I really, really wanted to like it. Sapphic, monster-fighting princess? Yes please.
But…..
I don’t know. Maybe the monsters were too gorey and strange for me. Princesses and wolves? Yeah, that’s like traditional. Princesses and spider wolves with lots of legs and weird eyes and an overall image that’s more than a little traumatizing? Politely, no thank you.
Everything felt more Shrek than Disney Princess. Don’t get me wrong, I love Shrek….but this wasn’t a comedy and the cover was quite misleading. I mean, it opens with the princess planting TEETH. That’s level one body horror as far as I’m concerned. (Yes I’m a scaredy cat…but hence the whole affinity for princess stories.)
The writing was good, don’t get me wrong. If the book was for me, I think it would have been four stars if not five. The settings were especially fun and vivid, and I liked the different magics.
But then again….the pacing was difficult. It felt like a lot of stopping and starting because we got the whole fairytale narrated at the beginning. It might not have been entirely accurate, but it didn’t leave me wanting intimate details. I wanted to focus on the story of a princess who slays monsters…..which also takes sometime to even happen.
I just wasn’t invested in the characters….a lot of them might have been subversive to traditional fairy tales….but they were still rather flat. Our main character’s wants weren’t very interesting, and I wasn’t desperate for a happily ever after.
I’m sure this book will find readers who love it, but I am not one.

A gloriously chaotic fairy tale that’s part Grimm’s The Twelve Huntsmen, part “what if we gave every side character their own subplot,” and part fever dream of queer joy. Princess Melilot is a charmingly impudent brat whose one magical gift is *checks notes* growing excessive hair when stressed. Sent off by her sorceress evil stepmother as a political sacrifice to marry a distant prince, her pumpkin carriage promptly gets wrecked by spider wolves, and she’s saved by a half-dozen of the nearly identical Twelve Huntsmen. Along the way, she falls for Sam, a trans huntsman, gets very distracted by the King’s mysterious sister Angelique, and stumbles into a tangle of other fairy tales—animal-whispering sisters, terrifying fae wives, and a giant green fairy named Gnoflwhogir who swings a sword like she’s in a video game cutscene.

The humor is immaculate. Self-aware, absurd, and laced with inside jokes like your millennial bestie (it’s me) quoting The Office at the worst possible moments. It mocks fairy tales in the most reverent way possible, weaving in queer representation so abundant it could make a book banner faint. There’s more gender fluidity than a Shakespearean comedy, romance that’s sweetly closed-door, and a refreshingly complicated-but-supportive family who are somehow both the best thing about the book and low-key suffocating.

Not just a retelling, but a “what happened after” that gives a scorned princess the space to grow (and not just her hair). It’s joyful, ridiculous, and charming enough that you’ll want spin-offs for every single side character—Jonquil and Calla, I am looking at you.

We love a queer, feminist retelling of a fairy tale! Especially one of the lesser known fairy tales! A fun cozy fantasy of relatively useless magic, blunders, and finding out who you are. For fans of 'Dreadful' and 'The Princess Bride' and for those of us still looking for a little relatively useless magic in the world .

Thank you NetGalley for the arc!

I had so much fun with this book! It was funny, the characters were fantastic especially our main character, Melilot. I did not know I’d be giggling as much as I did while reading this. And the nod to a bunch of fairy tales and the commentary on bioessentialism—incredible!

Melilot is on a journey to Tailliz from Skalla at her stepmother’s command to marry the newly crowned Tailliziani King. She is not thrilled about it but does what she must. Confused as to why the king proposed in the first place she sets out only to be attacked by weird ass creatures. Luckily she’s rescued by the mysterious huntsman of her betrothed. Mayhem ensues and it’s a fun ride the whole way through!

If you want a subversive remix of fairy tales, the epic fantasy vibes, and the perspective from a stepsister, I highly recommend this book!

