Heidel

By Anita Valle

A tempestuous princess + an arrogant prince= a recipe for royal disaster.

Heidel never wanted to be a cookie-cutter princess. She isn’t graceful. She isn’t sweet. She isn’t even skinny! Heidel would much rather cook than curtsy; is more interested in eating that etiquette.

The Nine Princesses are preparing for the annual festival known as Fenwick’s Feast. Heidel plans to enter the Kind’s Cake Contest given by the famous, but crazy, King of Bauble. But also entering the contest is arrogant Prince Eravis who sneers at Heidel’s cooking skills, insults her rounded figure, and mocks her ambition to cure the world of Red Fever.

Caught up in her culinary conquest, Heidel barely notices that another enemy simmers on the back burner, one much more deadly than a sarcastic prince. An enemy who may hold the secret to the princess’s long lost servants.

I enjoy this little novella series, though the last book about Coralina, the seductive and flirtatious princess threw me off. This one also threw me a bit. Heidel wasn’t in the last two books much, and it was surprising to see that she is super competitive, has a horrible temper, and is often a big jerk. That being said, she is also passionate about helping others and a loyal person. It was a shock to read about her this way as her personality didn’t really come up in the previous two books (that I can remember). It was an entertaining book, and I appreciate the added tidbits of mystery that have been added about the servants and the overall plot of the series. This was fun to read and entertaining. Not a huge fan of the making out stuff toward the end though. Ah well.

I give it a 3 out of 5

Coralina

By Anita Valle

“Would you like to hear the name of the curse that beauty brings?” Nurse Merla asked. But Coco was no longer listening. She fluffed her curls with her small hands and considered which gown she would wear that day. Nurse Merla’s withered fingers settled on her shoulders. “Men,” she whispered.

Coralina Corissa, known as “Coco” to her eight sisters, is the prettiest princess of a hundred kingdoms. And she knows it. Her beauty has always given her anything she wanted…and any man she wanted.

Runa Realm is facing a new threat. Strange bandits, disguised as nobles, are attacking beautiful women to steal their hair. Coralina isn’t concerned. Until Prince Luxley, her favorite (but not only) lover, gets clobbered by a peasant called Gord, who mistakenly assumed the prince was a bandit.

Outraged, Coralina plans to punish the peasant by deliberately breaking his heart. But Gord is nearly blind. For the first time ever, Coralina must rely on more than her looks to ensnare a man. But the harder she flirts, the more Gord seems to hate her. And the more her own heart (and hair) becomes endangered.

 

This is the second book in the Nine Princesses novella series, and judging by the first book, this was definitely different than I was expecting it to be. It’s about Princess Coralina, who is an extreme flirt who loves making out with just about every attractive man she can find. In result, she’s got a lot of jilted and heart-broken lovers. Funny thing is, she has never had her own heart broken until now. This little novella follows her realization of exactly how much damage she has done to the men of the kingdom and how she finally becomes a better person. It was interesting because it had a little more mature content than the first book, which was innocent and fun more along the lines of Gail Carson Levine, but this one is different. The tone changed and it wasn’t as fun for me to read because the innocent magic was taken away by the heroine’s promiscuity that hinted at being everything but…well you know. I can’t really recommend this one, as I didn’t like how it deviated from the tone of the first book. It’s still good and well written. Just didn’t like where it went in comparison.

 

I give it a 3 out of 5- average.

Maelyn

By Anita Valle

 Maelyn was not born a princess. The king found her as a child, the lone survivor of a poor village slaughtered by the Red Fever. Suddenly she became a princess of Runa Realm, the first of nine orphans adopted by the king.

By her eighteenth year, Maelyn rules over Runa and a family of nine sisters. But some call the princesses frauds and imposters, a handful of urchins raised into royalty. Even Uncle Jarros, the High Kind of Grunwold, seems determined to prove that Maelyn no longer deserves to be a princess. With a family losing faith in her, and a kingdom growing dangerously hostile, even Maelyn begins to wonder if she is truly a real princess. And if her riches will turn to rags once again…

 

 This is the first in a short Kindle novella series that I found for free and thought, “why not? I like Princesses.” I read this and was reminded of Shannon Hale with the fun telling of the princess sisters and the evil uncle-king. It wasn’t as neatly told, or as in-depth, but I loved it all the same. It’s fun and sweet. I enjoyed the bits of romance and the dynamic between the princesses. I plan to keep reading them and let you all know if they are worth it.

 

P.S. I know the cover is horrible, but don't judge it by that please!

 

I give it a 3 ½ out of 5 for potential!