Thank you so much to NetGalley for sending me an ARC in exchange for review! This was such a delightful take on old fairytale tropes. It gave me so much nostalgia for the timeless fantasy I grew up with, striking a remarkable balance between poking fun at expectations while embracing them. It had such a fun tone and delightful world. The main reason it wasn’t five stars for me was because the romance was a little instant for my taste, though I loved the queer angle!

Thank you, NetGalley, for a digital ARC of this wonderful, lighthearted fantasy book.

I had certain expectations of this book based on its whimsical title and colorful cover. Those expectations were met. I finished this is two sittings, reading half of the book each time (if you’re noticing how long it took me to finish this, blame my newborn baby and not the book!). The story follows Melilot, a princess at the beck and call of her wicked stepmother. Sent away for an arranged marriage to a stranger, Melilot meets and befriends a group of identical knights devoted to her future husband, each with a strange power. What ensues is a Brothers Grimm-esque story that is perfect for a light, uplifting read. Herman’s modern fairy tale perfectly encapsulates the ridiculousness of fairy tales without ever going too far, balancing a fantasy plot with a light sprinkle of romance. I just love a book that doesn’t take itself too seriously, and it helps that the author, Ry Herman, is genderqueen and a member of the LGBT community, which is reflected in their work. Great for fans of Dimension 20 and other such light-hearted, comedy based fantasy series. Also suitable for fans of some of T. Kingfisher’s works, most notably similar to Nettle and Bone.

What are the stories we don't hear in the fairytales? The side characters who surely have lives of their own before they got mixed up in whatever heroic, folkloric, and downright magical things happening around them? Ry Herman has the answers. Following Princess Melilot, This Princess Kills Monsters follows her ill-fated journey as she's sent by her stepmother--the Sorceress Queen of Skalla--to marry the new King of a neighboring kingdom. But when talk of mysterious creatures in the woods turn into attacks by mysterious creatures in the wood which in turn becomes a rescue by twelve identical and mysterious men, Melilot knows she her stepmother has thrown her in to harms way. Again. But like every other time, Melilot finds a way to survive and in trying to route out what, exactly, is trying to kill her this time, she learns more about herself, her family, and the strange customs of a foreign land than she bargained for.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a sweet, light hearted read that had some hard hitting emotional beats, especially around family, the stories we tell ourselves, and the potential for power in all of us. The way Herman weaves fairytales (often from Grimms but also from the wider canon of fairytales) throughout the fabric of the story creates an incredibly rich tapestry of a world with its own internal logics that I found incredibly charming. Melilot and Sam are adorable and I deeply appreciated their romance which was subtle and gentle and an interesting interrogation of the fairytale concept of True Love. Does True Love mean you're entirely, inexplicably in love with a stranger because fate has demanded it? Or if it something slower, an exploration, a choice despite fate?

This is also a queer normative world, primarily. Though Tailliz, the kingdom Melilot is sent off to, is more traditional in its understanding and enforcement of the gender binary, Skalla is very clearly unbothered by the Crown Princess (Melilot's older step sister Jonquil) being married to a woman, and Sam's trans identity is accepted by Melilot without hesitation. Melilot herself is clearly polysexual, either bi or pan, as she expresses interest in both Sam and Angelique, both of whom are able to confer a Ture Loves First Kiss on Melilot, further complicating the idea of True Love as a singular, only-happening-once-with-one-person kind of thing.

For fans of cozy fantasy but with a little more oomf, for fans of queer stories with trans joy, for fans of fairytales, check out This Princess Kills Mosnters.

The first thing you'll notice about this book are the witty rejoinders. The second is the intriguing heroine. The third is how much you're actually entertained by this story.

A great mesh of classic, fairy-tell retellings and original storytelling, "This Princess Kills Monsters," is an excellent read for anyone who loves adventure, humor, and sapphic romance.

I thoroughly enjoyed the light and nonsensical tone. In a world of capricious sorceresses, twelve identical huntsmen, and hazardous spinning wheels, Ry Herman did an excellent job blending verbal myths with in-world narratives. Plus, Melilot's relationship with her sort-of-evil step-mother keep me diving back for more. If anything, I wish this book honed in more on the romance and character elements, but overall it was kept at a good balance.

