I did not finish the book as I simply cannot get into it.

I thought it will get better but it drags on for me.

I enjoyed this book, hilarious modern fairytale. It was well written, and characters highly enjoyable. A good comp to Kill the Farm Boy.

The Return of King Lillian has to be one of the weirdest books I’ve ever read. I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t like it all that much either. I just have no idea what to think of this book except that the writing style sort of reminded me of Alice in Wonderland.

Both books have two young girls exploring a new world and meeting peculiar individuals along the way.

So! Do I recommend this one? Well, I’m not exactly sure but if you loved Alice In Wonderland you’ll want to pink this one up!

Magical addictive story. The Return of King Lillian is the first I have read from this author and expect to read more in the future. Great job!

Synopsis:

Fans of such novels as The Once and Future King, Gulliver’s Travels, The Princess Bride, Stardust, The Last Unicorn, and The Alchemist will be captivated by The Return of King Lillian, a new hero’s journey for dreamers of all ages. This offbeat debut novel, written and narrated by multi-media artist Suzie Plakson, is an allegorical saga rich with vivid world-building, comedy, calamity, and unforgettable characters.

When Lillian, the one and only heir to the throne, is cast out of her kingdom by malevolent forces, she accidentally wanders into the Forest of Forgetfulness, where she is rescued by wolves and raised by an eccentric old wise woman. When Lillian comes of age, she is called by Destiny to return Home. The trouble is, when she steps out of the Forest, she has no memory of who she is or from whence she hails. Undaunted, the spirited, self-reliant young woman sets off into the unknown, determined to rediscover her long lost self and to reclaim her stolen birthright. Most of the tale is told by Lillian herself, as she chronicles her extraordinary adventures.

This is the tale of Lillian and her adventures as she tries to find her memory and her way back home. At a young age, she was banished from her kingdom and wandered into the Forest of Forgetfulness, thus leaving her clueless about her past. As she sets out to rediscover who she is she has many encounters along the way. This book was told in a bit of a sing-song manner and is told as a conversation with the book that Lillian is writing in. Unfortunately, this one really fell short for me. I just wasn't a huge fan of it. Not that it was bad or anything, it just wasn't for me. Thank you, NetGalley for the eARC.

First this cover reminds me of way too many book covers and it puts me off. However, the story inside is a wonderful book which I truly enjoyed. Maybe one of my favorite retellings.

I loved this book! The way in which Lillian speaks to the reader through her journal made me feel immediately invested in the story. The writing was fantastic. I would love to read future books by this author

Thank you Netgalley for the chance to read and review this title. I will review this title at a different date.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and author for providing me with a free review copy.
This was a very different, lovely and sweet story. It will surely not be something for everyone, but if you love weird, magical, confusing, nonsensical adventures a la Alice in Wonderland, then this is the perfect place for you to stay and enjoy a sweet ride!
I was constantly amazed by the author's creativity and fantasy in this one. In each chapter something new came up, some new fastinating characters or landscapes or whatever it was, there seemed to be nothing that would not be possible in this story. I enjoyed it a lot for the little subplots and adventures within the big adventure itself, without having the need for the plot to pick up the pace or for the character to develop, as I usually do. Because the whole reason for reading this book for me was to be enchanted and delighted by magic and simply awesomeness. Also, the main character's - Lillian 's - most prominent trait was her (nearly) constant optimism. She saw everything positively, believed in the best intentions of (nearly) everyone, and this warmed my heart more than anything else could during cold autumn/winter nights.
The only reasons why I can't give full 5 stars is the insta-love incident, which I just cannot ever deal with in any book ever. And the fact that after the actual end we got still quite some chapters full of the backstory, which I thought was very anticlimatic and kinda didn't really interest me at that point that much anymore. But it was sure a different approach to the usual storytelling, which is again great. It was unfortunately just not the right for me.
So all in all a very sweet, amazing story that I loved and will remember with a warm smile!

I thought the general idea was great, and I was incredibly excited to read it. But actually reading it was far from what I expected. The writing was tedious to get through and I found so much ended up happening with no reason behind it. I, unfortunately, couldn't even finish it.

I absolutely loved reading through this book! It had some classical bits to it that remind you of reading “Huckleberry Finn”, “Alice in Wonderland”, and “Winnie the Pooh”. The book throws you back into an innocent time of living that makes you want to relive your childhood all over again. The book has a new take on old classics that is really just heartwarming. It is a simple yet complex book that students would love to pick up to read for fun—I don’t think it should be an assignment book as I believe it would be more beneficial for a student to WANT to read it.

I believe the book has a fantastic lesson of not always choosing what is easy but choosing what is right. This is a great way to get students to understand this type of lesson while reading a story that they enjoy immensely. The characters of this story are nothing to snuff at and are so un-ordinary that they are exquisitely written into the story.

This is one of the most uniquely written stories I have ever read. Lillian is a superb character and I cannot get enough of her. The way she sees the world, the way she talks, everything about her is utterly captivating. This story is full of whimsy and is wonderfully insightful while also being hauntingly tragic at other times. Every adventure that Lillian undertook proved that the Journey is truly more important than the destination. The way This story was written from Lillian's point of view as She writes the events in Book, her journal is very well done. This enchanting story will sit with me for a long long time to come and I am grateful to have experienced Lillian's delightful story.

There is one thing that really stood out to me in this book, which is that I feel like it's meant to be teaching the reader things aside from it being a really good story. I was really surprised by that! I would recommend this book not only to kids that are between their child and teen stage, but also for older readers because I feel like with the lifelesson aspect of the book, it'd be suitable for older readers too

I enjoyed the fun and playfulness of this book. It held big messages while still being filled magic and wonder. I adore the main character and how she looked at the world. Hopeful and and heartfelt. I can't wait until my kids are just a wee bit older so we can read it together. Until then, I'll be recommending this to all my middle grade parents!

