Dealing with Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede
Summary: Cimorene is not a typical princess. She has black hair instead of golden locks which shimmer in the sun. She knows Latin, she fences, and she doesn't want to get married to a prince she doesn't love. To fix this problem, Cimorene runs away to live with a Dragon. Her daring escape lands her in the middle of one adventure after another, and soon she and her friends are caught up in a scheme full of Dragons and Wizards.
I've not been sure how to do this review. I don't really know if I LOVE this book or if I simply enjoyed it. It wasn't horrible, like I feared it would be, but it wasn't one of my favourites.
There were things I did love. I loved the many characters. The Stone Prince, Cimorene, the princes who came to fight the Dragons, the Dragons themselves, the Wizards. There were so many characters, but each had their own special personality and I loved them all, even if they were the villains or ones I couldn't trust.
I loved the style. It felt like a fairy tale. It was light hearted, there were hints of legends such as King Arthur, and everything felt magical and fun. It was a delightful book to read on the style alone.
The plot was fun. It wasn't edge of your seat or where I was biting my nails to know what would happen next. It almost reminded me of House of Many Ways. A lot happened but no real danger and you didn't realize nothing important was happening until the end of the book. The plot was simple and full of mishaps which had a humorous feel to them.
What I'm not sure about is the girl not needing a hero to save her. But with this it didn't come off as other books I've read, where the girl is in a life and death situation and won't let the boy help her because he's a boy and she's a girl and she's fine on her own. Instead, Cimorene just wanted to be left to her books and baking. I could get that. She didn't need a hero because her life wasn't in danger. She just wanted to be left alone. Also, the princes weren't really dopes. Many of them I really liked because they were funny, and I adored the Stone Prince.
So, while I didn't love this book to bits as I know many do, I did really like it and I plan to finish the series. I was happy to discover it wasn't a serious, complicated story. Sometimes I really just want a light, fun fairy tale, and this fit perfectly. (I am sad none of the covers really fit the story. It needs a nice cover....)
I've not been sure how to do this review. I don't really know if I LOVE this book or if I simply enjoyed it. It wasn't horrible, like I feared it would be, but it wasn't one of my favourites.
There were things I did love. I loved the many characters. The Stone Prince, Cimorene, the princes who came to fight the Dragons, the Dragons themselves, the Wizards. There were so many characters, but each had their own special personality and I loved them all, even if they were the villains or ones I couldn't trust.
I loved the style. It felt like a fairy tale. It was light hearted, there were hints of legends such as King Arthur, and everything felt magical and fun. It was a delightful book to read on the style alone.
The plot was fun. It wasn't edge of your seat or where I was biting my nails to know what would happen next. It almost reminded me of House of Many Ways. A lot happened but no real danger and you didn't realize nothing important was happening until the end of the book. The plot was simple and full of mishaps which had a humorous feel to them.
What I'm not sure about is the girl not needing a hero to save her. But with this it didn't come off as other books I've read, where the girl is in a life and death situation and won't let the boy help her because he's a boy and she's a girl and she's fine on her own. Instead, Cimorene just wanted to be left to her books and baking. I could get that. She didn't need a hero because her life wasn't in danger. She just wanted to be left alone. Also, the princes weren't really dopes. Many of them I really liked because they were funny, and I adored the Stone Prince.
So, while I didn't love this book to bits as I know many do, I did really like it and I plan to finish the series. I was happy to discover it wasn't a serious, complicated story. Sometimes I really just want a light, fun fairy tale, and this fit perfectly. (I am sad none of the covers really fit the story. It needs a nice cover....)
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