Dealing with Dragons (Enchanted Forest Chronicles #1)

   

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Title: Dealing with Dragons
Series: The Enchanted Forest Chronicles #1
Author: Patricia Wrede
Rating: 5 of 5 Stars
Genre: SFF
Pages: 244
Format: Kindle digital edition

Synopsis: Spoilers

Cimorene is an unusual Princess in the Kingdom that sets the Standard for Normal. It doesn't help that she has several older sisters who all Normal Princesses. After trying to learn magic, cooking, horseback riding, fencing and other various unsuitable activities for a Princess, Cimorene finds out that her parents are going to marry her off to get her of their hands. Not being particularly enamoured of the idea, Cimorene takes the advice of a magic frog she meets in the garden and sets off to find herself a dragon. A dragon that will keep everyone away from her.


Cimorene is taken under wing [ha!] by Kazul, who happens to like cherry jubilee, one of the few desserts that Cimorene knows how to make. As knights and princes come and go, Cimorene stumbles upon a plot by wizards to cause problems at the next choosing of the Dragon King. With the the help of another Princess, a Stone Prince and a local witch from the Enchanted Forest, Cimorene exposes the plot, foils the wizards and allows Kazul to become the next King of the Dragons.

My Thoughts: Spoilers

This was humorous, delightful and cute. There wasn't a single thing I didn't like with this story. It was fun. Sometimes in the midst of epic fantasy tomes or the weighty thoughts of science fiction classics, you need a break. I didn't know I needed a break, but when I started reading this, I realized I needed to be charmed and this book charmed me from beginning to end.

This was written in such a way that an adult like me could enjoy it fully and yet it seemed accessible all the way down to middle grade readers, perhaps even precocious elementary ones. To be able to reach that full spectrum is the mark of an author who knows her craft.

Don't have much else to say beyond the fact that I thoroughly enjoyed this read and I was tempted to just read all 4 of the Enchanted Forest Chronicles right in a row. But much like cherry jubilee, you cannot gorge yourself without some consequences. So I'm pacing myself and now I am REALLY looking forward to the next books.

1. Enchanted Forest Chronicles from 2006