Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the e-ARC of This Princess Kills Monsters!
4 / 5 ⭐

This Princess Kills Monsters is a whimsical, queer fairytale mashup. The main character - Melilot - is the middle princess of three and the least magically talented; her life has been a series of difficult quests set by the evil queen of the realm, her stepmother. The most recent of these is an arranged marriage, but she’ll find more than a husband in her new kingdom. TPKM was such an enjoyable read; it doesn’t take itself too seriously and leans into and plays with fairytale tropes in both expected and unexpected ways. Would recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Random House | Dial Press Trade Paperback for allowing me to read this book!

I loved the humor and twisted fairytale aspect of it, very T. Kingfisher. The queerness in it was spectacular, and the family!!! The family aspect!!! In how important it was for both the protag and her companions. She loves her sisters, an their relationship with the queen (her stepmother, their mother) is....
well. more than complicated.
and i am a fucking sucker for that because i'm a softie.

Doe she treat them right? no. is she ignoring their boundaries, and actively endangering them? Yes. Does she care? *Spoilers*, but I loved the familial discussions at the end, where she's looking at her family looking at each other with newer eyes. Her sisters, after all, are perfect, and she's just the stepchild, with the weakest magic and the least power.

Everyone in here felt rounded, real, and I'd love to read more in this world!

This Princess Kills Monsters is multiple stories rolled into one wonderful adventure. You have Princess Melilot and her sisters being sent off by their mother to complete various quests until Princess Melilot is sent off to marry a king. It is this task that sets off the real adventure and journey where there are a variety of creatures, her fiancee, her fiancee's sister, and twelve very similar looking huntsmen.

What Ry Herman does with this story is so magical and I am in awe. As an English teacher, I adored the structure and set up. The diction is amazing and the overall tone? It's just so good! There was never a dull moment in this beautiful callback to the fairytale "The Twelve Huntsmen" and all the other fairy tales. I'm actually sad I read through to the end but I'm also very excited and happy to have had the opportunity to do so because in my time with this novel, I was a kid again. I was a young girl just enjoying her fairy tales. Like I said, never a dull moment.

If this is something that you're interested in and you want a bit of an escape, I highly recommend you pick this up when it comes out! I am super excited and cannot wait for it come out in June 2025.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House, and Dial Press Trade Paperback for gifting me the opportunity to read this ARC! All opinions are my own.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House for sending me this ARC! All opinions are my own.

This Princess Kills Monsters is a whimsical, light-hearted jaunt through a magical world full to bursting with every fairy tale creature and trope you can think of. We've got dragons, trolls, fairies, talking animals, and people with weird magical powers to name a few. I'm pretty sure there was even a Lord of the Rings reference at one point.

I loved the humor in this book, I was giggling to myself every few pages at least. It has a goofy whimsical flavor to it that might not work for everyone, but it absolutely did for me. Special shout out to my favorite character, Melilot's sister in law Gnoflwhogir. She's a tall buff warrior fairy princess with a thirst for bloodshed and chaos and I loved her. Tbh I think Jonquil and Gnoflwhogir deserve their own novella at least. I found them so interesting and compelling even with the small amount of page time they got here.

I also enjoyed Melilot's dynamic with her sisters and their spouses. It was really sweet and heartwarming seeing how much love they had for one another even when they didn't 100% understand each other.

Now as for the romance, it was cute and did get one audible "awww" out of me, but overall I found it fairly underwhelming. I admit I could be being a little hard on it because my expectations were so different. Based on the book summary, I was expecting a juicy and emotional bisexual love triangle. I was so excited to see Melilot wrestle between her duties as a princess engaged to the king, and her growing feelings for one of the huntsmen AND the king's sister. Like omg the drama??? I was so ready to eat it up. But sadly for me, that did not happen here. It's pretty clear from the get go who Melilot actually has feelings for, and she doesn't really do any wrestling with those feelings. Which isn't a bad thing, like I said the romance we get here is serviceably sweet. But it just wasn't what I was expecting and hoping for.

I also found the villain reveal to be a bit disappointing and not terribly interesting. By the end I was feeling lukewarm about the plot in general.

But that said, I still really enjoyed this. Truly not many books have made me laugh as much as this one did. So if you're looking to escape reality for a bit and have a fun goofy fairy tale time then definitely give this a try!

This Princess Kills Monsters is an irreverent fairy tale in the same vein as The Enchanted forest chronicles. It is fun quick read. The FMC has a very distinct voice that is fleshed out as the story goes on. She is a compelling heroine that makes this a joy to read.

I do wish there were less characters in the story. It is hard to tell them apart sometimes or which is talking. I like the relationship between the sister's. They could have easily been enemies but they were friends and wanted to help each other.

The novel takes several fairytales into one story. The plot goes along quickly and the author packs much action in every page. This is a magical book about personal growth, inner strength, and finding your own love.

If you want a story full of adventure and magic this is the book for you. This is a great mix of The Princess Bride and The Enchanted Forest Chronicles. I highly recommend this book. Thank you to Net Galley and Random House Publishing for providing an eARC for a honest review

What a fun and lovely read!! Thank you to the publisher for the ARC. Not only was the cover captivating but the contents were surely enthralling.

