I loved the cover and I’m a sucker for fairy tale re-tellings. I couldn’t get behind how quirky the writing was at the beginning but it evened out and became enjoyable. I liked the idea for the story but the long-winded battle scenes were super tough to get through. I think it was just long blocks of action then some dialogue and story then longer blocks of action that were a bad time. I’m glad I read this though!

I received this from net galley in exchange for a review.

Funny Sexuality-Bending Parody of Grimm Tales

Another pretty cover with a delicate design. I am tempted to attempt this type of drawing. I think I would have to do simple brush strokes over a cloned photo that combines elements like a castle, a dragon, a river… It’s very tempting to try this in Corel Painter, which I think would be suitable. The “book design” is “by Alexis Flynn”. His Instagram page says that he is a Royal College of Art PhD researcher. His paint-on-paper drawings are abstract.
As if in response to my earlier remarks about bending Celtic theology, this book opens with a quote from Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm’s “The Twelve Huntsmen” (1812), perhaps to show that the author has read this original story. Then, the “Prologue: The Tale of the Twelve Hunters, as It Has Been Inaccurately Recorded” directly indicates in this title that the interior of this book will not adhere to the dimensions for these characters that were set in the original. The rest of this prologue is written in a simple language, but it does delivery a pretty funny satirical parody of the initial tale by describing realistic emotions that would be going through the mind of a girl who is abandoned by a finance for another woman, and to get revenge gets together 11 girls that look like her, and has the 12 of them dress as men and pretend to be huntsmen. This is an example of simple language actually conveying a coherent, funny story (closer to Patterson), as opposed to other light-density novels that are not only light, but also stumble around in boring formulaic phrases.
“A princess with a mostly useless magical talent takes on horrible monsters, a dozen identical masked heroes, and a talking lion in a quest to save a kingdom—and herself—in this affectionate satire of the Grimm Brothers’ fairy tale The Twelve Huntsmen.” What? The princess fights the “heroes”? Doesn’t this mean that they are the villains from her perspective? Ah, after reading the prologue, I understood that the other huntsmen are her “twins” or lookalikes, and thus heroes like herself. But then, why would she need to take them on, when they are a gift who would in theory do as she commands, especially since they did agree to dress up as huntsmen for her… Ah, the rest of the summary clarifies that the heroine of this novel is the new fiancé, and not the old one who the prince/king abandoned to marry Princess Melilot. So, from her perspective, the huntsmen are the villains trying to kill her for the old fiancé to be able to marry her guy…? It really shouldn’t be this much work to figure out what the summary of a book is trying to say.
“Someone wants to murder Princess Melilot. This is sadly normal. Melilot is sick of being ordered to go on dangerous quests by her domineering stepmother. Especially since she always winds up needing to be rescued by her more magically talented stepsisters. And now, she’s been commanded to marry a king she’s never met. When hideous spider-wolves attack her on the journey to meet her husband-to-be, she is once again rescued—but this time, by twelve eerily similar-looking masked huntsmen. Soon, she has to contend with near-constant attempts on her life, a talking lion that sets bewildering gender tests, and a king who can’t recognize his true love when she puts on a pair of trousers. And all the while, she has to fight her growing attraction to not only one of the huntsmen, but also her fiancé’s extremely attractive sister.” In my research in Renaissance literature I found that dramatists tended to be homosexual, so plots where characters cross-dress should be taken as cross-dressing done by sexually-fluid characters, or those who want to attract these. Male homosexuality was punishable by death, but only men could work as actors, so it was necessary for them to cross-dress in nearly every play. And thus cross-dressing became a legal method of advertising a sexual preference. Thus, this turn from cross-dressing to lesbian love in this novel is suitable. “…If Melilot can’t unravel the mysteries and rescue herself from peril, kingdoms will fall. Worse, she could end up married to someone she doesn’t love.”
There are some good jokes throughout. I laughed at a paragraph about the princess (in first-person) starting “the tedious process of gathering a thousand teeth. After a few days spent dickering with dentists, I didn’t have anywhere near enough, so I started going door to door.” More details on this attempt follow. It’s great when fantasies seriously consider what the magical elements being described would be like if tried in reality. Though as I searched further into this book, most passages turned out to be hollow: repeating reflections about the points raised in the blurb. The beginning of chapters and sections appear to have been deliberately cleaned up with especially vivid details, like the pumpkin “turned carriage” that “lurched violently” in “Chapter Four: Going Places Is Bad, and You Shouldn’t Do It”. Though a few pages into this chapter, a random paragraph displays a wolf with “too many black, lidless eyes” and “eight legs”, with many other odd features, which is a fantastical sight to imagine. The dialogue explains this is a “spider wolf”. I think a teenager would enjoy reading this book. It’s full of silly incidents and ideas that draw a reader in.
—Pennsylvania Literary Journal, Fall 2024: https://anaphoraliterary.com/journals/plj/plj-excerpts/book-reviews-fall-2024

This book re imagines several different classic Grimm's fairytales and twists them sideways and inside out. While the essence of the story remains everything is shaken to its core and made anew. The story is strong parts "Rapunzel" for our main lead. But the story also brings in lesser known favorites such as Grimm's "The Twelve Huntsmen", "How Six Men Got on in This World" and "The Six Servants".

