Seeing as I was a huge fan of The Secret Garden and The Little Princess (movies) growing up, I thought this was going to be so much fun! However, it fell a little flat for me unfortunately. It was adorable and an easy read but I by the end, I didn’t understand the purpose of the story? There really didn’t seem to be much plot. I will say, they blended the stories together pretty well but I wish there was more to the secret garden aspect.

I think the characters were the most interesting part. I loved the two girls friendship and then the friend they make together in Cedric but Sara’s love interest came out of left field and then just left me wanting for more by the end of the story 🥲.

Overall, a fun and cute historical fiction!

Having been a huge fan of both the Secret Garden and Little Princess I was worried about this adaptation/mash up. Personally this just wasn’t for me. I liked the characters friendships but it fell flat for me.

I’ve always loved “the little princess ” and so had high hopes for this story but in the end it fell flat for me. It was slow and hard to stay interested in

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

A retelling of A Little Princess and The Secret Garden. I have to admit, I´m unfamiliar with both texts, but I had hoped this novel would stand on its own. I thought it was okay, but not a new favorite. I wasn´t drawn into this very character driven novel. I would have wished for a bit more plot to keep my attention.

This classic retelling is a clever mash-up of The Secret Garden and A Little Princess. Both Sara Crewe and Mary Lennox are at the same finishing school where they meet Cedric Erroll and eventually Dicken.

In this version, Sara is from the Philippines so the tale explores the same themes as the originals with racism addressed as well. I really enjoyed this version and looked forward to the changes the authors made to the story to make it more modern.

I was disappointed in this book. The originals wew some of my favorite book s when I was child. This felt stuck in between age groups to me and I did not enjoy it.

Actual rating: 2,5 stars

First of all, I haven’t read Jo and Laurie, the first book in the same world, and I don’t intend to. Second, I haven’t read any of the tales this book is inspired by, so I can’t say whether it was a good retelling or not. However, after reading A Secret Princess, I’m very curious to read The Secret Garden.

A Secret Princess is the story of three best friends who met in a completely horrible boarding school. Far from their families, a strong bond is woven between the three children. Up until the day they decide to run away from school with dreams of Paris and theatre in mind.

That is how I’d choose to describe it for you to find out more about if you decide to give A Secret Princess a try. However, if you’ve read the description of the book, don’t bother reading the whole book, everything important is already revealed there. Yes, this is how complex the plot is. If we can even call it a plot at this point. It was such a mess, I wasn’t even sure where things were going and what the point of it all was.

The characters could have made things better, at least they had all the potential. Sara and Mary, two of our main characters are each respectfully of Filipino and Indian origins, providing interesting insight on racism in the 19th century. And Cedric, the third member of their trio, has a disability that causes him seizures and prevents him from walking on his own. These representation could have been great ideas if they had all been developed better.

Both romances have absolutely no build up. The love story between Mary and Cedric came out of nowhere and the romance between Sara and Dickon was so ‘Insta-Love’, it made me cringe as soon as they met. Both romances have no banter at all and are some of the blandest romances I’ve ever read.

I unfortunately can’t recommend this book and probably would have DNFed it if it hadn’t been an arc.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the copy in exchange for a review.

I really liked how fast and easy this was to read - it was a quick and easy read but it pulled me in quickly and I really wanted to keep reading. I have not read A Little Princess or The Secret Garden but I really liked this retelling (I know the stories from seeing movies or reading the synopsis when I was younger). I look forward to reading other books by these two authors and reading the other books they have out. This was really good and I would defiantly recommend this book.

What a delight listening to A Secret Princess by Margaret Stohl and Melissa de la Cruz was. This story retells the classics A Secret Garden and A Little Princess plus a few more Easter eggs placed in there. It takes the classics and adds diversity. Sara Crewe is Filipina in this story from what I remember. In this story both Mary Lennox and Sara Crewe attend the same boarding school along with Cedric Erroll who happens to be from another classic story. The three find joy and comfort in each other -- especially as the boarding school is such a dreary place. Then, tragedy strikes and the three run away from school and well, the story is one of resilience and overcoming bad times.

I genuinely enjoyed my time with Margaret Stohl and Melissa de la Cruz's A Secret Princess. This book has captivating main characters. I liked how the main characters retained their essences from the classic books, but we have some updates with regards to race -- got to love it when people get books that are mirrors. The romance for each character was sweet too and just played out perfectly. I also felt like the audiobook was such an easy listen -- easy to understand and sink right into. It is narrated by Billie Fulford-Brown and is 10 hours and 29 minutes unabridged. As I am trying to get through my TBR, I did listen to this one sped up - but it was still easy to follow.

The Secret Garden is one of my absolute favorite books so it was a no brainer to pick this one up. I am so glad I did I thoroughly enjoyed. I have never read A Little Princess but now it will be put on my TBR list.

