Princess Amarande has a full plate of problems. Her father is dead, and although he raised her to be a warrior, the law of the land does not recognize a female heir to the throne. Instead, her council is busily negotiating marriage contracts with the three royals vying for her hand. One of these, a prince under the thumb of his regent mother, arranges for the kidnapping of Amarande's dearest friend, Luca, a stable boy. Amarande grabs her father's swords and her horse and sets out to rescue Luca. Thus begins a riveting series of adventures that cut from Amarande to Luca's plight to loathsome Prince Renard and his creepy younger brother Taillefer, until the stories don't as much converge as collide. Amarande is larger than life, but convincing as well, and while the villains can run somewhat to the cartoonish, that fits with Henning's broad strokes of adventure, humor, and romance, as well as her use of familiar fantasy tropes. The ending promises a sequel and contains a twist readers might not see coming.

When Princess Amarande's true love is kidnapped, she doesn't hesitate to set out to rescue him.Princess Amarande and Luca, who is in charge of the king's stables, have always shared a special bond. But recently, it's felt different; a charged feeling simmers between them. Before either finds the courage to confront it, tragedy strikes: Her father, King Sendoa, falls dead. Amarande reels; she doesn't believe the Warrior King died naturally-it must have been murder. But the Royal Council cares more about succession: In order to rule, Amarande must wed. Despite her resistance, it isn't long before other kingdoms send eager suitors. The princess finds them abhorrent, conniving, and power hungry. Amarande spits in the face of tradition, pulling her sword on a suitor at her father's funeral and declaring that she won't settle. In the midst of her rebellion, Luca is kidnapped. A note left behind instructs her to marry a specific suitor or she'll never see her love again. Ever fearless, Amarande sets off, determined to save Luca and her kingdom. Though the princess rallies valiantly against entrenched patriarchy, Amarande reads as one-note. Well-plotted action sequences and intricate political machinations can't make up for Luca's similar one dimensionality, which makes their love story-the backbone of the story-difficult to care about. Most characters appear to be white; some have brown skin.A high-fantasy riff on The Princess Bride lacking both humor and heart. (Fantasy. 14-18)