Sarah O'Connor

“I was going to get myself eaten. I could tell. It was just one of those days,” (Herman 15).

There is a threat against Princess Melilot’s life, but she’s used to it. With a scary sorceress for a stepmother that makes Melilot and her magically superior stepsisters go on more and more dangerous quests, a threat against her life is part of an ordinary day. When her stepmother commands Melilot to marry a king she’s never met, she obeys. What else is she to do? But when a hoard of spider-wolves attack her on the way to meet the king and she is rescued by twelve similar looking masked huntsmen, Melilot hides her identity and finds herself in a kingdom with strange gender tests and a talking lion, all the while finding herself falling for one of the huntsmen and her fiancé’s attractive sister. Melilot must find out who wants to kill her and the king, all while trying to avoid her stepmother’s wrath.

My sister recommended this book to me and I am so glad to have read it because This Princess Kills Monsters was such a fun read! I’ve always loved fairy-tale worlds and retellings, and with such a gorgeous cover and concept I knew this was one I’d enjoy in some way.

I don’t believe I’d ever read “The Twelve Huntsmen,” but luckily Herman includes a condensed summary of the story to start off their novel. It was a great way to introduce the source material, the inconsistencies and loose ends in the original tale, and what our narrator, Melilot, hopes to answer in what the original tale missed. It gives the novel a meta quality that I found fun, and the book is filled with moments like this throughout. From Princess Melilot being unable to have a good nights sleep because she feels every bump and lump in her mattress, to wearing her favourite red cloak, being wary of husbands who have a secret basement a new wife should never enter, to a fear of spinning wheels, there was a lot of poking fun at fairy tales that any fairy tale lover will enjoy finding nods to.

Melilot was a great protagonist, and while the book is an adaption of “The Twelve Huntsmen” Melilot is also based on another popular fairy tale princess I won’t name but will be very easy to figure out when reading. I thought she was a fun and smart protagonist and loved her relationship with her sisters. I wish we’d gotten more of Jonquil and Calla, they loved Melilot so much and I would love a novel that follows their perspectives. I know Herman has one coming out for one of the huntsmen this year, so I haven’t lost hope!

I did find the book to be a bit predictable at times, but I blame that more on being a seasoned fairy tale reader. I don’t believe Herman is trying to create plot twists or anything truly shocking that a fairy tale lover won’t be able to figure out on their own. In many ways This Princess Kills Monsters is a love letter to fairy tales while also queering them to ensure that fairy tales are for everyone. I loved that the queerness in this book was normalized, that no one was judged for who they loved or how they identified. They just were, and I think that’s beautiful.

This Princess Kills Monsters was a fun love letter to fairy tales. I can’t wait to read the next novel set in this world and hope Herman keeps returning to it!

Publication: June 17 2025
Publisher: Dial Press Trade Paperback
Pages: 416 pages (Paperback)
Source: Library
Genre: Fiction, Fantasy, LGTBQ+, Romance
My Rating: ⛤⛤⛤.75
Summary:

Someone wants to murder Princess Melilot. This is sadly normal.
Melilot is sick of being ordered to go on dangerous quests by her domineering stepmother. Especially since she always winds up needing to be rescued by her more magically talented stepsisters. And now, she’s been commanded to marry a king she’s never met.
When hideous spider-wolves attack her on the journey to meet her husband-to-be, she is once again rescued—but this time, by twelve eerily similar-looking masked huntsmen. Soon, she has to contend with near-constant attempts on her life, a talking lion that sets bewildering gender tests, and a king who can’t recognize his true love when she puts on a pair of trousers. And all the while, she has to fight her growing attraction to not only one of the huntsmen, but also her fiancé’s extremely attractive sister.
If Melilot can’t unravel the mysteries and rescue herself from peril, kingdoms will fall. Worse, she could end up married to someone she doesn’t love.