Reviews

This Princess Kills Monsters is a delightful retelling of the classic Grimm fairytale, The Twelve Huntsmen, and flips the story where we get the perspective of the neighboring princess, Princess Melilot, sent to marry the newly-crowned king Gervase of Tailliz. On the journey to Talliz, Princess Melilot is attacked by spider-wolves, only to be saved by a group of masked huntsmen in the king's service. While she was saved, she finds herself bristling against the traditions of Tailliz and particularly puzzled by the adviser to the king, a lion who seems to know everything there is to know about humans.

I really appreciated the re-telling and especially introducing (or emphasizing) all of the queerness to the story. Herman does a lovely job pushing Melilot's development and seeing her come into herself as a sorceress and whole person was a great adventure. The character exploration in general was so fun to see everyone (even the Lion) get some redemption as the story continues. I also really enjoyed the different references and easter eggs to other fairytale lore.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and RandomHouse for the advanced copy.

brewed_books's review against another edition

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4.0

This Princess Kills Monsters
By Ry Herman

This books was equal parts absolutely ridiculous, as well as hilarious and fun. The author tackles a lesser known and rather odd brother’s Grimm fairy tale from the perspective of the character with the least amount written about her. Throughout we have sprinkles of tales we recognize which I sometimes thought was a bit much, but mostly enjoyed.

Our MC had some depth to her and there was a lot about her relationship with her stepmother and her step- and half- siblings which I thought made her a more rounded character.

That being said, don’t go into this book looking for a ton of depth. But you’ll have a rollicking good time.

Thanks to @netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

divsenthilk's review against another edition

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adventurous inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Thank you to Net Galley and Random House Publishing Group for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This Princess Kills Monsters is a fairytale retelling from the perspective of a smaller character in the story, Melilot. I wouldn’t say it’s by definition a cozy fantasy as there’s a good amount of battle in the book, but it’s definitely a gentle and heartwarming fantasy. The writing was witty and clever — I loved the fairy tale references sprinkled in throughout, and I always appreciate fun chapter titles. From the Author’s Note, you can tell how much care and effort went into these aspects. The book starts with the fairytale it’s based on so you can see the mystery outlined, and I found most of the closures to the plot satisfying. The story is adventurous, which I loved, and action packed, which I think I have to accept just really isn’t my thing. I found the world well crafted — there were a lot of details to both the world and the magic system, but I found it all easily digestible without there being a bunch of info dumping at the beginning. The idea of retelling a story from the “side character’s” perspective led to conversations on appreciating mundane things, feeling “enough,” and making heroes out of parent/guardian figures. I loved this themes but I wished we dived deeper into them as a lot of what the book touches on with these conversations felt surface level. Melilot was a wonderful and complex main character, which really brought all the action and plot points together. She was strong and heroic, but we also got to see her insecurities. Seeing her character growth was heart warming and inspirational. Additionally, I LOVED the strong sisterhood, queer themes and acceptance, the descriptions in the lake scene, and the main romance subplot.

literarycryptid's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

stephanerd's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

3.0

katerzjoy's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? N/A
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This delightful retelling of classic fairy tale was a great read! Drawing in from several stories while blending them into a cohesive narrative and with a twist was something new and old. Set in a queernormative world our badass FMC is sent away from her difficult blended family in a magical kingdom to a limited magical kingdom with a patriarchal society.

The characters had depth and instantly adored everyone. Even the annoying characters and the villains. The plot was fast paced and a great adventure with twists. I experienced all of the emotions reading it and had relevant moments

Thank you Penguin Random House via NetGalley for providing me this advanced reader copy and the opportunity to provide my free and unbiased opinion

pastelpisces94's review

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adventurous funny lighthearted medium-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? It's complicated

4.5

This book was truly a treat to read! It's a melting pot of so many fairytale stories that most of us have grown up hearing, reading, etc. The story is seen through the eyes of Melilot, a young sorceress who only has one meager magical talent. She is told she is to wed a King in another land and sets out! Things go awry before she can arrive safely at the castle! I could not put this book down!

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