**Today, I am going to write outside. I go to my wardrobe and try to find appropriate attire. The sun is shining and the skies are blue, so I pull out a sleeveless, white dress that brushes my ankles when I walk. I tie my hair behind me and slip on some shoes. I find a bag on the floor of my wardrobe and fill it with parchment, ink, pens, a blanket, a cardigan, and a book. I have been itching to write another review recently. I take my bag outside and find a patch of grass several yards from home and set my blanket down. I set up my blanket and lie down on my stomach. I scratch my head, thinking of how to start this review, then dip my pen in the ink and write.**

Morgan Matson is one of my favorite authors, so I was very excited to see that she had not one, but two releases in 2024. Promchanted was the first of her releases this year. I picked up this book as soon as it came out because I was excited to read it. I usually wait a few . . . months to read anticipated releases. It’s odd, but I put so much time of anticipation in the book that it has to sit on my shelf before I read it. I basically let my books age like fine wine for a few months before I can read them. Let me know if any of you do that as well, or if it’s just me. Anyway, I read this book the month it came out, which never happens. So let’s get into it.

Promchanted is a young adult fantasy type story following Stella Griffin, love skeptic and logistics expert, who pre-proms in Disneyland with her friend, her friend’s date, and an extra guest that Stella did not have a good encounter with. The four of them go to Disney, and Stella and Reece, the guy that she had a bad encounter with, find themselves in Sleeping Beauty’s castle. Somehow they are transported in the story and their arrival throws things off course. Events are happening sooner than they should, so the two of them have to make sure that the story goes according to script.

When I went into this book, I thought there were going to be high stakes and adventure. Unfortunately, the story was not what I thought. There were not really any stakes involved. Just because it is fantasy doesn’t mean it necessarily has to have high stakes, but with the idea that their arrival in the story throws things off balance and they have to make sure the story is on track, I expected more work to go into this. I felt like the characters didn’t really do much except spend time with Rose and Phillip.

The characters were not too bad. I did feel like Stella’s not believing in fairy tales was not justified, but I tried to move past it as best I could. I liked the fact that her parents were in logistics because I have never read another book with that as a career. It also played a role in the story with Stella needing to get the story from start to end efficiently, like the logistics expert she is. None of the characters really bothered me. They were not ones I loved or anything, but there was nothing wrong with them either. I did not particularly care about the romance. I feel like I didn’t feel a connection between the characters, but I don’t need to love the romance to love the book. 

There were definitely some good moments in the book. It was interesting to see Stella and Reece interact with the fairies, Rose, and Phillip since they are from two different worlds. It made the story interesting and added some humorous moments when the characters didn’t know what certain things were. The scene with the Reece’s Pieces was one of my favorites. 

Overall, the story was fine. I enjoyed our setting, since it was set at the cottage, and I did like to see our characters interacting. I think that Stella needed a better reason to stop believing in fairy tales that would make the story seem more believable, but everyone is different. I also just needed a little bit more from the story. With a fantasy-like book about keeping a story on track, I thought there would be more conflict and effort from the characters with higher stakes. Most of the book involved the characters just spending time together. Towards the end, the stakes did raise a bit, but most of the book just felt like nothing was happening. I would say that this is probably a story better for the younger side of ya, and I would recommend it to anyone that wants a cozy, fairy tale story that maybe doesn’t read a lot of fantasy. I ended up giving this one a 3.5/5 stars, but it lands on the lower end of that. I still plan on reading all of Morgan Matson’s books as she is still a favorite, but this one just wasn’t my favorite. I can’t wait to see what she does in her next release.

xoxo,

Just another reader