Today’s team review is from Teri, she blogs here http://teripolen.com/
Teri has been reading The Royal Deal by D.G. Driver
D.G. Driver’s books have always captivated me, and The Royal Deal is no exception. I generally prefer darker fairy tales, but I liked the sound of Princess Faith. Although headstrong, determined, and spontaneous, she just wants a chance to control her own life. Ill-prepared to survive in the forest, perhaps she should have thought things through a little better before striking a deal with her father, the King, but whatever the case, you have to admire her chutzpah.
With the appearance of the hermit, I wondered if this would take a turn toward Beauty and the Beast, but I was glad to see that it didn’t. Not that I have anything against Beauty and the Beast, but I was hoping for more originality than ‘they lived happily ever after’ – and that’s what the author delivered. I felt the ending was abrupt, but satisfying.
This isn’t a sparkly fairy tale with the prince rescuing the princess – it possesses a more modern spin, with the princess learning independence and building self-esteem. The Royal Deal is a charming tale that takes only a couple of hours to read at the most, and I’d recommend it to both fans of traditional fairy tales and those who are looking for a different take on the standard stories.
I received a digital copy of this book through Rosie’s Book Review Team.
A pampered princess is told she must marry a prince she doesn’t like, let alone love, on her nineteenth birthday. Desperate to find a way to stop this arranged marriage, she makes a bargain with her father. If she can survive for three months in the forest with no help of any kind and return healthy and unharmed, then she can choose the man she will marry. The King accepts the wager, knowing he can’t possibly lose. Princess Faith knows she must win this deal, but once she ventures into the forest, she has no idea how she can possibly succeed.
D. G. Driver likes to write about diverse people dealing with social or environmental issues, but she likes to include a touch of fantasy or fun, too. She primarily writes middle grade and young adult fiction. She is the award-winning author of the YA eco-fiction series The Juniper Sawfeather Novels, which includes Cry of the Sea, Whisper of the Woods, and Echo of the Cliffs. She has stories in a variety of anthologies, and her newest book is a middle grade story about bullying and Autism awareness called No One Needed to Know. When she isn’t writing, she is teaching, performing in a local community theater musical, or probably watching TV.