The reason I read this book is kind of embarrassing. I was talking to a friend who believes that I have read all books that exist (no, really, and she gets a kick out of me not having read any book. She prances about the house going, "I've got a book on Ingrid.") Anyway, she asked me if I'd read The Gypsy King and I, thinking that she meant The Gypsy Crown by Kate Forsyth said yes. When I found out that we'd been talking about a different book and that I hadn't actually read The Gypsy King, I resolved to read it quietly and never tell her the truth. Don't judge. The song "I've one-upped Ingrid" gets old really fast. 
 Considering the fact that I read this because of my injured pride, the irritation I felt while reading was probably well-deserved. But seriously, if there had been one more mention of Persephone's violet eyes, one more mention of Azriel's strong, muscled chest and biceps, one more mention of his auburn curls.... I would have done something unspeakably bad to this book despite it being borrowed from the library. 
 This is one of those books that you've seen before. A group of romanticised Gypsies? Check. A prophesy speaking of a future king and the girl who will put him on the throne? Check. A strong heroine with a hidden dagger and violet eyes? Check. A cocky, rogue-like hero who adores the heroine completely for no discernible reason? Check. A naive and sheltered prince being kept from doing the good his kingdom needs? Check. One dimensional villain who is purely evil, ugly, and lustful? Check, check, check. 
 That's harsh, I know. So I'm going to soften the blow by listing some of the aspects I actually liked. 
 1. The animals. Persephone has a lot of great animal friends. Ivan was my particular favourite; I loved how he would conveniently swoop down and attack. Cur and Fleet also were gems, and they seemed like true characters themselves. 
 2. Persephone. While her dark hair and purple eyes (is violet even a legitimate eye colour?) are completely stereotypical, she had guts and I liked that. She knew what she wanted, wasn't afraid to boot it, was cunning, and quite sensible when she wasn't mooning over Azriel. She had gumption and as an overall character, I did enjoy her quite a bit. 
 3. King Finnius. Okay, so maybe he was naive and sheltered, but he was a sweet character. I like kings who want to do good so much better than tyrants, and even more, I love politics and intrigue. I really look forward to seeing Finnius grow and break free of his box and beat the manipulating butt-heads of his court. 
 4. The dialogue. I love wit, tongue in cheek humour, and sarcasm (when I get it which, let's be honest, isn't as often as it should be.) As much as I disliked Azriel for being a stereotype, I enjoyed the banter between him and Persephone. I laughed out loud more than once. 
 5. The ending (kind of.) I actually hated the cliff-hanger ending, but there was a certain reveal in the ending that I appreciated. It showed uniqueness, made Persephone all the more cool, and surprised me. 
 As I was a bit harsh before, I'll try to keep the complaints to a minimum. Let's just say this: 
 -The plot wasn't very unique, and many aspects were predictable. 
 -Azriel was irritating, had very little personality, and was exactly like every other Gypsy Thief character in YA novels. 
 -There was a cliffhanger ending. 
 While it did have quite a few good points, I'd say it was 'just okay,' which means 2 stars.