Wow wow wow I love this book. Wowww.

(Am I listening to The Princess Bride soundtrack as I write this?? Yes, yes I am.)

First and foremost, this is an amazing Princess Bride retelling. As a Princess Bride addict myself, I lovedddd the references, the jokes, the cameos, the parallels. Of course, there is the gender-swapped aspect between the Westley and Buttercup of this book, which is super cool by the way, but there is also an Inigo Montoya figure in the threesome squad of kidnappers, and a “smart” leader they actually hate haha. No “inconceivable” reference, I do have to say, but I’ll let it slide ;) Basically, the retelling pieces of The Princess Will Save Youare absolutely spot-on; I don’t want to give anymore away so you can spot them for yourself!

I can’t really talk about it being a Princess Bride retelling without talking about the beautiful Westley and Buttercup, or in this case, our Luca and Amarande. Their romance is just as sweet and pure as in the movie, *sighs* true love. Sarah Henning did amazing at capturing the essence of The Princess Bride in this retelling, I’m telling you.

“Always, Princess.”

So basically, I knew I was going to love this from the get-go. I mean, it’s a Princess Bride retelling, so that in itself is freaking glorious. But something I didn’t quite expect is how good of a fantasy it is. The world is developed well, the characters are amazing, everything is spot-on, even if you know nothing about The Princess Bride.* And honestly, knowing the plot of The Princess Bride had no effect on how completely and utterly unpredictable this one was for me, it’s that good!! I adore the characters (our new Buttercup kicks some serious butt!!), and because the fantasy element is so fleshed out, I am confident the second one will be absolutely killer!! I am BEYOND excited to see where the story goes!!

If I have to critique anything at all, I do have to say in the last third of the book, there’s a scene that’s very similar to the movie. The fact that it was so similar changes the tone of the book a little and causes it to lose a bit of its originality, because the rest of it is actually quite different. That bothered me because I really appreciated the different direction Henning had taken the original story while still capturing the essence of the movie. I have the same critique with this book’s Prince Humperdinck figure - the antagonist - because he had the potential to be a really complex character but changed in the middle of the book to a very typical, douchey Humperdinck figure, which I thought was weird?? I wish Henning had chosen one or the other (new layered antagonist or evil Humperdinck) and stuck to it. With that being said, those two things were annoying but didn’t affect my rating (obviously) soooo fellow readers it’s all good 😂 the book’s still amazing so whatever!

I know this review is a little all over the place, but in some ways I wasn’t sure what to say about this book because I loved it so dang much! I can’t believe a Princess Bride retelling never occurred to me - it was a retelling I didn’t know I needed! I am beyond happy with how this book turned out; Henning exceeded my expectations and absolutely killed this retelling! I highly recommend it, whether you’re a Princess Bride addict (comme moi) or a high fantasy reader, or both!!

Thank you, Tor Teen, for providing me an arc of The Princess Will Save You in exchange for an honest review; all opinions are my own :))



* That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t watch the movie beforehand! I totally recommend it, it makes the book even more great!! However, I guesssss you can read this book without seeing The Princess Bride (though I’m making a very very sad face right now at the thought…). Actually, just watch the movie!! I’m waving my sword at youuuuu!!! Do it!! You won’t regret it! There’s also a Princess Bride book the movie was based on, but I wouldn’t want to overwhelm you ;)



If you enjoyed this review, you can follow me here on Goodreads and on my Twitter/Bookstagram @ashton_reads! Love you!

3.5/5 stars!

I was so excited about this book. Did it meet my expectations? No.

I have always loved THE PRINCESS BRIDE since I was a little kid, so when I heard about this book, I was SO excited! Now, I didn't hate this book... I just didn't love it. I really liked the world that the author created, and some of the characters were amazing. I think my biggest issue with this book was that I never connected with Amarande as a main character. I liked the idea of her character, but I never connected with her. I also did not like the ending—specifically, the epilogue. I thought that the entire epilogue was way too long and did a huge info dump that was not needed. I was hoping for a great cliff-hanger ending, and because the author included a huge info dump explaining the entire history behind the epilogue (If you read the book, you'll know what I'm talking about. Sorry, I’m trying to keep this as spoiler free as possible.) it made the huge reveal boring and uninteresting. I also just didn't like the reveal at all, I felt like it came out of nowhere and was unnecessary.

