Sasharia en Garde!

Sasharia en Garde! #1

by Sherwood Smith

Sasha’s mother, Sun, was once swept away from a Ren Faire to another world by a prince—literally—but there was no happy ending. Sun’s prince disappeared, and a wicked king took the Khanerenth throne. In the years since, Sasha and Sun have been back on Earth and on the run. Mom and daughter don’t quite see eye to eye on the situation—Sasha wants to stand and fight. Sun insists her prince will return for them one day; it’s safer to stay hidden.

Then Sasha is tricked into crossing the portal to Khanerenth. She’s more than ready to join the resistance, kick some bad-guy butt, and fix the broken kingdom. But…is the stylish pirate Zathdar the bad guy? Or artistic, dreamy Prince Jehan?

Back on Earth, Sun is furious Sasha has been kidnapped. Sun might once have been a rotten princess, but nobody messes with Mom!

Product Warnings
This title contains a kick-butt mother-daughter team, a wicked king, a witty pirate with an unfortunate taste for neon colors, inept resistance fighters, a dreamy prince who gallops earnestly hither and yon, and a kick-butt princess in waiting.

Swashbuckling in a magic world—L.A. style!

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance, Adventure, Fiction, Pirates, Magic

246 pages, ebook

First published June 17, 2008

About the author

I am a writer,( Patreon here) but I'm on Goodreads to talk about books, as I've been a passionate reader as long as I've been a writer--since early childhood.

I'm not going to rate books--there are too many variables. I'd rather talk about the reading experience. My 'reviews' of my books are confined to the writing process.

Reviews

[Tadiana ✩Night Owl☽ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first became a fan of Sherwood Smith when I stumbled onto her YA fantasy Crown Duel. After reading that one and loving the world she created, I spent quite a bit of time over the next few years prowling through her other works, looking for another book that would replicate all the feelz Crown Duel gave me (not just romantic ones! I am not that shallow! ... okay, sometimes I am, but not this time).

Once a Princess and its sequel/second volume, Twice a Prince, are a fun fantasy adventure romp and one of my favorite Sherwood Smith books in the Crown Duel vein (i.e., YA fantasy world with plucky and determined heroine and a little romantic interest on the side). It's set in the same world as Crown Duel, Sartorias-deles, and the same villainous family, the Merindars, plays a key role. Plus pirates! and a kickass heroine with excellent sword-fighting skills (b/c reasons) alternately kissing and running away from the pirate captain! Also, she loves books. And the heroine's 50-ish mother is equally awesome! What's not to like?

Sasha, our main character, gets involuntarily yanked from our Earth back to Sartorias-deles by some people who want to use her for their own purposes: she was a princess in that world before her Earth-born mother took her back to Earth about 10 years ago to escape political assassination. The political problems are still boiling, and Sasha isn't at all sure she wants to help the group responsible for bringing her back to S-d. But Sasha has her own motives and reasons for staying: her father (the rightful ruler) has been missing all these years, and she thinks she knows how to find him. Meanwhile, back on Earth, Sasha's mom--another excellent female character--figures out that Sasha's been taken back to S-d and promptly takes off after her.

One of the interesting aspects of this book was the connection to Earth that was clarified in this book: there are magical portals between here and Sartorias-deles. Seeing Sasha's and her mother's lives on Earth at the very start of the book really adds to the context and my enjoyment. Also a plus for Inda/A Stranger to Command fans: the equally kickass warrior Marlovens make a brief appearance in the second book.

This is truly one book in two parts: I wouldn't call it a cliffhanger, exactly, but--apparently for the publisher's reasons at the time--Sasha's story is kind of arbitrarily broken into two volumes. So I'm not going to ding this one as a *boo-hiss cliffhanger* because it wasn't the author's fault, but I strongly recommend that you have Twice a Prince on hand so you can start reading it as soon as you finish Once a Princess. The story is definitely incomplete unless you read both volumes. ETA: Sherwood reminded me in the comments that this book has been republished with both parts together, as Sasharia En Garde. Sweet!

Content note: Despite what the covers of this book and the sequel may lead you to believe, this is a clean read. Kisses only.

[Sherwood Smith]

This one has an odd history in that the first half of the story (not the first half of the novel) occurred to me in the early seventies, when I was working the Mythopoeic Society booth at the Renaissance Pleasure Fair, then in Malibu. I looked into the dusky light of a grove, and saw a guy wearing fantasy period garb with an air, and thought, what if he really was a prince, and no one believed it? Maybe not handsome, because his hair is too fuzzy and his nose too big, but with a genuine smile and an air of good nature?

