The Fairy's Return: A Review

Hello, my lovelies!

I can’t believe this is the last book in the Princess Tales series!

The Fairy’s Return by Gail Carson Levine

4.5 Stars

Boy meets princess, and it's love at first sight. Both laugh of the same jokes. Both are named after birds. His name is Robin, hers is Lark. Could there ever have been a more perfect match?

But alas! King Harrumphrey won't let Lark marry a baker's son. And Robin is betrothed to someone else.

Now toss in Robin's nonsense-talking brothers, Nat and Matt, their versifying father, and Ethelinda, the fairy who wrought havoc in The Fairy's Mistake, and you've got a "nutcrazical" situation!

A hilarious spoof on 'The Golden Goose" by the Brothers Grimm, The Fairy's Return is the sixth Princess Tale from beloved Newbery Honor author and master fairy tale reteller Gail Carson Levine.

-From Goodreads

Goodness this was such a good way to end the series! This time the tale is a familiar one- The Golden Goose. But it’s not the classic tale you know. The author does such a wonderful job of bringing it new depth and character. What a way to end the series on a strong note.

What I Liked:

I feel like I keep repeating myself but I have to say it again- I love the characters in this book. Lark and Robin just might be my favorite couple in the series. They are so pure and innocent and adorable and reading about them was a pleasure. As always their relationship is done in a simple way that makes it sweet and pure and perfectly fine for a younger audience.

Since this is the last book in the series it was fun to see the author tie it back to the first one and bring the whole series full circle. There were also so many clever references to the other books and that was fun.

The plot is great. The author even went with the versions that add more to the end of the story that most common retellings don’t follow. So it was really cool to see that.

Robin’s dad makes up poems that don’t rhyme but if you replace the last word of the second line with a synonym they do so that’s really fun trying to figure out. And Robin’s brothers make up words by mixing two others which, while it might make this the hardest book to read aloud, were also super fun to read. I liked the clever things they came up with.

What I Didn’t Like:

As with the last book the brothers in this book felt like they were Burt and Ralph all over again. I don’t like recycle characters. They weren’t bad, I just wish we were given something else.

Unlike the quirks the author gives Robin’s dad and brothers, I wasn’t the biggest fan of the habit the king had. He would replace normal words with “harrumph.” Why is never explained and trying to figure out what he meant was a mental exercise I wasn’t exactly thrilled with.

Overview:

I loved this book. So much. So very much. Even though it’s the same length as the other books it felt so much shorter, the story moving faster than I wanted only because I didn't want it to be over. It was simple and sweet though and I adored it.

I’m sad that the series is over but excited to announce a giveaway!!! Head over to the giveaway page here on the blog or just click here for more.

The playlist will go live next week when I offer a recap on the series and announce the giveaway winners. I hope to see you then.

Until the next time we meet don’t forget to live happily ever after <3

~Jennifer Sauer, the Ivory Palace Princess

P.S. Let’s Chat! What’s one series that has a really great last book? And what fairy tale series would you like to see me review next?