Another issue I had with this book was the romance. It felt very surface(y) and unbelievable. I think it was because we didn't get much time with Luca and Amarande before Luca is captured and she has to save him. Because of that, I felt like I was told that they loved each other, and not shown that they had a connection and loved one another. This also made the instant of Amarande realizing she loved Luca way less impactful and important. I honestly felt like the entire romance was not believable until the end of the book, and by then I was just going with it.

I also had an issue with how Amarande's character just left her kingdom with no leader? She is trying to fight for her kingdom and is so passionate about being its leader at the beginning of the book, but then she just leaves the kingdom vulnerable to go find Luca. This just really annoyed me and felt unbelievable.

For me, the only redeemable thing about this book was Luca's character. I really loved his character and found myself connecting with him. I also loved the gender swap aspect of the story and found it really cool. I also loved almost all of the side characters in this book. I think what will make me read the next book is the reveal about Luca's character. I did find it a bit obvious, but I do really want to see where the author takes this story.

Thanks for reading!
Caden

DNF @ 30% because apparently instead of being INSPIRED BY The Princess Bride this is instead LOOSELY INSPIRED and comes across as claiming to be whole milk but is, in fact, 2% milk which tastes really nothing like whole milk at all.

I'll try to pick this up again when I can get my hands on a physical copy, but consider me highly disappointed, staring sorrowfully at the wreckage of my ruined expectations.

DNF @ 30%

I am not vested enough in these characters. They are flat and lacking. I was expecting a Princess Bride vibe from this book, but there is so little humour. Not at all what I expected.

Thank you thank you thank you Tor Teen for sending me a copy of this!!!

The Princess Will Save You was a wonderfully done retelling of the Princess Bride. It had all the elements of good storytelling for me: wonderful writing, ship-worthy romance, political intrigue, and action.

Lets just jump right in. Spoilers ahead.

So this book took me completely by surprise. If you see reviews of the books I’ve been reading, you know that I just haven’t cared about any of them really, which sucks because they all deserved better (I will be rereading them later). But anyways the point is that I was cavernously deep in a slump. Like, I didn’t even want to read. I was forcing myself through books that all felt entirely mediocre until I finally decided to quit and immerse myself heavily in animal crossing for like 2 weeks. Nothing was grabbing me or helping me out of this slump.

But this one did.

I’m not sure what it was, but The Princess DID save me. Amarande was a wonderful heroine who honestly made me swoon. We stan a queen who doesn’t take any crap from anyone and she did NOT. Not ever. She never faltered. It was her way or the highway. I loved it. How many protagonists actually speak their mind every. single. time. Without holding back? Not many. She was an insta-love for me and honestly Luca just step aside, I’LL marry her. She’s got me wrapped around her royal fingers.

Now moving onto the romance, I enjoyed Luca and Ama. They had a precious bond that was rooted from childhood and had grown throughout the years. I will say my one issue was that I wanted it to feel more ALIVE. Their bond wasn’t as impactful as I wanted it to be, but I still felt it, especially later.

Now Luca as a character felt a little bit underdone in the beginning. He barley spoke and I wasn’t able to gage his personality like I wanted to. Not like my wife Ama. But I will say as the story grew, so did he, and in the end I definitely came to care about his journey.

SPOILERS FOR REAL NOW.


Him being the son of Oxtana...or however you spell it...whoa. Didn’t expect it. Wasn’t ready. Also was ready. I’m intrigued with how Sarah will weave the second book now that we know he is the ruler of Torrence, and how that will affect Luca as a character.

Back to my love, Ama. Her killing Renald like the boss she is made me almost clap. One thing I love about her is her ability to talk big and back it up with actions. Sarah actually gives her an opportunity to show how talented and ruthless she really could be if pushed to be so. God I just SWOON.


Anyways my fingers hurt so I’ll end the review here, the princess Will Save You is 100% worth the read.

Amarande is not a traditional princess. Raised by a warrior King to be strong and independent, she faces a difficult decision when her father dies and she is forced to marry before she can ascend the throne.

The cast of characters is brilliant, especially Ama who is fierce and driven. The pirates are fantastic fun, whilst the the villains have enough depth to be believable.

I wasn't blown away by the romance - for a lot of the book, I thought Luca was quite a boring character. He grew on me towards the end, but was still probably the only let down in the book.

This book is an action packed adventure with real heart, and I adored it!

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This review has been posted to Goodreads and will be submitted to Amazon after release.

