Blog Tour – The Princess Will Save You by Sarah Henning

**Disclaimer: I was given a free finished copy in exchange for an honest review from the publisher.**

I’d like to begin by thanking the author, Sarah Henning, and her publisher, Tor Teen, for sending me a copy of this book and allowing me to feel like I am part of a tour. This is a one stop tour but so many other bloggers and bookstagrammers are chatting up a storm about this one!

Title The Princess Will Save You

Author Sarah Henning

Release Date July 7, 2020

Publisher Tor Teen

Description from Amazon

When a princess’s commoner true love is kidnapped to coerce her into a political marriage, she doesn’t give in—she goes to rescue him.

When her warrior father, King Sendoa, mysteriously dies, Princess Amarande of Ardenia is given what would hardly be considered a choice: Marry a stranger at sixteen or lose control of her family’s crown.

But Amarande was raised to be a warrior—not a sacrifice.

In an attempt to force her choice, a neighboring kingdom kidnaps her true love, stable boy Luca. With her kingdom on the brink of civil war and no one to trust, she’ll need all her skill to save him, her future, and her kingdom.

Initial Thoughts

I was super excited to get my hands on a copy of this book. Tagged as a “gender bent Princess Bride retelling”, the story sounded so up my alley. Also, despite my feelings about the ending of the first book, I really liked Sarah Henning’s Sea Witch duology.

Some Things I Liked

• The feeling of narration. Like the Princess Bride movie, the story read like someone was narrating a story and I really enjoyed that aspect. Normally, I prefer first person narration but this felt right for the type of story.
• The romance. It wasn’t messy or confusing and there were no love triangles. It was true love plain and simple.
• The realism in the political plot as well as the betrayals. There are some heavy themes in this book and I thought they paired well with the idea of true love and rescues. Princess Amarande and Luca have both had hard lives in very different ways but I loved that their problems didn’t weigh them down. Furthermore, Amarande was ready to do whatever it took to get Luca back.

One Thing I Wasn’t Crazy About

• I found the story insanely predictable. I had literally guessed who everyone was, their relationships, and the repercussions of those relationships less than 50 pages in. I wish I had been surprised a bit more.

Series Value

I would definitely keep reading this series. I like the plot and the characters and I am eager to know more. I do not feel like this book merits re-reading come the release of subsequent sequels, however. The details were rich but not so much so that I can’t remember the plot well enough.

Final Thoughts

I enjoyed this book. I think it’s my favorite of Sarah Henning’s stories. It paid homage to a classic story and had a good storyline. I’d keep reading and am eager to see more of Sarah Henning’s ideas in the future.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Recommendations for Further Reading

• Sea Witch by Sarah Henning – if you liked the writing style and are interested in another retelling with a twist by Sarah Henning, try this duology.
• Roar by Cora Carmack – if you liked the idea of runaway princesses and royals who would do anything to save their loved ones, try this series.
• Caraval by Stephanie Garber – if you liked the idea of true love as a powerful form of magic, try this series.