Another fun romp through Pell with another great cast of quirky characters and a few infrequent nods to characters from Kill the Farm Boy and No Country for Old Gnomes. If you aren't familiar with those two stories, The Princess Beard can be enjoyed as a stand-alone; it may be slightly less enjoyable but any fantasy geek will enjoy the many references to various tropes and characters from popular fiction and fairy tales.

Despite the title, this is not a straight pastiche of Goldman's The Princess Bride. It also has less potty humor than the prior two tales and I think it quite suitable for any age group who love adventure stories whether you are old enough to appreciate the references or not.

This whole series would make a great TV show for the family.

This third installment of the Tales of Pell is once again filled with rollicking fun and fantastically narrated by the wonderful and talented Luke Daniels.

(NETGALLEY BOOK – I RECEIVED A COMPLIMENTARY ADVANCED READER COPY OF THIS BOOK THROUGH NETGALLEY. OPINIONS EXPRESSED IN THIS REVIEW ARE COMPLETELY MY OWN.)

This is one of my all time favorite series. I’m so sad that it was only a trilogy. I want so much more!

I read the first in this series and wasn’t in love with it. This one was the same. I feel like it was more me than the book, but still not at the top of my rec list.

Thank you to the publisher and to Netgalley for the advance copy of this book!

This was great SFF. I loved this book. The atmosphere was everything I wanted it to be. I loved the plot and storyline in the book. I loved the characters in this story. It gave me all the feels I was looking for when I started reading this. I highly recommend this author. I loved the writing. I will be looking for other works in the future from this author.

God I love these books. They're a perfect escape when the world is on fire. Full of fun, puns and tons of laughs, I seriously hope there will be more of these.

Looking for a fun series to escape into? Try this one. I love this series! If you like Douglas Adams and Monty Python, this is up your alley.

I was happy to be back in the land of Pell and I think this one brought the puns even harder than the last two! I enjoyed the adventure and the change of scenery that being aboard a ship brought to this story. I enjoyed the main characters and I think it works really well to get to see the story from multiple points of view. The end was cute and I'm always happy to see old characters from previous books!

I know this is part of a series of books taking place in the same fantasy land, but this was the first one I've had a chance to read. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and will be recommending it to people who enjoy funny adventures and quirky characters.

This entire series is very akin to falling down a flight of the most delightful stairs you've ever been down, and book 3 is no exception. New wacky characters, crazy new scenarios, same wonderful puns and writing and hidden gems you couldn't get anywhere else.

This book was such fun! It took me a little bit to get into it (or maybe I just had to be in the right mood for it), but once I did, it was fantastic. I have not yet read the previous two books set in Pell, but I found I didn't really need to to enjoy this. I never felt lost, and I found that the world was well developed even without having previous exposure to it. The characters were fabulous! They were all so different, but wonderful. Even the characters that I initially thought might be too much for me, I loved by the end. The authors did a fantastic job of making each character grow in a way that was both ridiculous and realistic at the same time. They kept the puns coming and the laughter increasing. I am definitely looking forward to going back and reading the first two books now!

THE PRINCESS BEARD is an amazing conclusion to a fantastically hilarious trilogy. I laughed, I cried, I choked over some Harry Potter references (because trust me, as much as a phenomenon as it was, I'm kind of good now). The characters are fleshed out and believable, and the jokes are as lively - if not more - as the cast.

Check out the podcast review OH PELL YEAH, out now on your favorite podcatcher.

This is the third “Tale of Pell” I’ve read, and by far the most entertaining. It is, of course, a pirate story, complete with a beard-sporting princess, a dryad in the process of transforming into a carnivorous tree, a pudgy elf, and a centaur whose secret magical weapon involves pelting his enemies with hot tea and sugary pastries. Oh, and the captain – Filthy Lucre – is a parrot in search of the ideal shoulder perch.
For me this novel had more structure and cohesiveness than the earlier two, which often devolved into excuses for puns that had only approximate relationship to the central plot. I found these characters much more sympathetic, I loved how each grew and matured during their adventures, so the entire effect was of greater emotional immediacy and warmth, but no less exciting action. And bad puns. Highly entertaining, and with great heart.

crappymags 3 word review: Punny as hell.

