The Princess Will Save You is a breath of fresh air when it comes this genre of fantasy. Her father has died without and "appropriate" heir and our main character must navigate the new political landscape where she is no longer a treasured daughter but a glorified brood mare. When the only person she is interested in is kidnapped, she takes it upon herself to rescue him leaving the future of her kingdom hanging. The writing in the book is good and the flipside of what we have come to expect as far as the characters' roles is fabulous, the basis was flawed. Sneaking out in the midst of the marriage negotiations was a move that would have thrown everything into chaos proving her a terrible ruler and unfit for the throne. The characters were likeable, but I didn't find myself drawn to either the way I normally would. This was a good book with the potential to be a great book. I am hopeful we will see the greatness in the next installment.

The cover art is absolutely beautiful!

This is billed as a gender bent Princess Bride. I think that the only thing really is that Luca is the poor farmer and Amarande is a princess. Any way it was good YA story with a tough female lead. The end is a bit of a cliffy so the sequel needs to come soon.

this was a really fun fantasy and easy to read and follow through. it's not really a princess bride sort of retelling, but I did notice the resemblance in the end of the book, and was enjoyable to see. this was so fun and I'm hopeful for the next ones.

I received an advanced copy from the publishers via Netgalley for an honest review.

2.5 stars.

This novel is likened with a Princess Bride re-telling, however, gender swap. A lot of the novel is not really a re-telling, but the same story line modified a bit. There were bits and pieces of this that just seemed to drone on for me and it was really hard for me to get into. I finally got to a point where I decided I just need to finish it and pushed through. Not really impressed by this and will not continue in the series. The ending was a bit far fetched and clearly was made to continue on the series....and just made me roll my eyes. No thanks.

From the first paragraph, I knew this book would be a good one. I immersed myself into the book from the first chapter and I cannot say enough good things about this book! Honestly amazing! The writing is incredible and the plot is just one to die for. I am absolutely obsessed with this book. My favorite part would have to be the character development throughout the book. Character development is something I look forward to and this book did not disappoint.

I absolutely loved this book!

I have always been a fan of The Princess Bride and this gender swapped Princess Bride made my heart so happy! I can’t wait to read the rest of the series and the finale!

The political intrigue so far is great and I can’t wait for more. Thank you Tor for the copy in preparation for the finale book!!

I received this free eARC novel from NetGalley. This is my honest review.

This has been on my TBR pile for so long, and I'm glad I finally got around to it. I really enjoyed the storyline and seeing the characters change throughout the story was a great character development. The plot was great and kept my attention. I'm glad I got the chance to read this and will be on the lookout for more in the future! Looking forward to the rest of the series!

A feminist fantasy novel that takes all the distress out of the damsel, but leaves the adventure and swooning and badass-ness.

This seemed like a fun series because it is a Princess Bride retelling. However, I thought it did not have much of a plot and was slow moving. I also could not get into the characters.

The Princess Will Save You was a fun read, but I found myself unable to connect with the characters. I loved that this story was loosely based on The Princess Bride in a gender-bent way. I love a strong female character who will fight for what she loves and I enjoyed the action and adventure. Nonetheless, this book ended up being pretty forgettable for me since I found the characters a little lackluster. I do hope this book finds readers who will adore it, unfortunately I wasn't one of them.

2.5 Stars

I loved the character development and world building, generally another good fantasy novel for this author. I'm excited to read the rest of this series. (I've reviewed this book like 3 other times, idk whyit keeps showing that I haven't. I don't remember that much about it anymore it's been so long)

This book began super interesting, and I was immediately captured. However, throughout the book, the pace was slow, and stayed that way until the last couple of pages. I am still interested in seeing how the story progresses, though!

Love love love Amarande!

Prince Amarande has an unconventional upbringing. King Sendoa trains her to be a fighter and teaches her to use her mind and trust her instincts. Which lead to her growing up training with Luca, the stable boy.

When King Sendoa dies, Amarande’s world is rocked and she doesn’t believe that her dad just died of natural causes. But being a woman in a patriarchy, her wishes to launch an investigation were ignored. Just as her opposition to marrying someone from the neighboring kingdoms. In order to be eligible to rule, she needs to find a husband first.

As royalty from the neighboring kingdoms arrive for King Sendoa’s funeral, Amarande shows them exactly who she is and that she won’t be pushed into something against her wishes. Little did she know that the one responsible for her dad’s death was among those who attended the funeral. Just as she made her stand known about her marriage, Luca is kidnapped and as soon as she finds out, she doesn’t pause to think things over and sets off to save him!

During Amarande’s adventure to rescue Luca, because she does, she learns that even though her dad raised her to be a strong independent individual, the world doesn’t see her as such and that no matter how much training she’s had, it’s not enough when facing real dangers.

I absolutely loved how she’s a warrior princess. How even in the most pressing situations, she was able to keep a calm mind and think her way out of messes. Just as Amarande learns a lot about herself and the world, Luca does too. He kept a cool collected mind and knew that Amarande would come for him so he left her a trail to follow.

All the plots and schemes keep the story interesting. Having a princess who isn’t dainty and delicate (at the beginning) is different from the norm, and i liked that a lot. She gave 0 shits about how her gown got ruined. However, she is a little entitled/spoiled/ignorant when it comes to the value of the diamonds her country is known for. Up to the last page, there were secrets being unraveled which leaves you wanting more!

Had no idea this wad inspired by the princess bride, was a nice surprise. Really enjoy her writing. Was quite enjoyable

Want a unique fantasy novel? Honestly look no further! A massive thank you to fierce reads for sending this my way because boy was I sleeping on this book!
I’ve been feeling super slumpy with my fantasy books just desperately wanting something new and fresh and that’s totally what I got here. I adored our main couple and the plot!

