What?’ Ollie’s brow creased in confusion.
‘I mean,’ Lottie started again. She just had to tell him quickly, like ripping off a plaster. She let her breath out in one long go. ‘Ellie is the undercover princess of Maradova.’ She glanced over at her friend and Ellie nodded encouragingly. Lottie swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry. ‘During my first weeks at Rosewood, a rumour started that I was the princess. So Ellie and I decided to swap identities. I’ve been hired by her family as a Portman – someone who pretends to be a member of the royal family so that the actual royal member can live a safe and normal life. That is, until they’re ready to officially take up their role.’ Lottie took another deep breath as she finished speaking.
Ollie’s teaspoon made a clinking sound as it fell against his mug of tea. ‘Is this a joke?’
Lottie shook her head.
‘But you have different names. How does this work?’
Lottie had always been a little touchy about her name but it had come in handy.
‘Oh, well, very few people actually knew the princess’s name and, well … everyone assumed Lottie Pumpkin was a fake name, so they just thought it was part of the undercover-princess thing and –’


Now, thanks to the kidnapping attempt on the princess, they are aware of the shadowy organisation called Leviathan, which is targeting the children of rich and powerful people, and life has become more dangerous so it is up to Lottie and Jamie, her Partizan (dedicated bodyguard), to keep Ellie safe.

As they try to find out what Leviathan is planning, they realise that some of their friends may have useful information especially as some of them may be in danger, which results in them pooling resources. There was one particularly funny chapter where the whole group of friends was out after curfew, following each other in the dark without being aware of each others’ activities. The danger and her admiration of their characters draws Lottie closer to both Ellie and Jamie; but who will her heart choose?

This mixes a boarding school story with a larger world plot involving heirs and heiresses, some of whom are Lottie's, Ellie's and Jamie's school friends, as well as secret tunnels and hidden histories though there is a touch of supernatural too. Despite the Enid Blyton premise I found the story well written and compelling and the characters feel real, within the story; unlike some children's/ YA books, it didn't talk down to its audience. There are, as you would expect in any real life boarding school, a good mix of nationalities and ethnicities (Jamie's mother, for instance, was Pakistani). Lottie feels conflicted at representing the Wolfson family as her own in public, especially as she still misses her mother. Her one link to her own life is Ollie, her best friend from home, and it’s nice to see him play a part in this book.

I am enjoying this series, which goes beyond the usual boarding school adventures.

September 2021
4 stars
… (mais)
 
Assinalado
libraian | 1 outra crítica | Oct 26, 2021 |
{First of 3 of Rosewood Chronicles; children's, adventure, friendship, boarding school} (2017)

Fourteen year old Lottie Pumpkin has always loved the fairy-tales and stories about princesses that her mother told her when she was young but her mother died and now she has a ... well ... not quite nice stepmother. She has worked hard and fulfilled a promise to her mum by getting into Rosewood Hall school on a bursary. When she gets there, she is accidentally confused with the Maravish princess of Mardova but the two become friends and decide to continue the deception - and so Lottie realises her dream of being a princess. But then she discovers that being a princess brings life-threatening dangers with it too.

Meanwhile, Ellie Wolf - actually Princess Eleanor Wolfson, sole child of the king and queen of Mardova - just wants the chance to be a normal teenager.

But she was smart, she was confident and she was passionate – and for Alexander that was all far more important than any of the traditional values expected of her. Although occasionally he did wish she'd watch her language around her grandparents.


She has so far managed to avoid the social duties and parties that royalty is obliged to attend and is therefore not known outside the palace but now that she is scheduled to attend a finishing school (as her ancestors have done before her) she sees this as her last chance and applies incognito to Rosewood Hall instead.

This starts off as a boarding school story but evolves into an adventure story and things get serious.
'Ellie, this is different, I promise. They've –' he faltered for a moment, then looked back into Ellie‘s eyes – 'they‘ve brought your grandmother.'


I did think Lottie got out of a few lessons rather easily, presumably because she was (supposedly) a princess. I felt sorry for her best friend, Olly, left behind at home. He supported her on her journey to join the school and is disappointed when she goes to Mardova instead of going home for the holidays especially as she can't tell him the reason. Maybe he'll have a larger role in the next book.

The prologue begins:
There are places in our world in which wondrous and whimsical things seem more capable of happening than anywhere else. You can recognise them because they are thick with an atmosphere that seems out of time and place with the rest of reality. Sometimes they exist naturally, such as hidden waterfalls or secret meadows filled with flourishing wild flowers. Sometimes they are man-made, like empty playgrounds at twilight or dusty antique shops rich with history. But occasionally, although it is rare, these spaces exist in a certain type of person.


I found this story charming and very more-ish and the characters are believable. I think it would resonate very well with its target audience; reading it as an adult I enjoyed it very much.

August 2021
4.5 stars
… (mais)
½
 
Assinalado
libraian | 8 outras críticas | Oct 26, 2021 |

Prémios

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Estatísticas

Obras
9
Membros
362
Popularidade
#66,319
Avaliação
4.1
Críticas
13
ISBN
59
Línguas
7

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