And within seconds there was a story--he's visiting various worlds, people take him for an actor, and everything he says as part of his persona, and he's so good-natured he goes right along with it to see what happens . . . and he meets sun dancingstar, because in those days capital letters were Establishment, as well as legally changing your name. And the two hit it off, and go back to his world . . . and though he thoroughly enjoys his hippie princess throwing his stultified court into chaos, his indulgence costs him a kingdom. Not because of her, but because of the underlying problems he's been too easy-going and unworldly to see.

Ugh! I am so not writing that ending, I'm fed up with dreary endings enough in my course work, thought I. So I dropped it, and over the years I'd take it out and reread it, and I could never throw it away, though the prose was getting as shabby as the notebook. But the story still tugged at me. Then a full generation later, when I reread it, I knew exactly where it was going. Because by then I'd seen Sun's (by now she'd compromised on a capital) full-grown daughter, raised briefly in the other country, then on the run, then shifted back here to live always on the run, while mom and daughter trained constantly in martial arts.

But she gets found anyway and taken back. And here was where the new story wanted to start, with all that old stuff in the background, because though the story was still bright for me, that college-age prose couldn't be revived. I had a great deal of fun writing it, with both Mom and Sasha getting in some good, swashbuckling fun. Only Mom also has to deal with the consequences of dusting out those years ago . . .

It was always meant to be one book, but when the first publisher had it, they couldn't manage that size of book for print. So they split it, the first ending with a howling cliff-hanger. Now it's together again, and polished up.

[Tadiana ✩Night Owl☽ · Rating 4 out of 5]

My review for this fun escapist fantasy, which was originally published in two parts, is here and here. Sherwood Smith has now done us the favor of putting the two parts together and polishing them up. She also updated the cover pic, though I'll admit to a sneaking fondness for the old ones. Anyway, definitely get this version rather than the old two-part version!

[Anne Osterlund · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sasha, aka Sasharia, is an L.A. girl. By way of umpteen schools, one magic world portal, and a slight little disturbance in the past that sent both her and her mother on the run.

But when a young lawyer shows up on Sasha’s door, she doesn’t quite realize what’s happening until she’s back in the country of her birth. Fighting for her life, her independence, and her heart.

If it wasn’t for that dang pirate!

But really, it can’t be entirely his fault. After all, he isn’t the reason she was born a princess.

Calling all Crown Duel fans! Once a Princess has the same blend of fantasy, magic, and romance as Sherwood Smith’s more famous YA novel, along with a modern kick-butt heroine and a blistering pace. Warning: there is absolutely no point in just buying the first book. Might as well invest in Twice a Prince as well and save yourself the time. Both books are available online through amazon or Barnes & Noble.

[Sherwood Smith]

This story is one of the last ones before the big war cycle in modern times, which continues the huuuuuge arc set up in the Inda stories.

This one could have been serious, and some might think it ought to have been, but I had such fun writing it, I didn't really dig into the most sympathetic of the Merindars. Canardan is just as amoral as the rest of his family (the most complicated of them, Flauvic, aside), and if there had been more of his POV, it would have been much, MUCH darker. Also, there isn't much about Sven Eric's exercise in the realm of the mind.

Anyway, I actually started it in the mid seventies, but when the story really clarified, I saw Sun's story, which ended so unhappily I just couldn't write it. So I waited a generation, basically, then rewrote it as Sasha's.

[Laura (Kyahgirl) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5; 4 stars; A-

I really enjoyed this book and its second half, Twice a Prince. In fact, this review will be encompassing both books, with the only difference being my impressions of the two different narrators. I don't think a person should read Once a Princess as a standalone unless they want to be quite disappointed because its really the first half of a bigger book.

I must thank Sherwood Smith for giving me the chance to listen to both of these audiobooks by generously offering me Audible codes.

I really liked the female characters in these books. They had guts and integrity as well as ingenuity and loyalty. For most of the story, Sasha and her mom, Sun, each have their own adventure and challenges, even though they are heading in the same direction. The POV varies back and forth between them.

