I was hoping this would be a fun feel-good fairytale. However, Floralinda did many cruel things that I found were not funny. Thus, I really did not enjoy this story.

I'm not quite sure what I was expecting when I picked this novella up but it was definitely not what I read. This book read like a Gail Carson Levine novel but with a mean streak. It started out like so many fairy tale retellings and then proceeded to turn so many of the tropes we've come to expect of story of a princess trapped in a tower on their heads.

I kind of really loved this messed up fairy tale! The story begins with Princess Floralinda being stranded in the tower by a witch to whom setting challenges is an art form. At first, Floralinda is hopeful that she will be rescued quickly by a prince. But as days and weeks pass and the dragon on the first floor's kill count increases, her hope begins to wane as she gets dirtier and dirtier and sick of the food the witch left. There comes a point where Floralinda has to make a decision on whether she's going to stay in the tower or try to rescue herself. And that choice dictates the rest of the story and it is a doozy and more than a little bit macabre. Which, truth be told, is very on point for the author of Gideon the Ninth.

This is a novella so I'm not going to tell you anymore about the plot. It's a story I believe that you should go into not knowing much about. It made the story intriguing and enjoyable for me.

I listened to the audio of this novella on my commute to and from work and would highly recommend it. It is narrated by the always amazing Moira Quirk who also narrates most of Gail Carriger's Parasolverse books as well as Tamsyn Muirs Locked Tomb series. I would highly recommend listening to it if possible. Moira Quirk's narration takes an already amazing story and elevates it to mind-blowing.

I love Tamsyn Muir and whimsical fantasy stories, and I will always pick up a new Tamsyn Muir book. That being said, this was not my favorite of Muir's work. This story was short, yet the pace was slow and dragged at points. It got repetitive. But the overall theme of empowerment was great. So while it was not my favorite, it was still worth a read.

This review will be short and spoiler free!

This is a novella by the author of Gideon the Ninth. I got an ARC a while back, and completely forgot to read it. Oops.

I went in with pretty high expectations, because I loved Gideon, and some Gideon fans told me it was hilarious.

Here’s the premise:

A witch puts a princess in a tower that has 40 floors. Each floor has a different monster. She has to be rescued by a prince.

The princes show up, fail, and now she’s left all alone with 39 floors of monsters below her. She has an endless supply of food, so there’s nothing to worry about there.

But she’s bored. There’s only so many books to read and reread, only so many times she can sew and unsew the same cross stitch pattern. So when an injured fairy comes through the window with some crazy ideas how to get out, Floralinda listens.

I went into this having read Gideon the Ninth, and expected the same humor. It’s funny, but not in the same way. This reads much more like a fairy tale, and even pokes fun at some traditional fairy tales and their tropes.

I loved the fairy, Cobweb. She has her own goals, and sometimes is reluctant to help Floralinda, but knows getting out will require the princess’s help.

At the beginning, Floralinda is your typical princess, but as the story goes on, she transforms into a whole new person. Her journey was amazing to watch.

My favorite part of this book was the ending. Based on how the story starts out, it’s pretty obvious when the end will be in the plot, but as for how, that’s a bit of a mystery. Floralinda’s newfound self confidence and resolve about who she is shines through at the end.

I wouldn’t say it was absolutely amazing, though. It’s just too darn short. I really want to see what happens to Floralinda after this. I don’t think Tamsyn Muir is planning on writing anything else in this world, but I’d love it if she did.

My thanks to NetGalley and Subterranean Press for an eARC copy of this book to read and review.

Ok, this had a few parts where I did actually laugh out loud, BUT those chuckles at the witty turn of phrase did not save this from being a 1 star book for me. Why you ask?

SPOILER response below.

Because I do NOT understand how the Princess ended up becoming a monster, unless Stockholm Syndrome, which does not sit well with me. Also, did she really have to kill the unicorn? And why not stop the witch permanently? Those poor monsters, being locked up, because the witch is an artiste? Not funny or entertaining.

I can see this amusing those with a dark sense of humor and fantasy being turned on it's head, but it's not for me.

On the plus side, it's a quick read and has a lovely cover. 1, not what I was expecting, star.

I really enjoyed reading this. It reminds me a lot of the book My Lady Jane by Brody Ashton. For those who enjoyed reading those books, this is worth a read. It's silly, and snarky but smart and well done.
Also great for those who like dark comedy.