Interesting storyline and characters! Enjoyable read!

I would like to thank the publisher for giving me a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book started off enjoyable I loved the fairytale like way it was written. However the actual plot of the story did not interest me it really seemed to drag on and on and on and I just became really bored with it.
Unfortunately, this book just was not for me and I gave it 1 star.

Well I liked the premise of this book, as well as the originality of the storyline, I found the first tender 15 pages really difficult to get into, so I was not able to finish. I think it’s just wasn’t my kind of book!

Thanks to Netgalley, the author and publisher for an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book is a delightful journey, beautifully written with an engaging main character. The fairy-tale world that this book takes place in is unique. Following the travels of Lillian will be a fun trip for young adult readers.

I requested this e-ARC from Netgalley and Pilmsthistle & Co in exchange for an honest review. What convinced me to do this? For starters, this beautiful cover with those shining golden edges caught my eyes immediately. The title puts a male noun (‘King’) together with a woman’s name (‘Lillian’). There had to be some feministic aspect to that. Combined with the adventurous storyline, who can blame me for going with it?

Lillian is a long-lost banished princess, who wandered into the Forest of Forgetfulness in the middle of her story. As predicted, she loses all of her memories, and finds shelter with an old woman. When a shining creature comes looking for her in her dreams (and nightmares), she knows Destiny needs her. This leads to an enterprising road of challenges, wondrous miracles, and surprising friends. All the wile, she’ll have to get her memories back if she eventually wants to get seated on the throne that has been waiting for her.

Ever heard about The Emperor’s New Clothes? It’s a fairytale of a vain king that walked around naked, believing he was wearing the most exquisite clothes ever, only to be seen by special people. The Return of King Lillian is the sequel to it. What happens if it was the King’s own daughter that called him out for not wearing anything, and therefore embarrassing him in front of his whole court? It was an original retelling that added many more references to literature, myths and folklore. The plot started of as Alice in The Wonderland, as Lillian tumbles into the Forest of Forgetfulness. The myth of Narcissus was shown, and there was a young boy that was supposed to represent Oliver Twist. As a great Charles Dickens fan, I can appreciate that.

The table of contents instantly started off promising. There is a Middle, an End and a Beginning, in that order. The book starts with Lillian getting her memory loss, and later on finding out pieces of her past. In the Beginning, we finally get the clearer picture. All plot holes get resolved, and we have the objective truth to things that Lillian only hastily mentioned. The Beginning is also the only part that has no chapters, whereas the Middle and the End contain chapters that sound like F.R.I.E.N.D.S. episodes. “Wherein I Meet A Horse”, “Wherein I Meet a Monster”, … It was one of the most unique things I’ve ever seen.

As for the writing style, it was as if Shakespeare and Hans Christian Andersen had risen from the death and had decided to collaborate. There was a great use of difficult words, all written in prose. Some words, like Destiny and Door, were capitalized, as to show how the writer created her own world and its own values. I thought this was refreshing and enjoyable in the beginning, but in general, nothing really happened plotwise. I think the writing style simply meant to show off sometimes, since it was occasionally hard to get into it.

“Alright then, Destiny, let’s start fresh. You go ahead and do what you will – whenever, wherever, however it suits you. I am but a humble leaf, and you the sovereign Wind! That’s right, Book, I am entirely without destination. I am only a wondrous journey of a person, let loose on the whirl of the Whirld. “

The Middle and the End is written as a diary wherein Lillian takes notes. As a reader, you are the journal. You literally follow along her journey, and come to know her secrets and thoughts. Lillian was an inspiring heroine, who challenges herself and always remains optimistic. What I didn’t like was how she turned out to be a ‘damsel in distress’ most of the times. Even though she carried interesting artifacts, like a magical Music Box, and went through hilarious situations, she could have been fleshed out more. I didn’t understand her motivation for most of her actions, and her identity as half-Fae didn’ change anything about the story.

I rated it 3.5 stars. It was a fun read, and it has its unique qualities, but I wouldn’t reread it. In fact, I think it’s better suited for younger readers. Just like The Little Prince, it felt like a meaningful children’s book to me. It spoke about difficult themes, like ignorance, pollution, death and autism. The book showed how home is not always a happy place that you choose to love. How life can’t be ‘good’ without sorrow. How giving up shouldn’t be the answer when life gets hard. The Return of King Lillian focuses on the journey, while the ending was a mere side chapter. While there were some things that frustrated me, like how we didn’t see enough of the villain’s reign and of his motivations, it could surely be an educational read for middlegraders.

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BOOK REVIEW
[The Return of King Lillian] A girl king finds herself despite amnesia.
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WHAT I LIKED
Lillian’s voice is SO UNIQUE! I absolutely loved her archaic spellings, abounding optimism, and general glee! Plakson’s plot choices easily careen this book into a safe haven for difficult moral dilemmas. I loved unending colorful characters (Hank) and objects (the music box)! Lillian’s voice has an amazing balance of showing versus telling her stories. It is easy to tell where the importance lies!
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WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
I want to break this long book down into edible chunks for 5th to 8th grade readers. There are so many adorable episodes as Lillian confides each event to her journal. Plakson has a gift for including just the right amount of challenging vocabulary for this reading level. As it is, there isn’t enough continuity for a mature reader to want to keep going. I would be more likely to read more of Lillian's little adventures if they were reformatted into a series of smaller stories.
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The Return of King Lillians (by Suzie Plakson) ⚡️⚡️2/5
This would easily be a 5/5 if the book was reworked for 5-8th grade!
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