The Princess Blog

I was excited to receive an ARC for Jura & The Giant , the first book in Maesopica, a series of mermaid-inspired reimaginings of Aesop's Fables, by Kathleen Solis. This book is a quick read with insta-love and fairly simple descriptions of a unique fantasy world, placing it on the younger side in terms of target audience. Though not a graphic novel, the book contains beautiful illustrations, which really drew me in towards the concept. I would have liked a bit more artwork, but I was satisfied because the pictures included are so stunning. It has roughly one full-color illustration in every other chapter. Jura lives in a pod with three other merfolk whose land is dying. Their mission as scouts is to find an inhabitable part of the ocean to relocate to. If that's not enough of a problem, there's also a carnivorous merman giant on the loose that her pod is strongly advised to avoid so they won't get eaten. This book is based on an Aesop fable called "The Lion an...

I received an ARC of The Curious Voyage  by Abigail Manning , which I believe is the final book in The Fairmyth Chronicles , a series that brilliantly combines fairy tales with Greek mythology. I was particularly eager to read this one because  Alice in Wonderland  and The Odyssey  are such a clever combination! The book did not disappoint, weaving together elements of both stories to create something entirely new, complete with all the fun twists that Abigail Manning is known for. The story contains elements from other versions of Alice's story as well, including the romance of Once Upon a Time in Wonderland and the battle against time from the live-action Disney sequel . Alyssius has barely finished saying her vows to King Percival when she is called away on a medical emergency. Did I mention she's also a doctor? After healing the Queen of Underworth, she attempts to return home to her new husband, only to realize that she can't. Each time she gets close to home, ...

Little Bo Sneak  by Abigail Manning is the second book in the Once Upon a Rhyme series , which takes old nursery rhymes and converts them into sweeping fantasy adventure stories. I loved the first book from this series as well as the last two , so I wanted to keep going with it. This book is about Evie, a character I wanted to read more about ever since her introduction in The Itsy Bitsy Liar . It's set in the same world as the other books with similar themes, but this one is more of a spy romance in the vein of Mr. and Mrs. Smith  with a touch of Ella Enchanted . Lady Genevieve, or Evie, as she prefers, is a noble lady who was hired at a young age to be a spy and perform tasks for her kingdom. When she gets a new partner to track down some enchanted wool cloaks, the only way to convince her family to let her go on the mission is by claiming that Shephard is courting her. This book masterfully weaves the "fake dating" trope into a dangerous fantasy world fraught with mag...

It's been a long wait, but the second batch of Mermaid Magic episodes is finally here. Produced by Rainbow sPa  in close conjunction with Winx Club , this latest Netflix drop happens only two weeks before the final episodes of the Winx reboot release on November 5th. To celebrate, one of the episodes included a not-so-subtle cameo of the Winx girls that got promoted on social media . With Disney subverting their girly princess media of late , Rainbow is now the ruler of the seas and skies, with both fairy and mermaid magical girls coming out side by side. Of these latest five episodes, the first one was the strongest, with some beautiful visuals and an action-packed introduction to the latest conflict in Metropia. Merlinda performs a coming-of-age ceremony in front of her family and friends, where she is bonded to a magical creature, similar to the Friendship Ceremony from the pilot episode of Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders . She rides a magic horse that can seamlessly ...

Fit for a Throne  by Abigail Manning  is the third and final book in the Fit for a Crown dark romantasy trilogy . I received an ARC of this book with a strong recommendation to read the first two, which I did . It is essential to at least read  the second book  to understand what's happening in this one, but it's best to read all three in order. This is the final battle of the trilogy. The title seems appropriate since it reads a bit like a clean/censored version of Game of Thrones, set in a violent world where everyone is forced to shed blood in their claim to the throne. If you enjoyed the first two books, you will enjoy this one. If you were hoping for more levity after the bleak tone of the first two, you won't find it here. Diaspro has chosen a prince, but now the throne is under siege as secrets have been revealed and masks have been shed. There were a few final twists to wrap up unanswered questions from the first two books, but they didn't shock me as much as...

Move aside, Time Princess ! There's a new dress-up game in town. Ever since its launch last month, Dressmaker  has taken the world by storm. My cosplaying days  may be behind me, but this game brings back all the nostalgia of visiting the now-defunct Joann's Fabric, picking out beautiful patterns and materials, and jumping on my sewing machine to watch my visions come to life. The history of the game is almost as remarkable as the game itself. Developer Jonathan Hau-Yoon created it for his wife, Sabrina Becker, when she was diagnosed with a mobility disorder that impacted her ability to sew. It turns out making dresses virtually can be even more fun and relaxing than doing it in real life. The game is a stress-free job simulation where you play as\ a dressmaker in a fictional kingdom inspired by several different historical eras with a diverse modern spin. The clients come in all shapes, sizes, and colors. Each has her own unique taste, allowing players to make dresses for al...

