Once a Princess

one of the best books I own

I have read most of Sherwood Smith's books, and Once a Princess is definitely one of my favorites. I described it to my friend as a cross between Crown Duel and the Inda series. It involves a kick-ass heroine, a troubled kingdom, and pirates. The story is told in first person by Sasha and third person for the other characters, which I barely noticed until I just looked it up, showing how well the different POVs are integrated. It is a romantic fantasy, but the story is run by the characters and plot, not by the romance -- that grows organically out of the people in the story.

Once a Princess starts off with Sasharia, hereafter known as Sasha, being woken up to a couple to goons banging on her apartment door which she answers and soon after slams shut. During that interval we're treated to a quick back and forth conversation where we learn the most important parts of Sasha's history. Namely, she's a princess from the world of Sartorias-deles, her mother is originally from Earth, her father is missing, and both her mother and herself have been constantly on the run trying to avoid such a meeting with nameless goons, who want to bring them back to Sartorias-deles to be put to the mercy of the "king."

Sasha promptly calls her mother, Sun, and finds out that the goons have found her too, despite her mother being more assiduous with moving around and changing names. They meet, exchange stories, and a little more of the background is filled in, in a completely non-infodump way. Then they split up once more.

A few days later Sasha gets pulled through the world gate to Sartorias-deles. When Sun finds out, she follows after, both trying to find her daughter and deciding that she's run long enough. Sun and Sasha have seperate adventures at this point, yet both tie into the plot well.

When Sasha gets to Sartorias-deles she meets a brother and sister who are supposedly on her side, and help her escape from the king's soldiers who soon begin chasing them. A pirate enters the fray, also supposedly on Sasha's side, and helps out with the sword waving so they all can escape.

It is apparent soon enough that the pirate is using an assumed name, and I started trying to guess who he would turn out to be. I didn't figure it out until I was told. This part was done really well -- even though I had vague muttering suspicions in the back of my mind they weren't loud enough to even voice an opinion, let alone make me believe they were correct.

Overall, the characters in this book are written very well. There are a few surprising traits that pop up in characters, but rather than making the characters seem less real, it makes them seem more real, and less cliche. There are also a few surprising characters who drift in and out, and if you've read other stories by Sherwood, you'll recognize where they come from.

This is one reason I love Sherwood's books. Not only are her characters realistic, but her worldbuilding is simply amazing. It's like she is writing a history of her world, not simply many stories from the same world.

Once a Princess has a competent heroine who knows herself and forms her own goals. Two competent heroines, I should say, for while Sasha is the main character, Sun has a large part to play as well. With a hero dropped into the mix as well, this book is full of enjoyment from start to finish. (And the next one is just as good, or better.)

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

How long is the book?

I always get the books and end up not being able to read them because we have a reading page requirement of 200 pages or more... how many pages is this book????

Alex

Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wonderful World

I truly enjoyed the world the author has created and the characters were likable if a bit predictable. The problem I had with this book was that although I enjoyed it while Ii was reading I didn't feel any urgency to pick it up again after a break in reading. I hope others have better luck with the story.

Confusing

This book has some great action and characters but the way it beins is horribly confusing and i had to stop reading becase of lack of understanding.

Quite a good read and surprisingly (pleasantly) smut free!

Any smut in this book would have ruined it but as it stands, this is perfect for pre teens, teens and adults alike. I LOVED this book! A little bit much TMI on the action scenes but those are notoriously difficult to write anyway. I want to live in this world!

A light, fun beginning

Since Court Duel is one of my absolute favorite books, ever, I always look forward to any of SS's new books. This book follows a similar style. An evil king, characters with hidden motives. Is this person who seems bad actually trying to help, or does that benevolent person really have their own agenda? Such fun, even though I am fairly sure about who is going to turn out good. I liked the characters, I was surprised at how well drawn some of the secondary ones were. It gave the story a well finished feel. Just ignore the really bad cover. Looking forward to the sequel.

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