An enthralling tale of courage, destiny, and unexpected twists, as Princess Marabel sets out on a thrilling adventure to save her kidnapped brother and discovers the hidden truths behind the mystical realm of Magikos. A delightful blend of action and magic that will captivate fans of fantasy and fairy tales alike. (3.5 Stars)

This book was very fun. I love fantasy stories for middle grade readers. This book is quite the adventure with characters that are memorable and sweet. Especially talking unicorns.

Not a bad little fantasy story about a girl finding her courage and realizing she can impact her own destiny. A tad heavy-handed and didactic, most young readers won't notice and more advanced readers will hopefully be able to recognize and balance. It's not overly fantastic like Narnia, not as engaging as it could have been, it is still a diverting story that young readers may enjoy. Recommended for the 6-10 year old set.

My daughter and I really enjoyed reading this book, and it allowed me to see her interest in fantasy. I would be happy to read another book about Marabel.

Marabel and the Book of Fate was an enjoying middle grade read. I love the "chosen one" trope and liked how this story played a twist on it. The main character is Marabel and her brother Marco is the chosen one, despite Marabel seeming more cut out for the task. The story moved at a fast pace and the magic was done well and descriptive. I think the target audience (middle grade) will find a lot to like here.

This was a great middle-grade novel. It's a great recommendation for families that come looking for a book with messages woven in because it's not obvious that the message is a huge point in the book.

Marabel is trying to save her brother and her kingdom. After years of hiding her sword practice, she's given the chance to prove herself when her twin brother Marco is kidnapped by the Evil Queen. Marco is the Chosen One, as dictated by the Book of Fate, and Marabel will do anything to get her brother back.

I really enjoyed this novel! I don't read a lot of middle grade but i thought this was really fun an an excellent read!

This is one of my favorite children's books that I have read in a very long time. I found Marabel to be a stupendous role model and a friendly character that was so easy to relate to.


I read this book aloud to my two children - my son and daughter. In the story, Marabel's twin brother, Marco, has been called The Chosen One since the moment he was born. The entire fate of the kingdom rests on him, according to the prophetic Book the kingdom relies on in all things. With such a spotlight shining on him, it's easy to see why Marabel feels constantly cast in the shadow. My little ones immediately related to both characters. My son, being the oldest, often feels that he has the spotlight on him and he has a greater responsibility in life than his sister. And my daughter, being younger and not often getting to be the one out in front, doing something first, blazing a trail. What I especially loved about this book, though, is the relationship between Marabel and Marco. Despite being treated so differently all their lives, and despite there being probably a great many reasons for them to feel bitter towards each other, they have nothing but love for their sibling. They are best friends. As we read through the book, I found that my own children started modeling that kind of behavior towards each other.


If you've read some of my other reviews, you know that I have a big preference for children's stories that have a moral lesson in them. "Marabel and the Book of Fate" is absolutely chock full of excellent lessons, guideposts, and advice. There are parts about friendship, about accepting differences, having faith, showing compassion, listening to others, working together. It's such a fabulous little book. There are treasures on every single page.



As a special note, I have to say that Floriano is quite possibly my most favorite character of any children's book. He was so spunky and fun. I really loved him! I highly, highly recommend this book to all families and mid-grade readers.

Read this with the kids. They loved it. It was fun to go through the adventure with Marabel all while figuring out she was the one needed. Watching her learn what SHE was capable of.

I read this book along with my 8 year old daughter, here is her review, since kids are the intended audience:

I like this book because its SORTA like me. Except Marabel fights goblins, dragons, and befriends ogres. I also like how they added a unicorn. Floriano is sarcastic, funny, and completely how a unicorn should be. Mostly because he loves gazing at himself in the mirror. Like any unicorn should. Thats my review!

I chose this book because it looked like something that my daughter would love to read and it did not disappoint.

Marabel struggles in the shadow of her twin brother Marco, "The Chosen One," as he is dubbed. Marabel is sort of cast aside and has to practice being a hero in secret. Her secret skills come in handy as her brother is kidnapped and Marabel disobeys the wishes of her father to go after him. Along the rescue mission Marabel encounters all sorts of creatures and dangers. She finds that the Book of Fate isn't always as well-informed as it seems.

I thought that Marabel was an interesting, funny and well-written female character. Her friends are also quite entertaining with many laugh out loud moments sprinkled throughout. I will definitely be lending this to my daughters and recommending it to my friends who enjoy middle grade fiction. This story would also make for a great movie!

