The Princess and Her Dragon: Fairytales Retold Volume 1

by A.M. Hogue

Sometimes, even when you’re not looking for it, love finds you anyway.

After a small incident involving a neighboring kingdom’s duke (which he totally deserved, by the way), Princess Maryn of Avenris gets abducted—er, whisked away—to Madame Grizelda’s Finishing School for Finely Bred Ladies. By a dragon. In the middle of the day. By her parents’ request.

The king and queen hope the school will help refine their youngest daughter and mold her into marriageable material. But Maryn is sick of feeling lonely, unnoticed, and unwanted by those around her. She’s determined to make the best of the situation and find her own happily ever after.

The Princess & Her Dragon is the first book in A. M. Hogue’s Fairytales Retold Series. Although this story is an original fairytale, it introduces several fairytale characters you know and love, which will be featured in the subsequent books in the series. Each book is a stand-alone story, but they’re all interconnected retellings featuring a different girl and her journey toward true love. Even if she’s not looking for it.

289 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 15, 2024

About the author

A. M. Hogue was raised under the sweltering sun of central Arizona and still can’t wait to get out of the heat. (Forget diamonds: air conditioning is this girl’s best friend.) She loves to read, write, sing and sew, and almost anything to do with chocolate. She married the love of her life after knowing him for only three months and they are currently living out their happily ever after. She is the proud mother of three chocoholics who share their mother’s love for music. Growing up, she always admired her oldest brother’s bookshelves stuffed full of books, and while her physical library has grown, even with the introduction of e-readers, she’s still hopeful for the future.

Reviews

[Bethany]

It's okay, I like the idea of a finishing school run by a Dragon. And of course I'm always down for something fairy tale related. But I was just bored. Probably not fair since I think I only got 30% into the book. but I just wasn't interested and put this down to read other things. I may come back to it later or something but for now. Not much to tell.
We've got your typical princess who of course does not want to do any of the traditional princess things, aside from dancing. who makes a bosom buddy of her roommate who is not a princess and begins to take classes. She meets other princesses and that's about as far as I got. I did at least find out the inciting incident that got her sent to the finishing school. She couldn't dance well, and embarrassed herself in front of a cute visiting prince who did not speak kindly which caused her to storm off and sulk for days on end before her parents sent her to school. So she's fourteen right? I'm assuming she's fourteen. Seems about the right age for her behavior. In any case. I got why she was upset, but I'm also wondering if there's a bit of a unreliable narrator in there somewhere? I dunno, if she's 14 I expect the over the top melodramatics. Our main character isn't a very memorable or strong one. Honestly I can't remember her name. Her roommate though. Belle, her I remember. I'm pretty sure she's beauty in the beauty and the beast tale in a future book. (In fact I'm 100% sure since I looked at the next book and it's her)
At least I remember she's excited for dancing lessons. is the obligatorily clumsy main character who's cute so it's adorkable, to be fair she's the last of 11 children. maybe or 7 and has been neglected by her parents so is therefore socially awkward although she's been trained in social graces by tutors and unlike other princesses her parents required her to memorize other royal families. (I think, she was at a tea party and recognized the other princesses but seemed surprised when she had to introduce herself. Although considering they're in a new environment and presumably haven't interacted before, introductions are a necessity.)
I got to the tea party and just didn't feel like continuing on. So I'll leave the review here. One thing I did like was the description of her favorite dress. It sounded like a really pretty dress and I hope she gets to wear it in the future.
So recommended? possibly. It's not a hard no, but not a resounding yes either.
Buy/Borrow? Borrow

[R. Moser · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so good!! I love all the similarities it has with the Disney stories! Also loved that it had dragons and magic in it! I highly recommend this book and series!! I had a hard time putting the book down. Looking forward to reading the second book. 👊💙💚📚