This modern mashup kept me awake way too late reading it. If you have read and reread The Secret Garden and A Little Princess, you'll love this so much.

What if Mary Lennox from The Secret Garden and Sarah Crewe from A Little Princess were friends? With such different temperaments, what kind of duo might they make?

Once again, Stohl and de La Cruz masterfully handle the reimagining of beloved classics.. I appreciate their obvious love of and respect for the originals as well as the fresh take they usher in. The addition of a person of color was also a wonderful surprise! This mashup retelling of two of Frances’s Hodgson Burnett’s classic stories was a fun one that had me pondering what adventures some of my other favorite heroines might get up to if they should meet!

A Secret princess
Margaret Stohl and Melissa De la Cruz

My two favorite books into one amazing mash-up is a dream read. I loved the inclusion of a Filipina character, a dash of feminism, and inclusivity made this a wonderful reimagining for the youth of our time.

This brought the nostalgic memories! I love the secret garden and the little princess. I enjoyed the story, the characters were a bit difficult to follow but the plot was interesting enough that it kept me entertained. Looking forward to more.

A mashup between the Secret Garden and A Little Princess?!?! Oh my, yes please!!!! I knew this was going to be cute, but it was so very good!!!! The characters were brought to life in a whole new way to love!!!

Sarah and Mary are just as amazing as I remember them, but throw in some more spunk and attitude, along with a healthy dose of feminism and inclusion. Just wonderful characters, I love them both. It’s a super awesome touch to adjust Sarah as a Filipino girl rather than keeping her original ethnicity. As a half Asian woman, I really enjoyed that aspect. I’m excited about more inclusion in Ya novels these days!!

Then Cedric comes along and I adore him too!!! He adds an element of humor and a touch of love too. Oh the love in this book!!! Not too much, but just enough. My heart is still aching over the love in this book!!! I won’t go too into to depth, but just as in real life, not every romance works out. And it makes my heart just squeeze!!

The plot is absolutely phenomenal. I wasn’t sure how they were going to get all the important parts into one book, but they sure did!! Mary and Sarah do effectively become orphans, even if it’s not for an extensive amount of time. And there is a magical garden. More magical than I ever thought possible. I’d have to say the garden was my favorite part. My only small complaint is that it took a while to get to the garden.

A Secret Princess
By Margaret Stohl and Melissa de la Cruz
Published: June 28, 2022
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Huge thank you to @penguinteen
@netgalley and the authors for my copy of this lovwly story.

Summary from Amazon:"Best friends Mary Lennox, Sara Crewe, and Cedric Erroll are best friends. And thank goodness, since their boarding school is basically insufferable. When one of the friends suffers a personal tragedy, a plan—and a secret—change everything for the trio . . . for good."

I have been a long time fan of A Little Princess so when I saw there was going to be a mash up with The Secret Garden, I couldn't pass it up. Not only was there mystery and a little romance, but magic and hope and the value of true friends. And I absolutely adored the geographical change for Sarah. In this version, Sarah is Filipino. This was neat and I think added a whole other layer to this already tiered story.
For anyone looking for a sweet and all-together lovely twist on a classic, look no further.

@margaret_stohl and @authormelissadelacruz I can't wait to read Jo and Laurie!

#netgalley #penguinteen #penguinreviewer #penguinrep #asecretprincess #bookreview #classic #twist #reimagined #alittleprincess #thesecretgarden #franceshodgsonburnett

A Secret Princess was everything! Two of my favorite books are The Secret Garden and A Little Princess. So to see them combined in such a fun way was simply beautiful. I didn't know how it would work but you made it work!

Thank you for my advanced readers copy!

Thank you, NetGalley, PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group, G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers, for the chance to read this book in exchange of an honest review.

Mary Lennox, Sara Crewe and Cedric Erroll are best friends in their insufferable boarding school. When one of their friends suffers a personal tragedy, a secret changes everything for them.
A secret princess is a romantic retelling, mixing A little princess and The secret garden and written by the bestelling authors Margaret Stohl and Melissa De La Cruz.
I have to admit I've never read anything written by them, but I was so captivated by the cover and plot I decided to give this book a chance and I'm not regretting it, at all. The story is inspired by some classic literature's most beloved characters, mixing stories and with charm and romance creating something fresh, new and deeply original.
The story is surprising, the writing style evocative and the setting truly atmospheric. I loved the characterization and the bond between the characters, their relationship and how it changes in the book, while discovering plans and secrets.
I absolutely loved everything and I couldn't recommend more this book. It felt like I was there with them and it was amazing.

This was such a fun take on some of Frances Hodgson Burnett's classic stories. I enjoyed the banter between Sara, Mary, and Collin and appreciated that the author brought her own heritage into Sara's character. I also thought the updates Stohl and de la Cruz made to some of the more antiquated aspects of the books while still keeping the overall story set during the same time of the originals was a fantastic story choice.