This is totally going to be one of my lazier reviews because I read The Hero’s Guide To Storming The Castle by Christopher Healy back in May and it’s October as I type this, November when you read this and you know, my notes were kind of sparse and my memory is unfortunately not the photographic type. When I read the first of Healy’s awesome Heroes series, I found myself utterly charmed and delighted. I found that I could not wait for the sequel. Healy writes with a hefty dose of humor, providing much needed levity to my reading. So, when I cracked open The Hero’s Guide To Storming The Castle I was experiencing some illness, but you guys if books could cure illness and make you feel better, THIS IS THE ONE TO PICK UP. It was a perfect read for me in my time of need, ha ha.
Because it has been so long, I am going to depend on my good friend Goodreads aka the publisher’s summary to tell you the plot:
“Prince Liam. Prince Frederic. Prince Duncan. Prince Gustav. You remember them, don’t you? They’re the Princes Charming who finally got some credit after they stepped out of the shadows of their princesses – Cinderella, Rapunzel, Snow White, and Briar Rose – to defeat an evil witch bent on destroying all their kingdoms.
But alas, such fame and recognition only last so long. And when the princes discover that an object of great power might fall into any number of wrong hands, they are going to have to once again band together to stop it from happening – even if no one will ever know it was they who did it.
Christopher Healy, author of the acclaimed The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom, takes us back to the hilariously fractured fairy-tale world he created for another tale of medieval mischief. Magical gemstones, bladejaw eels, a mysterious Gray Phantom, and two maniacal warlords bent on world domination – it’s all in a day’s work for the League of Princes.”
Busy plot, am I right? Anyways, The Hero’s Guide To Storming The Castle spans 477 pages and rather than feeling overlong, I felt as though it took up the perfect amount of space to tell the story. This time around, I fell even more in love with the league of bumbling princes, and I mean that love as a platonic sort. Kind of like my love for Dwight on The Office. Anyways, from my original notes after finishing this book: “Frederic is my favorite now hahaha.” I wish I could tell you why he is my favorite, but blah, my brain is broken for the time being. I think it’s because Frederic has developed the most as a character, like he’s learning to be brave and adventurous and sort of expanding his horizons. I also wrote in my original review notes as far as favorite characters go: ‘And Mr. Troll. LOLLLL.’ So assume that the bits with Mr. Troll are awesome. I would not note how cool Mr. Troll is without good reason, yo.
Really you guys, if you are looking for fun middle grade with princesses that do more than just sit around waiting to be rescued and bumbling princes with personalities beyond the ones that Disney has given (FYI, I love classic Disney with all my heart so don’t be insulted) pick up a copy of The Hero’s Guide To Storming The Castle by Christopher Healy, it is good clean fun that turns those traditional fairy tales on the head and provides even more insight after reading The Hero’s Guide To Saving The Kingdom. I recommend these books SO MUCH that I am doing a review months after the fact rather than giving myself a break. That is how great these books are — that they need to be written about and talked about and basically they are required reading for fans of middle grade fantasy.
Disclosure: Review Copy Provided By Publisher
Other reviews of The Hero’s Guide To Storming The Castle by Christopher Healy:
Bunbury In The Stacks – “practically overflowing with villains, and I love every one”
Books Take You Places – “made me laugh out loud while reading”
Quinn’s Book Nook- “these books are not to be missed”
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Duncan ended up being my favorite in this go-around-I love how he can always be depended on to cause a distraction!
Hahaha, I love how distracting Duncan is. He’s such a fun character!
I’ve pub the first one on hold now!