Sasha was an admirable young woman, in that she had taken her self defense lessons in her youth seriously, knowing some day she might really need to use them. But at the same time, she embraced her life in the U.S. and didn't sit around thinking 'oh, one day I'm going to be princess so I am better than everyone else'. When she was sucked back into the realm of her birth, she was everything she needed to be; smart, resourceful, cautious and determined. And she had ample opportunity to put her self defense training to good use. Fun sword fights and swashbuckling ensued. Despite all the action, I liked that she never lost sight of her goal of finding her father.

Sun had a bit of a trickier time pursuing her goals since she was a prisoner for much of the book, however, when the opportunity arose, she found her own way to rouse the kingdom against the bad guys and seek out her lost husband. I had a chuckle at her struggles with hot flashes. Its such an annoying fact of life that half the population deals with yet it rarely gets factored into character development. Hats off to the author for that one.

I really enjoyed Prince Jehan and the pirate Zathdar. Quite a bit of the humor of the story was woven into these characters. It became clear fairly early in the first half of the book that the courage, ingenuity, and purpose of both could make them none other than the same person. i enjoyed Jehan's 'deep game'. Even though he was such a strong and intelligent character, near the end of the second book, his vulnerabilities and youth showed through. The disillusionment with his father and then his subsequent death were really hard blows for a young man to handle.

Most of the other main characters in the story were various members of the 'bad guys' but they were painted with enough depth to make them interesting and even sympathetic to some degree. Although I must say that while King Canardan wasn't a solid black villain and he had 'nuances' his war commander was pure evil. You have to have at least one really bad guy right?

This story was a fun adventure that can appeal to young readers as well as adults. The second half had a bit more in the way of romance but it was still very subtle. There is a HEA for Sun as well as her daughter which is appealing to the part of me that loves a romance story.

One final note with respect to the narration of the audiobook. The narrator, Jessica Almasy is new to me. At first I didn't like her voice that much because it was too young and girly sounding. However, throughout the book she won me over because she had the main thing I like and that is consistency. She managed to do distinct voices for most of the characters and stick to them well enough that you could always tell who was speaking just from the intonation and accent.

[Jacob Proffitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun read with interesting characters and a strong story. There are hints and bumps with other stories in the same universe, but nothing intrusive, and the story is whole and entire on its own.

I really like Sasha, though that's something of a problem. She's uncertain about who to trust and what she needs to do, fully conscious of being unable to escape being a political pawn in one way or another. I like that she's cautious and that she's courageous and that she isn't afraid to step in and take action when called for.

The reason that's something of a problem is that Smith includes other PoV sections and I was so attached to Sasha that it was difficult for me to be patient with them. Sun, Sasha's mother, is fascinating and a strong, though subtle, character in her own right. She's as determined as her daughter and Smith does an excellent job distinguishing the experience that comes with her age. I liked how even-keeled she was and how she worked as hard in her own way to bring about her ends as Sasha does. In any other book, I'd have been thrilled with her as the heroine...

But still, I wanted all Sasha all the time.

Anyway, I couldn't put this down and I'm really glad I paid attention to other reviewers who said to have the second book handy. They are right, the break seems a little unnatural and I can't wait to start the next.

[Hallie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I lost my restraint and though I should be reading other things, fell a bit into this one...

Really, really enjoyed this. It's considerably lighter in tone than the Inda books and far more of a Romance, though perhaps not as fluffy or Romance as the cover might suggest. It's also much more polished than the Senrid/C.J's First Notebook books, having been completed recently. And yet it's the latter books to which it's closest in some ways, as its two protagonists return to Sartorias-deles from this world, unlike the all-Sartorias-deles ones. Here, with the older characters from this world, there's a lovely play on fantasy books and films in this world and resonances in that. It's just fascinating having all these different perspectives on the one world, through so many very different books.

I liked both the main characters - Sasha and her mother Sun/Athanial (or should I say Sun and her daughter Sasha?!), pretty much equally, so didn't mind the alternating POV sections. I'm sure I'm nowhere near uniquely clever in having figured out one character's 'secret' pretty quickly, but that's not to say the book is less interesting because of that. The romance with comedy of manners elements isn't one I bore of when done with a light touch, as here.

Finally, I think this one stands very well alone - that is, alone except for the sequel, which I'm eagerly awaiting! There are mentions of characters from the earlier, younger reader books, but knowing about them doesn't seem necessary to enjoy this at all.

[Valerie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this book, with all its flair and its unique character, is best described by the warning written on the back cover:

"Warning: This title contains a kick-butt mother-daughter team, a wicked king, a witty pirate with an unfortunate taste for neon colors, inept resistance fighters, a dreamy prince who gallops hither and yon, and a kick-butt princess-in-waiting."

