A Royal Guide to Monster Slaying by Kelley Armstrong is the first book in a new middle grade to young adult fantasy series. It is currently scheduled for release on August 6 2019.

Twelve-year-old Rowan is destined to be Queen; her twin brother, Rhydd, to be Royal Monster Hunter. Rowan would give anything to switch places, but the oldest child is always next in line, even if she is only older by two minutes. She resigns herself to admiring her monster hunting aunt's glorious sword and joining her queen mother for boring diplomatic teas. But tragedy shatters the longstanding rule, and Rowan finds herself hunting the most dangerous monster of all: a gryphon. Accompanied by a feisty baby jackalope and a giant wolf that barely tolerates her, Rowan sets off on a journey that will see her join other unlikely allies: a boy with monster-hunting ambitions of his own, and a girl hiding dangerous motives. It will take all of Rowan's skills, both physical and diplomatic, to keep this adventure on track. The future of her kingdom depends on it.

A Royal Guide to Monster Slaying might be the tradition hero's quest, but the quirky characters and humor kept it from feeling like it. Rowan is impulsive and stubborn, but she also has a good understanding of her skills and her faults. I like that she learned from her missteps, and even when she knows a choice might not be the smartest, she tries to stick with what she thinks is right. Her brother, mother, and extended crew of family and friends all seem to be cut from the same cloth, looking to do the right thing and protect others as best they can even when things are looking bad for them personally. I liked the introduction and development of the secondary characters that are clearly going to be important as the story continues, although I am already starting to dread the almost inevitable romance that I fear will come in future installments. I love a great romance, but I feel like too often love or crushes are tossed into adventure and fantasy stories as one more problem for characters to deal with rather than just having a solid friendship without romantic implications. It can and should happen in real life, so it would be nice to see it happen more often in stories as well. I did enjoy the story, and thought there were some great moments of humor and inventiveness I was kind of hoping for a little more. I have greatly enjoyed Armstrong's work in the past and I think I was expecting to be blown away but I just was not.

A Royal Guide to Monster Slaying is a good story of a strong girl taking control of her future and doing everything she can to help other people (and creatures) along the way.

I wish this wasn't the case - I adore Kelley's novels - but this was a DNF @ 53% and I'm honestly surprised I pushed myself to reach that point. While there was nothing inherently bad about this one, it was just so. boring. I didn't care about the characters, I didn't care about the world, I didn't care royal decrees were being shattered by a pair of siblings taking on the roles that should be the other's birthright.

Thank you Netgalley and Penguin Random House Canada for allowing me to review Kelley Armstrong’s A royal guide to monster slaying. This new fantasy series by Kelley is for middle grade school kids but don’t be fooled – this fantasy action series is fabulous for any age! Once again, Kelley gives us a wonderful world filled with strong characters, this time with mythical creatures - some of my all time favourites; unicorns, pegasus’, gryphons - and a brand new favourite…a jackalope! You will meet Rowan, a determined princess, who wants to become the next Royal Monster Hunter, a role that is supposed to belong to her twin brother. Rowen often reacts before thinking, but her heart is as big as her courage, and while trying to protect her brother, tragedy strikes. Rowan sets off to find Wilmot, a Monster hunter to train her but will she be able to complete her mission? The story is fast-paced, and humorous. There is an illustrated monster guide at the end, that is fun and informative. Looking forward to the 2nd book in the series!

The Royal Guide to Monster Slaying presents a middle-grade fantasy world replete with many different mythical monsters (some good, some deadly), lots of action and adventures, and a determined female protagonist. 12-year-old Princess Rowan is strong-minded and impulsive, often jumping into the thick of things without thinking things through. She is also kind and has a special ability to relate to animals.

In her determination to become the next royal monster hunter, she travels to meet Wilmot who can train her in monster-hunting skills. On the way she is joined by a jackalope and two other children her age. Together they face danger and adversity, each using his or her special abilities to mitigate the menace before them.

This is the first in a new series by Kelley Armstrong and, as with her other novels, The Royal Guide to Monster Slaying captures your attention from the very start and keeps it throughout. I’m looking forward to reading upcoming novels about this mythical kingdom and its royal family. Great for the entire family, not just middle-graders.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Don't get the wrong idea because of the cover! This is Kelley Armstrong and the book is, of course, suitable for a middle grade audience, but the delightful romp with twelve-year-old Princess Rowan is not limited to any age group.

Kelley Armstrong has the ability to pull the reader into whatever world her imagination creates, and youngsters from 10-80 are likely to become completely immersed in the monster hunting adventures of Rowan and friends.

A Royal Guide to Monster Slaying is the first in Armstrong's new series, and I can't wait for the next one!

Read in June. Blog review scheduled for July 28, 2019.