I think thia was the most fun retelling I've ever encountered. I could not stop laughing, and the characters were so well done!

absolutely loved the wry, dark sense of humor in this fantasy set in a twisted fairytale. Perfect balance of satire and queer romance!

4.5 stars - I really, really enjoyed “This Princess Kills Monsters” and I am not even a very big high fantasy fan! This story, however, really won me over - especially with its amazing, bad ass protagonist, Melilot, the titular princess. I loved the feminist & queer representation & joy here, but more - I really, really enjoyed the very wacky & off-beat humor and the super skewed & whimsical look at some classic fairy tales - just amazing world building!! This is just plain FUN!! Recommend highly, so glad I requested it. My thanks to Net Galley & the publisher for the advance readers copy - sincerely enjoyed this title!!

I enjoyed this quirky queernorm fairy-tale retelling. I am ranking it 4 stars rather than 5 because it did feel somewhat disjointed towards the end and I think could have used some slightly better editing (though honestly this could have been due to the source material and underlying fairytale rather than editing). That said, the foreshadowing must have been perfect because as the reader I had suspicions about the book's various mysteries that turned out to come true in interesting ways, the setting was fun and fantastical, and it was wonderful in 2025 to read a queernorm book with trans joy and wish my country's only problems were being invaded by magically-created nightmare creatures <spoiler>(spider wolves?!?!?)</spoiler>.

A silly and enchanting tale with sweet romance, fast action, and trans advocacy! *Siri play "What a Girl Wants" by Christina Aguilera
If I tried to describe the plot of this book to someone, I'd say imagine that somehow all of the grimms brothers fairy tales happened to the same person- who has evil stepmother mommy issues and an innate knowledge of modern medicine- written in princess bride style... don't know about you but I know I'M intrigued! Comedies that throw a realist into a cast of completely unrealistic characters (i.e. bob and his family in bobs burgers) will always get me, so I loved Melilot and the huntsmen. The rules of the sorcery and magic in this story were complicated in a way that kept me engaged and guessing, rather than confused, so props to the author for somehow striking that balance. And I just loved how creative this story felt despite being so familiar!
If you look for fast-paced dangerous magical peril that will make you laugh a lot (and you also just kind of need to be held for a minute) look no further!!
Thank you so much netgalley and random house publishing for the arc!

I love fairytale retellings! This Princess Kills Monsters is quirky in the best of ways and gives an alternate, more feminist view of several intertwined classic fairytales. For me though, at certain points, it was slow and a little jumbled; I found myself wanting it to end as opposed to wanting it to be longer.


Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the opportunity to read this eARC!

Thank you NetGalley for the e-ARC in exchange for a review

This book feels like it was written specifically for me. Queer + fairy tales + quirky characters = a dream set up. Luckily, this book took all the great ingredients and ended up with a wonderful result. I was unfamiliar with the story of The Twelve Huntsmen before this, but really enjoyed the inspiration from this and all the other fairytales woven throughout. Ultimately, this book shines through the characters. I love every single one of the huntsmen, especially Jack, and I adore the sisters and their spouses. Jonquil is everything I want in in a badass dragon riding character. I enjoyed the romance for each couple we saw, the banter had me smiling constantly. There were sometimes where I found myself a bit confused about which huntsmen was which, but that felt inline with how the characters were supposed to be viewing the situation. I loved the inclusion of stories within the book, especially how we get a different version of a fairy tale from different perspectives of the story. This was just such a joy to read! Fast paced, engaging plot, and good amounts of humor made me fly through reading this. I will definitely be recommending this to friends and looking into other works by the author.

I loved this book! I’m a sucker for existing stories that are given a revamp, and this one did not disappoint! It was funny and cute and beautiful, and I loved it! I also loved how stereotypical monsters ended up being a little bit more than initially thought, and how the evil stepmom and stepsisters trope was there, but with more love than usual. I would definitely read this again and again.

"This Princess Kills Monsters" offers a tongue-in-cheek retelling of The Twelve Huntsmen, brimming with humor and fairy tale references. Our main character, Princess Melilot, inhabits the expanded role of unnamed-mountain-sorceress-princess-rejected-by-the-prince, granting us a new point of view in this lesser known Grimm tale. In Herman's version of the story, Melilot faces spider-wolves (NOT wolf spiders), giant animate rock creatures, and heaps of suspicion turned her way.

