Reviewed by Jess
TITLE: Tale of a Dragon Princess
AUTHOR: Lizzie Colt
PUBLISHER: NineStar Press
LENGTH: 21,600 words
RELEASE DATE: August 20,2018
BLURB:
The day Princess Mellie turns sixteen, her parents reveal she was cursed as a baby and will spend the rest of her nights as a dragon. Two years later, she discovers a chance to break the curse, but it will take a quest with only her chosen bodyguard, a brave female warrior who has lost her lust for fighting but has developed an attraction for the princess.
REVIEW:
This short fairy tale is a fast read that will warm you right up, even if the story is full of ice. In this case, I think the shorter length works—each page is charming and well-done in its own way. It’s perfect for a day snuggled up with a blanket and a hot drink.
Sometimes fairy tales bore me because they follow a predictable formula without anything to set it apart. But in this case, the story does follow a pretty familiar formula, but it works. It works because the relationship between our princess and her savior isn’t at all superficial like so many fairy tale romances. Instead of falling in love in an instant, Mellie and Adie have longstanding girlhood crushes on one another that only blossom when they spend a long period of time traveling together. They feel like real teenagers falling in love—hardened, burdened teenagers, maybe, but still young people figuring out their feelings.
I also love how Mellie’s parents are good, kind people who want only the best for Mellie, even if they make mistakes along the way. There are no malicious kings or evil godmothers in this story! Even the “villain” who cursed Mellie did it for a good reason, making the fairy tale battle between good and evil a little bit more complex. This is also a diverse book (characters with different sexualities and disabilities) set in a traditional medieval fantasy world, which can be hard to pull off.
There are some editing issues that pop up here and there, mostly regarding commas and sentence structure. I think it needed another editing sweep to clean it up. But all in all, it’s a really good, sweet story that doesn’t have to redefine the genre to keep us interested. It has an easy-to-follow plot, an interesting main character, and a totally adorable romance.
RATING: 
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