This was a cute story with so many fun elements. I enjoyed the humor and the character development was really well-done and believable.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group and Dial Press Trade Paperback for this E-Arc. All my opinions are my own.

I had fun with this book, 4.5/5. Princess Melilot has to complete quests for her stepmother and is put into random and albeit dangerous situations. One day she is told she has to go marry a king and she cannot say not. There she meets 12 huntsmen that are masked and hard to tell apart and there is danger lurking, while a magical lion is really into gender roles. All that to say- this book is absurd and I adored it.

I think this was an interesting mashup of fairy tales and I enjoyed Mx. Herman's writing style. The way that the characters told stories within the stories was great and I loved how we found out more of Melilot's past piece by piece. I thought the characters were all fun especially Melilot's sisters and in-laws and wish we could have found out more about them because I always laughed when they came up. Although I do believe that the resolution felt a little rushed and was a bit anti-climactic. I think what really made me enjoy the book the most though was Melilot's relationship with her Stepmother and what we saw come from the story after.

Overall I laughed and even teared up a little from this book. There were some great one liners and I will never look at a lake with its ducks the same.

I think it’s safe to say that you can judge this book by its gorgeous cover!
I’m so very happy to slap big ol’ 5 stars on this novel. It is FUN. I grew up with fairytales and have always been fond of their wacky and sometimes even gruesome stories. The novel takes a good handful of them to create a delightful confetti mix of references, witty moments, and fun characters. Melilot is a solid protagonist whose character arc feels steady. All the side characters are equally enjoyable. I would happily read a book about every one of them! (hint dear author, hint ;) )

The novel will be published June 2025, be sure to pick up a copy. Thank you Netgalley and The Dial Press for my ARC! I am lucky I got such a wonderful experience from this early read.

4.5 ⭐️

This book was such a joy to read. It's a satirical take on The Twelve Hunstmen and it is loaded with all kinds of weird, unhinged behaviour that you should expect out of the classic Grimm's fairy tales. Underneath the silly moments and dialogue are tender moments, a lot of love, lessons of acceptance, reflections on behaviour, and a bit of romance.

There were a few moments here and there where the pacing could have been better, but overall it was very well written. The story flows well, the writing keeps you engaged, and overall it is just heartwarming and hilarious.

This book was good but felt flat to me. I didn't really connect with any of the characters as it very much felt like they were characters or shells of people suited to different roles in the story as opposed to more realistic depitions of what people would be like.

Also the plot felt undeveloped and the romance very insta lovey.

Overall I enjoyed the book, but would say the level of writing is what I would expect from a high schooler filling a prompt for English class, not a novel from an established author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for an eArc in exchange for an honest review!

3.5 stars.

This book was a ridiculous read (but in kind of a good way)! True to most fairytales, it was a book that you couldn't help but not take it too seriously. I couldn't predict what would happen next at some points because things would just come out of left field, but I guess that is what a fairytale does half the time! It was fun reading the twist the author gave on the original fairytale by making it more ridiculous while also including some nods to other well known fairytales! I also really enjoyed the LGBTQ+ representation in this book especially (Sam has my heart!).

One gripe I did have was that I did find it a bit long, with the plot dragging on at times. I had a hard time getting into the plot for the first 20% of the book because nothing was really happening until we got to meet the huntsmen. The writing was humorous, but at times some things didn't really land for me.

Overall, a fun read!

First and foremost thank you to Random House Publishing Group and Ry Herman for allowing me to read the arc of This Princess Kills Monsters in exchange for my honest review!

This Princess Kills Monsters takes everything we know and love about traditional fantasy and gives it a refreshingly modern, hilarious twist. The book felt like a love letter to classic fairy tales, blending familiar elements with inventive characters and a fresh perspective. I couldn’t help but smile whenever I spotted clever nods to beloved tales woven into the story—it created a delightful balance between nostalgia and originality.

One of the standout aspects for me was the storytelling within the story. Whenever the characters told tales to one another, it was not only an inventive way to deliver exposition but also an experience that fully captured my attention. These moments broke away from the usual narrative flow and brought a creative spark to the pacing that felt incredibly satisfying.

The characters themselves were deeply engaging. The protagonist was charming and easy to root for, and her siblings were equally captivating—I’d happily read an entire book focused solely on their various tasks and adventures. The love interest, too, was magnetic and wonderfully written. From the moment they appeared, I was invested in their relationship and eagerly rooting for them to get together.

That said, I did feel a little let down by the ending. While it seemed intended to deliver an emotional payoff, it didn’t quite hit the mark for me. The resolution felt a bit rushed, and I was left wanting a stronger sense of catharsis for the protagonist. It wasn’t necessarily a bad ending, but it lacked the emotional depth and impact I had hoped for, which made it feel less earned.

Overall, This Princess Kills Monsters is a delightful and inventive fantasy story, full of humor, heart, and creativity. While the ending didn’t quite live up to the rest of the book, it’s still a captivating read that I’d highly recommend to fans of modern fairy tale retellings.