The focus of the story is Princess Mililot. She has spent her young adulthood being sent on dangerous and impossible quests by her domineering stepmother. Usually these quest end up causing problems and she ends up needing to be rescued by her more magical stepsisters.

Now her mother is commanding she marry a king she's never met in a far away land. Things take a strange turn though when her carriage gets attacked by spider-wolves. Instead of her sisters rescuing her she is instead rescued by twelve eerily similar looking masked huntsmen.

There is more to the huntsman than they seem though, and Miliot will need all the help she can get. When she arrives at her soon to be husband's castle there are near constant attempts on her life. There is also a strange talking lion who is so focused on testing the gender of the huntsman. And a king who can't recognize his true love when she cross-dresses.

If the attempts on her life aren't enough to deal with. She also must deal with being attracted to one of the huntsmen and her fiance's extremely attractive sister Angelique.

Miliot must unravel the mysteries of this new kingdom to save the lives of her new friends. And to save herself from being married to someone she doesn't love.

This book started out slow for me. But I'm glad I stuck with it. It was queer and subversive and so so funny. I especially enjoyed the villain at the end and didn't see the twist coming. I especially love the parts where the characters explain their lives by telling each other stories. It reinforces the idea of the power of stories and fairy tales that is woven throughout the book. I encourage readers to get past the somewhat slow start because the rest of the book is so very worth your time. It is five stars for the themes it brings up and its diverse and engaging characters.

I especially enjoyed the way the author made things extra queer. Not only was the main lead bisexual. but there was also trans representation within the main cast. While the villain was also queer I didn't have a problem with it. This was because their reason for being evil had nothing to do with their queerness instead their reason was well backed by the plot.

This quirky retelling of a Grimm fairtytale is absolutely delightful!

I love seeing a female main character in a fantasy, and one who has so much personality!
You're rooting for her all the way through.

I am not usually a fantasy reader, but this book kept my interest all the way through!

This Princess Kills Monsters is chock full of homage to fairy tale stories we're deeply familiar with, heavy on modern-adjacent banter and narrative, and a handful of lovely little queer touches.

The book focuses on Melilot, resident middle child and princess of a mountain kingdom. She's called by her stepmother—a Melilot proclaimed evil sorceress and queen—and told that she's to marry a new King from a distant land. That king was ordered to ask for her hand by his dead father, except he was previously engaged to another that he truly loved, and SHE isn't taking the marriage being called off lying down.

It sounds like a lot, and it is—and you get all of this information in the first chapter.

This was a fun book that wasn't necessarily for me as a reader but I think many people will have a grand time with. The author has fun weaving references to all sorts of fairy tales in and out of the plot, which for me sometimes became a little much. It's definitely a plot heavy book over a character heavy book, with the author honestly doing more to add kooky lore to this wild universe than develop characters. The characters more than anything served as stand-ins (with a few delightful queer twists) for the ongoing plot. Every time I thought that things couldn't get more zany, they did—which was often for me a little bit jarring.

For me this wasn't necessarily helped by the plethora of added information. I think sometimes reading this book felt like more work than it needed to, not because the story wasn't fun but because there were too many odd things happening that you weren't entirely sure what you needed to retain for the sake of the plot. Weird creatures, 12 huntsmen who all look alike and who admittedly don't get enough character development that it's easy enough to remember which is which (including our main character who only barely is able to discern Jack, the former fiance of the king, and Sam, her love interest), existing within dream states where the narrator didn't entirely know what was real or not—all fun aspects to this book that put together definitely were a little too much for me.

I had a fun time with the primary romance between Melilot and Sam, and enjoyed the twist that came with Sam after what was implied in the original "story" iteration of the plot that came in the first chapter, and the dynamic with Melilot and her sisters was also fun and I wish we'd gotten a little more time and development with them, and with the King's sister, Angelique. There was a point where she told Melilot that she saw her as a sister, and so I knew time had passed at that point I wish we had gotten to see more of that development play out (particularly because the blurb for the book teased something potentially romantic with them—though I love Sam as the primary romantic interest I was definitely thinking there would be more conflict with this semi triangle situation).

The narration itself wasn't my thing either—but will be a ton of fun for those who love books like Gideon the Ninth, where the story measures together modern vernacular and quirky storytelling with a more classic setting that traditionally gets more "serious" narrative structure. For me it felt a little too close to traditional story book narrative, with some characters purposefully obtuse and reactions to oddities a bit blunt in a way that works for a shorter story that didn't work for me in a longer novel.