These claims, all true, are what make "Once a Princess" unforgettable. Sasha is a girl who doesn't take things sitting down, and her POV is delightful - and by delightful I mean witty, critical, honest, and most of all, laughing-my-ass-off funny. I felt like a trusted friend while I was privy to her thoughts, and the rest of the characters are unique to say the least. "unfortunate taste in neon colors" indeed!

Riveting in all the good ways. I didn't think a book where an LA girl entered a fantasy world could be good, but Sherwood Smith pulls it off. An instant favorite, with many acute observations on love, life, attraction, and government that struck a chord with me. I can't wait to read the sequel.

[Jim]

There's a lot to like about Once a Princess. From the product description, "Warning: This title contains a kick-butt mother-daughter team, a wicked king, a witty pirate with an unfortunate taste for neon colors, inept resistance fighters, a dreamy prince who gallops earnestly hither and yon, and a kick-butt princess in waiting."

Sasha and her mother fled Sartorias-deles when Canardan Merindar usurped the throne from Sasha's father. Sasha is living in LA when men from her world come looking for her. She soon returns to Sartorias-deles and is swept up in the resistance as the ally? prisoner? of sexy but fashion-challenged pirate Zathdar. Sun follows, looking for her daughter, and ends up in the hands of Merindar. Politics, intrigue, fighting, and romance all ensue.

Sherwood Smith's books blow my mind for the sheer world-building that goes into them. I'm awed by the time and work Smith has spent developing this world and its history, the races and the individual characters, the magic and the cosmology.

This has advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand, there were times I felt like I was missing some of the larger picture. On the other, Smith has created a world you can dive into as deeply as you choose, and stay there as long as you'd like. The story works wonderfully on its own, but it feels more ... solid than most. (As opposed to some books, where you see the Hollywood-style facade if you stop to look at anything too closely.)

The book is a fun read. Sasha and Zathdar were my favorites, with plenty of good banter and tension between them. Prince Jehan is a fun character as well, once you start to learn more about him. I didn't get as much of a sense as Sun, but she's as strong and determined as her daughter, just in a different arena. (Politics and intrigue as opposed to fighting and running about.) Actually, there's a nice range of strong female characters in this one.

A final warning - if you're going to read Once a Princess, you'll probably want to pick up Twice a Prince as well, since the end of book one leaves a fair amount unresolved. (It was originally one story, split into two books by the publisher.)

[egelantier · Rating 4 out of 5]

an incredibly adorable portal fantasy about a hippie princess named Sun (nee sunshine dancingstar, lowercase intentional because capital letters were Establishment) who once ran away to a magical world with a real prince; now 50, and on a run back in our world with her daughter sasharia (it's a very inventive variation on sasha to my russian ear, and i plan to annoy my baby cousin with it at the nearest possibility), who's a bit cranky, martial-arts-trained, and trying to just. be. a. waitress.

instead, of course, sasha is pulled back into the magical world they were rudely exiled from some decades earlier (the world being smith's habitual sartorias-deles main universe, encompassing inda and several other series), and sun, of course, follows suit, because nobody messes with her daughter. then swashbuckling, ass-kicking, a flashy pirate who is not quite what he seems, a wicked king who's not quite wicked but not really good too, an obligatory war academy aside and sun organizing a peaceful protest march promptly happen.

it obviously ties into the larger sartorias-deles chronology and other books (which i haven't read), but it's more of a cameo you can pick or not pick at will; and it shares a lot of narrative elements with inda (the nature of government, the way big changes come down to small decisions, the personal changes of perspective, the pirate ships, the small magic making big waves) but in a more lightweight way. i loved it; i have a secret love for portal fantasy, a genre increasingly poisoned (especially in russian sf/f), and it's always a joy and relief to see it done well and with relish. but i must sadly say that out of several rotating povs titular sasharia's is the weakest one: she has a nice, dryly stoic voice, but she accomplishes least and changes least; her main decisions are about her missing father, and there's much more interesting narrative tension between, for example, the wicked king and her mother, or the wicked king and his son, than between sasharia and anybody else. her life after the novel ends is probably much more interesting!.

