A princess with a mostly useless magical talent takes on horrible monsters, a dozen identical masked heroes, and a talking lion in a quest to save a kingdom—and herself—in this affectionate, feminist fairy tale satire.
"Exactly the sort of queer fairy tale for grown-ups that I have yearned to read . . . thrilling, irreverent, wondrous—yet unswervingly true to the heart."—Ryka Aoki, author of Light from Uncommon Stars
A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK: Autostraddle, Fangirlish, Reactor, Book Riot, Reading Glasses Podcast
Someone wants to murder Princess Melilot. This is sadly normal.
Melilot is sick of being ordered to go on dangerous quests by her domineering stepmother. Especially since she always winds up needing to be rescued by her more magically talented stepsisters. And now, she's been commanded to marry a king she's never met.
When hideous spider-wolves attack her on the journey to meet her husband-to-be, she is once again rescued—but this time, by twelve eerily similar-looking masked huntsmen. Soon she has to contend with near-constant attempts on her life, a talking lion that sets bewildering gender tests, and a king who can't recognize his true love when she puts on a pair of trousers. And all the while, she has to fight her growing attraction to not only one of the huntsmen, but also her fiance's extremely attractive sister.
If Melilot can't unravel the mysteries and rescue herself from peril, kingdoms will fall. Worse, she could end up married to someone she doesn't love.
