Finally, someone has seen that a princess would be much too clever to play with pointy things if she knew she was cursed. But Prince Handsome just can't help himself, because he wants to be a knight so badly. The twist of having the evil curse and the tweak to the spell be cast by male characters is also a nice change. And, of course, in the "boys will be boys" tradition, it's a fellow prince who provides the pointy thing that causes all the trouble. It is humorous that the young prince's every move was recorded by a reporter and his camera, much like our own paparazzi that follow the royal families around. So it makes sense that after 100 years have passed, the area around the castle looks like something from the future. Much like the story of The Little House, a city has built up around and even over the castle, but Anya has an antique map and a tunneling machine. The ending is a bit like The Paper Bag Princess, but with happier results for Prince Handsome.
Anyone who enjoys fractured fairy tales and humorous retellings should try this out. It would be great for a unit on fairy tales or stock characters and how the roles can be altered to create something new. I would pair it with Waking Beauty by Leah Wilcox for an hilarious compare and contrast session.
I read an e-book provided by the publisher through NetGalley.
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