Modern sentiment, breezy and original.
This reminded me of Judy Corbalis' 'The Wrestling Princess', a title I enjoyed as a 10 year old. In the same vein, this features a princess who will simply not obey the fairytale 'rules' of the daughters of kings. And her life is all the more interesting for it.

Princess Florizella has a mother, the queen, who "was particularly neglectful - she completely failed ot due and leave her daughter to a cruel stepmother to make her herd geese or sit in the cinders." Readers will enjoy recognising such conventions of the fairytale genre and seeing them turned on their head. WIth the princess herself at the heart of this subversion: she "grew up into a cheerful, noisy, bossy, happy girl who spend her mornings on her horse called Jellybean, and her afternoons working with them in the royal office." In other words, she's a young woman with a full life, a strong personality and varied interests. Totally opposite to the usual archetype. Even male readers might be impressed.

I particularly enjoyed this line:
"'A princess is just a prince with more s's', she replied. The king thought for a moment. 'What does the s's stand for?' 'Sass,' she said. 'Sass and science, sensibility and scepticism. Sincerity, spirit and certainty.'" Yes. Yes, yes, yes. Gregory knows what contemporary readers and parents want (and need) to hear.

This is a reissue of three previously published Florizella stories, brought together, though it was the first time I'd heard of them. I thoroughly enjoyed the breezy tales of princes, dragons and adventures that actually need a princess to solve/complete/triumph in.

As an adult, I was entertained, and I expect boys and girls, aged around 7-12 will feel the same.

With thanks to Netgalley for providing an advance reading copy.

Quirky, enchanting and utterly fun, Gregory has successfully stripped back the stereotypical princess to reveal one seriously fierce and feisty heroine who abides by no rules and no prince charmings! I loved Florizella! I loved her sense of freedom, her feminist streak and her forthright nature and I even loved her flaws. It's always refreshing to read of fairytales with a feminist twist and this one doesn't fall short of perfect.

Written across three fantastic short stories (think wolves, giants and the biggest jelly trifle ever!), Gregory tackles the conventional faiytale and in turn sprinkles moments of thrilling adventures, headstrong decisions and rule breaking fun which new readers will find confidence in reading aloud.

Beautifully crafted with charming monochrome illustrations by Chris Chatterton throughout, The Princess Rules will no doubt inspire a whole new generation of readers.

The Princess Rules is a collection of three shorter stories about Princess Florizella, a sword-fighting, adventure-having, rule-breaking princess. The stories themselves take fairy tale tropes and turn them on their heads, creating fun, exciting adventures that would make great stories to read aloud, or be perfect for those gaining more confidence reading by themselves. There are a lot of genuinely funny moments, especially in the last story, where a giant moves to town – but I won’t give away any of the jokes!

I liked Florizella as a character. Her determination and passion make her great fun to read about, and it’s really entertaining to watch her rush into scrapes and then work her way out of them. I also found her parents, who are by turns proud of and baffled by their force-of-nature daughter, to be brilliantly written – they’re the ones who understand the fairy tale ‘rules’, so they act as an audience stand-in in showing how unusual Florizella’s way of going about things is. They’re mostly supportive of whatever Florizella chooses to do, even if they don’t understand it, but their bewilderment is really funny from an adult perspective!

One thing that is a slight shame is the prominence of the ‘not like other girls’ trope; Florizella is nothing like a traditional princess, and this is held up as a good thing by the narration, meaning that the more traditional princess attributes are condemned as bad. While it’s great to encourage girls to break out of the ‘quiet and pretty’ mould, it does run the risk of making it seem as though having those qualities is a negative thing, which is a dangerous idea to sell. It creates an atmosphere of girls and feminine things being ‘lesser’, and girls only being worth something if they emulate boys, which is a huge problem for both personal self-esteem and friendships. This is echoed in the fact that Florizella’s only friend is a boy (again, she is rejecting other girls, and with them, girly things) – I’d love to see Florizella make some female friends in future books, and learn that there is value in all kinds of girlhood, whether ultra-femme or tomboyish. I appreciate that some variety on the meek, beautiful princesses of classic fairy tales is needed, but that doesn’t mean we need to create a dichotomy between ‘feminine’ and ‘fun’.

On the whole, though, if you’re looking for a feisty heroine to show that girls don’t need to be rescued, then Florizella is a great pick! This would be perfect for kids who are a little too young to introduce to Patricia C Wrede’s Enchanted Forest Chronicles yet. Four out of five cats!

I am usually a fan of Philippa Gregory adult fiction, so it was unusual for me to request this. However, seeing as this is a book for young readers, i was absolutely delighted to be given this opportunity to read a book about Princess rules.

It was brilliant and fun! Short stories about a fairy tale princess who simply won't follow the rules was quite funny. They were also good adventures and some important lessons about gender stereotypes, making friends, helping people, and how to treat others. Lovely illustrations helped a great deal too.

The short stories are set as chapters and I think younger children who are beginning their journey of reading chapter books would really enjoy this.

I am a fan of Philippa Gregory’s adult fiction and was really pleased to see a younger fiction book from her.
I requested it and am pleased that I was given the opportunity to read it.

Princess Florizella, Florizella and the Wolves and Florizella and the Giant are all short chapter stories pulled together into one book. They are between 6 and 7 chapters each, making them accessible and engaging for the newest of chapter book readers.

We are introduced to Princess Florizella and come to realise that she is allowed to do as she pleases. She has not learned the Princess Rules and therefore is not quiet, dainty or prepared to marry a Prince. She is happy, cheerful and bossy. When she is invited to a party, she spends the evening eating as much as possible, avoiding the dance floor and ignoring the other princesses.

Princess Florizella is a breath of fresh air....fiesty, fiery and independent- isn’t that how we want our daughters to be? I think so.
I loved this book and the three stories within. Perfect for girls and boys alike!

This book is brilliant! So much fun. Three short stories about a fairy tale princess who simply won’t follow the princess rules, and how she makes friends and helps people.

Not only are they great fun adventures, but there’s a few subtle lessons in there about gender stereotypes, not conforming to other people’s ideas about how you should be, and how to treat others. But there’s absolutely no moralising. The illustrations are lovely too. I love princess Florizella so much. Highly recommended.

I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.