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A review by kimwritesstuff
This Princess Kills Monsters by Ry Herman
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I love a good fairy tale re-telling and this book has a lot of different Grimm Fairytales throughout. The main character Melilot, has a sort of evil stepmother and two very not evil sisters (one step and one half). Melilot is the awkward middle child, both of her birth parents are dead, and she doesn't have as much magical prowess as her sisters. The only thing Melilot is good at, is rapidly growing her hair. Which isn't as useful as you think.
When Melilot is sent away to be married to a prince she's never met, she is chagrined to say the least. Of course she's just a pawn in her stepmother's schemes. Melilot is traveling to meet her betrothed when her carriage is attacked by spider-wolves and 12 nearly identical huntsmen rescue her. From here Melilot learns that the kingdom is plagued by vicious beast hybrids. Melilot is determined to find her own way and she develops a sweet relationship with Sam, one of the huntsmen and definitely not her fiancé.
This book was a little chaotic at times, there was too much shoehorning of different fairytale pieces. At times it felt like a useless reference to either point out that Melilot was from a far more magical kingdom or that the author had done their research and could pull references out of nowhere. The actual plot lines of the story were good, and I enjoyed the resolution. The relationships all felt really organic, I loved the push pull between Melilot and her family. There was a lot of conflict that centered on Melilot feeling like she wasn't good enough and I enjoyed that even though she felt unworthy, she never stopped trying. There was a layer of complexity to this novel that was surprising. I liked the queer characters and that it was normal for the most part. Though there was mention of homophobia or at least coming to terms with a character's queerness, there wasn't any on page bashing or outright rejection.
I also loved the tropes that were included. There was everything from only a true princess can feel a pea through a mattress to True Love's First Kiss. It was fun to see how these were used either in a character's favor or against them. Overall, this book was a little chaotic, but I enjoyed the story.
Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the advanced copy. All opinions are my own.
When Melilot is sent away to be married to a prince she's never met, she is chagrined to say the least. Of course she's just a pawn in her stepmother's schemes. Melilot is traveling to meet her betrothed when her carriage is attacked by spider-wolves and 12 nearly identical huntsmen rescue her. From here Melilot learns that the kingdom is plagued by vicious beast hybrids. Melilot is determined to find her own way and she develops a sweet relationship with Sam, one of the huntsmen and definitely not her fiancé.
This book was a little chaotic at times, there was too much shoehorning of different fairytale pieces. At times it felt like a useless reference to either point out that Melilot was from a far more magical kingdom or that the author had done their research and could pull references out of nowhere. The actual plot lines of the story were good, and I enjoyed the resolution. The relationships all felt really organic, I loved the push pull between Melilot and her family. There was a lot of conflict that centered on Melilot feeling like she wasn't good enough and I enjoyed that even though she felt unworthy, she never stopped trying. There was a layer of complexity to this novel that was surprising. I liked the queer characters and that it was normal for the most part. Though there was mention of homophobia or at least coming to terms with a character's queerness, there wasn't any on page bashing or outright rejection.
I also loved the tropes that were included. There was everything from only a true princess can feel a pea through a mattress to True Love's First Kiss. It was fun to see how these were used either in a character's favor or against them. Overall, this book was a little chaotic, but I enjoyed the story.
Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the advanced copy. All opinions are my own.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny, Violence, Blood
Minor: Child death, Miscarriage, Transphobia