A review by thebiasedbibliophile
The Beggar Prince: A King Thrushbeard Retelling by Kate Stradling

emotional hopeful lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Thorben does not want to visit the kingdom of Elisia, especially not to attend a party for their snotty princess, Leonie, to find a husband. But he must keep up appearances as the soon-to-be king of his own kingdom and to please his mother. When the king of Elisia becomes enraged by Leonie’s behavior and swears to marry her to the next beggar who comes to their castle, most believe he would never follow through on the threat. However, Thorben finds out how serious the king really was when he accidentally stumbles upon the castle’s stoup while (in)conveniently dressed in beggar’s clothes. 

This was the first king thrushbeard retelling I’ve read, and I was so pleasantly surprised! It is such a cute and wholesome story, and I felt like Stradling did a fantastic job of making the storyline feel plausible. It would have been really easy to run into issues with plausibility, but the reasoning behind why Thorben was dressed as a beggar, why he ended up at the castle of Elisia, and details surrounding the annulment for the marriage all felt realistic and believable. 

Similarly, the romance was spot on! It was simultaneously lighthearted and serious, and I loved the overall tone of the story. The romance was gentle yet deep, clearly well thought out. I thought the dynamics between Thorben and Leonie were wonderfully done. They obviously didn’t like each other much at the beginning, and the progression of their relationship felt natural. Similarly, they ended up connecting on a deeper level, a must in any romance I read.

As a whole, The Beggar Prince is a great book! It’s perfect for pretty much any reading mood you might be in, and I’d highly recommend it both to those who are familiar with king thrushbeard and those who aren’t. 

I received an ARC of this book, and I'm leaving this review voluntarily.