REVIEW: Power of a Princess by E. D. Baker

[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Bloomsbury Children’s Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary


The fairy Queen Suriner and King Darinar are moving their kingdom back to the human world. And their half fairy, half pedrasi granddaughter, Princess Aislin, will be a big part of operating their new kingdom.

As such, Princess Aislin gets to choose her guards/ladies-in-waiting to help her. And her choices are pretty revolutionary – a fairy, an orc, a living doll, and a giant just to name a few.

But a mysterious “She” is trying to cause trouble for the new fairy kingdom. Whoever she is, she’s spreading ugly rumors and provoking attacks on creatures who are friendly to Aislin or her family. But she has something much more serious than nasty rumors planned for Aislin. And this unknown “She” is willing to use a familiar face to get what she wants.

Review


This was so fun! I loved Aislin once again. And her guards, her “mestari,” are just as terrific. This is a great girl-power story with an emphasis on character qualities like kindness and loyalty.

This is also a great fantasy story. There are great creatures like manticores and griffins as well as giants and fairies. There’s magic and spells and curses and such. But none of the magic is more enjoyable than the character and the leadership of Princess Aislin.

It takes awhile for Aislin and her friends to get the information they need on the villain for this story. But the slow build on that front was offset by the building of Aislin’s team and some fun fairy world building. The battle is wrapped up by the end – no cliffhanger. But the war is not yet over. There’s more adventure to come for Aislin and her mestari. And I am here for it! You can read my review of book 1, More Than a Princess, here.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥

REVIEW: More Than a Princess by E. D. Baker

Summary


Princess Aislin is half fairy and half pedrasi. She may not be able to do the sorts of magic her fairy best friend Poppy can do, but her pedrasi connection to various stones gives her strength and magic all her own.

Long ago, the fairies left the human lands to live as a people set apart in their own lands protected by magic. But one day as Aislin and her friends are playing, the forest animals announce there are humans in their forest! Princess Aislin places herself in danger to save her friends. And she is “rewarded” when the human king she saves in turn take her to his kingdom.

Aislin is willing to do almost anything to keep her family and her people safe from the humans. So she endures taunts and thinly veiled insults from the nobility of Morain. But it becomes clear that the king is planning for war with another kingdom. And Aislin’s people could be caught in the middle.

Review


In the first few chapters, I was worried about keeping up with all the names and figuring out the magic of this world. But I was quickly caught up in Aislin’s story, and all the rest fell into place.

Aislin is a fantastic heroine! Smart, fiercely protective and confident. She might play things cool to gather information, but she also feels secure enough to stand up to the bullies, both adults and teens. I loved watching her fight for her people and learn what her magic could do along the way.

There’s a ton of action here. I loved the pacing of this – never too fast or too slow. And Aislin rises to each challenge she faces. Fantasy fans should be sure to check this series out.

I picked this up at the library when I was approved to review book two, Power of a Princess, which releases next week. I’ll be reviewing book 2 next week as well. Be sure to come back and see what I thought.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥½