About the Book
-
Author:
- Amy Coombe
- Genres:
- Adult
- Fantasy
- Man-Woman Romance
- Voices:
- Cis Girl
- White (Non-Specified)
Cover Story: The Princess on the Perch
BFF Charm: Yay
Talky Talk: In Her Head
Bonus Factors: Too Many Princes, Book Love
Anti-Bonus Factor: Overbearing (and Underlistening) Parents
Relationship Status: Official Best Friend of Future Queen
Cover Story: The Princess on the Perch
This is an image of an absolute dream: reading books while lounging with your faithful tentacled pet snuggling by your side. I’d never want to leave.
The Deal:
Princess Tanadelle of Widdenmar doesn’t know what to do with herself. As a second daughter of a king, it’s up to her to travel around the country, kissing babies, chatting up dignitaries, cutting ribbons, etc. The monotony is draining, but she can’t really complain—she has everything most people would ever need and then some, and she never wants for anything.
Except maybe an entirely different life.
On what should have been a routine trip to a new town to kiss some ribbons and chat up babies, she makes a quick trip to a local bookstore. She promises her assistant she’ll be in and out in plenty of time to make the ceremony. But then she tries to help the ancient proprietor of Beulah Bonecrusher’s Emporium of Books … and finds herself unable to leave the building’s grounds.
As she explores the shop and gets to know some of the townspeople—including a pirate that lives in a barn—she’s not exactly chomping at the bit to break the curse that keeps her at Beulah’s. But deep down she knows that, as a princess, she’s not going to be able to hide from her real life forever.
BFF Charm: Yay
At face value, Tanadelle could be seen as a vapid figurehead, content to be the face of her kingdom without much behind it. She certainly feels that way sometimes, especially when all of the towns she visits start blending into each other. But she’s way more than that, and she begins to shine when she starts enjoying life and finally doing something for herself. I loved reading about her blossoming into a new and sparklier Tana. Plus, who doesn’t want a bestie who owns a bookstore?
Swoonworthy Scale: 5
Soon after Tana’s curse takes effect, she meets a man locally nicknamed the Barn Pirate. For, in fact, he is a pirate that lives in a barn. Bash is a mysterious loner dude of the highest caliber, and he has his own issues to work through. His presence and flirting makes Tana feel things, but sadly he never feels fully formed.
Talky Talk: In Her Head
Tana’s POV is our only real window into her situation and the people around her. And while they all seem like larger than life characters, because they are shaded by Tana’s insecurities and/or annoyance (see: Too Many Princes, below), they never feel fully formed. Even with their disparate descriptions, many of the characters sort of merge together by the end of the book. Which is unfortunate, because I’m serious when I say they all sound great on paper.
Bonus Factor: Too Many Princes
There are eight total kingdoms in the world in which Tana lives, each with their own royal families, and each with a specific (and often hilarious) set of cultural “norms.” Each prince is asked, by Tana’s parents, to travel to the bookstore in which she is stuck and attempt to give her “true love’s kiss.” Tana likes some of them more than others, but she knows in her heart that none of them will be able to break the curse. Through various plot machinations, all of the princes end up staying to see if the others are successful, which makes for a lot of excitement in a typically pretty mundane town. I couldn’t help but picture Chris Pine playing all of them (save the one female) thanks to his ability to play a variety of roles, but through it all keep a princely air.
Bonus Factor: Book Love
Tana’s excitement about the bookstore is palpable and will resonate with anyone who likes books (so, all friends who read our site).
I skip across the cobbles without waiting for Honey, put my hand on the handle, and take a deep breath. Bookstores: the one place in the entire kingdom that promise something beside dull conversations about economics and local politics and whatever else I’m supposed to be thinking about.
Books promise you that your life can change in an instant. And bookstores? Bookstores offer a refuge, a home away from home. No matter how far you travel, you can always find a little piece of home inside a bookstore.
Anti-Bonus Factor: Overbearing (and Underlistening) Parents
Tana’s parents aren’t terrible people. They didn’t actively set out to make Tana’s life feel so monotonous and devoid of excitement. They’re certainly oblivious, but there’s also some fault that lies with Tana for not speaking up. They’re at a better place by the end of the book, but there’s a lot of frustration along the way.
Relationship Status: Official Best Friend of Future Queen Tana
We had a lot of fun together, Book, and listening to your tale made me long for a curse that kept me tethered to a bookstore. I would have liked to get to know your friends and found family more, but there’s always room for a dinner party or five down the line.
Literary Matchmaking
The main character in F.T. Lukens’s The Last Best Quest Ever is equally forced into a life she doesn’t want to lead.
Brigid Kemmerer’s Cursebreakers series is filled with curses that need breaking—and women creating paths for themselves.
The characters in Emily Henry’s Book Lovers might think they’re cursed, but they choose to stay in bookstores.
FTC Full Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from Ace, but got neither a private dance party with Tom Hiddleston nor money in exchange for this review. Stay for a Spell is available now.