but on the other hand, there's sun (when had you last read about a fantasy heroine dealing with a hot flash while negotiating the peace talks?), and sun is awesome and could've easily carried the whole book by herself - so i'm content.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is my first-ever 3 star did-not-finish. Why did I give a solid 3 star book a DNF? Because, halfway through, I peeked at the end to see if the pirate was really who I thought he was (he was) and discovered that this book ends on a cliff-hanger. I'm sorry, but I'm already committed to too many seemingly-unending series at this point to add yet another one to the list... especially when the books in said series end on cliff-hangers. *hate*

However, the story itself is more charming than I had expected and it has some fun nerd humor. I liked that both Sasha and her mother are smart, funny and have spent years in the dojo learning how to be kick-ass. (I didn't really like that it switched from Sasha's 1st person POV to 3rd person when following her mother's exploits, but whatever.)

If you have more tolerance than I do for fantasy-romance series with no real mythological underpinnings or apparent end, it might be worth checking out.

Excerpt from Sasha's point of view:

"Wait a minute, wait a minute," I cut in. "So you're trying to tell me that there's a tremendous treasure waiting for me?"
Both heads nodded.
"If I take up a cause, one that includes deep magic?"
Vehement nodding.
"And perhaps an ancient castle full of sinister secrets?"
"Yes!"
"And all for truth, justice and honor?"
"Yes, yes!"
My anxiety flared into anger.
"Oh no you don't," I snarled. "I've been there, done that, and they don't even give you T-shirts."

[Amrita Goswami · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed Danse De La Folie by the same author, so I decided to dive into this book. Unfortunately, I was hoping for a Regency farce and was plunged into a very different kind of novel. For one thing, the first-person narrative has a 'modern' 21st century feel to it, which wasn't what I really wanted.

The titular Sasharia ("Sasha") is a reluctant princess who is suddenly dragged into a fantasy world (almost like isekai, really). There are many factions which are trying to use her for their own (mostly unknown) purposes, while the threat of war looms on the horizon. Sasha's mother, Sun, promptly follows her daughter into this other world, with the intention of finding her daughter. There's magic in this world, but only the barest minimum is described, to my disappointment.

Unfortunately, I was very irritated by Sasha, who is outraged every time people don't divulge all their secrets, motivations and plans to her, despite the fact that she is hiding a few things herself. It's also very tiresome (for me) to read about characters who are constantly suspicious, no matter what the mitigating circumstances are. And Sasha also makes a really stupid decision towards the end of the first part, which made me feel very annoyed.

Additionally, I didn't feel like Sun's part of the story was going anywhere. I ended up dropping this after reading the first part (the rating is for this part, which was previously published separately), but I will try other books by this author and I admit that I wasn't in the mood for this kind of fantasy.

[Whitney · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun read! It has an overall 1970s vibe in the beginning, and takes place (briefly) in Los Angeles. The city seems like it was actually cool and interesting back then, not so expensive and plastic like it's portrayed these days. But anyway, our protagonist gets zapped into a parallel world, which despite its corrupt king situation, seems a lot more wholesome to live in than Earth.

A nice aspect is that the protagonist's mother gets zapped into the world as well, and while they do not interact with each other, their plots seem set to converge at the end. Their names are interesting. Multiple names are applied to the main characters: Earth names, and kingdom names, and nicknames. And their surname is especially a doozy. Zhavalieshin. How many syllables is that?

To quote Belle from Beauty & the Beast, this book has it all: "Far off places, daring swordfights, a prince in disguise!"

The family is seriously well-equipped to take over the kingdom. Smart and beautiful deposed queen held "captive" by the corrupt king who is actually pretty friendly. Not evil and threatening. But his military force and commanding officer are mean and corrupt without him entirely knowing, I guess. The daughter is clever and she can fight her way out of almost any situation. During MANY scenes, she is using hand to hand combat or fencing or kicking or martial arts or something. The minor romance element in this book is hugely overshadowed by all the fighting. Our protagonist is most definitely a fighter instead of a lover. She definitely prefers ample descriptions of jumping, blocking, and slashing rather than hugging and kissing, which comes in handy if she's stuck on a pirate ship at the book's unresolved ending. So I must go on to the next!

Ahoy and huzzah and all that.

[Estara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once a Princess - now out in print - is part of Smith’s overarching Satorias-deles world and set in a time which previous books have already touched on (although I don’t think there were any familiar faces so far, the one truly mysterious group showing up obviously has ties to characters we already know, but I haven’t read about them yet), which makes certain references to military training or the inheritance of magic powers much easier to understand (I do have a feeling that the situation and flair of the hero had quite a bit similarity to Vidanric of Crown Duel, but as we get pov from him as well it’s not as frustrating for the reader as it was then).