Thank you so much to NetGalley for this book I had soooo many to get through and this was seriously the best out of the 15+ I picked up. This was a very strong 5/5 and would be in my top picks this year! It was full of fantasy and romance ugh it was everything I didn’t know I needed. I normally never pick books like this and it was such a wonderful surprise I was hooked from the first few pages. I also love how the author writers, I can’t wait to read more of her books!!!

Thank you NetGalley and Random House for the ARC ebook in exchange for my honest review!
5/5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This Princess Kills Monsters was such a magically quirky mashup of varying fairytales, folklores, and myths similar to the formula of Shrek but with the magical vibe of Alice in Wonderland. It was an absolutely adorable and flawlessly inclusive YA read, and a fantastic palette cleanser! I can't wait for it to be published.

This novel! This novel is amazing! First of all, the writing. The writing was delightful right from the first pages and kept going for the rest of the novel. It is always something a little special to me, when the writing itself (aside from whatever content is being written about) is outstanding and special and makes me laugh out loud. This is one of my new favorite novels and I would recommend it to everyone.

The story is also wonderful, creative, and a delightfully original mash-up of every fairytale and fairytale-adjacent story you have ever heard. It was full of surprises, a delightful adventure, and contained several surprisingly well-done plotlines about love, relationships, and family dynamics.

I don’t even know what else to say about this novel. There is a lot going on, and I wont spoil anything, so just do yourself a favor and go and read it.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a free ARC. This honest review was left voluntarily.

This Princess Kills Monsters was such a breath of fresh air. It was so funny, to the point where I laughed at loud multiple times, but it still kept the charm and "lesson" of fairytales of old. I really enjoyed these characters, and the book was fast-paced but still understandable. I highly recommend this to anyone who wants something new that still feels familiar.

Very enjoyable read. "This princess kills monsters" is funny, well constructed, well written (and researched!) and plays gleefully with various fairy tales while drawing its main inspiration from "The twelve huntsman". Without taking itself seriously, it manages to still reflect on relationships, family, belongings and taking the reins in your life, as well as societal norms.

I tend to struggle with female main characters. I am not proud of it and I am working on it, too. Nevertheless, in this case, I didn't struggle at all. Same goes for the first pov narration, which I like less that a close third pov. It is well done here, usefull to the story and entertaining. Melilot is funny, dry sometimes, with enough confidence in herself despite all her insecurities. I really liked how the author plays with Melilot unreliability sometimes.

The romance is cute and heartwarming. Not a big fuss is made about it and yet, it is still very present without overshadowing the rest of the plot, who takes the front seat. Like saving a kindgdom from weird creatures is clearly the main focus of the story.

Speaking of weird creature, this book has a lot of magic. And a dragon. The magic is very fairy tale like, wild and weird, nonsensical while still holding on a sort of logic. I deeply enoy this kind of magic, who tend to be the best at creating a sense of wonder, asking for a great deal of suspension of disbelief.

Let's not forget about the secondary characters, who manages to be memorable in their own way, even when they don't spend that much time on page. And of course, our villain. They are well constructed, multifaceted, and still honouring the fairy tales inspirations.

Added bonus: it's queer! I need more queer stories like this one, please. And of course, the beautiful cover, fitting so well with the story.

So yes, amazing read, I'll definitely grab a copy once it's out and deeply recommend everyone enjoying fan fairytales to read it.

Fantastic book, I loved how it was a retelling of so many different stories but it kept to its own plot. i first went into this thinking the main relationship was sapphic but i was happily surprised that it was a queer-hetero ship! the 'reveal' of sam being trans was so sweet since melilot was so quick to just continue as she was, using the same pronouns because to her, he never changed. they were adorable and the entire story was so good i read it in under a week to destress between exams!

This Princess Kills Monsters follows Princess Melilot, who has been tasked by her step-mother to go marry the king of a neighboring kingdom. While Princess Melilot is not a fan of this task, she has been asked to do many wild and crazy taskes by her sorcerer of a step-mother, and knows there is no way out of it. However, not all is at it seems when she arrives to her betroths kingdom, because not only does she need to figure out what is going on but also not die in the process. To make matters more complicated, there are 12 nearly identical huntsmen that are suspicious of her.

This story is told entirely from the point of view of Melilot and she is entirely enteraitingin to ride a long with. She is funny, resourceful, and strong willed. The book is riddled with references to classic fairytales. I caught many of them but there were a few times that I could tell something was being hinted at but I had no idea what. I imagine that fans of the Grimm Fairytales would get a kick out of all of the references and easter eggs. I had not previously known the tale of the 12 Huntsmen, but this was a fun retelling.