Fit for a Princess  by Abigail Manning is the other book I needed to complete before I could start my ARC for Fit for a Throne , the last book in the Fit for a Crown romantasy trilogy. I enjoyed it more than the first book , though it still takes place in a bleak world full of characters with very little compassion. Diaspro is a little more likable this time around, now that she has someone she wants to protect, giving a more respectable goal than trying to annoy the princes at every opportunity. I think this could have easily been the first book in the series if the king had decided to hold the bridal competition as soon as Diaspro's kingdom was taken under siege. Diaspro is still being forced to marry one of King Septimus's sons against her will, but this time, she's not alone. Due to her impudent behavior, Septimus decides to hold a bridal competition, forcing other maidens to compete against her or face execution. To further rouse Diaspro's ire, the king enters Mar...

I received an ARC of Fit for a Throne , the third and final book in the Fit for a Crown romantasy trilogy by Abigail Manning , one of my favorite authors. The problem was that I hadn't read the first two books yet! I decided to rectify that, starting with Fit for a Prince . In truth, I'd been avoiding this book for a while because the premise sounded rather bleak. A story beginning with the death of a prince, where his former betrothed is tortured and forced to marry one of the sons of his murderer, doesn't sound very appealing. Now that I've read it, I can say that the marketing was \spot-on. Anyone who is sold by the promos will get exactly what they sign up for, along with a shocking and unexpected twist at the end. Princess Diaspro watches in horror as the kingdom she was meant to be part of burns and falls to the wicked King Septimus. When she tells him that she was betrothed to the fallen prince, he decides to force her to marry one of his sons instead, claiming ...

I somehow misplaced my ARC for Of Crowns and Cantytowns  by Kirsten Fichter , and by the time I recovered it, the book was already out. Better late than never, right? This book is a gender-bent retelling of The Prince and the Pauper  from Beyond the Bookery's Twist of Tales series . Does that mean it's basically just a novel of Barbie as the Princess and the Pauper ? Well, not exactly. The story itself is very different. However, the book is chock-full of references to the Barbie movie, especially in the first few chapters. There were so many direct quotes from the film that it got a little distracting at first, but they tapered off once the story got rolling. Princess Sarina is sick of her royal life and wants to start over. Why? There's no specific reason. Like most princesses , she simply wants to be free to see the world without being confined by her royal duties. When she meets a peasant girl named Cait who looks almost identical to her, she stages an "accident...

Despite my overflowing TBR list, I couldn't resist signing up for an ARC of To Love a Siren , a retelling of "The Little Mermaid" from Christina Farley's Fairy Tale Hearts series . It took a bit for me to get into this book because of how many layers there are to the story, but it was worth it in the end. Christina Farley has clearly done her homework and created a complex magical world inspired by fairy tales, real-life writers, and fantasy lore. This is not a light read, but a deep and fulfilling one that combines many different elements. It also contains an homage to "The Snow Queen" that is far more accurate than the Disney variant . The Fairy Tale Hearts series is different from other series of fairy tale retellings because it includes the original writers as the main characters in their own stories. This mixture of history and reality can be a little hard to take in at first because there are so many contrasting layers that must blend together to crea...

Of Truth and Treason  by Jaiden Phillips is the next ARC I received from the Twist of Tales series from Beyond the Bookery . A gender-bent retelling of "Mulan" is definitely a challenge to pull off because Mulan's gender identity is at the heart of the story. The author found a way around this by making the main character try to hide the fact that his father was wrongfully deemed a traitor. This is a good workaround, but it does change the essence of the original story. The book takes place in an Asian-coded world where everyone follows Western-coded beliefs, which might not be the most culturally sensitive way to handle this particular myth. Still mourning the loss of his father, Tallan decides to take his family's place in the war to try to learn the truth about what he died for. Since his father was branded a traitor, Tallan is forced to hide his clan identity and lay low from the other soldiers as he navigates the mystery of his father's death. Along the way...

I signed up for an ARC of The Masked Princess  by Melody Crane  without knowing much except that it's a no-spice fantasy book about a princess. It was a little darker than I expected, with a plot revolving around a princess cursed to kill anyone she touches. The charming romance made up for the darker elements with a sweet courtship between childhood friends. The book was a bit longer than I would have preferred, but the writing was solid, with a detailed setting revolving around royal politics and rival kingdoms. Princess Annalise is a kind soul with deadly powers. Anyone who makes skin-to-skin contact with her will die a gruesome death. She wears gloves at all times and tries to keep her distance from the people around her. To make matters worse, she is forced to cover her face with a mask due to a false claim that she caused a miscarriage by coughing too close to someone. The mask serves as a constant reminder of her curse, making her ashamed to show her face in public. Thi...

Although hundreds of new anime series come out every year, Goodbye, Lara  was special. It was a contemporary incarnation of only a few animated shows from the past few decades inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Mermaid."  It will stand alongside future commentaries about the Disney and Saban series to analyze the impact that this 200-year-old fairy tale had on past generations. Now that the series has ended, I have some thoughts I'd like to share about its impact on "Little Mermaid" lore from the past, present, and future. Goodbye, Lara is a contemporary take on "The Little Mermaid" that portrays the titular mermaid, Lara, being reincarnated in modern-day Japan. However, it celebrates the story's older roots by taking advantage of the longer lifespan of merfolk and covering several centuries' worth of their lives, beginning with the prince who initially betrayed Lara in the 1800s, when the fairy tale was originally written. ...