This was not normally my type of read, but I think this opened the door of this genre for me a lot!! I loved the story! Will be reading more like this

okay I LOVED this!!! I generally love fairy tale retellings/fractured fairy tales so not super surprising, but I will say this one was fresh, entertaining, and one of my fav fantasy books so far this year. Memorable main characters, fantastic world-building, and pretty funny. If you liked Gail Carson Levine or Shannon Hale books growing up I think you'd love this. Thank you so much to the publishers and NetGalley for the ARC!

I loved this book so much. I loved the characters, I loved the plot, I loved each and every fairytale reference and Easter egg. Ry Herman takes the utter absurdity of one of the lesser known Grimm tales and gives an equally absurd but at the same time completely sensible context for it. Plus, the queer representation is on point. A must-read for fans of Howl’s Moving Castle, The Enchanted Forest Chronicles, Assistant to the Villain, The Princess Bride, or Goose Chase.

I don’t know what I thought this book would be. I got lost right away. I will give it another go. I am always looking for good YA lgbt books for customers. I hope that I can try this again soon. I really wanted to like this one!

An interesting read. The description and cover peaked my interest at first. The overall writing and pacing were not as expected. I liked the concept, but not entirely what I hoped for.

Thank you for the free digital ARC in exchange for my review!

This was a cute book, and it was fun to see references to other fairy tales. There were a couple of chapters that felt like they dragged a bit (lake and dungeon come to mind), and I’m not sure if it was inconsistent chapter lengths or if my reading speed was super inconsistent, but according to Kindle, some chapters were 4 minutes long and some were 20. However, the humor was enjoyable and all of the characters were interesting. The humor reminded me a bit of My Lady Jane.

This was delightful in unexpected ways!

The entire story includes a mishmash of familiar fairy tales, but they're all twisted and wound together and changed a bit.

Melilot has an evil sorceress for a stepmother. Said stepmother is constantly sending her and her sisters on dangerous, weird quests, so it's no real surprise to her when she's sent off to marry a newly crowned king.

What does surprise her are the spider wolves that attack her carriage/guards and the six identical huntsmen who save her.

From there the story rolls out with her breaking old fashioned traditions, coming into her own powers, falling in love, turning down a marriage, defeating an evil sorceress, and maybe breaking cycles of generational trauma.

I love the silly ridiculousness of this book mixed with the very real messages about complications in family, being yourself, and creating new traditions.

You need a sense of humor to read this one, but it was HIGHLY enjoyable for me.

I had to DNF at 40%.

The story is fun and the characters are cute, I really did enjoy the writing, but I just don't feel that I am the target audience. I gave it 3 stars because I feel this might be something I come back to some day, but for now I just couldn't make myself keep reading.

This book was fun. The mix of different fairy tales was interesting but could feel a little forced at points, and because of that the book could be a little hard to follow at sometimes. The characters and writing also have spots where they take themselves too seriously in a setting and plot that does not feel serious. It’s a small problem, but it makes for a juxtaposition that really brought me out of the story, and made it hard for me to think of who I would recommend this book to.

A very camp retelling of many Grimms fairy tales, primarily The Twelve Huntsmen. I enjoyed the humorous writing, but felt the retellings were smashed together in a way that didn’t create a cohesive story. Thanks NetGalley for the arc!

I absolutely loved this one! I'm a huge fan of fairytales, and especially a satirical twist on them, or at least when there's a self-deprecating narrator who likes to break the fourth wall. I would absolutely read this one again.

