Maelyn was not born a princess. The king found her as a child, the lone survivor of a poor village slaughtered by the Red Fever. Suddenly she became a princess of Runa Realm, the first of nine orphans adopted by the king.
By her eighteenth year, Maelyn rules over Runa and a family of nine sisters. But some call the princesses frauds and imposters, a handful of urchins raised into royalty. Even Uncle Jarrod, the High King of Grunwold, seems determined to prove that Maelyn no longer deserves to be a princess. With a family losing faith in her, and a kingdom growing dangerously hostile, even Maelyn begins to wonder if she is truly a real princess. And if her riches will turn to rags once again….
The Nine Princesses Novellas is a series that chronicles the adventures of an unconventional family of princesses, the struggles they face in a kingdom often hostile to their humble origins, and the day-to-day dramas of nine young women whose personalities often clash like swords. Fans of Gail Carson Levine and Shannon Hale would enjoy this young-adult series. Recommended for ages 12 and up.@goodreads
MY REVIEW:
4 STARS
I really liked this book! As you can read from the description, the Queen could never have any children and she so wanted a girl, so her King went to different villages and brought back 9 orphans that became their little Princesses. This is Maelyn's story.
Maelyn is the ruling Princess of the Runa Realm, she is the oldest of her adopted sisters.
Unfortunately, their parents, the King and Queen passed, well not at the same time, but anyway, they passed and some of the towns people are feeling they don't want these sisters as Princesses. They feel like they were only peasants so they should be just that.. jerks. Some are not like that though thank goodness.
They also have an evil uncle Jarrod who is the High King of Grunwold. He seems to feel the same way now that his brother is dead. Doesn't there always seem to be an uncle that's a jerk in these stories!
Anyway, a lot of people died of the Red Fever and that is why the girls were orphaned when they were little. They thought it was gone until one day Maelyn's Royal Messenger, Rowan, died of the fever. A young man named Willow took his place as Royal Messenger. I liked him :)
The girls uncle comes for a visit and stirs up trouble. He wants to take Maelyn away and make her marry some dude from another kingdom and when she refused he made some ultimatums.
Oh, on a side note, Maelyn loves to read, yay :) So they have a little library. She tries to trade books from the old miser in the village but he doesn't want to give up his books half of the time. But Maelyn keeps sending Willow to try to get more anyway. Willow is turning out to be more of a friend than a messenger to Maelyn, he is sweet and kind. When he finds her sad and hears what her uncle has in store for her he gets upset and tells her a little something she didn't know.
••••••••••
Willow held silent, his head tipped to one side. His pale eyebrows pulled together as though he wrestled a thought before speaking it. "Do you know the peasants of this kingdom love your birth story? They tell it to their children at bedtime. The story of a tiny orphan who won the heart of a king and became our first princess."
Something jabbed Maelyn's heart. She never knew the peasants told her story. As though it were something beautiful, not something to hide.
"They say it was one moment, one word, that made you the king's daughter," said Willow.
Maelyn blinked away the wetness that washed her eyes. "I spoke the word 'bread'."
A smile softened Willow's face. "My lady, once upon a time, you conquered a king. And I think you can again."
••••••••••••
I thought this book was lovely for a novella and I look forward to the other books. There are three as of this moment. I hope the author puts out the other Princess stories. :)
GOODREADS REVIEW:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1245169823
AMAZON LINK TO THE BOOK:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008GGB8OW?keywords=maelyn%20in%20books&qid=1449272384&ref_=sr_1_1&s=books&sr=1-1
Sounds like an interesting read. I like the idea of the princesses being adopted from the villages. Gives the tale and interesting twist.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the review, it has piqued my interest.
Your very welcome Michael. I loved that twist too. I'm hoping the author will do a book on all of the Princesses. There are the three out right now, but I'm sure she will :)
DeleteDude! Just now read her other series. You should check those out.SINFUL CINDERELLA. IT WAS BLOODY BRILLIANT. And I need to add these books on my ever growing TBR pile.
ReplyDelete