Holy wow. What a great book! The fantasy setting, a princess who takes no prisoners, and a love story that is defended. This was such a great read! I was pretty much invested from the first chapter. I loved how Amarande would act and speak. It was easy to root for her and want her to get her love back. It was also so refreshing to be able to hear from so many different perspectives. It made the entire story feel like it had so many different levels and schemes. I will say, that the only thing I struggled with was the epilogue. I'm sure (now that I know there will be a sequel) that it will all be resolved, but it was kind of a killer with all of the female empowerment the book showcases. That was the best part though!!! A princess who is so empowered and believed in feminism without ever mentioning the word in the book. So well done and I know I have a lot of students who would enjoy it. The Princess Bride feeling was so strong and so well done.

The Princess Will Save You
coddled and not as good in a fight as she was hyped up to be
Starts referring to Luca as her love
Irrelevant names dropped periodically

The Princess Will Save You is a gender-bending retelling of The Princess Bride. Our heroine Amarande is the daughter of the Warrior King who has the strongest army in all the Skye & Sand (?) and has been trained her whole life to be a deadly warrior. After the death of her father though, she is informed she cannot be Queen unless she marries? It was so weird that her father left this archaic law in place but believed women had the right to fight and not conform to societal rules.

Amarande was so freaking fierce, never afraid to speak her mind or standup for herself or her kingdom. She never faltered in putting her kingdom first and considering what would be best for her people. I do have to say she was overhyped in her skills as a warrior though, but that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Her father had her trained and while skilled with a weapon she really was coddled in her training which we see in her journey to save Luca. I’m un-ideal conditions she realizes just how much her training was lacking and falters at the idea of actually killing someone. I saw the journey as humbling her rather than disappointing me that she wasn’t this magnificent warrior we were first sold on. When push comes to shove she does pull the trigger though.

The romance was a bit lacking. Luca is captured right at the beginning of the story though so we don’t get to spend much time with them together. We are instead told how Ama and Luca have been childhood friends that shifted into more and that everyone knew but them that they were in love with each other. I would have like to have gotten that feel for myself since it felt very insta-love even though it was a friends to love situation. When they are reunited though we get to see that affection in action though and by the end of the book it was believable.

Luca himself deserved better though. He came across as this sweet little cinnamon roll with no real personality beyond being incredibly kind and handsome. I wanted to see what Amarande did and understand why everyone that came across him liked him. He just felt like this weak love interest, a plaything of Ama’s which wasn’t fair to him at all. As the story grew so did his personality but it still wasn’t much. I’m hoping he gets more page time in the next book to help fill him out more as a character but think that definitely should have been handled in the first book.

The pacing of the book felt a little off. The beginning and end were the best parts of this book. Action-packed and engaging, really making you think and figure out just what the heck was going on that Ama didn’t know about. The middle seemed to drag on as endlessly as the desert Ama and Luca were trekking through. This is a decent sized book and I think the middle could have been utilized better. Ama does face challenges that change her during this time, but it was only her parts I looked forward to.

The ending blew the rest of this book out of the water and is definitely the reason why I’ll be picking up book two. Twists and turns, some that I was expecting and one that just completely shocked me. I know there are many more to come too just based off of the questions Ama herself brought up and the breadcrumbs scattered throughout the story.

Listen, I heard that it was inspired by the Princess Bride and genderbent and came RUNNING. This was such a fun reimaginging and I’m still shook because I really didn’t realize this was a duology and I literally screamed “WHAT!” at 3 AM after finishing the book because I didn’t realize it was the end.

I loved how fierce and passionate Amarande is. She’s constantly underestimated and she’s constantly proving everyone wrong and I LOVE THAT FOR HER. I especially loved her relationship with Luca and the lengths to which she went to save him and how HE KNEW THAT SHE WOULD COME FOR HIM! *sobs*

I especially loved the side characters and how funny they were. it was very reminiscent of the story it was inspired by but it never felt like a copy/paste situation. It was unique and fun in its own way. I definitely enjoyed the adventure, especially with the royalty and political marriage subplot. As I’m writing the review, I notice more and more the inspirations from the original story which is definitely really cool! I love retellings and this one is no different. It takes the story and makes it its own. The parallels were really interesting and literally I’m JUST now realizing them!

I haven’t read something quite like this in a while so it was definitely refreshing and I’m definitely looking forward to the sequel! I was definitely thrown off the trail with every little twist and turn this story took and the ending was a BEAUTIFUL SURPRISE. Every time I tried to think about what might happen I was thrown off and it was AMAZING.