All in all, while this book wasn't necessarily MY thing I do think that there's an audience who will have a grand time on this adventure, laugh along with the absurdities and gags, and be thrilled to find queer stories normalized within fairy tale universes. 3.5 stars from me!

Thank you so much to Random House and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!

the most charming, light-hearted, hilarious book I've read all year. It was just so CUTE.

princess melilot has pretty weak magic powers compared to her sorceress queen stepmother and sisters. when she's commanded to marry a prince, she's determined to do it without anyone's interference. turns out the prince's kingdom is placed with creepy animal hybrids and she embarks on a journey with his 12 identical huntsmen who might actually be hiding something as well to help save his kingdom, juggling romance with one of the huntsman and the prince's sister all at once. ngl I was rooting for the sister but Sam won my heart in the end. and I LOVE the way melilot didn't need to end up super powerful or strong or special. like yes us ordinary people deserve happy endings too. if you love to see:

sapphic princesses
magic princesses
EMPOWERED princesses
the most hilarious fairy tale references on every page
complicated (step)mother-daughter relations
dealing with insecurity/jeaslousy
found family
true love fixes all
mc self-discovering
simple smooth trans rep tysm author
and a happy ever after ofc

then this book is so perfect for you. I've literally never had a book where I just smiled throughout the entire time I was reading it but this was a very welcome first. and somehow I fell in love with all the not-so huntsmen????? will 100% be following whatever next author comes up with.

This book is a vibe; it just wasn’t my vibe.

This Princess Kills Monsters reimagines the Grimm tale of The Twelve Huntsmen from the point-of-view of the fiancé-ed princess. It wasn’t the first disappointing re-imagining I’ve read this year, but hopefully it is the last.

I like fairy tale or classic re-imaginings. I think this one had a lot of promise, and to the right reader, I think they’ll really love this book. It’s a bit silly and never really seems to take itself too seriously. I think it’s the perfect book for someone who wants to read something really light-hearted with some substance. Ry Herman doesn’t tell a bad story, this one in particular just didn’t really speak to me.

Right out of the gate, our narrator, Melilot, tells us the classic story of The Twelve Huntsmen. At first, that really rankled me. I wasn’t familiar with the story, so I felt it took a lot of the suspense out of it simply because the reader had so much more knowledge of the coming events than Melilot did. However, that first introduction is pretty much the same one found on Wikipedia, so that seems to be a me issue rather than a narration issue. If you don’t already know the huntsmen tale and want to be more along for the ride with Melilot, I highly, highly recommend not reading up and skipping the intro. As someone who wasn’t familiar with the classic tale, I think I would have enjoyed this much better without it.
Despite being whimsical at its core, this book has a lot of depth. It covers topics from family dynamics, to self-worth, to standing for what you believe in. Herman wove together a tale, borrowing bits and pieces from a variety of the Grimm stories, to create a cohesive adventure. Melilot and Sam’s romance is slow-building and sweet, and I like seeing the little snapshots of Gervase and Jack in the background too. I appreciated that while the romances were important they weren’t the central focus. It felt so much more like a tale of self-worth, of gaining independence, and truly learning who you are. Melilot and Jack are not defined by their romances, but instead their love interests support their goals and ambitions, and I love that for them.

I think the reason this book let me down as much as it did is because it’s pretty far from a “what is says on the tin” kind of book. It’s titled This Princess Kills Monsters, which is a great title, by the way (and a beautiful cover too!), but literally all of the princesses in this book kill monsters. The title makes it sound like Melilot is different for killing monsters, but frankly, she’s the worst at it? Of all the princesses, she constantly needs rescued, and other than drowning some large rock monsters (which actually come back so she didn’t even really kill them) I can’t remember her killing anything? I expected Melilot to be a bit more badass than she is. I expected a princess that actively seeks out monsters or maybe even accidently kills some, but instead she mostly just stands around waiting to be rescued, but then actively complains about her sisters coming to help her. Melilot isn’t annoying, and she doesn’t come across as the typical damsel in distress, but girl definitely needed a self-reflection moment.
This book certainly has its place, and I guarantee it will be loved when it finds its target audience; I just wasn’t it.

This book felt like a mix of Princess Bride and the witty way of writing from Lemony Snicket. The fourth wall breaks and acknowledgment of how ridiculous fairy tales can actually be really made this book shine.

At some points, the story telling felt more like a very long winded way of having lots and lots of exposition. There would be pages of story telling that could have been a short story and a dialogue between characters.

The characters, and especially Melilot’s sisters, gave much needed background and support to Melilot. I was always happy when they were on the page and it added to the atmosphere of love and senseless magic. Overall, I had a great time reading this but some of the huge passages took me out of the story.

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.