The Orphan Queen by Erika Everest Review

Happy New Year's Eve everyone. I hope this year has been a good one for you all despite the threat of Covid. Christmas was a lot of fun this year and I got lots of good books. One of the series I received this holiday season was the Tales from the Kingdom of Fable written by Erika Everest. I prefer to read physical books in general, so it did not matter to me that I was already on the last book (that has been released) and I finished it in a few days. The Tales from the Kingdom of Fable series consists of four books so far. There are the three main books The Scarred Prince, The Golden Ball, and The Princess Vow and then the prequel to the series the novella The Orphan Queen. Unlike the other three books, The Orphan Queen can only be obtained by subscribing to Erika Everest's Newsletter. It is completely free, and the point of the Newsletter is for authors to give updates on upcoming books of theirs as well as general news on their lives and if a sale is coming. I have recently subscribed to many of my favorite authors newsletters and am always excited when they are posted.  

Anyway, The Orphan Queen is a retelling of Cinderella, and the Ugly Duckling. It may be a novella but there is a lot packed into this book. The story begins with Marianne an orphan girl being mistreated by the other girls in the orphanage and as well as the Matron because of the color of her skin. By chance she meets Prince Philippe who is immediately smitten by her and angered by how badly she is treated. He invites Marianne to his upcoming ball where he must select a bride. However, on the day of the ball Marianne does not appear. Seeing this Philippe and his twin brother Sebastian (who is the main male character in The Scarred Prince) closest friend princess Violetta goes to the orphanage to see what was wrong. When she discovers the Matron would not let Marianne attend the dance with the other girl's she provides Marianne with a dress and the two go to the ball together. However, the magical night comes to an abrupt halt when the king is fatally poisoned, and Marianne is made fun of by the court ladies. Marianne flees the ball feeling determined to never see Philippe again. Can Princess Violetta show Marianne not to listen to racist people? Will the King's murderer be discovered? And will Marianne gain confidence in herself and wed Philippe? 

This was a good short novel. It blends the fairy tales of Cinderella and the Ugly Duckling well together and adds in a murder mystery for good measure. It broke my heart to see Marianne feel so down on herself so when she started gaining confidence, I could not help but smile. I wish this book were longer so I could see it happening more over time but what we got was good so I should not be complaining. I liked Philippe too, I just wish we had gotten to see more of him. Truth be told though the character I adored the most was Princess Violetta. I loved how much she supported Marianne and Philippe since at first, I was worried it would turn into a love triangle since she knew both princes for a long time. I need not have worried though she was just a close friend to them although they joked at one point they would marry if neither of them was settled down by age forty. It was so nice to read a book where a boy and a girl can be just friends who support each other. And I will forever love the scene when Violetta tells the awful Matron how wrong it is to teach the other orphans' racist beliefs. It felt so good to see the Matron stunned into silence. I really hope Violetta gets her own book later in the series. Anyway, I rate this book four out of five stars. If I had to complain about something it would be I wish this book were longer and available in paperback form like the other books in the series. Anyway, look for the review of The Scarred Prince coming soon. Until next time E.V. A. Happy New Year.