You should check out this book if you like fun reimaginings, fierce princesses that can sword fight in gowns, fighting for your right to marry anyone (and not just royalty) AND rule the country, twists and turns, having to deal with slightly incompetent leaders, and lots of wit and charm!

Love a strong, savvy woman character! This is a fun Princess-to-the-Rescue fantasy - love story! A little sappy at times. There was a little bit of world building set during a time when horses and ships were the main modes of transportation. I would have enjoyed a bit more exploration into setting, the realities of the time. Very enjoyable read.

Digital copy provided by NetGalley. Thank you!

This book wasn't for me personally. I really wanted to like this and was looking forward to reading it but unfortunately, it was disappointing in the end. The Princess Will Save You takes on the story of a damsel in distress but flips it where the princess must go after her kidnapped stableboy that she is in love with. In the end, this book is a retelling of The Princess Bride. Now The Princess Bride is my favorite movie of all time so this should have been a bonus for me but the comparisons and similarities to The Princess Bride ended up hurting this book for me more than helping. All it did was remind me of the better version of this story that I would prefer to be enjoying over this book. Normally I like retellings but this just didn't work for me. There is retelling and then there is just duplicating what already exists. If you know The Princess Bride, the scene in the pit of despair was almost exactly the same as from the movie and I'm not sure why but it really bothered me. I wish the author would have done more with the story rather than making so much of this book an exact copy of The Princess Bride. I think some people will still enjoy this but it just wasn't for me.

Thank you so much to Macmillan-Tor/Forge for access to this NetGalley digital ARC.

Do you love "The Princess Bride"? Do you enjoy gender-bend takes on your favorite stories? Then you need this fantastic book in your collection! Henning masterfully crafts a fantastic land full of politcal intrigue between kingdoms and peppers it with elements inspired by "The Princess Bride". Some details are so minute, only the most avid of fans will notice them (It's my all-time favorite movie and one of my favorite books, so I had a lot of fun trying to pick out every single reference!)

Amarande is a bold princess, daughter of a warrior king. She spends her days training alongside her beloved stableboy Luca and learning to be the next ruler of the great kingdom of Ardenia. However, Amarande's world begins to fall apart at the seams when her father, the king, dies mysteriously. Soon neighboring kingdoms begin vying for the princess's hand in marriage and her own council is trying to sell her off to the highest bidder. When Luca, her true love, is taken captive by a band of three pirates, it's up to Amarande to save him, stop her own blackmail-driven wedding, and protect her kingdom from a massive war. This story is packed to the brim with action, adventure and romance!

Character backstories and secrets crop up along the way, and will leave readers with a driving need for the next installment in the series!

This book was a wild ride! I absolutely adored the idea of a gender bent/ feminist retelling of The Princess Bride and this book delivered.

Things I liked:
- The Princess Will Save You was a faithful retelling of The Princess Bride. It had the perfect blend of events inspired by the movie and its own plot points.
- I loved all the characters! Luca was such a sweet love interest and Amarande is such a strong but also flawed character. Their love was so sweet and I loved how they always made sure the other was consenting to their affections. Luca’s a cinnamon roll, which is one of my favorite male character types. The two of them had me swooning the whole book!
- I also adored the side characters! Ula and the other “kidnappers” were so much fun and their playful arguing had me laughing! Their character arcs were super fun, and I was rooting for them the entire book.
- I also loved the cliffhanger ending! That reveal in the epilogue was super unexpected, and now I need book 2!!

Things I didn’t like:
- I wish we saw more of Amarande and Luca falling in love in the beginning. Their feelings for one another felt forced in the beginning because when the book starts, they are already in love. I wish there had been scenes where we saw them care more for each other, and have them falling more in love, but by the halfway point I did believe in their devotion to one another. Maybe having flashbacks to back when they were children would have been nice

Overall, I loved this book and will be not so patiently waiting for the sequel! If you loved the Princess Bride, you won’t want to miss The Princess Will Save You!

Review will be posted on my blog on June 12th for the blog tour hosted by The FFBC

"The princess will save you. Yes, yes, that's right. That's how all the storybooks go."

Even though the princess pretty much never saves the prince, this Princess Bride retelling is all about it. After being pressured by her council to marry in order to retain the throne, Princess Amarande's stable-boy love is kidnapped to force her hand into marriage with one of the surrounding kingdoms. Of course, this book provides us with a strong female lead who takes no shit, so she rides off after him. This unfolds into a complex story of true love, sacrifice, political ambition, and plot twists so intense readers will need a few minutes to recover as Amarande comes to blows with the obstacles surrounding her in order to save her stable-boy and her kingdom.

