Book Review: The Princess in Black and the Perfect Princess Party

Title: The Princess in Black and the Perfect Princess Party by Shannon Hale and Deane Hale

Summary from Amazon: Inconvenient monster alarms, a sparkly array of princess guests, and spot-on slapstick pacing make for a party readers will celebrate.

Today is Princess Magnolia’s birthday party, and she wants everything to be perfect. But just as her guests are arriving . . . Brring! Brring! The monster alarm! Princess Magnolia runs to the broom closet, ditches her frilly clothes, and becomes the Princess in Black! She rushes to the goat pasture, defeats the monster, and returns to the castle before her guests discover her secret. But every time Princess Magnolia is about to open her presents, the monster alarm rings again. And every time she rushes back—an inside-out dress here, a missing shoe there—it gets harder to keep the other princesses from being suspicious. Don’t those monsters understand that now is not a good time for an attack?
Source: Purchased from The Book Depository

Buy Links: Amazon, The Book Depository

Book Review

The second book in this fun kick butt series started with a puff of pink and everything girly. Perfect for a princess party full of little girls. Readers are immediately taken into the second book in The Princess in Black Series and I can say happily that it's another great read. Both writer and illustrator come together and deliver a story any parent will enjoy sharing with their child. As an adult who is a fan of picture books with no kids of my own, I highly recommend this book for kids. Might sound strange but I promise unless your kid is not a fan of princesses, there is a good chance he or she might enjoy this book. Especially if they were fans of the first one. The action is fun and child appropriate and the princesses at the party each have their own personalities whether in the ones who spoke or just the beautiful drawings. Princess Sneezewort is going to become a real polarizer between those who love an imperfect princess and those who find her to be an annoying busy body. I am a bit in between but happy to know her debut here is not the last we'll see of her.

However unlike the first book which I thought was pretty much perfection. This second journey had some issues. While a little shorter than the first book it actually felt a lot longer. How? Because unlike book one where you got not only Princess Magnolia's perspective but a peek into the monster's perspective and even Duff the goat boy who struggled to keep the goats from getting eaten, there was none of this in book two. In fact a big saving grace from the slog that the book had become in parts was a tiny monster perspective snippet of the final monster she had to battle. Which proved why story beyond just the princess hopping between her party and monster fighting was needed. Leaving once or twice is one thing but multiple times practically using the same excuse as to why the alarm goes off repeatedly? She's lucky only Princess Sneezewort got super suspicious.

At the end of the day though this series is a delight to read. Book two might have missed the stars of it's predecessor but it still soared above the mud and hovered in the sky.

Rating: 4 Stars