The Princess Will Save You was a nice break from the stereotypical princess story. It began as a simple story but it leads into a much more complex plot with political intrigue and machinations. On the most basic level, this is a story of a girl saving the stable boy, almost a reverse of the Princess Bride; however the political backstabbing and scheming on the part of so many characters was what made me want to keep reading this book.

Amarande is the princess of Ardenia who is quickly catapulted to queen, who must marry, after her father's untimely death. This leads to the kidnapping of the stableboy, Luca, with whom she has grown up and cares for more than anyone else. Luca's steadfast belief that Ama will come for him seems so out of place; however as I kept reading you realize that Amarande is a strong facinating character who would do anything for her friend and her country and will not be manipulated by those around her. Her desire to stay strong regardless of what it may cost her endeared her to me.

Overall, this book was well written and I look forward to reading the sequel.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC to review honestly.

This was so fast-paced and cinematic, I came away feeling as though I'd watched a YA Netflix show. So many plot twists, lots of handsome young people giving each other flirty side-eye and finding 'true love' at 16 (particularly jarring in this one, when up against the attempt at a serious political plot), even an epilogue to set up the sequel that makes a huge, in no way foreshadowed, reveal. It's enjoyable but kind of silly. I'm probably getting too old to take kids in their mid-teens saving the world seriously, but I do love the actively feminist turn YA is taking.

I'm a little conflicted about what to rate this book but it is between 3 and 3.5 stars for me. Firstly, going into this book I actually didn't know it was a retelling. The cover and title is what drew me in along with the promise of a strong female main character in its summary. I've seen The Princess Bride a single time years ago as a teenager and...I didn't like it. I also don't remember much of it so this review is truly based solely on the book's own merit without any kind of bias attached to it.

I wasn't disappointed in the delivery of a strong female main character. Amarande, while not as complex as you typically see in the YA fantasy genre, has a sweetness to her simplicity. She is determined to save the love of her life and absolutely nothing is going to stop her from achieving it. I liked that she refused to let others dictate what she was going to do and that she wasn't afraid to journey on her own without any support. I liked that the book slowly built up her relationship with her father with the way it would show flashbacks to words of wisdom he told her but I do wish it would've touched more on Amarande's grief. With her father being the only parent she's ever known and them having such a close relationship, I would've expected to see more emotionality out of her over his death than was shown. I found Luca to be so incredibly sweet. He was the perfect counterpart to Amarande's fierceness with his more understanding nature and his easy way of connecting to people and animals, even to the pirates who kidnapped him. His love of Amarande was so pure and put a smile on my face multiple times while reading. I also really enjoyed the pirates as side characters, especially Ula. They are surprisingly complex for side characters and it's easy to see that their relationships with each other are complicated and full of unspoken things. I hope to see them featured in the sequel!

The plot ran a bit slowly for me, especially in the beginning. There's a lot of build-up in the first 10 chapters without much happening which made it a struggle for me to get into, but by the middle of the book I flew through the pages. However, I do think there are parts of the book that could've been cut without losing any of the enjoyment of the story such as Renard's point of view. I would've rather had the surprise of his character appearing at different times than knowing exactly what he's doing as he's doing it. The names of the characters and places were also difficult for me to pronounce and keep straight while reading. I mixed up Dunixi and Urtzi countless times. I also wish there was a bit more passion and realness to the romance between Amarande and Luca. Their affection almost comes off as polite rather than having any desperate edge to it which you would expect from a character who crosses a treacherous desert all alone to save her love.

Lastly, this is surprisingly a book I would recommend checking out the content warnings for. I'm usually pretty unbothered by everything in novels but this book contains a scene of torture that literally turned my stomach. I had to skip pages which I've never done in a book before so please just be aware. It truly is a disturbing scene.

I am on to the next book for which I have high hopes for after that huge twist at the ending. The entire time while I read this book, I kept wondering who "The Queen" was that owns the title of the second book The Queen Will Betray You. I hope my heart isn't broken by the promise of that title!

When a princess’s commoner true love is kidnapped to coerce her into a political marriage, she doesn’t give in—she goes to rescue him.

When her warrior father, King Sendoa, mysteriously dies, Princess Amarande of Ardenia is given what would hardly be considered a choice: Marry a stranger at sixteen or lose control of her family’s crown.

But Amarande was raised to be a warrior—not a sacrifice.

In an attempt to force her choice, a neighboring kingdom kidnaps her true love, stable boy Luca. With her kingdom on the brink of civil war and no one to trust, she’ll need all her skill to save him, her future, and her kingdom.

This was such a fun YA fantasy book that I was easily invested in. I loved Amarande and her bada$$ character, I loved her father and the way he raised her, and I LOVED Luca, but this story did fall a bit flat for me. I ended up rating this one 3.5⭐, but I'm still looking forward to book 2.

A great story where the Princess is the one who does the rescuing. Amarande is devastated by the sudden death of her father, the Warrior King. But no sooner is his body cold than the neighbouring Kingdoms are fighting for her hand. They kidnap her childhood friend and love Luca in order to force her to choose one of them.
But Ama is her father's daughter and she will make her own choices.
Chasing her enemies through the Torrent wilderness in a balldress and swords, fighting bandits and thieves, Ama is the Princess that will save you.
Amaranade is strong and yet not afraid to lean into her position as a woman,. She knows what happens to girls like her when unattended and she doesn't take unnecessary risks. I thought she was a great role model and I simply loved her stableboy's affection and belief in her.
The plot was steady and the characters were well fleshed out. You felt the tension and sympathised with the Princess and, oddly enough, with the Pirates.
There were a few points where things got a little cliched and it was nowhere near as funny or tongue in cheek as the actual Princess Bride (which it was supposed to be a gender-bend of) but I found it really enjoyable.