What I read Sherwood Smith most for are the women however. I love the set-up at the start: mother and daughter, nominally princesses in Satorias-deles, have to flee from a successful coup and wait for the father/prince to come get them. The mother having been a flower-power hippie had embraced the other world with all joy, being aware of her own beauty and strength she even had flirted with the ursurper - hoping to turn into a successful Mata Hari, maybe - even though the love she shared with the missing husband (whom we don’t get that much an impression of) comes across as quite real.

A loving woman, happily married, who is NOT beyond machinations, if it’s for the good of her family: I love it. I also love the despair and eventual disillusion when after 15 years there’s no sign of husband/father coming for them, but occasional attempts of the bad guys trying to find them on Earth. It makes the mother cranky and she finds herself a beau who can keep her in style (the only thing that didn’t quite ring true in the one scene with that sympathetic if sceptic character is my severe disbelief that he would have spent so much money just for the pleasure of her company in cultural interests, and not have eventually expected to share her bed, too).

Her daughter, eventually fed up with having to move every few years, settles down to waitressing and studying in LA, never building closer friendships (but still able to be a part of fencing and martial arts dojos and compete at an amateur level, which is not how organised sports usually work over here: you get to take part in competitions if you’re part of the club and not just because you’re a brilliant outsider). She’s got a great body and very frizzy hair, she’s tall and has a hawk nose like her dad.

Which eventually lets other interested parties (for the return of the missing prince/heir to the throne) find her and drag her back to Sartorias-deles. I’m not going to recap all that happens, just that I was mightily impressed with her keeping her head and being really mistrustful of everyone (even the ones that the author sets up clearly as well-meaning) because they all have their own agendas and she has a big secret she can’t trust to anyone. And how in the course of the story, she makes mistakes and they have consequences and so does the hero, and some they realise and some they don’t. There is attraction between the two, but this is not a romance novel as such, so no consummation or HEA at the end.

Actually the mother, coming after her daughter after it is clear that she’s missing, fairly soon ends up in the grasp of the ursurper and has to do a very careful dance, as this man STILL is charming and good-looking, as well as utterly egoistic and amoral (planning to do away with his wife and marrying his son to her daughter so that his reign finally gets some legal underpinnings).

And then there’s the help-meet at the head of the army who usually does all the dirty work without having any scruples and thinks his son/nephew (I wasn’t quite clear on that) would make a great next king and certainly not the wimpy, arty prince from the usurper’s previous marriage.

Even the side characters are detailed: Gill with her crush on her captain, Elva and her scepticism which makes her finally leave the whole situation and just go looking for some quiet, Kaelende the cook and his wife with her perfumed fans, Owl (who almost smothers Sasharia in a quilt), and Devlaen who’s really hoping they have a wanted poster of him with a reward (as he has joined the resistance now).

Bonus: A really great book trailer by a happy reader!

[Jacey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was really enjoying this book - and then it ended. It didn't really conclude. I knew it was the first book in a two book series, but I expected a cliffhanger ending or a bit more of a resolution to the first section of the story. In fact it's pretty obvious that this isn't two books, it's one book split in half. Do I recall reading that there has been an edition which combined both books into one? That would make a lot of sense. OK, it's not a problem because I intend to get the next book immediately, but I did feel that the ending pulled the rug out from under my feet somewhat suddenly.

So really this review is covering only the first half of the story but I'm liking it so far. I've read a few of Sherwood Smith's Sartorias-deles books however this is the first one which has involved a world gate and people from both worlds travelling through.

It opens with Sasha's life in California. Her mom is worried because someone seems to have found them and then we disover that they are refugees from Khanerenth in Sartorias-deles, hiding from some kind of political plot and missing Sasha's dad, the disenfranchised prince, who was supposed to come and get them, but never did. Fifteen years have passed and Sasha has grown up.

Anyhow, Sasha ends up being conned back through the gate and almost immediately fighting for her life by the side of a handsome pirate. It seems that things are just as unstable in Khanerenth as they were fifteen years ago.

There's a reveal in the second half of the book that I could see coming a mile away but it was no less enjoyable for all that. Now I need to order that second book!