My latest ARC from Beyond the Bookery's Twist of Tales series is Of Ice and Promises by Jenny A. Bee . This book is a gender-bent, magicless retelling of "East of the Sun and West of the Moon," which sounded like a pretty big challenge. Fortunately, she was up to the task and wrote a convincing story that drew enough elements from the fairy tale to be familiar while replacing all the magic and trolls with real objects and people. I have to admit I was impressed with how well this story worked under such rigid guidelines. The premise of this book works well as a retelling of "East of the Sun and West of the Moon," but the circumstances of the male protagonist also reminded me of a lesser-known Brothers Grimm fairy tale, "The Story of a Boy Who Went Forth to Learn Fear"  also known as "The Boy Who Left Home to Find Out About the Shivers."  Both stories are about a boy who agreed to stay in a stranger's mansion under mysterious conditions ...

When I first saw the covers for the Tethered Hearts multi-author series , I was the most intrigued by  Ties of Deception  by Alice Ivinya . Something about the pose and expressions on the characters' faces made me curious to know more. It took over a year before I finally found the opportunity to read this book, but it was well worth the wait! It instantly climbed the ranks to become one of my favorites from the series . It has an original and engaging story with beautiful imagery and strong ties to Asian culture  and the  Hades and Persephone myth. The story begins with a goddess awakening in the body of a fully grown woman with no memories of her past or identity. A family tells her about her role to bless the kingdom by spreading joy. She discovers that her name is Purity, one of many Graces who bless families in the surrounding lands. The more she learns about her role, the more corruption she uncovers in the society surrounding them. When she is brought before ...

Of all the ARCs I received so far from the Dungeons and Legends series, A Fable of Desolation and Do-Overs by Sydney Winward  is the closest interpretation to an actual RPG. This book takes place in a Dungeons and Dragons-inspired world with elves, magic, and monsters. It follows a video game-style quest that feels like it came straight out of a modern anime  and covers everything from time travel to tyrannical monarchs to apocalyptic catastrophes while still having time for an endearing romance and a cute animal sidekick. Though I wasn't familiar with the story of Koschei the Deathless  that inspired this book, it drew more elements from anime and RPG tropes that I know quite well. Our story begins after the worst has already happened. The wicked force plaguing the elf kingdom took many lives. A heroic elf named Lirael uses a magic crystal to go back in time and try to prevent it from happening again. He teams up with his brother, Myrren, and together, they seek ...

My next ARC from Beyond the Bookery's Twist of Tales is Of Shadows and Snow  by Kaytlin Phillips . This book is a gender-bent retelling of "The Snow Queen"  with no magic and strong religious undertones. It's a darker story compared to the other books I've read from this series. It has a male lead who struggles with a heart condition, something I don't see often in fairy tale retellings. Although the book doesn't have a lot of levity, it concludes with a message of hope. After being wrongfully accused of murdering the king her served, a broken man named Koa escapes to a neighboring kingdom, where he befriends Princess Emalyn and her brother, Prince Gaelen. Ashamed of his tragic past, he keeps the dark secret from them until the vengeful king's son begins attacking Koa's people and takes Princess Emalyn captive to force her to form an alliance with him. Soon, Koa's tragic past is revealed to Gaelen, who must decide if he trusts him enough to h...

Of Pine and Pretense  by Laurie Lucking is another ARC I received in the Twist of Tales  series from Beyond the Bookery . This book is a non-magical retelling of "Rumpelstiltskin" with heavy inspiration from Cyrano de Bergerac . It's a beautifully written story full of twists and turns with a proactive heroine at its heart. I enjoyed reading it from the princess's perspective and following her journey alongside her. Having enjoyed the recent musical adaptation of Cyrano , the incorporation of those elements made the book unique as a fairy tale retelling. Princess Deirdre has never forgotten her former sweetheart, Oran, who lost touch with her after getting drafted for a war. She looks for signs of his return everywhere she goes and finally discovers one in a marketplace where she recognizes his craftsmanship on a chest for sale. Jumping at the opportunity for a long-awaited reunion, she asks the shopkeeper to recruit the craftsman to work on a cathedral her kingdom...

Of Knives and Nobility  by E.G. Bella is another ARC I received from Beyond the Bookery 's new series, A Twist of Tales . It's meant to be a gender-bent retelling of "The Princess and the Pea,"  but it reminded me more of "Snow White" and "Rapunzel" due to having a malicious and abusive queen. The narrative is done very well with a dual POV between the prince and princess that allows readers to get to know both characters. It's filled with action, suspense, and romance, culminating in a thrilling adventure with strong moral values. Prince Fenrick feels discouraged after his brother's wedding when he realizes he gave up on a great opportunity for a marriage alliance with Princess Ellina. Since then, Ellina's mother has made it nearly impossible for suitors to reach her by giving them impossible tests to earn her daughter's hand. Desperate to prove his own worth, Fenrick volunteers himself for the tasks and grows closer to Ellina i...