NetGalley/Penguin Random House Canada
Middle Grade/Fantasy. Aug. 6, 2018. Print length: 288 pages

Loved this book. I want the next one NOW. Hopefully it won't be a year to wait. Lots of action, well paced story of the princess who wants to be The monster Hunter, and for her brother to be king, not the way it currently stands, they both know each other would be better in the reverse roles. Rowen decides she needs to watch her brother's back when he goes off to hunt with their aunt. Along the way she meets unexpected creatures who just won't leave her side. Excitement, death, self questioning and using logic and keeping calm are all needed to survive her ordeals. Adventure abounds and they never let up for this fun ride of a new series, I can't wait to share this book with a 13 and 10 year old who I think will binge read this like I did.

"The best way to raid a camp is divert attention. I am an expert at that. "

A Royal Guide to Monster Hunting has a lot to offer. We get a diverse cast of characters, a strong-willed, kick-ass princess turned monster hunter and a deadly enemy - the gryphon! Throw is some great friendships, lots of adventures and so many fun mythical creatures and you got yourself this great story.

I saw this pop up on the options to request over on Netgalley and I was instantly curious. The cover drew me in - I saw a bunch of fun looking creatures and that is always a big draw for me - not sure much regular animals because they always kill them - but if I see mythical creatures, I'm usually in. I was also familiar with the author and didn't know her to write middle-grade at all, so that piqued my interest. I've liked her YA thriller work - I haven't read her fantasy stuff, but I know it's very popular. Lastly, the author is Canadian - bonus points! I decided to request it, luckily I was approved and had a chance to read this little gem of a story.

The story starts off where we meet our main protagonist, Rowan, a young princess who is destined to be queen but wants nothing to do with it and her brother, Rhydd, who by default must be the Royal Monster Hunter. Both of them know they should be in the others spot because Rowan is the better hunter and Rhydd is much better at politics, but rules dictate differently. As a Royal Monster Hunter, you must drive the creatures from civilization so that no one gets hurt - this sometimes means killing the creature. The biggest threat are the gryphons, highly dangerous and hard to kill. Without giving much away, Rhydd and his party run into a gryphon - many people are hurt, someone is killed and Rhydd is left without the ability to walk without an aid. This changes everything and so Rowan finally gets a chance to prove herself as a monster hunter - she has to find someone to train her and that is where the real journey begins.

Rowan is a fantastic character, she is headstrong, sometimes stubborn, intelligent, resourceful and kind. Yes, she makes many mistakes but she learns and grows from them. The lessons about kindness towards animals in beautiful in this story. Rowan has a knack for communicating with many of the creatures and sometimes they even follow her. She has a grumpy warg and a feisty jackalope in her party right off the bat, and I loved them with every inch of my being.

I would definitely recommend this story, it has a great adventure and some really fun humor and mythical creatures... did I mention the creatures?!?!!? Completely worth checking out and I believe this will be more than one book, but I'm unsure how many the author is planning on releasing.

This is a fun, quick middle grade read that younger readers will enjoy. The story is fun, has a lot of action, and is fairly fast paced. The characters have depth and it's easy to get sucked into their world. The monsters that appear in the book are well described and there's a handy guide in the back that includes details about the monsters and illustrations of them. The end clearly sets up a sequel, which I am looking forward to.

Just like all other teen books by Kelley Armstrong this one started off with a bang and never slowed down. I found the characters in this novel very easy to relate to, they all had their own problems to deal with but they we something that didn't overpower the main characters. This book had lots of adventure as well as action and throw in a mix of mythical monsters and creatures you have a story that can draw the reader in and hold them interested throughout. The book starts out with our main character Rowan. She is a princess and bound to her princess duties and that means being proper and not going on monster hunts like brother older twin brother (Rhyd) gets to do. When Rowan gets the chance to change rolls with her brother and become the monster slayer herself she jumps at the opportunity. However now she must defeat the monster in order to keep her new title as monster slayer failure but as well to keep her family's position as royalty. I liked this book because it was full of fantasy but also adventure and powerful female characters. It is everything I loved when I was a young adult reader and everything I still enjoy now. I wish that there were more book like this when I was in that age group but I'm very happy to see Kelley Armstrong taking on that challenge and succeeding greatly. This book is one that every young girl should read. Another thing that I found very interesting about this books was the monsters weren't all the ones that you've read about millions of times dragons etc, they were rarer ones that you don't hear about like the jackalope. It was nice to learn more about these types of monsters. Great book and I'm very glad I got the chance to check it out.

I loved this book so much! It had everything I love in a book; action, adventure, great characters, monsters/creatures. I thought the pace was great for this book, and really I just liked almost everything about it!

Wonderful and diverse fantasy novel (the first, it seems, of a series!) aimed at kids. Fans of magical monsters, adventure, and fantasy are sure to love it. In a market saturated by delicate white princesses with blonde flowing hair, it's great to see a black princess who saves both herself and her kingdom. Humorous and action-packed in turn, I hope this book finds many eager readers.

12 year old Princess Rowan is first born which means, per her clan's traditions, she is fated to be queen while her younger (by two minutes) brother is fated to be the kingdom's designated royal monster slayer. But Rowan has a gift for monsters which her brother lacks and when the opportunity comes for her to switch future careers with her sibling, Rowan takes it. Now, however, Rowan must defeat a murderous gryphon to retain both the coveted role of royal monster slayer and keep her family on the throne.

ARC via NetGalley