Going into this book, I knew it was a retelling of The Princess Bride but it wasn't until I reached the end that I pulled myself away from the story and noticed the similarities between the two. I really appreciate how this wasn't a cut-and-dry retelling that made everything super obvious to the reader. Instead, Henning snuck in elements and characters that were brilliantly placed upon my eventual recognition. The creative license Henning took with the story is superb; she crafts an entirely new world upon which to tell The Princess Bride story that is vibrant and exciting. I especially love how Amarande is the heroine of the story and is almost the complete opposite of Buttercup while still holding the story true to it's inspiration. I did think the romance between Luca and Amarande started out a little slow, but it definitely picked up pace the further we went in the story as the barriers built up by the two of them for the castle's benefit were torn down in the face of danger.

Regardless of how you feel about a Princess Bride retelling, this story has something for us all, and I recommend this book for readers who are ready for a little spice in their lives anywhere from the age of middle school and on!

This book started off with a hope and a promise of an enjoyable book. The characters and the plot had potential, but there was just time that it really lacked a sense of reality. I’m fine with all sorts of fantasy and worlds and such, but this seemed to stretch everything just a little too much. I love fierce strong characters, but something that seems to lack is that there can only be one fierce character and it’s either female or male. Why can’t a strong female character want a strong male character? I get weary of the strong female leads with a crying, emotional male friend or love interest. We should be teaching girls, that we can do anything, be fierce, strong, but also it’s ok to have the soft side, emotions are ok too. The balance of the story was off, and it took so long to get through periods of time and then it seemed to really jump in terms of days and weeks and all. It was ok, just not a favorite and some issues that tend to be a young adult theme of weak characters and world building. Beautiful cover art tho.

I absolutely adored this. There is no getting around it. From the beginning, I knew that I would love this book just based on the synopsis alone. I love our main characters and the ban of thieves that follow! This is my first Sarah Henning book but it definitely won't be my last! I thought the pacing was fantastic and the world was intense and encapsulating. I don't usually gravitate towards romance-y novels, but this one had me cheering and bawling. Highly recommend for any historical or romance fans!

Special thank you to Tor Books/Macmillian for sending me an early ARC of The Princess Will Save You! I absolutely adored it!

I LOVED this one! I am a huge fan of the princess bride so when I heard of retelling where the princess is the hero i had ver high expectations and this book was almost perfect! I loved the characters and the world and I can't wait to find our what happens to them next after that cliff hanger ending. I will definitely be adding this to y personal library.

This first-in-a-trilogy book about a young princess, Amarande, trained to be a fighter by her father, who is suddenly fatherless (her mother disappeared years ago) learns that her father died - somewhat surprisingly of a heart attack - before changing the rules of accession. Her only hope for becoming Queen is to marry, ruling alongside her new husband. But the choices? Ugh. Then someone kidnaps her best-friend/castle stable boy with the goal of forcing Ama's (and her Council's) hand.

If anyone thinks that's going to go well, they haven't read enough of these books. There are two fairly obvious plots to follow up on in the next book, and then there's the cliffhanger ending. It would be great if Book Two contains at least a few surprises.

eARC provided by publisher.

First of all, the cover art for this novel is exquisite. I can't fault anyone for picking up this book solely for that Charlie Bowater cover. I wanted to love this book from the moment I saw it. Unfortunately, the story never quite reached the same peak.

Don't get me wrong: It's a perfectly serviceable fantasy that's enjoyable. But I think it's poorly served by the THE PRINCESS BRIDE comparisons. Yes, it's a princess rescuing a stable boy, but tonally, this high fantasy adventure has little to do with Buttercup and Westley. If you go into this looking for the humor of Goldman's story, you'll be disappointed. But if you want a fast-paced adventure with a bit of romance and a powerful female lead, you'll be satisfied. It didn't quite hit the spot for me, but I think it will for plenty of others.

*Thank you to the publisher and Sarah Henning for providing me with a EARC of The Princess Will Save You in exchange for an honest review * I was do excited to read this as a huge Princess Bride fan and TPWSY didn't disappoint! I loved all of the characters,both main and supporting, but especially Ama and Lucas. (Who is a Precious Cinnamon Roll who needs to be protected at all costs.) Henning does an incredible job paying homage to the original tale, while also making it new and exciting.