Fairest One: A Snow White Retelling by Kayla Eshbaugh (The Cursed Kingdom Chronicles book 3)

Scarlet’s curse is beauty — everyone who looks at her falls in love with a falsely beautiful image of her. Ronin promised long ago that he would never fall in love with her beauty… but he never said he wouldn’t fall in love with her.

When the king decides it’s time for the bridal tournament, Ronin promises Scarlet he’ll win so she won’t have to marry a stranger. But when they finally share a kiss, they realize they’ve both moved past feelings of friendship long ago.

The death of the king sends the kingdom into turmoil and Scarlet has to use all the tools at her disposal to stop her step-mother from taking over.

Another story from Eshbaugh with an amazing premise. There’s so many little nuggets of gold. Unfortunately, the inconsistencies, the run-on sentences, and plot holes take away from my enjoyment of the story.

I had been looking forward to seeing how Ronin slowly convinced Scarlet of his love; instead, we got a whiplash-inducing turn as she went from having no feelings for him to making out for an hour in a tree. I also didn’t like how she forced him at times into uncomfortable situations. At one point, he had the decency to walk away to protect her reputation; later, she manipulated him into staying the night with her, not caring that it caused him to struggle with temptation.

Romance: 3 – Much more than the previous two in the series, while still being no spice. There’s multiple make-out sessions, lying on the floor together, spending the night together. 
Action: 1. Minor injuries in a knight tournament. 
Swearing: 0.