Shave the princess? Inconceivable! The hilarious bestselling authors of Kill the Farm Boy and No Country for Old Gnomes are back with a new adventure in the irreverent world of Pell.
Once upon a time, a princess slept in a magical tower cloaked in thorns and roses.
When she woke, she found no Prince Charming, only a surfeit of hair and grotesquely long fingernails--which was, honestly, better than some creep who acted without consent. She cut off her long braids and used them to escape. But she kept the beard because it made a great disguise.
This is not a story about finding true love's kiss--it's a story about finding yourself. On a pirate ship. Where you belong.
But these are no ordinary pirates aboard The Puffy Peach, serving under Filthy Lucre, the one-eyed parrot pirate captain. First there's Vic, a swole and misogynistic centaur on a mission to expunge himself of the magic that causes him to conjure tea and dainty cupcakes in response to stress. Then there's Tempest, who's determined to become the first dryad lawyer--preferably before she takes her ultimate form as a man-eating tree. They're joined by Alobartalus, an awkward and unelfly elf who longs to meet his hero, the Sn'archivist who is said to take dictation directly from the gods of Pell. Throw in some mystery meat and a dastardly capitalist plot, and you've got one Pell of an adventure on the high seas!
In this new escapade set in the magical land of Pell, Delilah S. Dawson and Kevin Hearne lovingly skewer the tropes of fairy tales and create a new kind of fantasy: generous, gently humorous, and inclusive. There might also be otters.
The Princess Beard is Delilah S. Dawson and Kevin Hearne's final book in The Tales of Pell series and it the trilogy goes out in style! We are gifted with yet another comedic tale that brings back the humor of Monty Python (and Mel Brooks, in my opinion)! This tale seemed easier to get through this time around, as things weren't as hectic this weekend when I was reading it!
The story starts when a princess who was put under a sleeping curse awakens, but not by true love's kiss, she just actually awakens on her own! And sees that she has been sleeping for awhile, for her nails are ghastly overgrown, her hair is long, and she has somehow acquired a beard. Weird, but she rolls with it. She remembers her father trying to put her into an arranged marriage that she wanted no part of, received a rose and then she was out. And now she is up and mobile and running away from the life she did not want to be forced to lead.
She soon finds herself joining a pirate crew, longing for a new life, a life filled with adventures of her own choosing. It's a grand start to a new life and with a new life, she gives herself a new name, Morgan.
Then we have other characters to meet who are all on a quest to fulfill their own dreams. You have the dryad, Tempest, who longs to be a lawyer, but fears that one day she will turn into a carnivorous tree with the taste for blood. There's Vic, the centaur who just want to be buff and swole and be rid of his terrible magical powers to conjure sweets, yes sweets. Then there's Alobartalus who wants to to meet the Sn'archivist and find his own purpose beyond "protecting" his family's lighthouse.
The newly acquired pirate crew sets sail on the seas, looking for treasure and doing what pirates do when Morgan uncovers a terrible secret effecting all of Pell. One that relates to the mystery food known as EATUM. It's a delectable side dish served at all the Dinny's franchises and other places. It's cheap and tasty...but when Morgan learns what it actually is, she makes it her mission, and the crew's she's become apart of mission to put an end to it.
I guess without the chaos of the previous week, I was better able to sink into this story and read at a reasonable pace! I found it to be very exciting and endearing. I positively love all the puns and jokes that are mixed throughout. It's on level with Mel Brooks and Monty Python, that's for sure! I love the modernity of some of the jokes. They are just little things, but they make for an excellent laugh!
The quartet of characters don't start off as friends right away, but eventually bonds are formed and friendships are made. I half expected a romance with Vic and maybe Tempest or Morgan, but nothing ever really came about, and honestly, I felt like that was the right move. This is the kind of story that doesn't need romance to it but is still ultimately entertaining!
If you love a good fantasy and enjoy having a good laugh at the same time, then this is the series for you! While you don't really need to read these in order, some previous characters make appearances or get mentioned in the later books, so it's more reference related than anything. All the books connect together in a way too as things that happened in the prior books had an effect on the current book. But regardless, this was an incredibly delightful and laughing roaring good trilogy that I vastly enjoyed! It's worth a read if you enjoyed good humor mixed into your fantasy worlds!
Overall Rating 4.5/5 stars
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