Quite pleasantly surprised by this book. In fact, I think this is my new favourite faerie tale. King Lillian is an amazing heroine — strong, but relatable. Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone who’s looking for a fun, inspirational escape into a fantastical world.

Though at first this appears to be a light, charming fairytale, as you get deeper and deeper into the book you discover that, at core, its much bigger and deeper than that — its a brand new myth. And it has the most fantastic new heroine! Yes, the story is quite whimsical (and often hilarious!) throughout, but there are some pretty powerful ideas underneath, which gives the book heft and truth. And the fact that the story is built on an old patriarchal fairy tale (which is such a cool surprise when you discover it at the very end) kind of says it all.

For me, this story is about a lot of things, but maybe mostly, at its core, its about freedom. Bravo!

This book surprised me all along the way. First off, it is not only just a fun journey, but it's quite touching and deep. Much deeper than I expected, and the further I got into it, I would feel myself affected by how beautiful the images were and how when I shut the book in between chapters, the world still stayed with me, as if I’d BEEN there, literally. That’s how you know you’re reading a truly great novel! Also, I can’t believe how much I laughed out loud, which doesn’t happen too often when you’re reading. Sometimes, in the beginning, I wanted to read faster, but it’s not that kind of story. I knew I’d ruin it if I rushed too fast, because I love the way Lillian talks and thinks and I wanted it to last, so sometimes I’d read only a chapter or two at night, like a bedtime story for myself. Lillian’s so wonderful, funny, smart, and brave. And I also read certain sentences over again, because they were like song lyrics they were so beautiful. I was sad when I finished the book, even though I loved the ending. But because of the cool way it ends and how magical the story is, I think I might soon start over and read it all over again!