A complimentary copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.

I am not sure my rating is fair. The story wasn't at all what I expected and that disappointed and frustrated me. I had hoped to read this to my niece and teach her something. Unfortunately this book didn't portray the lesson I wanted hence the 2 stars. I didn't care for the writing either but I don't read children's books as a rule so my view is skewed.

The Princess isn't allowed to go out past the castle walls. It's too dangerous. But the fields of purple flowers draw her. When a boy at the market inside the walls gives her a flower, she loves the way they smell. He tells her they are lilacs.

BooksGoSocial and Net Galley let me read this book for review (thank you). This has been published and you can get a copy now.

Next time she sees him she asks if he can get her a cloak to wear so she can sneak out. He brings her his dead father's cloak. She sneaks out with the peasants as the sales end and plays in the lilacs. She sees an animal approaching her but doesn't know enough to be afraid. He's a dragon and he asks her if she would like to go on a ride. She accepts and suddenly she is missing. When her little friend sees the posters, he feels guilty and he decides to save her.

He's not too big and he has a small sword and a knife but he got her into it and now he's going to get her out of trouble. Of course, the dragon has some thoughts about that.

The battle is vicious and the dragon is injured. He asks them for forgiveness. Could you forgive someone who was trying to kill you?

I realize this book isn't aimed at me, but from my perspective, even taking into account the audience it's intended for, this book was wrong from the very start. For a book supposedly about values, this story places entirely the wrong value on a child when, on only the second line, we learn that the princess is "young and beautiful," as though nothing else matters in a woman: not smarts, not integrity, not loyalty, not good behavior, not helpfulness, not friendliness, not the ability to listen and learn, not hard work, not thoughtfulness, but beauty. I'm sorry, but no. I cannot support a book this shallow, even a very short one aimed at young children, and for that very reason that this is the wrong message to give to young children or any children.

It would have been bad enough if that was the only faux pas, but it got worse. This is your traditional - read: antiquated - story of a damsel in distress who needs a manly man to rescue her. Maybe for this particular princess, beauty is the only thing she actually does have going for her, because she certainly exhibited none of the qualities I listed above. She talks to strangers and doesn't even get kidnapped by one, but voluntarily goes off with him, whereupon of course, she's held prisoner until a boy rescues her. She can't do a this for herself as you know, because she's 'only a poor helpless girl'.

For a moment or two I wondered if this book had been published in 1919 rather than the 21st century, but no, it was originally published in 2014. How it got published I do not know, but I cannot commend a story so far out of touch with modern womanhood.

Dreama longs for life outside of the castle, but she is not fully aware of the dangers that lurk outside the walls. As she befriends a young village boy, she convinces him to help her sneak out and away from the castle so that she can visit the spot where he picked some flowers for her.
However, she is about to discover that not everyone is kind, and what she took as punishment was, in actuality, for her own protection.

This was a cute little story! I enjoyed reading it immensely!

This was such a cute little book! The message was great the kids, and I enjoyed it as well! My daughter followed along very easily and really enjoyed the illustrations.

Princess Lilian meets a young peasant man. They become friends. The princesses kingdom is full of fighting because of a long ago curse. The princess learns they need defeat the curse.
Cute story and good illustrations.

This was an adorable book that had a wonderful message for both kids and adults! We really enjoyed it, especially how easy it was to read along and understand ! The characters were cute, and it was a fun little book :)

The Lilac Princess is a lovely children's chapter book that is perfect for children who want to read a book that I bit more complex.

It's a wonderful story about forgiveness, adventure, friends, family and dragons. A great story for all the children who want to start reading fanasty without it being too difficult too understand.

The writing style was to the point, easy to understand and flowed together wonderfully. The characters are loveable and realistic. All in all, a great story for every child that also won't bore the parents when they have to read it for the hundredth time.

Thank you to NetGalley for the Advanced Reader's Copy of this book. I received this in exchange for my honest review. This was a great beginner chapter book. There was some similarities to different fairy tales so a great stepping stone for littles to progress their reading. The story focused on forgiveness and how it can eliminate so many problems around you. Great story that littles learning to read will enjoy and be able to get a good lesson from.