Lavender hummed a peppy tune while thinking about how she could best put herself into some sort of peril that looked, but wasn’t too, dangerous.
At once, she remembered the time last month when the Witch’s cat got itself stuck in a tree. If she could get up a tree, the prince would have no choice but to help her down. What a perfect idea! Trees grew in abundance beside the road. A tallish oak looked particularly promising….
I received an e-copy of The Persnickety Princess (Tales from Upon A. Time – Book 1) by Falcon Storm in exchange for an honest review as part of the book’s Novelty Publicity book tour. I’m glad to say that my honest review is a happy one.
First off, a disclaimer: I am not the target audience for this book, not by a long shot. According to The Persnickety Princess‘s publisher, Evolved Publishing, this book is a “lower grade” book, meaning kids aged 6 to 9 are the most likely folks to dig it. So, if I’d had kids, we’d be talking about my grandchildren here.
That’s scary. Let’s not talk about that anymore. Let’s talk about the book.
The Persnickety Princess is a lot of fun and the first of what I expect to be an enjoyable series. Upon A. Time is actually a person–a Bard and the narrator of the story.
The strange man in fancy clothes dismounted his stolen pig and stood to face an infuriated–yet thoroughly confused–pair of city guards.
The guards arrest Mr. Time and take him to jail where he offers to explain the pig and his claim of being on “King’s business.” Instead, after explaining his name, he tells them the tale of Lavender, the titular princess, who has built herself a castle from which she waits to be rescued. She has definite opinions on what this involves and what her rescuer will be like, down to his exact height: five feet, eight and three-quarter inches.
Lavender has definite opinions on just about everything and when she’s not in her tower, she’s wandering around the castle being bossy and annoying.
…she ordered the cleaning staff to dust the castle and to place all the acquired dust in the pages of the biggest, oldest books in the library.
Talk about make work…
To help narrow the prince playing field, she hires a Wicked Witch to intimidate any who might come to rescue her. Unfortunately, Natalie–the witch she hires–isn’t really wicked per say, and kind of klutz. I adore the absentminded Natalie and her “familiar”, Mr. Whiskers–a little orange kitten she paints black at Lavender’s order. (My fingers are crossed that this story doesn’t create a trend of children trying to paint their cats…)
I’m also quite fond of Lavender’s sister, Petunia, a princess too, but one who doesn’t see the point in Lavender’s desire to have a man “save” her. She advises her sister that she needs to get out more and live instead of staying cooped up all day, afraid she’ll wrinkle her dress. As we’ll find out later in the book, Petunia is a “self-rescuing princess.” Yay! Storm wins all the points for coming up with “self-rescuing princess.”
But before we discover more about that, adventures must be had. A prince who meets all of Lavender’s criteria finally shows up, but woe! he’s not interested in Lavender. He’s there for Petunia, and just as he’s about to reach her, a dragon arrives and flies off with her. Hugo and his companion Dave (who’s 5′ 8 1/4″) take off to save her, and Lavender follows, because dang it, she’s the one to be rescued, not her fool sister!
The Persnickety Princess is the first novel by Alaskan author Falcon Storm, and I think it’s a fine start. His style of writing is charming and appealing. His characters are fun and the story itself kept me interested and, I felt, had a good moral to pass on for girls and boys. Also, the men of the tale being closer to average height than most “heroes” in fiction is a nice change and a nice detail. You don’t have to be six foot four to be a hero. Whether a 6-9 year-old will like the book? I have no clue, but it’s worth a shot.
About the Book – About the Author – Prizes!!!
About the book: High up in the tallest tower of the purplest castle in the Kingdom by the Sea, Princess Lavender awaits rescue. Desperate as she may be, only the most dashing, well dressed, properly mannered prince will do. Oh, and he must stand exactly four and three-quarters inches taller than her. A princess has got to have standards, after all.
When, finally, one such prince comes to her castle—not to rescue her, but her younger sister—Lavender refuses to be ignored. Instead of waiting for the next suitor to come along, she devises a plan to put herself in danger, thus forcing the upstart prince to forget her sister and rescue her instead.
Well accustomed to getting her way, there is only one thing, unfortunately, that this princess can’t control—her luck. When her plans go awry, putting her in very real danger, will she allow the prince to rescue her as he sees fit? Will he even want to try?
And will anyone be able to find a way to rescue Lavender from her persnickety ways once and for all? Find out in this comedic tale of princes, dragons, and dreams that just may come true.
The Persnickety Princess is a lower grade chapter book intended for kids 6 to 9 years old (although kids of all ages are sure to enjoy it!). Pick up your copy through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords or Kobo Books.
About the author: I was born in the frozen wasteland of Alaska with the unfortunate stigma of being both a daydreamer and left-handed. Starting from an early age, I’ve filled my life with stories of every sort from my father’s hunting trips to the Holy Trilogy (read: Star Wars). In the fourth grade, I became more interested in telling stories of my own than listening to those of others. Doctors—being doctors—attempted to medicate them out of me, but the best cure has always been a pen, a notebook, and my crazy, unrestrained imagination. I continue to whittle away at these stories in my endless search for the one that will finally bring me back to reality. All the while, I secretly hope such a story will never come along. I hear “reality” is far too boring. Connect with Falcon on his website, Facebook, GoodReads, or Twitter.
About the prizes: Who doesn’t love prizes? You could win (1) a $25 Amazon gift card, (2) a $50 Amazon gift card, or (3) a Princess Prize Pack, which includes a plush purple dragon, necklace with lavender pendant, The Fairy Godmother’s Guide to Being a Princess, tiara and wand party set, and a DVD of The Princess Bride.
Here’s what you need to do…
- Enter the Rafflecopter contest
- Leave a comment on my blog
That’s it! One random commenter during this tour will win the $50 gift card. Visit more blogs for more chances to win–the full list of participating bloggers can be found here. The other two prizes (including the awesome Princess Prize Pack) will be given out via Rafflecopter. You can find the contest entry form on the official Persnickety Princess tour page via Novel Publicity. Good luck!
M. Fenn 
YAY! Love this review. You have so much spunk and personality, my friend! Thank you for joining us on this tour and doing a smashing job of it. If you have a moment to cross-post your review to Amazon and GoodReads, we’d really appreciate it!
Em ❤
Thanks, Em! I’m glad you liked it. Will do. 🙂
Self-rescuing princesses truly are the way to go in this day and age 😉
Thanks for the great review. Looking forward to reading this book
They really are. Thanks for reading! 🙂
Sounds like there’s a solid interplay between the two princesses.
There is. It passes the Bechdel Test. 🙂
Glad you like the self-rescuing princess, because she is going to get her own book. 😀 Of course, that’s after Natalie has her moment. I hadn’t considered that kids might go out a paint their cats to look like Mr. Whiskers, I might have to do something about that in the next book.
Great review and I’m glad I passed the Bechdel Test. (Although I had to Google it to find out what it was)
Awesome! I’m looking forward to reading more about her and Natalie.
I’m glad you liked the review. Thanks for writing such a fun book.
Pingback: A is for An Alaskan Author's Persnickety Princess #atozchallenge Review