I tried, I really did. I very rarely DNF anything, but I got to 375/498 pgs (that's 75% mind you) and just couldn't take it anymore. Honestly, the only reason why I made it this far is because I checked out both the first and the second book from the library and I really hate leaving anything unfinished - which might explain why my DNF ratio is something like 1400:3, even including everything I had to read back in college as an English and PoliSci double major. Also, I thought it might be interesting to read something from a male author, considering the genre is dominated by female writers. I may also have tried extra hard because I'm procrastinating over studying for a test and I usually feel bad about leaving reviews for something I haven't read completely. 
 Ok, the reality is that I don't even need to justify why this was a DNF, because I suspect many people reading this will already understand why. It's actually amazing that I did get through 75% of this book because all I can say is, it left me with a vague headache and feeling angry. I get that princesses and women are supposed to basically be caricatures in this book, but this book was such a mess with everything else, I just could not give a crap about any of the characters. The initial idea is interesting but the execution and writing are awful, and I don't even feel bad about being blunt, even knowing the author might be reading this! I've received more than a few scathing reviews in my lifetime and IMO, maybe this author hasn't received enough, because I could write a novella on all the things that went wrong in this book. 
 Characterization? Just WHO in this book is supposed to be likable? If it's Marissa, about 9/10 times she's just whining about poor her, she's not a princess, everything bad happens to her, she's a slave because of her naive choices as a teenager, and even the big reveal about her parents couldn't get me to muster up ANY sympathy for her at that point. The concept of Grimm is interesting until you realize he's just a bad plot device. The Black Queen or whatever? Who cares? I felt angry on behalf of Ari only because of the author's descriptions of her, which I'm positive other readers have pointed out in their reviews, so I won't even get into it here. Ari was the only half decent character and that just isn't enough to keep me reading. Liam? Oh, you mean someone could possibly be even more whiny and self-pitying than Marissa? She dumped you after one ridiculous "date" if it can be even called that, she didn't cheat on you or divorce you. There's that one prince who is missing, but it's never really established why anyone would really care, since by the virtue of being a "prince" character, he's like some slimy douchebag and we are told that straight out. Need I mention again that all characters are supposed to be caricatures? 
 Every scene in this book was so forced and unrealistic, including Marissa's love for Liam - which is actually worse than in any YA novel that I've read so far, and that's saying a lot - that I found myself speeding through scenes in some kind of desperate hope that the plot or something would eventually get better. The whole setup about matching a prince and a princess together was ridiculous...because "men are stupid," right? Are we all 12 and actually think this is how people get together? Scratch that, I tutor 12 year old kids who would laugh their heads off at the thought. Oh, Marissa jumped out of a building out of TRUUUUUE LOVE for Liam? *Now cue the friend who literally can't wait to inform the guy that Marissa just did that out of TRUUUUUUE Love!* Are you kidding me? 
 Okay, I'll end my rant here. The best thing I can say about this book is that maybe this book just wasn't for me. Maybe pgs 375-498 were amazing. Unfortunately, I gave this book at least three too many chances already and life's short, I have a long list of much better books to read.