We start with someone we’ve seen before ‘is this a retelling of sorts?’ But the authors voice is strong and unique which already gave it extra points on my end when compared to other retelling novels. However… this is not a retelling at all- the plot twists feel comedic and poignant. It’s funny and light hearted in very smart ways. To me, it never goes too far to the point that I can’t take things seriously when they deserve my attention. The narration is so, so good. It was refreshing to read someone with such a unique voice and writing style!

I have to admit- I’m 80% into this book but have made the conscious choice to perhaps leave it there so I can reread when it comes out in print.

I may be biased because I am a sucker for a fairy tale story that isn’t a cookie-cutter retelling (think Princess Bride or even Shrek- hold for laughter but it’s a great example).
So much thought went into the world building of this story and it came across in the writing. The characters were well thought out and Melilot was a great main character.
Overall, I had an AMAZING experience reading this book, it was so much fun and I will definitely be picking up more by this author!

A very fun, irreverent fairy tale romp!

The heroine is the single POV, and she has a very distinct voice and fleshed out character. I've read the pov of tons of fantasy FMCs, and this one is one of the best. The FMC is most definitely a young adult, but she's a funny and compelling main character with a satisfying growth arc. The queer romance was a small part of the story but is sweet and the relatively little focus on the romance lets the FMC shine on her own accord. I appreciated the family elements, especially the step family, and was very endeared to many of the characters.

The beginning was a little hard for me to get into, but, once the story picked up, it moved quickly. There was sometimes just too much going on for me to follow in the action scenes, but this is only because Herman is able to pack a lot of creative details into every bit of the story. You don't have to be super familiar with Grimm fairy tales to enjoy this, but it does make all the references more fun.

If you like twists on fairy tales and Princess Bride-like humor, you'll really enjoy this. The author did a great job, and I'll be interested in her other books.

Thank you, Random House Publishing, for the arc!

This Princess Kills Monsters is an enchanting feminist retelling of the Grimm Brothers' The Twelve Huntsmen, not that it exactly sticks to only one fairy tale, mind you … this book borrows bits and pieces from allllll the stories. It's heartwarming and hilarious and action-packed, and I loved pretty much every moment of it. It is fairly heavy on the romance which isn't normally my thing, but overall the lovey-dovey stuff isn't too distracting and takes a backseat to the sorcery and saving the kingdom bits.

And there is a whole lot of sorcery. There are multiple sorceresses doing sorceress-y things. I mean, people get turned into geese, you guys. And would any fairy tale be complete without an enchanted spinning wheel??

And the characters? Fantastic. Melilot is a witty and likeable protagonist, but in my opinion Gnoflwhogil, Meliot's brave and slightly … aggressive fairy sister-in-law, is absolutely delightful and the real MVP of this book. For some reason she reminds me of Anya from Buffy the Vampire Slayer (or a considerably-more-violent version of Anya, anyway), and Anya was my very favorite character from Buffy so I guess I have a type? Even the villains are multifaceted and not entirely hateable, and, I mean, the reasonings behind their misdeeds aren't entirely without merit, so …

Oh, and there's a dragon. And spider wolves. And grumpy enchanted mirrors. And an epic battle à la the Battle of Winterfell. And also I'm probably going to get so many hate comments from Game of Thrones fans regarding that comparison, but whatever.

So, yeah. Fantastic book. Definitely read it if you're into feminist fairy tales with humor and heart and sorcery of all sorts. My rating: 4.55 stars, rounded up.

Many thanks to NetGalley and The Dial Press for providing me with an advance copy of this book to review. Its expected publication date is June 17, 2025.

For Princess Melilot life threatening danger is just apart of everyday life. The step daughter to a powerful sorceress Queen who likes to send her daughters on quests filled with peril on a constant basis. However she has just been given her worst assignment yet, marry the new king of a neighbouring kingdom. But someone doesn’t want the wedding to happen and is willing to end Melilot’s life to ensure it doesn’t. With twelve eerily similar huntsmen, one who has caught her eye (an entirely unhelpful complication for the kings fiancee to have) , and the kings sister (who Meiliot is also finding extremely attractive) on the case and at her back she might just have a chance to save her new home.
This book is based on the fairytale The Twelve Huntsman and has nods and references to countless beloved fairytales. I cannot express how much fun I had reading this book. I loved the witty and sarcastic writing style. I loved how Ry Herman pokes fun at while also paying homage to fairy tales, especially some of the more absurd and abstract ones. This was a quick read for me because I refused to put it down. The only downside is if this sounds like your kind of book it won’t be released until June 17, 2025, but it is well worth the wait.
Thank you so much to @thedialpress and @netgalley for letting me review this fabulous book.
#bookstagram #bookstagrammer #readersofinstagram #fairytale #thisprincesskillsmonsters #retellings #readmorebooks #bookrecommendations

