Review: DRIVE by Stephanie Fournet
I have loved everything I’ve read from Stephanie Fournet, and DRIVE did not disa[...]
The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom (The League of Princes #1) by Christopher Healy
Published by HarperAudio, Waldon Pond Press on May 2012
Genres: Fantasy, Middle Grade
Format: Audiobook
Pages: 419
Source: Publisher
Goodreads • Amazon • iTunes
Prince Liam. Prince Frederic. Prince Duncan. Prince Gustav. You've never heard of them, have you? These are the princes who saved Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Snow White, and Rapunzel, respectively, and yet, thanks to those lousy bards who wrote the tales, you likely know them only as Prince Charming. But all of this is about to change.
Rejected by their princesses and cast out of their castles, Liam, Frederic, Duncan, and Gustav stumble upon an evil plot that could endanger each of their kingdoms. Now it's up to them to triumph over their various shortcomings, take on trolls, bandits, dragons, witches, and other assorted terrors, and become the heroes no one ever thought they could be.
Debut author Christopher Healy takes us on a journey with four imperfect princes and their four improbable princesses, all of whom are trying to become perfect heroes - a fast-paced, funny, and fresh introduction to a world where everything, even our classic fairy tales, is not at all what it seems.
I listened to The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom on audio right before ABaaL went on a summer hiatus, so this review will be short and sweet. But still gushing, because this book is fantastic!
The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom is pure fun, and easily my favorite fairytale re-telling ever! I always wondered what happened after the princess rode off into the sunset with her prince to live happily ever after… and now I know! I loved getting a behind the scenes look at these classic fairytales and seeing how kick-ass the princesses were, and how they didn’t need saving.
This re-telling follows the Prince Charmings from Cinderella (Frederic), Snow White (Duncan), Sleeping Beauty (Liam), and Rapunzel (Gustav) as they set off together to save their kingdoms and prove that they can be heroes themselves. It also tells how they each became Prince Charming in the first place, which is surprising and hilarious! I listened to this mostly while walking my dog and I know people thought I was crazy when I grinning like an idiot and cracking up all by myself!
The narrator, Bronson Pinchot, was fantastic. He was great with the voices (especially Duncan), and had great timing. I’d love to see a video of him recording this book, because it sounded like he was having a blast doing it! I’m really disappointed that an audiobook wasn’t made for the sequel, The Hero’s Guide to Storming the Castle. I highly recommend this book in any format, but the audio truly brings the book to life.
The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom is about friendship, teamwork, and overcoming obstacles together. It’s full of adventure and hilarity that any middle grader (or adult) will love. I look forward to reading more from Christopher Healy, and also finding more audiobooks narrated by Bronson Pinchot!
Twitter: fakesteph
says:
Excellent review! I’ve had my eye on this one for a long time. I actually won a copy of the sequel and have been deciding on how I want to buy the first one–kindle, paper, or audio. I think you made my choice for me.
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My whole family loves these books. Each of them in the series has held up to the promise of great storytelling that this first book gave. Even my somewhat stoic daughter laughs out loud when reading them!
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