Review of "The Princess Search” by Melanie Cellier

 Review of “The Princess Search: A Retelling of The Ugly Duckling” by Melanie Cellier

While the previous book might be my least favorite in the series, the last book “The Princess Search” might be my favorite in the series. At first I wasn’t sure how it was an ugly duckling story, but it’s not about her being physically ugly, but her past was messy and unbefitting of a princess. But she learned from each stage of her past and blossomed into a bright future.

So, the story takes place in Lanover, and we continue with characters that we met in the previous book. It takes place a year after the last novel. We get princess Celine and her two older brothers Princes Fredrick and Cassian. Fredrick is being groomed to take over as King so he goes on a tour of Lanover, and Celine brings along the main character, seamstress Evangeline, or Evie. One thing I really like about this book, is that it is a travelling story. We get to see all the parts of the kingdom of Lanover as well as the Great Desert. We explore how the people are living in each location, and it does a great job at worldbuilding, which is something I’ve wanted more from in this series.

The group goes to the island, and then the jungle, and then the desert, and then the big southern city Largo. Each new place has a connection to Evie’s past, and they go in reverse order leading back to the city she was born in, Largo. At each point there’s a part of her past that she needs to reconcile and overcome.

Throughout the story there is also a looming threat of a new rebellion. Evie runs into an enemy from her past that is trying to kill her, and she feels the threat of his presence every where she goes.

Along the way, princess Celine is trying to find a future wife for each of her brothers. Celine is a fun character, and has matured a little bit since the last book. Frederick is a heroic type Prince, he takes his responsibilities as Prince very seriously, but also wants to help the people of Lanover as best he can. He often saves Evie, and of course the two have an unspoken attraction and romance, throughout the story. We get to know Evie’s past alongside the royal family, which makes for a good narrative flow. Changing location helps keep pace and there’s really no part where the story slows down.

Overall, I really loved reading this book, I’m not sure if I like it more than “The Princess Companion”, but it’s close. So, if I have to rank the five books (not the short novels), I’d say, “The Princess Companion”, then “The Princess Search”, then “The Princess Pact”, then “The Princess Game” and lastly “The Princess Fugitive.” Even though I really have liked all the books in the series, and I’ve enjoyed the short stories as well.

My new book now on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Chimera-Prophecies.../dp/B0C4QX4RZW/

"The Chimera Prophecies" consists of eight short science fiction/dark fantasy short stories. Themes of how reality and identity shape our journey and humanity.