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Princess Giselle is excited to lead her first royal delegation across the sea and eager to prove herself. But when everything goes wrong before they even reach their destination, Giselle finds herself alone, her rank and authority stripped away. Those who could speak for her are missing, and all Giselle is left with is a gaggle of geese.
If Giselle hopes to save a kingdom and its kindhearted royal family, she will have to play a deadly game of identities and find a way to speak the truth before time runs out.
The Secret Princess is a simple retelling of the Goose Girl, full of light, atmospheric fairy tale tone and lacking all the heartbreaking scenes of the original tale. (Just a couple of other retellings of this fairy tale are Shannon Hale’s The Goose Girl and Margaret Owen’s Little Thieves.)
Be warned, though: While advertised that this is the first book in a series, it is actually a series that takes place in the same world as previous series by the author. All character stories intertwine — even those from the previous series. As someone who has not read any of the author’s other books, I was confused by the countless character names dropped and backstories mentioned. On top of this, so many characters were presented that they didn’t feel fleshed out.
In the end, however, it’s a cute story — though a bit unbelievable at times. Its strength is in the clean, innocent romance and lighthearted mood.
Rated: None. There is general peril. Characters kiss.