One reviewer likened this story to "The Princess Bride" and I couldn't agree more. This is a story that never takes itself too seriously, offering up snappy witticisms and wry commentary. Despite its largely satirical nature, this is a story with heart. Melilot, who begins the story with a bit of an inferiority complex, comes to accept the assistance that her loved ones have to offer.

a fun, sapphic read! i enjoyed reading this, however the pacing felt all over the place. this is a good read if you’re looking for something light hearted & fun to read!

a princess on a mission to discover who actually wants her dead and falls in love on the way? and it’s queer!

Fairytale retellings are not my usual choice, but I still enjoyed this one! It has some truly wonderful queer representation, and while it’s also really funny most of the time, I feel like it may have been relying on humor just a bit more than I felt was necessary.

I also felt like the pacing was a little off, but not so bad it completely took me out of the story or anything. it’s definitely chaotic and fun and sapphic and a great read if you’re not looking for something to take too seriously.

This book was so much fun! The humor was great (the prologue actually made me laugh so hard that I teared up), and all the characters were so quirky and lovable. I love Melilot so much, and it was a joy being in her head. I think my two favorite characters were Sam and Gnoflwhogir. Who wouldn’t love a six foot tall, ripped fairy lady who loves stabbing a bit too much?
The plot was wacky, and the sheer amount of fairy tale references crammed in was incredibly impressive. The romance also ended up being much sweeter than I expected, so I think this would appeal to romance lovers.
I think my only real complaint was that I felt like the pacing was off? A lot would happen at once, in quick succession, and then nothing of note would happen for a while. It left the plot feeling disjointed, and made me want to put the book down and take a break after each (numerous) breakneck pace action scene. The author definitely relied on humor to carry the book forward, which got old at times, and if you don’t vibe with the humour then you will not like this book at all. Personally, I thought the vibes were fantastic, but I wish the story itself had a bit more substance. But I still had a ton of fun, and I would recommend this book to fans of cozy fantasy.

I really enjoyed the plot of this story. I thought the characters were interesting. The battle scenes felt a little bit on the long side, but I cared enough about the characters to feel the stakes.

Just finished This Princess Kills Monsters and honestly, I had such a good time with it. It’s got queer romance, geeky D&D vibes, and some really sweet (and messy) emotional moments. The characters feel real, the banter is fun, and it’s all wrapped in a story that doesn’t take itself too seriously but still hits you in the feels. If you’re into chaotic sapphic energy and a little bit of magical mayhem, give this one a shot.

This book was really good! I really have been looking for a book with a feel like this one and it did not disappoint. The characters were great, the plot was engaging and I am looking forward to reading more from this author in the future.

Bitingly funny and occasionally borderline nonsensical, This Princess Kills Monsters is the woke fairytale adults didn’t know they needed. While she dearly loves her sisters and their spouses, Meliot is suffering from a major inferiority complex as the middle child and non-biological child of a powerful sorceress queen. After being shunted around on pointless tasks, Meliot’s stepmother decides her next contribution will be to marry a king in a non-magical kingdom. Except about two seconds into said non-magical kingdom she’s attacked by creatures that don’t seem to be a product of nature. Being very practically raised that what seems to be out to kill you probably is out to kill you, Meliot decides to pretend to be her own nonexistent maidservant Clover to try and find out why someone wants her dead. Turns out the person least likely to want to kill her is the king’s ex-fiancée, the one he broke things off with to fulfill his father’s dying wish. So that really narrows things down. As she works to narrow the suspect list, misadventures and mayhem ensues, Meliot finds feelings for someone other than the king, and comes under suspicion herself. Once the real culprit is identified, Meliot teams up the family that’s always had her back and some new friends that are learning to in order to save the day, the king and the kingdom. But will she get the happily ever that she wants? Would you honestly want to stand in the way of a HEA for a princess that kills monsters? Before the story ends she may even see her stepmother in a different light. While it occasionally veers into the nonsensical (in the book’s defense, one of these periods is when Meliot is running a fever), the book is charming and laugh out loud funny. With the way Ry Herman ends their book, they leave open a possibility of another chapter in this story and I sincerely hope there’s more to read. A complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.