All my reviews available at scrappymags.com

Genre: Fantasy/magical/humor

A short summary: This is a crazy summary but here goes: there’s a princess who wakes with a beard (and some really long nails!) but instead of waiting for a prince, she escapes and runs away, becoming a pirate under the captainship of a one-eyed pirate. Oh, and the pirate? Is a parrot. Mix in a myriad of other characters - a misogynistic centaur who is also a magical tea and cake maker, a dryad who wants to study law, an elf who just isn’t “elf” enough... It’s one heck of a story.

My thoughts: I’m not sure what I expected but I received a book that was so much more - Not a retelling of The Princess Bride (but plenty of inside jokes that nod toward it). Rapt from the get go, I dove into this book and savored it. There are many puns and double entendres that kept me laughing throughout. What was exceptional was the character development - I felt that needed connection and the book delivered. It’s kinda fairy tale and kinda adventure with pop references built in and nothing routine or stale. I laughed out loud several times and loved the pop culture references (as well as a few bawdy ones). Fresh, fun, an enchanting romp.

Recommend to readers who like: Fantasy/humor but something different. Def. a Gen X pick!

Not recommended to: I’m Gen X and wonder if much of the allusion would be missed by younger folk.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Ballantine and the authors for an advanced copy (and for making me laugh so hard people side-eyed me heavily in public.)

NUMBER OF HEARTS: 3 1/2
The Princess Beard is the third book in the Tells of Pell series by Delilah S Dawson and Kevin Hearne. I listened to this book on Audible as I have listened to the first two books and Luke Daniels is an amazing narrator. This was another epic adventure in the land of Pell.
I did enjoy this book. Each of the characters has a great journey of enlightenment that they are on.
At times the puns were a little too much. Over all this was another good addition to the Tells of Pell trilogy. Will we see these cast of characters again in the future? Only time will tell if we will be able to visit Pell yet again.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine & Audible.com in exchange for an honest review. This review is my own opinion and not a paid review.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review, which has not altered my opinion of this book.

Whenever I read a book in this series, I find it so difficult to describe it simply because they are so hilarious and so random. This book is a high fantasy with dryads, elves, sleeping princesses under spells, pirates, and centaurs but it is completely ridiculous. When I say that, I mean it in the best way possible. Each of the books in the Tales of Pell series follows different characters, though they will interact with others in the other books, and this one is probably one of my favorites because: Pirates! This book follows a very random group of characters who are part of a pirate crew who want to save the otters.

This story was very interesting and really intriguing. I enjoy the fact that this series takes place in the same world and brings in characters from all books, but still focuses on an entirely new cast of characters. Each character is unique and hilarious in their own special way. I highly recommend this book for anyone who enjoys fantasy and the irony of it all. Four out of five from me.

First of all, THANK you to NetGalley for leading me to this series! Although I was given an e-arc, all opinions are my own.

In this third book of "The Tales of Pell", authors Delilah Dawson and Kevin Hearne have again written so creatively and well that you cannot help but envision the story as you read it. If you are looking for exaggerated humor, fun puns, and creative license, then this is your book.

It was so stupidly funny that I found myself laughing aloud at times. I smiled more as I read on. I enjoyed the book and it put me in a happy mood. The third entry into The Tales of Pell, it was a fun read as a self-contained story.

A pun-tasmagorical voyage , a coming of age story , a pirate adventure and so much more all rolled into a most entertaining and pun-tasic read!!!!
This is a delight to read! It is a sequel but it would be possible to read it alone. It would be even more hysterical to read after the other books in the series (Kill the Farmboy and No Country for Old Gnomes).
The books are filled with raucous adventures and a plethora of puns and jokes and often ridiculous characters. The most fun in escapist literature in a long time!!!!!

Sometimes you are just in the right mood for a particular book. Such was the case with me and The Princess Beard! This volume of the Tales of Pell goes back to the rose covered tower last seen in To Kill the Farm Boy where the sleeping beauty awakes to foul breath, dangerously long nails and more hair than Lady Harkovrita can imagine. So she breaks her nails, cuts off her braids, but keeps her beard while she makes her escape. Calling herself Morgan, she joins Filthy Lucre and his pirate crew on The Puffy Peach along with a centaur, an elf and a dryad. Avoiding sea monsters, the POPO, cannibals, they are hunting for treasure and the source of EATUM, the main food of the Dinnys restaurant chain. There are plenty of puns, strange names (Qurt Qobayne as boatswain is one, Sober Captain Morgan is another), weird chapter headings, and general skewering of all sorts of tropes. The authors clearly had a lot of fun writing this tale and the reader is the beneficiary of their fun! Read and enjoy!