Whoa. This Princess Kills Monsters is a retelling of The Twelve Huntsmen, a Brothers Grimm tale, from the perspective of a minor character. Princess Melilot gets sent by her sorceress evil stepmother to marry a prince in a neighboring kingdom like a political sacrifice and encounters six of the nearly identical twelve huntsmen on the road where they save her from spider wolves.
On the surface, it is a straightforward retelling. But. It's hilarious. It references fairy tales like your millennial younger brother might pepper lines from The Office into every conversation. I was laughing at every paragraph. I was getting the inside jokes born of allusion. I was EATING this up, no crumbs. The humor reminded me of Long Live Evil, but more cheerful, less dire, because we knew how the story would turn out. Mostly. Ish. Gnoflwhogir kept popping up and surprising me, that fantastic giant green fairy swinging around her huge sword, and I loved that too.
Within the pages, there's more gender fluidity than a Shakespearean play, and so much LGBTQIA representation that I sincerely hope this book gets banned because of how many more people might read it. The vocabulary had me looking up new words that were interesting and relevant and delicious but never made me feel stupid.
Don't come here for spice. There's romance, yes, but any mature content is closed door.
Speaking of romance, can we have a moment for the beautiful relationships Melilot has with her sisters AND their spouses?! Every time her family was on the page, I felt joy. Their biggest flaw was being too supportive?! And it was CHARMING! Ugh. I am so obsessed with all 4 of them. Please give me more of them. I would like to submit my formal request for both Jonquil and Calla to have their own books, please and thank you forever.
Thanks to NetGalley and Dial Press Trade- Random House for this ARC!

OMFG! This book is so good! It was whimsical and magical and queer and beautiful! I loved the characters and the settings. The blending of new and old tales, of known and unknown magic was impeccable. This was a delight from start to finish!

This is a feminist take on The Twelve Huntsmen, woven together with threads from a variety of other (mostly Grimm) fairy tales. While the original huntsmen story provides the framework, the narrator feels like a composite of several classic female characters—reimagined in a fresh, empowered way. The author does a great job pulling together familiar story elements and reshaping them into a bold, girl-centered narrative.

I really enjoyed this one. If you’re a fan of fairy tale retellings, it’s well worth the read. I’d happily recommend it to anyone who enjoys new spins on old stories.

This Princess Kills Monsters is a thrilling and imaginative mix of classic fairy tales with a modern edge. Ry Herman brings together familiar storybook elements and transforms them into an exciting, fast-paced adventure that feels fresh and original.

The story features a strong heroine, clever twists, and a magical world filled with danger and surprises. It's creative, fun, and keeps you turning the pages.

If you’re a fan of the Cinder series by Marissa Meyer or the sharp, witty style of Lex Croucher, this book is definitely worth checking out. A strong four stars from me.

A satire twist of the Grimm Brothers fairy tale The Twelve Huntsman, Princess Melilot is commanded by her evil, yet-not so evil, stepmother to marry King Gervase. When her guards turn back into teeth and she is attacked by some horrendous looking spider-wolves, she is rescued by some strikingly similar looking masked huntsmen and brought to King Gervase castle in Tailliz. From here she must find out who is trying to constantly end her life while juggling a kingdom set on falling, a king who perhaps still loves someone else, and her own feelings about a stunning redhead.

From beginning to the end, I was in nostalgia paradise. This twist of a tale, that included several mentions of different fairy tales, had be yearning for more with each chapter. Each time some of my favourite fairy tales were mentioned, my eyes would go wide with recognition – I really loved the Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Hansel and Gretel, and Rapunzel references. They made me feel like a little girl again.

I loved how This Princess Kills Monsters was inclusive. It reflected the struggles that women often face today with the seclusion and weight of only existing to perform “our duties”. It also reflected the desire for various groups of people to just simply exist without judgement. I loved how there was queer love without judgement and there was love among people who shared different backgrounds – or in this case, species (Jonquil and her fairy partner Gnoflwhogir).

Outside of the plot, Ry Herman’s writing added to the story. It felt like I was one of the characters walking alongside Princess Melilot wherever she went. The tone of voice shifted with each character within the story which made it feel like they were truly talking out loud. This was shown through the descriptive writing, usage of words and the style of font (including the usage of different font types, caps and italics). My favourite part was the Ogres.

“AND WHO’S THIS DELICIOUS MORSEL?” Femus’s single eye looked Sam up and down, “MIND IF I STEAL A BITE?”

Overall, This Princess Kills Monsters by Ry Herman, is an incredible twist of a fairytale that I will remember forever.

Thank you Ry Herman, NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group and Dial Press Trade Paperback for the ARC opportunity!!