Think your #netgalley for allowing me the chance to review this in exchange for an honest opinion.

I really liked Floralinda's personality. Often when trying to create a strong princess authors give them very stereotypically masculine traits like strong fighting skills. Floralinda is very traditionally feminine. She cries, she freaks out at scary situations. And she fails frequently. But she is also clever and resourceful. Such a a strong well written character!

I adored this dark fairy tale from Tamsyn Muir -- who knew she could branch out so easily? The grit of the story feels much more akin to old original fairy tales, and Floralinda is a such a great heroine, the kind who IS afraid to fight for her survival, but damned if she won't do it anyway.

3.5 stars

A cute, funny, subversive take on the classic fairytale trope of a princess locked away in a tower. I enjoyed Tamsyn Muir's wit and cleverly written prose. Parts of the book were a little bit repetitive, but overall, I still enjoyed myself. Would recommend for anyone in the mood for a light-hearted, quick read.

Wonderful tale with a terrific twist at the end. Muir continues their witty writing style and keeps a fast pace through this tale of survival!

This book was such a great twist on the classic Princess in a Tower trope. I adored the fact that we went along with Florinda learning that she should just save herself, because no prince was able to. We went along with her as she went through each monster that was in the tower, taking it day by day.

I have read many times before that Tamsyn Muir's writing is hit or miss for them, which I feel the same. I could not get into Gideon the Ninth, but thoroughly enjoyed this one. I will definitely check out any other books they write in the future, especially if they are fresh takes on more classic stories.

Princess Floralinda and the Forty-Flight Tower is the kind of princess book that I would want my daughters to read. Tamsyn Muir turns the traditional Rapunzel story where the princess passively waits for rescue into an adventure where Floralinda discovers who she can become and fights her way to her own freedom.

I feel like Tamsyn Muir's books are either hit or miss for me. While I loved Gideon, this strange little novella left me wondering what in hell I read. I think that there just wasn't enough time to really develop the cast and flush out the plot at the same time.

Stars: 3.5 out of 5

The princess in a tower guarded by a dragon and the prince who has to battle the monster in order to rescue her is a classical fairy tale trope.

But what happens if the dragon crunched up all the princes and no more are coming to your rescue? What if instead winter is coming and the tower is decidedly NOT equipped with hot water, heat, or insulation? What if a diet of milk, bread, and oranges is fine for a couple weeks, but decidedly NOT good after a few months? There comes a time when even the meekest princess will have to make a choice: either try to confront the monsters in the tower and make it to the bottom, or choose the fast and fatal drop out of her window. So Floralinda opens the door to her room and changes her destiny forever.

It was interesting to see Floralinda slowly transforming from a princess to someone in charge of her own destiny. It was certainly subverting a trope. It was also interesting to see the different monsters populating the levels of the tower, even if thinking that an untrained girl could succeed where numerous princes failed was rather unrealistic. But hey, it's still a fairy tale after all.

Speaking of fairy tales, I wouldn't recommend reading it to younger children. Some descriptions are rather... graphic, and Floralinda is forced to do some things that might shock younger minds. She has to go down a tower full of monsters, after all.

I am not satisfied with the ending though. (view spoiler)

But all in all it was a short and sweet read that helped me pass a rainy afternoon, but Floralinda deserved better than the ending she got.

PS. I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC. This was a really fun read. I expected a more traditional retelling of Rapunzel, but was met instead with a snarky, fresh and 21st century fairy tale.

A delightful take on classic fairytale tropes, merging old-fashioned style with a modern sensibility. Muir's writing is witty and always engages, although on the whole, I felt the premise wore out a while before the story actually ended. I didn't see the ending coming, but upon reflection, it was the perfect capstone for Floralinda's character, given how she was initially defined by her weaknesses. Fantasy readers will be amused by this clever iteration of the princess trapped in a tower tale.

Princess Floralinda and the Forty-Flight Tower is a very interesting take on the traditional fairytale-knight-rescues-princess-from-tower concept.

The book isn't as dark as expected, and considering that cover, I don't know why I thought it would be dark in the first place, but I guess that's because it's written by Tamsyn Muir. But even so, some of the scenes in the novel -- including the ending -- were haunting and disturbing. Speaking of the ending, I'm not sure that I even enjoyed it -- I genuinely don't know what to think about it.