Thank you to my friends at NetGalley who gave me an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Magical creatures. spells, and a mysterious Chosen One, Marabel is a perfect story to read to begin a foundation of great fantasy story telling. I loved this book as did my own kids who are teenagers. We laughed at the unicorn's antics and like the promise of creatures such as giants and witches, The story holds good mystery and a fun way to introduce the realms of magic to young ones. A perfect mate to the Harry Potter stories...

I loved this book! The full review will be posted soon at kaitgoodwin.com/books! Thank you very much for this wonderful opportunity to connect books to their readers!

Fun, funny, very enjoyable. I love any book, even children's books and this one didn't disappoint. The magical kingdom they live in has many interesting characters, unicorns, ogres. witches. I would recommend it to my grandchildren.

A charming middle grade book about love and family and how to stand by those you love! Love the twin aspect, the story line, the characters. Loved the whole book. It's tame enough that younger readers with advanced reading skills could get into this book easily enough. Great book!

This was a sweet children’s story. Many children will love it because it has monsters, humor, and magic. The story moves at a fast-pace. Thus, it always keeps the reader interested. Matabele is a plucky character, who is often neglected by everyone in the kingdom. She has to find her courage and self-worth. I highly recommend this for fans of The School for Good and Evil, The Escape of Princess Madeline, and The Wanderer. I will definitely read this book again!

A Princess on a an adventure, that has an excellent level of fantasy and realism? What more could a middle grade reader want. This book was fast paced and engaging, it begged a reader to join the adventure. Plus a unicorn as a character that makes you laugh, this was a highlight to me for this book.

I loved this book and it made an excellent bedtime story for my little boy. He loves action and adventure stories. I made sure to read it to him when he was having a bad night which happened to be until the book was done. We both got a kick out of Marabel and her adventures. It helped him learn to like reading.

In the kingdom of Magikos, Marco is the Chosen One, as he was born on the thirteenth minute after the thirteenth hour on the thirteenth day. His twin sister Marabel was born a minute later, and often overlooked. Even when Marco is kidnapped on their thirteenth birthday, she is sent to her room and the Book of Fate is consulted. She refuses to let fear of the unknown rule her, and launches a rescue mission with her best friend and a unicorn looking for adventure.

This is a great book for middle grade readers. Marabel is a spunky young girl that isn't always sure of her abilities and gets scared. She moves on in spite of that, persevering and doing the right thing whenever she can. As a result, she is able to get through situations that would have frightened the average citizen of Magikos, where magic and wishes are strictly limited. They meet with fairies, giants, goblins and a giant, and Marabel is able to be clever and sure of herself in doing the right thing. My nine year old daughter also read this book, and was impressed by how well Marabel was able to navigate these problems. Marabel learns that the Book of Fate doesn't always have the answers, and that all the things labeled Evil aren't always. It's a story of maturity and growing up, and that others' perceptions of things aren't always accurate.

I'm not one to normally read children's fantasy but when I read the description for Marabel and the Book Of Fate I could't help myself. This book follows our main character Marabel, a princess in a magical land called Magikos. She's the forgotten sibling who lives in the shadow of her twin brother Marco- the Chosen One. Their society is directed by The Book of Fate, but when Marco is kidnapped Marabel starts realizing that things she once believed aren't always true. 

Going into this book I had to remind myself often that obviously this book was written for a much younger crowd so I really wanted to focus on my enjoyment of this book instead of the writing style and so on. It is very simple and easy to read. I found the characters adorable and I enjoyed reading about their journey from start to finish. 

My favorite part of Marabel's journey were the friendships she made along the way, especially with a very smug, special unicorn. I kept thinking how much I would have loved this book as a young girl. With all the magical creatures she meets throughout the book how could I not love it? 

The magic is simple, mostly witches and wizards and the obvious magical being. But it was still fun and enjoyable to experience. I liked all the little messaged about being brave and self acceptance throughout this book and think it would benefit a lot of younger people to read this- and maybe even some older ones.

The one gripe I had with this novel is the pacing. It all seemed a bit rushed even though there isn't too many things happening for the story to handle. Obviously that may be because it was a shorter book as to keep the attention of the younger readers. Overall I really liked this book and gave it 4 stars. If there's a younger reader in your life I would recommend you pick this up for them! If you're interested in purchasing it you can find it here! Thank you to Netgalley for sending this book my way for my honest review.