The Scarred Prince by Erika Everest Review

The first book I read in the Tales from the Kingdom of Fable was The Golden Ball. I enjoyed it so much that I decided to read the first book in the series The Scarred Prince. However, it turned out that The Orphan Queen the series prequel was still available to read so I put The Scarred Prince on hold and read it instead. After finishing and enjoying both books it was more than overdue to restart The Scarred Prince and finish it. And so, I did, and it was incredibly good. The book, like the others in the series, is a mix of two different fairy tales, this case being Beauty and the Beast and Little Red Riding Hood. However, I must say compared to the rest of the books in the series I felt like this one resembled its origins the least. The story also incorporated other fairy tales such as the Twelve Dancing Princesses and Sleeping Beauty with the latter tale having its own retelling in the series. I personally enjoy reading series that are set in the same world with each kingdom having its own fairy tale retelling. But the different characters from the different books do not interact much accept in a cameo scene. In this series the princesses all know each other well and work together to help each other in times of need.  

The book begins with Sebastian (prince Philippe's twin brother from the first book) meeting Sienna. Sienna wants to join his well-trained soldiers to learn how to protect herself. She had run away from home after her father declared she would marry a certain man so she could be protected. Sienna's fiancée however was condescending and looked down on women. Having suffered from a traumatic incident in her childhood and not liking her fiancée she asks Sebastian to train her so she can defend herself. Sebastian eventually concedes to do so after she bested one of his soldiers in combat. After coming to enjoy her company Sebastian decides to, he wants to try courting someone again and gets his brother to start searching for a princess or lady of rank. Having been unable to produce an heir of his own Philippe begins searching at once. Surely there is a woman out there that can get used to his cursed scars on the side of his face. Even if his previous fiancée Princess Lacey broke off their engagement because of them surely his top candidate Lady Camille can learn to love and accept him. Or should he look in another direction? Is the love he is looking for closer to him than he thought? 

I really enjoyed this book. It was well written and kept me invested the whole time. Sienna was such a wonderful main character. I loved how clever and smart she already was and how she wanted to improve herself. She is a strong type of leader and yet she still struggles from her past. She is good at reading situations and does her best to help others. I really liked the scene in the beginning when she confronts Mrs. Chambers about why she does not like her. She does not beat around the bush and goes straight to the point. And by the end of the chapter, she changes Mrs. Chambers opinion of her. Sebastian was very sinical throughout the story and it was heartwarming to see the scars his past finally leaves him. He is not the traditional Beast character for his curse is that only one side of his face is scarred. He wears a cloak to cover himself and then later a mask in a similar fashion to the Phantom of the Opera. And he was not cursed because he was arrogant or cruel. The curse was meant to affect his former fiancée the cruel Princess Lacey so she would have to deal with having a scarred husband. However, ever since Lacey broke off the engagement Sebastian has been isolating himself and growing resentful and angry over his misfortunes. I think Sienna could not have come into his life at a more perfect time. Anyway, there are a big cast of side characters too, but I will not be going into them for some appear in the latter two books which I will review later. Anyway, I hope you will read this book. My only complaint really is that there is not a lot of action in it. But to be honest the book is so interesting it does not really need it. Anway until next time. E. V. A.