The plot felt a bit repetitive at times, which is why I'm giving the novella 3 stars. It's very straightforward: princess Floralinda trying to escape from the tower and having to defeat each of the 40 monsters blocking her way, along with a mysterious friend she makes. So it makes sense the plot doesn't feel like much happens. But even so, Floralinda was an interesting character and brought a lot of life to the novella.

Tamsyn Muir is one of my auto-buy authors, so when I saw she was releasing a new novella, I knew I had to check it out. I did enjoy Princess Floralinda and the Forty Flight Tower, but I expected to love it as much as I do the Locked Tomb trilogy and I just.. didn’t? This book was a good reminder of why I try to avoid having any expectations for books.⠀
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Princess Floralinda and the Forty Flight Tower is a dark, twisted, satirical tale that reads like the book version of a dungeon crawler game. The plot is largely what you’d expect based on the title - Princess Floralinda (a caricature of the stereotypical fairytale princess) is trapped by a witch at the top of a tower, with forty flights of monsters standing in the way of her escape. Floralinda watches as princes arrive in droves to rescue her, but none succeed. Eventually, there are no princes left, and Floralinda realizes it’s up to her to save herself.⠀
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From that brief description, you might imagine this is a story about female empowerment. It’s not. The princess does save herself in this one, but Floralinda is not a likable character for you to live vicariously through. I can’t say more without risking spoilers, so I’ll leave it at that. ⠀
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Final verdict: 3.5 stars, rounded up. While it didn’t meet my high expectations, but Princess Floralinda and the Forty Flight Tower was a fairly quick, enjoyable read. If you like dark fantasy, satirical takes on common tropes, or are a Muir fan, I definitely think it’s worth checking out as an ebook, which is much more affordable ($7-ish USD) than the limited run hardbacks.

A witch locks a princess in a tower. The princess waits for a prince to come to her rescue. You think you know where this story is going, but you're wrong.

A princess grows tired of waiting to be rescued. She sets out to rescue herself. You think you know where this story is going, but you're wrong.

To say more about the story would give away too much, but I can say I've rarely been so pleased to have my expectations of a story proven so wrong.

Received via NetGalley.

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Princess Floralinda and the Forty-Flight Tower by Tamsyn Muir is a quick read that subverts the fairytale trope. I’ve always loved fairytales and I love to read all the retellings I can get my hands on. In the beginning, it felt very much like a traditional fairytale, but that quickly changed.

The story starts with Floralinda imprisoned in a tower, with 40 flights – and a monster on each one – between her and freedom. Of course, for Floralinda, this is basically what she expected. Because that’s what happens to princesses, and she knows her role. All she has to do is sit and wait for her prince to come save her. But no prince comes, so eventually she is forced to take matters into her own hands. And that’s when things begin to change. Or rather, Floralinda begins to change. Because if she’s going to escape this tower, she can’t do so as the perfect princess she’s always been.

This book was interesting and I’m not quite sure what to make of it. It was enjoyable, but I had a hard time getting invested in it. On a positive note, this book had a very unique way of developing the plot and characters. It started out very one-dimensional and Floralinda lacked any real depth, but as the story progressed and Floralinda broke free of the script she’s been following since birth, it really started to become alive. Another thing I really enjoyed is that there wasn’t any romance. I do enjoy romance, but it’s refreshing sometimes to read a story that doesn’t have any.

Now for the negatives. First, it was a little gory at times. Not too bad, but if you’re sensitive to gore, you may want to take that into consideration. The thing that really bothered me about this book, though, was the ending. Up until then, I was really enjoying this book. Without any spoilers, it was a very morally gray ending. I know some people are really into morally gray characters, but I’m not a big fan. While I can acknowledge that it does make for a compelling story, it’s not what I usually prefer to read. While I did not expect or wish for this book to end like a traditional fairy tale, this is not the ending I would have chosen for it.

I was really excited to read this book, but unfortunately, it wasn’t quite what I expected or hoped for. Although I was only able to give it 3 stars based off my personal preferences, it was well written and I can see how others might really enjoy it. While I would probably not reread it, I would recommend it to others.