Think 'The Prince and the Pauper' except its 'The Princess and the Gardener'...with a bit of a twist. The familiar story line of royalty switching with a commoner who looks, sounds, etc like them, is followed up by a mystery. Why are people dying? Is it the polluted water? Together the princess and her new-found friend set out to save the people. If you want to know if they succeed you'll have to dive in.

Aside from the fact I am a sucker for books that have royalty, it was the cover art that caused me to pick up this book.

Michael Strelow shows us how much Eugenie connects to the earth with wonderful examples. Sadly, he follows each with telling us the same thing as though the reader is not bright enough to understand without it being spelled out. Because of the narration style it feels like nothing really happens and the story merely plods along.

While well-written, the book lacks emotion – of character and of a connection to the events. I found it a bit boring, though it is a quick enough read to get through. Suitable for those who enjoy plot-driven stories as opposed to character driven tales.

Such a good idea! This was a really good one. I was a bit hesitant going into it to be honest, I wasn't sure I was going to be a fan. Don't worry, I proved myself wrong. Super good!

**I received an ARC of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**

It was a good book and I enjoyed it.

I loved this book alot. It is well written and really enjoyable. I read it in one sitting. Eugenie and Alyssa ending was surprisingly wonderfully unique. I want to read more by this author.

The problem with The Princess Gardener by Michael Strelow is that it is a story about two girls swapping places, but you never really learn enough about either girl to care. For a book written for third or fourth graders, this may be an ok thing, but it is very limiting and forces the book to read like a pamphlet for environmental awareness. One complaint I had was that we do not see both girls experiences, and I saw that there will be a sequel so I was hopeful. However, the sequel tells of another time in the girl's life completely. Additionally, without spoiling too much, it bothers me that while the environment is so highly valued there is no value placed on family which is odd for a book for children.

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks for the advanced copy of this one. Over to my ten year old daughter to tell us what she thought...

This is a story about a princess called Eugenie who absolutely hates her royal life. She loves gardening, and although the royal court objects, she spends most of her free time in the palace grounds with the gardener. When visiting a nearby village, Eugenie comes across a young girl - called Alyssa - who is exactly like her: not just in personality, but in looks. Eugenie discovers that Alyssa wants to be a princess, like she wants to be a gardener. In a fit of excitement, they daringly switch places. One tragic day, the kingdom falls ill and after the girls discover a cure, they must work together to prove it....

I love this book because after the first page or so, I felt like Eugenie was my best friend and I'd known her all my life. The storyline is intriguing and once the action had started, I couldn't put the book down. If I had to rewrite the book, I would not change a thing! I would 100% recommend the book to anyone who likes adventure and fantasy. I feel like this book will be a bestseller!

Personally for me, this story starts off slow, but picks up the pace a few chapters in. Do give the story a chance as I did end up really liking it.

I loved that it felt like you were reading a fairy tale. It had a classic children book vibe to it. The idea isn't very new and I've seen movies or read books where two girls switch places, usually one being a princess and the other being a "normal" girl.

This was cute though. There are some places I wish had more detail. I could not really grasp what anything looked like.

The ending felt rushed, but over all, I did enjoy the story.

I received an ARC copy from netgalley for my honest review,  so thank you netgalley and publishers for offering me this book! ♡
The cover, and description is what originally drew me to this book.
This was my first book by this author, It was okay. It was slow paced but it was alltogether an easy read. ♡ I give this book a
3.5 star rating!