If you haven’t read The Grimm’s Brothers Fairytale, The Twelve Huntsmen, you should read it first then jump into Herman’s book. The story focuses on the main character, a sort of sorceress princess, Melilot, from the mountain kingdom, Skalla. This princess and her two sisters are regularly sent on magical quests to search for odds and ends, such as: a dragon’s toenail or finding a way to plow a field with teeth and complete these tasks for their mother/Melilot’s stepmother, the evil sorceress queen of Skalla. The evil queen continuously sends her daughters on these crazy scheming quests, which ultimately leads to one more task for Melilot: she must leave their home in Skalla, travel to a faraway kingdom, and marry a king she has never met.
Overall, some of my favorite parts of this engaging story was the wonderful vocabulary that had me searching the dictionary for words like “bycocket”. I thought the author’s inceptive use of storytelling within this book was a neat way to broaden the characters backstories out. Despite liking the story within a story, I did think that some of the huntsmen in the story could have been fleshed out a bit more and not been so two-dimensional. Another kind of letdown was not being able to delve into the storybook world as much due to what I felt was a lack of descriptions of the landscapes and architecture.
This was a whirlwind of a story that kept you constantly guessing what would happen next. This Princess Kills Monsters was not only hilarious, whimsical and full of magical creatures and objects, but was nostalgic with its world based around the fairytales that we all grew up reading. It is worth the read!

Surprisingly weird, deeply funny, and entertaining from the first page to the last. My only complaint was that the villain was a little lackluster and didn’t have much depth. Otherwise, this is a gem.

This book was truly a treat to read! It's a melting pot of so many fairytale stories that most of us have grown up hearing, reading, etc. The story is seen through the eyes of Melilot, a young sorceress who only has one meager magical talent.
She is told she is to wed a King in another land and sets out!
Things go awry before she can arrive safely at the castle! I could not put this book down! It had me giggling all throughout!

This book was so good! I loved the idea of retelling a fairytale from a first person point of view. The off hand mentions of other classic fairytales and folklore really added to the story and made for fun Easter eggs. A princess is sent on seemingly impossible quests by her evil stepmother only to be saved by her sisters. The next demand is that she is to marry a man in another kingdom. Before she reaches the kingdom, she is met with magically enhanced creatures and twelve identical huntsmen. She then hides her identity in order to gain information about her new groom which ends up leading her into many predicaments. Soon she is battling a mysterious evil, hidden identities and her own personal misconceptions. The book is really a compelling story of personal growth, love, and inner strength. The story includes beautiful queer representation while also having an enticing magical element. I really enjoyed it and fell in love with many of the characters while also understanding their flaws.

I had some trouble at times visualising what was happening in the book but that could be due to the magical element and me needing to use my imagination more. I think the pacing was done well and can’t wait for it to come out next year!

Wow! I had such a great time with this book! When I wasn't smiling- well I think I smiled the whole book. Every corner of this book oozes with cleverness and wit that I can't get enough of. Also a sizable amount of weird magic BS for good fun. All the characters are nice, and Melilot manages to be likeable and reasonable despite her many qualms with the world. I'd say my only complaint is the lack of happy resolution for one aspect in the end, but I understand why. Thank you so much to Penguin Random House and Ry Herman for this wonderful experience! Such a unique read.

This was fucking phenomenal. It was so enthralling and I loved all the lore that was into it, I didn’t even notice it was closed door and that’s saying something lol

What an interesting tone for a fairy tale retelling! This will perhaps be best appreciated by those with a familiarity with the Lang Fairy Books and with no reverence for canon.

absolutely enchanting romantasy with some amazing hat-tipping to fdairy tales and folktales ranging from Cadmus and of course the Twelve Huntsmen to Red Riding Hood and Rapunzel. Great queer rep all throughout, and a very fun protagonists. 5 stars. tysm for the arc. would recommend.

This Princess Kills Monsters is a clever reimagining of classic fairy tales, blending them into a modern, adventurous story. It’s reminiscent of The Princess Bride with its mix of whimsy, fantasy, and playful absurdity. Princess Melilot, pushed by her sorceress stepmother to prove herself, embarks on dangerous quests and faces numerous challenges, including an arranged marriage to a king she’s never met. The story goes beyond surface-level fairy tale tropes, exploring deeper questions about heroism and heart. A fast-paced, heart-pounding read, this book is a must for anyone who enjoys fresh takes on traditional tales. Highly recommended!

this book was…. how do i put this into words? this book was beautiful, it was fun, it was lighthearted, but didn’t try to stay away from the big stuff.

the whimsy and humor in this book about knocked me off my feet. it was FUN! It didn’t take itself too seriously at ALL. This book felt like watching the princess bride does. if you’re a fan of fairytales, A.K. Caggiano, lighthearted humor, or a downright good time, this is the book for you. A retelling of a fairytale (with so many other classic fairytale easter eggs sprinkled in) unlike any other.

You can expect:

💛 found family
🩵 (whimsical) political intrigue
🩷 sorcery
💛 she saves him
🩵 secret identities
🩷 arranged marriages
💛 stepmothers and stepsisters (not derogatory)
🩵 only one bed
🩷 closed door (romance isn’t the biggest storyline)

thanks netgalley, i ADORED this book!