This book had nice LGBTQ representation, which is a big part of the reason I picked it up in the first place. Overall, I enjoyed this book and the quick witted and humorous writing. I would recommend this for fans of retellings and/or witty fantasy books.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review

Ngl, I requested this on Netgalley because of that GORGEOUS cover, but right off the bat, I was taken with the Princess Bride-esque meta-narrative about fairy tale tropes. That said, this is a lot less meta and more grounded in the whimsy (I know how that sounds, but trust me, it applies) of the world-building. Think more a long the lines of Sarah Rees Brennan's works. There is so much to love here, and it all comes so hard and fast at you that it may be my only criticism -- that it's so action-packed, that your mileage may vary in terms of how gripping it is for you. I really enjoyed the gentle subversion of all the tropes being so well integrated into a story that actually has a lot of heart and warmth. The complex family dynamics of three different kinds of families, the hilarious gender subversions, the extremely vivid and absolutely thrilling take of established canon fairy tales -- take your pick, there's something for everyone here. If nothing else, read for a certain stabby fairy sister-in-law, and all the hilarious interruptions by everyone during all the storytelling chapters. Overall, I couldn't be more delighted with this and hope a lot more fantasy authors take chance with this when it's out in the world next summer. And fingers crossed, movie adaptation, please? Who doesn't want hijinks with a politically conservative talking lion, twelve genderqueer huntsmen, a dragon riding sorceress and her giant stabby fairy wife. And that is just the peripheral characters!

📣 a LOL fantasy with some light romance too!

Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.

📖 what are you reading today? I’m listening to the second Crescent City book & reading No Ordinary Duchess & The Pick-Up on my Kindle!

This Princess is funny, brave, & quite capable of rescuing herself, thank you very much.

From the beginning of this book my insides were delighting in the narration. The adventures of Princess Melilot are absurd in the best of ways, as she journeys to meet her betrothed, a prince who happens to be in love with someone else.

On the way, she encounters the prince’s huntsmen & various monsters, all the while fighting against her history of being rescued by her sisters.

This Princess Kills Monsters is stuffed full of fairy tale allusions & characters who are not always as they seem. Someone is murderous, someone is more powerful than they think, someone cares more than it might seem, & at least one person is falling…

With a fantastic plot & a lead who is all-too-easy to root for, this is an escapist read that left me smiling, a lovely treat for those craving fantasy.

5 ⭐️. Out 06/17.

CWs: attempted murder, betrayal, murder.

[ID: Jess wears a cream button-up sweater dress & stands on a porch.]

This Princess Kills Monsters had me laughing out loud. It is a hilarious retelling of The Twelve Huntsmen and whole bunch of other fairy tales. I loved the feminist aspect of it, and the discussion of gender in fairy tales.. while still being first and foremost just a fun romp through classic stories. If you have ever wondered about the parts of fairy tales that don't make sense, this one is for you!

Thanks to NetGalley, Ry Herman, and Random House Publishing for the chance to read and review. My opinions are my own!

Thank you, NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Random House | Dial Press Trade Paperback books for this ARC for review. Well, that was super fun!! This book is loosely based on Grimm’s the 12 Huntsman fairytale, but as you read it, you will notice there a more a mashup of other fairytales mixed in as well, like rapunzel. The princess in this story goes through it and fights back!! I love reimagining of fairytales and this was fantastic!!

I am an absolute sucker for a good fairy tale, and this book was no exception. “This Princess Kills Monsters” is a retelling of the Brothers Grimm story “The Twelve Huntsmen”. There’s obviously some differences, otherwise, what would be the point?! Melilot has an extremely overbearing stepmother that she can’t really stand. She’s always sending her off on useless quests, and she doesn’t treat Melilot as well as she treats her other children.

The latest adventure she’s set to go on isn’t very adventurous, or so she thinks. Melilot is being sent off to a distant kingdom, and she’s set to marry the king. Towards the end of her monthlong journey, she’s attacked by spiderwolves…not wolf spiders, but spiderwolves. (You’ll understand when you read it!) She’s saved by the huntsman, but she’s not sure if she can trust them or not. I won’t say any more regarding the plot, but this was just a really fun read. The characters were extremely endearing. The dialogue was snappy. And it was very witty and funny, with some great callbacks to all kinds of classic fairytales. I also loved that there were entire chapters of characters telling their own fairy tale origin stories in their own words.

Can’t recommend this one enough! Thank you to the NetGalley and Random House for the eARC of this wonderful story

This Princess Kills Monsters by Ry Herman is such a unique story! I loved seeing fairytales get revitalized in such a creative way. This is the story of Princess Melilot, who would normally be an unnamed side character in a fairytale, but is given her voice today.

I loved the characters and how they played into the story (obviously, there is an ancient talking lion who is overly misogynistic like any good fairytale). There is also tons of queer representation that integrates seamlessly with the original fairytales.

If you liked Once Upon a Broken Heart or Assistant to the Villian, you'll like this book! It has the quirky acceptance of fairytale truths and a good sense of humor. 5/5 would recommend!