The Runaway Princess by Kate Coombs

The Runaway Princess by Kate Coombs ISBN-13: 9780374355463 Hardcover: 288 pages Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux Released: August 8, 2006

Source: Borrowed from my local library.

Book Description from Back Cover:
“A dragon darkens our dells. A witch haunts our woods. Bandits roam our moors” . . . King Stromgard swept on. “In the tradition of so many monarchs, I offer my daughter’s hand in marriage and half my kingdom to the prince who can rid us of these evils, restoring peace and prosperity to our realm.”

And so the contest in the Kingdom of Greeve begins. But Princess Margaret is not your traditional princess. Meg firmly objects to her parents’ giving her away, and she certainly has no intention of remaining in the tower where she is sequestered. Instead, she sets out to win the contest herself by enlisting the help of her good friend, her loyal maid, an eager guardsman, a young wizard, and a tenacious witch. Does Meg find her distinct place in the kingdom, or is she doomed to fulfill her royal duties?


My Review:
The Runaway Princess is a young adult fantasy novel, though females younger and older will probably also enjoy it. Boys do play a support role in the story, but there is no romance beyond the "I guess he's kinda cute" sort. It's more about friendships, loyalty, and protecting the helpless from selfish and mean people.

There's a lot of humor to it, so it's a fun romp. The characters were fun, interesting, and acted realistically. The story was fast-paced. It didn't always go were I expected, but I enjoyed were it went.

The magic was the usual fantasy-type magic, with princes turned into frogs, a magical scarf with mind of it's own, and such. There was a very minor amount of "he cursed" style of bad language. There was no sex. Overall, I'd recommend this enjoyable, fun novel.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt: Read an excerpt using Google Preview.