[Kristen Tucker · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 to 3 stars
YA book and I normally like Sherwood Smith, but...not sure if this is one of her earlier novels or not. She has a great story line and magical world going for her, but I can't help feel like her style of writing is jumpy, both between characters/settings/and point of view.
The idea is great! So if you enjoy girl power with a swashbuckling hero (more like a Scarlet Pimpernel type *sigh*). Then you can read it and fill in all the fun and yummy details in your own imagination and just depend on Sherwood to drag you through the basics of the story line, some background work, and the idea of the story.
The first book gets you into the basis of the story but leaves you rather dry when it comes to connection with characters....she just doesn't get very far into....anything really....: /. I will probably be reading the second book, just because I do enjoy the idea of the story. Not only that....she leaves you going wait -- you just got started! you can't leave me here!

[Chersti Nieveen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a very cute take on the fairytale story of lost princess returning to kingdom. Sherwood Smith has a very tongue-in-cheek writing style, and the protagonist often makes comical references to other such common stories and stereotypes. However, this story manages to break away from the stereotypes. While most of the plot is fairly predictable, the story is very fun.

Overall, the only negative thing I could see was how some sentences just did not make sense. I reread a few sections a dozen times and still had no idea what was going on.

WARNING: if you are going to read this book, make sure you have book 2 "Twice a Prince" waiting on hand. This book stops mid-story at the end, to be picked up in book 2.

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are a lot of things I did not like about this book: The cover, for starters, is embarrassing; The language the characters use is annoying and comes off forced; the book doesn't realy end but forces you to also read the next one which has an even more embarrassing cover; the premise of the story, in which a girl gets taken from LA into magical world were she is the princess. What???
BUT
There is a pirate. I imagined him as Orlando Bloom the whole time and just couldn't make myself stop reading. Love. Pirates.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed a reread of this. I always love the competency of the characters in books by this author, as well as the way politics affect characters' actions. This is mostly in Sasha's POV and has lots of her mother's, too, but there are also little snippets of other characters' POVs which give interesting insight into their motivations. I appreciate this complexity because we get to go beyond having "good" and "bad" characters and are able to consider more nuances.

[Elevetha · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 ish stars. It was okay. Good adventure and fantasy story. I liked the mother\daughter duo as main characters. Cover is extremely iffy and if someone highly trusted hadn't told me it was decent, I never would have picked it up. It is actually quite clean. A few mildly sensual thoughts and\or mentions that you are privy to through the main character's narration. Kissing and if I remember correctly, I believe that's it. "Twice Upon A Prince", the sequel, is out.

[Jenny · Rating 2 out of 5]

People said the cover was worse than the book... I found the cover to be rather accurate on the quality. It was an adventure romp with no character development, much like the typical summer Hollywood blockbuster movie. Like the summer movie, you will probably enjoy it on a superficial level and then forget it.

[Li · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid romantic fantasy - perhaps the closest in feel to her Crown Duel duology so far? The references to the wider plot arc may confuse those new to the series, and some of the world-building still feels a bit like something a teen dreamt up, but overall, I loved the characters and the plot.

[Valerie Schadt]

Used ink lunch it GT he can by TT by by by TT by TT by TT by TT hi

[Lady Aquitaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe I'm just getting tired of Sherwood Smith's books, but this may be my least favorite of them that I've read. This is mainly because I found Sasharia fairly irritating and ended up groaning inwardly every time we returned to her POV. A large part of the problem is her seemingly-studied California coolness--this is a bit irksome in the main character of Smith's Dobrenica series (the first of which is Coronets and Steel), but it's even more wearing when the heroine is in an entirely different world. For heaven's sake, why would you keep using cheesy American slang when no one you're speaking to has even the slightest chance of understanding it? I also found myself repeatedly annoyed by her decisions--maybe I'm just too trusting, but I don't think I would have fought as hard as she does against almost anyone who's trying to help. Her insistence that she couldn't trust Jehan/Zathdar was especially egregious to me. Of course he's lying--if he weren't, he'd be dead, and you probably would be, too!

This brings me to another point, which is that I found the blurb on the back pretty misleading, especially when it came to Canardan Merindar. I found "wicked" to be a radical overstatement of his character's morality--for Pete's sake, we hear dozens of times over the course of the book that he honestly doesn't want people to die. Would that all wicked people were so wicked!

Oh, and, believe it or not, I was both surprised and disappointed by the reveal that Jehan and Zathdar are the same person. I've never been a knee-jerk hater of love triangles, so I was interested in comparing their personalities and seeing who I liked/trusted more. But there we are.

