I HAVE TO SAY…

SYNOPSIS

Princess Aisling has the best life: Loving parents, good food, and an entire kingdom. But when someone breaks into her room, she learns there’s parts of her she has yet to discover.

What could happen?

RECAP AND REVIEW

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and First Second Books for an arc!

Release day: April 14, 2026

This is a queer, young adult, fantasy graphic novel following Aisling and her kidnapper, Forgive-Me-Not. The story is pretty fast paced, but I didn’t feel like I was missing information.

There’s a secret identity vibe going on but their secret identity is unbeknown to one of the main characters, though they find out pretty quickly.

The world building was cool! There’s the human world and the fae world and humans have some misconceptions about fae, but are right about the fact the fae are sly and can be dangerous.

There’s a bigger bad than Not. Not had their reasons for kidnapping the princess and as the story goes on, we learn why she did this and her plans for the princess. I sympathized with Not and understood where she was coming from.

There were many moments where they connected through Not’s vulnerability, which made the romance believable even though it’s fast paced. I had fun seeing their relationship change and Not soften up over time. Aisling can be frustratingly naive and Not is the complete opposite because of the differences in their childhood growing up. Their differences in their personalities complements each other well.

The colors and artwork were eye catching and the layout was easy to follow. There is depictions of blood and injuries and fantastical creatures.

Read for:

👑 Queer Story

👑 One Bed

👑 Secret Identity

👑 Fantasy

👑 Graphic Novel

👑 Opposites Attract

OVERALL

Overall, I give this a 4.75 out of 5 stars. I had a really good time with this graphic novel and would read it again. I highly recommend it!