A pact made in the loom of fate, this twist on Rumpelstiltskin emphasizes the fine line between magic’s allure and its price.
The Princess Pact retells Rumpelstiltskin, a young adult fantasy by Australian author Melanie Cellier. It is the third novel in The Four Kingdoms Series which includes 2 novellas, a novelette, and 4 other novels.
All the books can be read as standalone, but if you want to read in order starting from The Princess Companion, trust me.
The world-building is amazing, there are connections between the books, the first time we meet the protagonist of this book is in the 1st book, also the plot is connected to that of one of the novellas, and many more things.
Marie is trying to be the best princess she can, despite the rigid protocols of Northhelm. Then a single pact changes everything. Now Marie has to figure out who she is and deal with the threat against her kingdom, she just might be able to do it all.
This review may contain spoilers.
This is the only Rumpelstiltskin retelling I have read to date. As a retelling, this is Melanie’s best. The components of the tale are so well incorporated, that it has immense importance in the plot. There is no doubt that while I loved the previous books, the author has leveled up, it is visible. The pace of the plot is fast at the start and at the end, it slows down a tad bit in the middle.
The plot was very good. From the prologue I was hooked, the twists didn’t stop until the end, and the last one was a happy surprise. It helps that I love Cellier’s writing style. It is just so comfortable(?). It is not difficult to follow and everything is so well described but not like an information dump, it is like you are there. Kid you not I was supposed to read just a few pages because I was supposed to study but I procrastinated and you can guess how I did it.
well, this is a spoiler but how (fellow readers know who they are) were they not enchanted, I’m guessing royal blood?
Marie, I loved her, she was so human, so relatable. Her emotional turmoil after she got to know about the pact was showcased well. Her struggle, her denial, and the final realization. The realization scene was my favorite in the entire book. The character development was satisfying, how much her experiences teach her, and how she finally overcomes her insecurities. She breaks the princess mold.
Her love interest Rafe, He was a golden retriever guy if I know one but at the same time was a mysterious guy. He was so cute. I had butterflies in some of the scenes, the build-up was so good.
I did feel like he was too good to be true at some points, his having some flaws would have added more depth to the character.
I just love that most of these stories have the first friends then lovers trope, it is just so much deeper than the instant love or love at first sight (not a fan). For people who love slow-burn, these books are it.
If you are looking for just romance you might be disappointed. Romance is just a subplot a good and adorable one but still a subplot and Marie’s development happened mostly independently from Rafe.
I repeat this is not a romantasy book.
The villain, was a very very creepy man in my imagination, like he gave me the ick (shivers).
All the other characters were great I especially liked the queen, definitely want to see more of William, which is good for me since one of the next books has his happily ever after.
An important theme of this book is family, and how it isn’t just the fact that you are related by blood that makes you one. It is unconditional love, sometimes you don’t really understand each other, sometimes your personalities clash and sometimes you get on each other’s nerves but beneath all that is love.
A 13+ rating for some kissing and violence.
A prologue, 3 parts, 33 chapters, about 200 pages, and Melanie posted an epilogue on her website HERE.
To sum up, I loved the book, It had a good plot, alright pacing, and a cute romance(subplot) also it was clean, with good characters, main character development, and a hatable villain, 4.5 stars from me, I definitely see myself rereading it. I recommend it.
Buh bye!
Yours
A Fellow Bookworm
Leave a Reply