His Gracious Majesty Edrick Rediman King of Abernal was a jerk and a goon. His first wife had been one required by state; after he had managed to get her pregnant, she ran off and he sent his newborn baby daughter to live in the far reaches of his domain to dwell in a castle with the trolls. It was twenty years before she died, leaving him free to marry a second wife to get an heir, but he died stuffing himself at his wedding feast. This left the kingdom in chaos. Young Sir Christopher, whose hereditary job was to defend the royal house of Abermal, donned his mail, mounted a good horse and road to the far reaches of the domain to tell the new queen Jahmelle that her father was dead and that she was Queen. It did not matter to him that she had been raised by trolls, nor did her reputation of ugliness, though he did dread if he arrived there to find her mad. But she was not mad. Jahmelle was soft spoken--and veiled--though it was the trolls around her who were horrible to see--and she consented to ride back with him on horseback to her domain.

But after Sir Christopher was gone, there was chaos in the castle. One of the King's Minister's, Benifaz, had decided that he would be King, and just assumed the position of interim ruler as he made the motions of going to find an heir. It was common knowledge that his daughter was the rightful heiress, but when Benifaz met with the council, the Seneschal knew a take-over was being plotted. The Seneschal went to the office of the Royal Courier Service and arranged for a pigeon to be sent to warn Sir Christopher that he would be riding into trouble. Benifaz declared Jahmelle an imposter and declared Sir Christopher, certainly the noblest character between the covers of this book, guilty of treason. Furthermore, he incarcerated the loyal Seneschal.

It threw me completely out of whack when THE UGLY PRINCESS started in first person in the voice of Bartrim Ruford, Seneschal of House Rediman, and then shifted to third person, telling parts of the story Ruford would not have witnessed. Not realizing this was originally written as a serial, I almost put it down because of the shift. However, I wanted to know how Daggar Jack Tarragent freed Bartrim Ruford. How Sir Christopher came to know Jahmelle even behind her veils. How they traveled, who they met and how they fought for her throne. How Sir Christopher Evergild lived up to his title of King's champion--that is the body of the story. Even if it is "episodic" by design, if you're a fan of chaste Fantasy Romance, you'll like this book.

Reviewed By: Allie Bates
© July 2004