Shelly's Book Blog

The Runaway Princess, by Kate Coombs, reminded me of Jean Ferris's Once Upon a Marigold and Twice Upon a Marigold -- light, easy-going, and lots of fun to read. The runaway princess is Meg, a feisty young heroine (yes, another one -- yeah!) whose father, the king, locks in a tower for the length of a contest. The winner of this contest will get half the kingdom and her hand in marriage, but he has to slay a dragon and rid the kingdom of a witch and a group of bandits first. Kate decides that she will win the contest herself. With the help of her friends, she breaks out of the tower, finds and befriends both the dragon and the witch, but is pursued by the evil prince Vantor, who will stop at nothing to win the contest. This is a funny, lighthearted story filled with adventure and fun, and I enjoyed it very much.