Anyway, this isn't a terrible book (though I just remembered Sasha's weird little farming side-quest, which also featured multiple wildly questionable decisions on her part--ugh!), and I probably would have given it 3.5 stars if I could. But it is flawed, and is nowhere close to the excellence of Crown Duel. Go read that one first, folks!

[Aleena · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first thing I noticed about this one is that the vernacular of the main character (a 20-something who had been living in modern-day US most of her life) felt slightly off-kilter, even dated. In fact, I assumed that it had been one of Smith's earlier works from the 90's before finding out it actually released in 2008.

But, getting past that, this one was unexpectedly a lot of fun. I've really been enjoying Sherwood Smith lately, and looking forward to reading more of her very extensive body of work set in Sartorias-delas.

Sasha and her mother are living as inconspicuously as they can in modern-day LA, when Sasha is suddenly kidnapped into another world... the one where she left 15 years ago, on the run from a murderous king. Oh yeah, she's a princess, and her father, the heir to the throne, is still missing (or dead) after going into hiding when the new king usurped him.

Sasha falls in with a clever pirate whose motives are unclear as she tries to outrun the usurper and find her father. Everyone has their own agenda, no one communicates, and hijinks ensue.

Also, the pirate is a cross between The Scarlet Pimpernel and Sturmhond from Shadow and Bone.

Ultimately fun, but rather long. I still enjoyed The Trouble with Kings more.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book and its sequel, Twice a Prince, are not so much a series as one book split into two parts, so I am going to write one review and double post it. :)

Don't let the amazingly horrible cover fool you. This is not a silly teen drama set in a fantasy world. This is a book with class and wit. Imagine, if you will, a cross between the Scarlet Pimpernel (and other old 1930s swashbuckling movies) and Mark Twain's A Yankee in King Arthur's Court. Add in a focus on sword fighting/fencing and you will begin to understand why I liked it so much. The characters were charming and quirky. The villians were pleasantly three dimensional. The plot well thought out with enough layers to keep things interesting without hopelessly muddling the reader. My one quibble is that I really didn't like the whole modern girl in a fantasy/medieval setting trope. (I never do.) And it says something about the quality of the writing that I was able to overcome this personal pet peeve and still give it such a high rating. In this particular instance, I felt that this trope stopped Smith from fully fleshing out the settting and culture of the story with as much loving detail as she did in the Crown Duel. Nevertheless, this is a fantastic story, that really doesn't deserve such a horrible cover.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somewhat lukewarm about this book, and it's at least halfway my fault, not the book's- I simply wasn't in a mood to read much of anything. It took a full week to finish and I never really got into it or loved the characters, so it was good, but not great.

Another fun installment in the Sartoria-deles universe. This book includes neat explanations of links between Earth and Sartoria-deles. Sasha was born a princess in Khanerenth, returned to Earth when.... well, see, this is one of my problems with the story. I kept feeling like I would have enjoyed it more if I knew more of the backstory. But anyway, her father went into hiding, I am not sure if the throne was usurped or what exactly happened, but he hid and sent Sasha and her mother back to Earth. Now it's time for everyone to come back to Khanerenth, but unfortunately, new problems have arisen over the past 10 years, so everything is complicated and needs a lot of fixing up. Good thing we have Sasha, Sun, and a whole host of friends to help.

[Kes · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a really fun book; it was a nice change to have a driven heroine who knew what was going on (within reason) but also wasn't jaded. I liked that Sasha's waitress background came in handy. And it was nice to see Sasha's and her mom's relationship - I like the level of trust between them.

I enjoyed the way things were written - Sasha grew up in L.A., and she does make English comments that startle others. I liked that although Gliss was jealous of Jehan's interest in Sasha, they do make an effort to talk it out and communicate in a reasonable way - I like how it's dealt with so reasonably, avoiding the pitfalls of other novels.

[Tiffany · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book although it is only the first part of a two part story and ended quite abruptly. I usually don’t care for books with earthlings who go to another world but I did like how this worked out that Sasha was originally from Sartorias-deles and fled to Earth. I liked how the one world has tech and the other magic. I do think the POV switching is a little weird (it is first person for Sasha and third person for every one else) but I can live with it. I still love the world that Sherwood Smith has built and I can’t wait to finish Twice a Prince and others on Sartorias-deles.